Wonderful Marathon Birthday Celebration

Cartoons by Ron Leishman

When you are my age, the more celebration the better.  (I will be 73 on Monday, March 9th.)

My friends at Lunch Bunch made me feel really special yesterday and I’m still grinning.

When we walked into the Pizza Barn, this was one of the things on the table –

I put them in the center of our dining table so that my husband and I can enjoy them together. The first thing he said at breakfast this morning was, “These are lovely.”

Spring-Scented candle and holder.  I wish you could smell this!

Ceramic OWL candle or tealight holder. This has a peach and mango candle. Delicious!

Kitchen towels with attitude!

And beautiful birthday cards.

TWO pieces of chocolate sheet cake with chocolate frosting.

My lunch was free.

Conversation, laughter, and hugs from long-time friends. (we have been meeting every Friday for Lunch Bunch for almost 19 years now – a true gift.)

My husband and I indulged in hot dogs with BUNS and Fritos last night for dinner – I haven’t had those – or the cake – in over a year now.

And Monday my husband is taking me for a lobster tail lunch at Red Lobster – a celebration of another year of life, PLUS having over 1400 subscribers to my blog now.

“I’ve enjoyed every age I’ve been and each has had its own individual merit. Every laugh line, every scar, is a badge I wear to show I’ve been present, the inner rings of my personal tree trunk that I display proudly for all to see. Nowadays, I don’t want a “perfect” face and body; I want to wear the life I’ve lived.” — Pat Benatar

 

Thoughts on A Friday 2-28-2020

Tasmanian Devil, commonly referred to as Taz, is an animated cartoon character featured in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. Wikipedia Creator: Robert McKimson

We just put Taz up on our mailbox this morning on the way to Lunch Bunch. The Tazmanian Devil is one of our favorites.  It’s funny the way our designs have differed over the years. This one seems small and light, particularly compared to the Snow-Goon we just took down and stored in the shop. This one is only about 2 feet tall, where the Snow-Goon is almost 4.

Jerri St. John of Jewels from Jerri’s VIPS  (https://www.facebook.com/groups/jewelsfromjerriVIPs/?fref=nf )

bought a couple of pairs of earrings I was listing on my Etsy site. They were delivered yesterday. I was so happy she liked them. Then she did THIS –

on Facebook. I’m STILL grinning and dancing. What a NICE, generous thing for her to do!  She is a representative of Paparazzi Jewelry – FUN pieces that I can’t resist. I buy things from her all the time. She couldn’t do a better job of responding, filling your order, shipping, etc.

We had our normal wonderful time at Lunch Bunch. We look forward to catching up, good food, good conversation, laughs, and good hugs.

One of our errands was at Walmart. On the way out to our truck, there was a crowd. A person was down in the parking lot. We stopped, asking if there were anything we could do, but they told us an ambulance was on its way. My heart goes out to the person in distress, but I was happy that so many people stopped what they were doing to try to help.

It is a bit after 2 pm here. The sun is shining and it’s 55 degrees F. here!  What a lovely day – and it’s still February!! I’m going to go out and visit my veggie plants and walk around the yard. What a treat!

Have a happy day!

Our Baby is Back!

GTCarLot.com

In November of last year, my husband inadvertently backed our 2003 ‘Vette into a truck in the post office parking lot. The truck didn’t have a scratch and the owner looked it over carefully and told us to go on. Our Vette, however, was a different story. There was a huge squashed place on the right rear to the right of the tail light, and part of the adjoining part was dented.

We took it to our wonderful insurance man, Phil Hicks of Shelter, Insurance, and he told us to take the Vette to Greenwood Collision for an estimate. They sent us (and Phil) an estimate. Vettes are not cheap to fix and the back end of the car, plus the adjoining piece, would have to be replaced. The estimate was $3374.65. Thank GOODNESS we were only responsible for the $500 deductible. The insurance company sent us a check for the balance after the deductible was taken out and we were good to go.

The problem was, no one had the body parts we needed. One of them came in a reasonable amount of time, but the other was on backorder. We waited and waited, with Patty, the kind lady who handles the office, calling us with updates, or lack of them. She called us last Monday, telling us the final part had arrived and that we could bring the Vette in for repair.

Today she called, telling us the Vette was ready!  My husband was very happy with the job they did. Patty had our bill ready, made us a copy of the check I wrote, and we were on our way.

I told her that I wrote a daily blog, that I had written about Greenwood Collision before, and would do so again. They couldn’t have done a better job for us. No one can help parts not being available. On everything they had control over – the estimate, the ordering parts, the communication, the repair of the vehicle, and handling the payment and paperwork, they could not have done a better job.

I highly recommend both of these companies –

Phil Hicks, Shelter Insurance Company, 1740 W Center St, Greenwood, AR 72936, (479) 996-2171 

Greenwood Collision, 2615 W Center St, Greenwood, AR 72936, (479) 996-9922

Buried

Alamy

Happy Sunday!

I am trying to find my way out of a huge pile of STUFF regarding trying to get our records ready so that we can dump them on our wonderful CPA. If you are in the Fort Smith, Arkansas area, I highly recommend Lawrence, Schluterman, & Schwartz, LTD, CPAs in Fort Smith. We have used them for years and trust them completely. Their address is 2411 S. Waldron Road, Fort Smith AR 72903. Their phone number is 479-484-7211.

That said, I truly hate tax prep. Today I will total the spreadsheets I’ve been keeping for each deduction category and see how it goes. I’ve really been trying to act like an adult this year, entering the data for the month soon after it is over. Hopefully, I can finish prepping in record time.

IF THAT IS THE CASE – I will make myself start new spreadsheets for 2020 – yes, I am aware that I’m already behind – and I will make every effort to be a good girl and get caught up.

Have a wonderful day!

An Amazing Phone Call

MSP Alliance

I received a phone call this morning from our dentist. Him – directly.  I immediately thought something was wrong.  He has never called before.

He asked if our son were still in China.  I told him he now lives in Thailand. He was calling because he was concerned about the coronavirus and our son’s safety. I’m still shocked that first, he would remember our son lived out of the country; and second, that he took the time to call.

Since Thailand is the number 1 travel destination for the Chinese when they celebrate New Year’s – and that celebration will last until February 8th – it is definitely a concern. Our son is smart, though, and we have talked about it.

I have always been grateful that we found Wes Moore, our dentist. My husband has had dental problems all his life, and a really good dentist he can trust is a priority. We have gone to him for years.

The fact that he thinks of us as PEOPLE, remembers details about our family, and took the time to CALL us, I find truly amazing.

If you are in Fort Smith, or the surrounding area, Wes Moore is the best. His contact details are

Dr. Wes Moore, DDS – 2913 S 74th St, Fort Smith, AR 72903 –  (479) 484-5050. 

You won’t find a better dentist – or a better human being – anywhere.

 

 

Thoughts on a Tuesday 1-21-2020

Back to Nature

It’s cold (26 degrees F.), crisp, and sunny outside here in Greenwood, Arkansas. Since rain, freezing rain, sleet, and flying hair balls are forecast for tonight and tomorrow, my husband and I went to run errands and replenish supplies so that we can stay in.

I just received a package with some earrings I ordered from Jerri St. John at Paparazzi.   This is wonderful costume jewelry I really love.  Jerri is a wonderful person. She handles orders carefully and promptly, with great communication. I highly recommend her. I have never been disappointed in anything I have bought. Click on the link above to see all the wonderful things she offers! * If the above link doesn’t work for you for some reason, here is the URL  https://paparazziaccessories.com/shop/166aed0ca4f1ee59d370/#/

I got to play in my art room yesterday, finishing – or almost finishing – some things –

 

This is another in my ‘word’ wooden plaque series.

 

I painted another of my stained tee shirts – “up-cycling” it so I can continue to wear it. I think this one looks happy.

 

I finally decided to make some wooden earrings for ME.  I need to add the hardware.

 

 

I did this pair and the green pair below as an experiment. I need to drill holes in the middle-size and small disks so I can put the hardware in that will attach the pieces.

 

 

We enjoyed going bowling with our long-time good friends last night. When we started this, several years ago, we thought that bowling most Monday nights would result in better and better scores. NOT!  I’m am completely erratic. Either I bowl pretty well for me (160+) or don’t even break 100. Last night was one of my pathetic nights. It didn’t matter because we got to catch up with our friends and enjoyed ice cream from Braum’s afterward. YUM!

I am finally feeling good today – after 2 days of misery and 2 more days of feeling pretty weak, so I’m going to celebrate by getting back to my exercise. I’ll get on my elliptical trainer and then will do some good gentle yoga stretching. :0)

I hope that YOUR day is enjoyable, as well.

 

Thoughts on a Monday 11-4-2019

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

We are having a lovely fall day today!  Sunshine-y, 61 degrees, no rain. Can’t ask for more. :0)

I’ve told you about Tri-Hill Pest Control in Fort Smith AR before. Aldopho, their man, is outside now spraying around the house where he couldn’t because of rain when he was here recently. In addition to that, I received a bill from them I didn’t expect. I pay for the year, and had already sent in my payment for NEXT year, so this was unexpected. I called and talked to Jerry. He looked us up and told me that their new computer system had issued the invoice when it SHOULD have issued a CREDIT. Can’t get a better answer than that!

I also had made a note to call City Hall today regarding the Angel Tree they put up every year for Christmas. I just wanted to get a feel for when it would be up so that we could plan to go in, get an angel from the tree, and shop for goodies for a sweet child in our community. The lady I talked to was putting the tree up as she was talking to me! We’ll stop by tomorrow and choose a child. We alternate between a boy and and a girl each year. This time, I think we’ll choose a girl.

My scales continued to smirk this morning, showing another .2 lbs of lard gone. Infinitesimal – but “I” noticed. :0)  I’m hoping to break into another 5-pound territory by the end of the week. 

 

 

 

We leave for the dentist soon for the 2nd step in my husband’s implant. I’m a bit concerned about the fact that he’s on blood thinners, but everyone at our dentist’s office Wes Moore, DDS, in Fort Smith, is competent, so he is in good hands.  We’ll run errands and eat out on the way home.

I’m having great fun making flat wooden Christmas ornaments using the Unicorn Spit Stain/Glaze. Here is one of them –

 

I’m going to personalize these with a name and the year. I’ve done 8 different ornaments so far, and will start the second group of 8 this afternoon, unless I run out of time.

We’re going bowling this evening with good, long-time friends. I always look forward to catching up with them. You would think that we would be getting reasonably good at the game by now, but NOOOOO! Each of us has a good night from time to time, but we’re pretty pathetic otherwise. We either celebrate or commiserate afterwards by getting ice cream at Braums. :0)  With my elliptical trainer, yoga, and bowling, this old lady will have a GOOD amount of exercise today.

I hope YOUR Monday is  pleasant – if not ENJOYABLE.

 

 

Thoughts on a Wednesday 10-30-2019

Stefka K Foerster – LinkedIn

It’s cold (46 degrees F.) and rainy here today.  We did not get the freeze, but the low is forecast to be 29 tomorrow. BRRR! My husband drove down to get the mail, but we decided today was a GREAT day to stay inside.

Since my husband has asked a couple more times about when we’ll have the Keto Chili again, (Suzanne Ryan, Simply Keto), I got the ingredients into the crock pot first thing this morning. Our son texted from Thailand, asking if I could give HIM the recipe. I took a pic of the page and sent it to him. :0)

Our wonderful bug man, Adolpho from Tri-Hill Pest Control of Fort Smith, came for our last spraying of the year this morning. Since it’s cold and rainy outside, he said he will come back next week to do the outside. I’ve told you before that we think this is a great company and our dogs vie for Adolpho’s attention.

I have decided that I need to be SURE to live at LEAST as long as my husband. He had to have an implant at the dentist’s office several months back. The new protocol is that they do the implant, wait several months and THEN do the x-rays and prep for the new tooth, and THEN insert the actual tooth at a third appointment. I’ve told you my husband had a stroke in July. He is now on blood thinners. He was going to agree to an appointment without telling the dentist’s office about his situation OR checking with our primary doctor. I have now contacted our primary, called the dentist’s office back to explain my husband’s situation so that NOW they will be prepared to handle any problems that might occur.  (I have told my husband that his wife is a pearl beyond price…)

This afternoon I plan to do more experimenting with Unicorn Spit in my art room. I’ve told you that this wonderful STUFF can be used on paper, wood, glass, ceramics, fabric and more. I’ve done the wooden plaques now. Next I’m going to see what happens with tote bags, glass Christmas ornaments, and flat wooden Christmas ornaments, and paper. Can you see me smiling even THINKING about my afternoon?

I’m delighted that my elliptical trainer time and yoga stretching time seem to be resulting in MUCH less pain, stiff joints, etc. This means a LOT at my age – 72 – so I’m really happy about this discovery.  I’m hoping that by the end of the year – or before – I can add something else to the daily exercise mix.

I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday.

 

Another Great Company That Deserves Your Business

Energy Informative

This is not our home, but it gives you an idea about the procedure we did several years ago to retrofit our home with geothermal heat and air.

After the installation, we signed up for Air Pro Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. to come out in the spring and the fall to make sure our system was acting properly and was ready for the season ahead. It’s some of the best money we have ever spent.

We pay for the service once a year. The company calls when it’s time and we arrange an appointment. Our wonderful service man, Joshua, is mostly early or on time. If he’s going to be late, he calls.

When  we needed better thermostats, Joshua came up with a suggestion of two or three that were designed to work with geothermal systems. We chose one of them, and he ordered them for us. When they arrived, he came and installed the two we needed – one for upstairs and one for downstairs.

He checks everything very thoroughly, inside and out, AND is a super nice person, as well!

If you want a great company to take good care of your heating and air conditioning needs, call Air Pro Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Their number is  479-646-9699, and they advertise that they are there 24 hours a day.

 

 

Great Company

I don’t mean to give you the heebie-jeebies or bad dreams, but our son found a scorpion on his carpeted bedroom floor this morning.

DK Sanders-Weatherford Photography

This isn’t the one, but this was shown as an “Arkansas scorpion’ on the net, and looks like the ones we find.

We have the whole house sprayed each quarter since we live out in the sticks. I tell them to spray for ‘everything’ including elephants.  Josh at Tri-hill Pest Control has been doing our treatments for years. A new man, Adolpho, came almost a month ago now, and did a very good job for us, as well.

Usually, the treatment comes with a free re-spray if you have bugs within 2 weeks. I called Tri-Hill this morning after I had the chance to talk with our son, who told me that the scorpion he found this morning, upstairs in the bedroom, on the carpeted floor. He wasn’t sickly, either.

Alex, who answers the phone and does the dispatching, looked up our treatment date and saw it was almost a month ago. When I told him that I have never called for a re-spray before, but tended to take lively scorpions on the second floor more seriously than other things,  said he would arrange a re-spray for 10:30 TOMORROW, and that we would not be charged.

You can’t ask for better attitude or service than this.

If you are lucky enough to live in our area – please consider giving these people your business.

Tri Hill Pest Control, 1308 Zero St, Fort Smith, AR 72901. (479) 782-2847 tri-hill.com  – Alex – dispatcher   Adolpho (I hope I’m spelling this right) – treatment specialist.

We Hit the Jackpot!

Domino’s Medium Pan Supreme Pizza

A little over a year ago Mazzio’s Pizza in Greenwood closed its doors. We were really upset. We don’t eat much pizza – trying to lose the lard – but we really do love to get one now and then.

Since we live about 3-1/2 miles from town, NO ONE delivers food. We call and order and then go get many wonderful things when we’ve worked really hard all day and I’m on strike on cooking. We’ve been trying various places in Greenwood, trying to find someone who could replace the Deep Dish Supreme Pizza by Mazzio’s.

Last night we tried the new-to-Greenwood Domino’s Pizza. We normally order a large so that we can get two good meals, but the only pan pizza Domino’s offered was a medium. We took that, even though it was more expensive than the price to which we are accustomed.

We picked up the pizza, ready when we got there, and noted how good it smelled in the car on the way home. Amber, our 94-pound lab puppy, thought it smelled wonderful, too, trying in vain to join us in the front seat. :0)

We ate half the pizza and were delighted. It was really delicious, piled high with all kinds of good things. We’ll enjoy the other half tonight, since we feel we ‘earned it, ‘ shoveling all that potting soil back into the planter this morning.

It’s a good thing we finished when we did. The sky is almost black now, with severe thunderstorms, rain, wind, and flying hairballs now.

Dentist

Daily Mail

 

We just got back from a dental appointment for my husband. He was flossing a week or so ago and a cap came off one of his teeth.  We went in and the dentist found that the part of the tooth the cap was on came out with the cap, so he would have to have an implant.

We had the remainder of the tooth pulled and the prep for the implant done today. We go back in 5 months, when the area is fully healed, for the post and the tooth replacement.  My husband is doing fine. I gave him Tylenol for the discomfort he is having, and he is on antibiotics and two other meds for the procedure. He is resting now, under strict orders NOT to forget and chew any ice!

We are SO glad we have such a great dentist – Wes Moore, DDS in Fort Smith.

 

Karns Tree Service

My husband was getting a maniacal look in his eyes when we were looking at the large tree whose branches were encroaching on the house and our well house recently. As we talked about what needed to be done we agreed that it was too large a job for us.

I contacted HomeAdvisor.com and found Karns Tree Service. Randy called this morning and asked if he would be okay if he came by first thing to give me an estimate. He came with a partner, a big truck, a big mulcher, and tools, ready to work. He gave me an estimate, then lowered it a bit if I would let him go ahead and do our small job while he was here, rather than asking him to come back later.

He and his partner worked for an hour or so. He worked carefully with me on which branches needed to be cut. I saw he really knew what he was doing, and so told him to use his expertise on other branches he thought needed to go. The main thing was avoiding any damage to our house or our well house, which has an a ham radio antenna on the top.

Not only did they remove the branches, they put all the debris through the mulcher so my husband and I wouldn’t have to kill ourselves dragging the branches elsewhere, plus raked to get the smaller stuff.

As we talked afterwards, Randy told me he was also set up to smooth our driveway when needed (ours is 650 feet and steep, and so is another job that needs someone who knows what they’re doing.) He also said he could trim the branches that are sticking out in our driveway if we wanted, and gave me prices for both jobs.

We also agreed that it would be fine if we could agree on projects and then he could do them when he was already in the area or could work them in, rather than having to come from his home.

I’m very pleased with the professionalism, great customer service, and attitude of Randy and his partner and look forward to hiring them again soon.

Click on the link above to see his Facebook page. His phone number is 479-965-6148. He is fully insured and gives free estimates. He has a 65 foot bucket truck, and does fence-row clearing, Stump removal, and brush removal, and will response 24/7 for any tree or storm emergency.

Randy Karns.  Karns Tree Service.

Something to Think About

123RF.com

I told you that I was very happy with the carpet cleaning company, ChemDry, in another post.

I went to their website yesterday and left a good review, thinking it might help them reach more people.

This morning I called the office, told the lady my name, and reminded her that I had my carpet cleaned yesterday afternoon. She said, “Yes, is there a problem?”

I went on to tell her that I couldn’t be happier with the job that Alex and Sao (spelling?) did. That they were careful, courteous, and professional. I also thanked HER for being so nice on the phone, and being so good at her job.

There were a couple of seconds of silence. She finally said, “I’m speechless. This is so nice.”

It reminded me how important it is to let people know when they do a good job, thanking them personally, and in any way you can think of to show others you’re happy with them.

I told her that she was so courteous and the company did such a good job that they stood out – particularly in this day and age where you feel like a number, or a necessary irritant in someone’s day. How NICE it is that someone calls you when they will be delayed, when the bill is what they SAID it would be, that they are super careful not to make a mess or hurt anything.

It was obvious that she was thrilled and that I had given her a much-needed boost.

After I got off the phone, I made a mental note to myself to be more conscientious in my efforts to say THANK YOU. I always try to be kind, but it only takes a few minutes to shake the workers’ hands and THANK them for a job well done. It only takes a few minutes to call and THANK the lady who is so nice and helpful when you call. It only takes a few minutes to let others know you’ve found a company worth your business.

Good job, ChemDry – and THANK YOU!

I’m Feeling Sassy!

YouTube

I’m feeling sassy this morning because my first floor carpet is CLEAN for the first time in several years!

I’ve vacuumed and spot-cleaned, when necessary, to the point the only CLEAN spots – where we used RESOLVE – showed up horribly. I had put off using a professional carpet cleaning service because I’m a slob, but I don’t like to advertise the fact any more than I must.  It’s depressing, though, to be doing all you can and for the carpet to still look grungy when you finish.

I finally called a company called, ChemDry. They serve the Crawford and Sebastian County area in Arkansas. They use a method that uses a lot less water and chemicals that are safe for kids and pets – a really important thing to me. I lucked out. I called one day and they were due to be in our area the next day so I got an appointment for 1:30 in the afternoon yesterday!

1:30 came and went, but then we got a phone call from the cleaning guy. He said they were running an hour late. I said, “Fine,” and we waited. They came right at 2:30. I showed them what we wanted done and they both listened carefully. They were very careful moving their equipment in and out, (a real challenge with dog gates in each doorway), very courteous, and total professionals. At one point they had me come in to look before they were finished. There was a clear line between where they had cleaned and what was left to be done. Very impressive!

Alex also told me about a product to use on spots on the carpet that is better than Resolve. It’s called Benefect Decon 30. It comes in a gallon jug. You pour some on the spot. Let it dry. If there is any ring, you wipe with a damp cloth. I ordered some on Amazon yesterday afternoon.

It took them approximately two hours to do our living room, office, and foyer. The only ones a bit frustrated at the activity were our dogs, who were out on the back porch. After the guys had gotten a good start, I went out and sat on the porch with our doggies, who welcomed me as if it had been YEARS since we had last seen each other, and then calmed down. I again left them after spending about an hour out there. We enjoyed it because it was a beautiful, unusually warm day for Arkansas in January, and I saw THREE PAIRS of cardinals in the evergreen trees in one side of our back yard!

I left a good review on their website and am trying this morning to call and talk to the nice lady who schedules appointments. I have put their name and phone number in my contacts list and will call them again. They also clean tile and grout!

As I’m moving small stuff back in place, I’m SMILING at my carpet!!!

 

Win-Win

I just received these two blouses from a wonderful website. It’s called The Animal Rescue Site 

It’s affiliated with a kind of umbrella company called, The Greater Good, which has several websites that offer nice things. When you purchase something, you feed shelter animals.  I fed 71 shelter animals with the bottom blouse and 35 with the blouse at the top. It’s a win/win situation and I love that.

Please consider doing some shopping with these good folks.

My Massage Therapist is Psychic, Too!

Clark’s Inn and Restaurant

 

I had a glorious massage this morning and my whole body is smiling.

My therapist’s name is Lynn Moody. If you’re in the Greenwood, AR area (including Fort Smith and surrounding towns) you will thank yourself a million times if you call Lynn and schedule a massage. Her location for massages is 320 South Coker, Greenwood AR 72936. Her phone number is 479-629-7601. Her email address is lynnmoody42@yahoo.com

I feel very close to Lynn. We exchange news about our families, what’s happening in our worlds, etc. each time I have a massage. I trust her as a friend – something rare and precious to find these days.

Today I told her that my husband and I were planning to take our son to a local restaurant, The Dari, for lunch to celebrate his birthday. When we exchanged Christmas gifts after my massage, I found a gift card for The Dari!!!!

Not ONLY does she give massages to die for, she’s psychic!

How LUCKY I am to have found her.

A “Frog Strangler?”

Almaz UK via Flickr

Our wonderful guy who helps us keep our driveway drive-able came this morning. The last rain we had was super heavy and caused deep ruts to form. Then UPS and other good delivery people had trouble negotiating the steep 650 foot+ driveway and made deep holes where their tires spun. We were in a mess.

Eric brought his tractor and got to work without saying a word to us – just started making magic. Within 20 minutes our driveway was smooth and beautiful again. He said, “This should hold you a while, unless we get a frog strangler tomorrow.” I had never heard this term before, even having lived in Arkansas for over 30 years now, but I take it from the context to mean another super-heavy, washing rain.

A nice lady in a four-wheeler came up soon after Eric finished. She needed to put a circular metal tag on the electrical pole for some reason. She did, and left, but she was the first one to try out the freshly un-screwed driveway. We went down next to do a bunch of errands, and it was WONDERFUL going down without bouncing around in the truck.

It was still beautiful when we returned an hour or so later, and drove right up without a bounce. AHHHHHHH!

Fingers crossed now for no ‘frog stranglers’ tomorrow…..

By the way, if you live in the Arkansas area and need someone to do dirt work for you, call Eric Sandifer, 479-650-6804 or write him at P.O. Box 273, Greenwood AR 72936. You can depend on him to do good work at a fair price.

Things are Getting Fixed!

depositphotos.com

Things have been shaping up around here since our son came home. My husband can fix almost anything, but sometimes things are so frustrating they just get put aside. Our son has been tackling one gadget after another, getting them to work!

• First of all, he fixed my pedometer so it is much more accurate. My husband had measured my ‘stride’ as 22 inches long. It seems to be that since my stride isn’t really that long, it doesn’t count ANY of my steps that are less than that. So I was walking around all day doing my normal stuff, and since I rarely took a stride that long, a LOT of my steps didn’t count.
• He is in the last stages of getting the Internet to work in our shop again. This wireless system has really been complicated, but he seems to have worked his will on it.
• He got our car dash cam to quit turning itself off and on randomly and to work the way we intended for it to again.
• He got my computer and Microsoft on speaking terms again so we were able to finally add several Windows 10 updates that had been waiting. (This was done out of intense love for his mama, since he HATES Microsoft, Windows 10, and PCs.)

While he’s been working his magic, we took our smaller Dyson vacuum cleaner to be repaired this morning. It had power, but we couldn’t get the rotor to work in the head so that it would actually vacuum. My husband had it apart twice, The first time we cleaned it thoroughly – something I should have been better about. The second time he was suspicious that the switch you push to turn on the rotor wasn’t getting power. He checked that out and couldn’t find any problems. Hence the search for someone who could repair a Dyson.

We found a guy, but he was in Barling – about an hour away from us. I put the address into our GPS and it took us on a new road we’ve never traveled before, cutting the trip by about 2/3 and taking us right to the place. The man took the vacuum into the back and then brought it back 30 seconds later, saying, “It’s fixed.” It turns out that there is a RESET switch on one end of the head that we had inadvertently hit at some time or other and it was in the ‘on strike’ mode or something. He wouldn’t take any money for looking at it and we’re fixed. If you live in west-central Arkansas, the company is Fort Smith Vacuum, 1108 Fort Street, Barling AR  479-452-3770. Closed Mondays. $30 bench fee if you have to leave it with him to be fixed. This is a first class company and I highly recommend him.

My husband was also teed off that he would put his phone in the wireless mode and it would switch back on its own after several seconds. We took it to AT&T. A guy named Adan pushed a million buttons on the phone, and then turned it off and turned it on again (rebooting it.) Problem solved. I wish I could do that with my BRAIN….

Our home phone has been causing us problems. For several reasons we can’t just get rid of what essentially is a land line, but on a cellphone base. My husband wrote a program that screened our calls, virtually eliminating all robocalls, crank calls, and wrong numbers. It would answer the phone without our hearing any ringing. If the person was on the accepted list, the call came right through. If it was someone not on the list, a voice would tell them, “If you are a real person and aren’t selling anything, press 1”  THEN we would hear the phone ring and answer it. The trouble was, it was very temperamental and would treat people that we WANTED to hear from badly.  Or someone would press one and then it said, “Goodbye” and hung up on them. We disconnected the system and soon started getting SEVERAL calls each day with no one on the other end, robocalls, etc. Our son has helped us find a new system that will replace our existing phones in the office, plus add a phone in the kitchen and one in our bedroom – all for a one-time charge. My husband is checking out reviews now before we jump on it.

We are feeling huge tension loads lifted as my husband, my son, both working together, or other experts are solving problems that have been plaguing us for quite a while now. HOORAY!

 

 

Getting the Lard Off Progress Report – 12-6-2018

Chicago Tribune

30.6 pounds and 30.05 inches so far.

My husband and I have kind of settled into raw veggies and dip for lunches (I add a hard-boiled egg or string cheese, and my husband adds barbecued chicken with no bread) and a main meal salad for dinner, so we’re awash in Nutrisystem entrees right now. (My husband received his frozen and non-frozen this week. I received my frozen and should get my non-frozen soon.)

I called customer service today to see if I could delay our next order. Raphael couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful. He was encouraging about our efforts to date and we agreed to delay our next order for 90 days. If we want to order a la carte before then, fine. If we want to shorten the delay, fine. If we need to delay it further, fine.  No muss, no fuss, no problem.  How wonderful is that!?!?!

Our only complaint is that they no longer offer pulled pork. My husband really liked that, and it almost derailed us on our weight loss efforts. They DO offer barbecued chicken, so he has substituted that, and I make him pulled pork and we freeze it into individual portions for him.

Our son is coming to visit Monday, planning to stay about 3 weeks. We’re really into the plan now, particularly since we can have ‘flex’ meals, so it shouldn’t be a problem for everyone to eat what they would like.  We’ll go grocery shopping as soon as he likes and get what we don’t have.

I’m feeling good about the progress my husband and I have made. He’s down about 30 lbs., too, and has lost almost 6 inches from his waist. He was wearing 38/30 jeans when we started and is now ALMOST comfortable in 32/30’s now. :0)  He is trying to do sit ups, something he hasn’t done since he was in the Marine Corps from 1961-65, so I’m proud of his efforts. Even more important is his effort to cut out as much sugar as possible, since he’s a Type II diabetic. His blood sugar reading this morning was 96. (100 or below is NORMAL).  I’m doing more exercise than I have done in many, many years – doing yoga and abdominal exercises one day, and the elliptical trainer the next. (Today is the elliptical). I’m feeling stronger and a bit more flexible.

So, we’ll keep on keepin’ on, and we’re pleased that we are on a program where the company will work with us.  My goal is to be ordering at least one – if not TWO – 10 lbs weight loss NS bears with our next order! :0)

Merry Christmas tooooooo Meeeeeeee….

My husband’s cousin’s wife, Murray, lives in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Every time we can make the time, we have gone to spend as much time as possible there. Several years ago Murray took me to a wonderful shop called Old Estate Art Gallery.

I fell in love with something and bought it on the spot. Each time I’ve visited Murray has taken me there to see what they are offering, and they have never disappointed me. A couple of years ago, I asked them if they had an online store and if they could ship things. At that point in time, they weren’t in a position to do that. That has now changed!

The link above takes you to their page on Facebook. You can look at wonderful things they are currently offering. I found my Christmas present to myself there just a few minutes ago –

I fell in love with the gray “Cool Rat” at the bottom right part of this picture.

I messaged them via their Facebook page, asking if they could ship now. They answered my message very promptly saying that it depended on what item I wanted. I asked them if the gray “Cool Rat” was still available. They replied yes, told me the price, and confirmed they could ship him to me USPS.

I called them and confirmed that the rat HAD to be mine. Karen, the nice lady who answered the phone, went to grab him for me before someone else scooped him up and will call me back with the final price when she knows the shipping amount.

It was a pleasure doing business with her, and my Christmas present will be on the way to me soon!

This is a wonderful store with so many items you won’t see elsewhere. When you have some time, visit their Facebook page.

WARNING:  You may be like me and become addicted!

Home Security System

As I type, we’re making the final arrangements for an ADT Security System for our home. We called when we got an ad offering a promo and arranged for the installation man to come today.

So far, I’m impressed with the installation guy. We went over all the doors and windows before he started, and we had several questions. When we were in agreement about these, we discovered that because we didn’t have prewired doors and windows, we had to go for Option 2.  This means that instead of being able to use the standard system out of the box, we get credit toward the purchase of the equipment we need. After a lot of talk (questions/explanations) a major consideration is whether our Internet system will qualify for the lower monthly charge, or we have to ‘upgrade’ to the use of a sim card in the control box at a higher monthly charge.

This is not a typical bait and switch thing, or if it is, it’s extremely well done. The communication between the ADT people and our system is cut and dried. If it works, we get the lower price each month. If it doesn’t we choose whether to pay the higher monthly fee or blow off the whole thing.

We ARE considering some add-on equipment, since we have more doors and windows than they were covering, have two stories, and I like the idea of the personal emergency thingie I can wear around my neck in case I fall on my head unexpectedly. Even though I’m not alone, our house absorbs sound really well. I have been in the position of trying to yell for my husband’s help and he doesn’t hear me.

So – as soon as the test results are in, we’ll make the decision as to whether we put the system in or not.

______________________________

 

Okay. It’s quite a while later. The ADT system couldn’t communicate with our CenturyLink modem, so the lower monthly price is off the table. My husband said no to the higher monthly price with a contract for 3 years. The installation guy is trying a last-ditch effort to get the price of the equipment down enough to mostly offset the higher monthly price. If he can do that, maybe my husband will go for it. Fingers crossed.

_________________________________

It is again later in this saga of home security system. We have made a deal and he is installing the parts now. I’ll update this a bit later, as I need to be available for him.

______________________________________

There is a keypad that’s the main part of the system. We’ll have an extra keypad for the second floor, a motion sensor, a detection sensor on every door and every window, 2 keychain remotes, and a personal emergency pendant I’ll wear. On the keypads there are panic buttons for police, fire, and emergency.

Important considerations for us are that our system can be active and we can open our bedroom window to use the attic fan when the weather allows. We can also let our doggies in and out without triggering anything.

I can’t say enough about the installation guy. His name is Roderick McCray. He is knowledgeable, pleasant, put up with Amber, and worked with us to make our home security happen. He started his day by driving to us from Little Rock – a 2-1/2 hour drive. He’s been here since before 11:00 this morning, jumping through countless hoops to make this day good for both of us. He faces the drive home once the system is finally in. He has taken no breaks.

I will feel safer knowing there is someone on the other end of this system that may be able to help us in case of emergency.

 

Shoes and Meals

I found what I think is a really good store. It’s called TheVeteransSite.com and I found them through an ad on Facebook. I ordered a couple of pairs of sandals I liked and received them this afternoon.

The deal is that part of your purchase goes to feed Veterans. You get neat shoes. Veterans who need them get some good meals. Win/win.

They’re having a sale right now where you buy one pair and the second pair is free. I’ve had on the shoes below all afternoon. Usually, I kick off my shoes first thing when I’m in my chair in the living room. I kick them off and put them back on several times a day. I don’t have the need to kick these off. They’re really comfortable. And I think they’re HAPPY looking shoes! They do have adjustments so you can tighten them a bit or adjust the strap that goes across the back, but I didn’t need to. My big thing is needing plenty of room for my toes, and these are wonderful.  It may be that I’ll be happy to take them off by the end of the day, but signs are good so far.

 

My husband even noticed that I didn’t kick them off, and said he thought they were ‘good-looking shoes.’ We talked about the cost and the fact that part of the purchase goes to meals for Veterans (3 meals for this purchase) and he said, “Why don’t you get back on the site and order a couple more pairs?” Not being a stupid lady, I dived in and have two MORE pairs on order!

Check out this website when you have the time.

It’s Official

household-tips.thefuntimesguide.com

We now have clean, repaired gutters with screen covers, plus no more huge dead tree limbs hanging down over the driveway, ready to fall on us as we pass!

Yesterday Ryan Edwards and his partner from Edwards Gutter Cleaning, 479-462-2663, spent 4 hours in 97 degree (heat index 108) heat, getting us fixed up. I provided bottles of cold water and a bathroom, and they handled everything else. Surprisingly, we actually HAD screens in part of the guttering! He repaired one end of the guttering in the back, where it was drooping at the wrong angle, replaced some of the screens that weren’t tight, cleaning everything out and making sure all was working well. They took a ‘break’ at one point, cutting down the dead branches from the mimosa tree at the bottom of the driveway, then came back up to continue work on the gutters. They found almost nothing in the guttering that is the closest to the few large trees we have around the house. Mostly they found tiny gravel from the shingles.

We had agreed on a price for the guttering and branch removal, but he cut the price due to the fact we already had screens in part of the gutters!

When he finished, I told him and his partner how much I appreciated them. I stressed that I was pleased that he did what he said he would do. He called to keep me informed of when he would be here. When he was delayed, he called to tell me that. He treated us like real people who might have a life and plans that didn’t include waiting around for service. He did a beautiful job, leaving everything clean. I told him that I had already written about him on my blog and that I would do so again. He was really happy about that. :0)

Ryan Edwards is an honest, hard-working man you can depend on. He doesn’t try to gouge you on prices. He doesn’t pressure you. He listens carefully when you’re explaining what you would like estimates for, and gives them straightforwardly. He doesn’t try to sell you anything you don’t want. He takes pride in a job well done. I recommend him highly and will call him whenever I have outside handyman type work. I hit the jackpot on great companies!

 

I Love This Company!

gift from Chewy.com

My friend Stephanie Youmans Wilson shared this post by Laura Waltenburg on Facebook recently. Since this is yet another reason to love Chewy.com, I wanted to share it with you.

 

“My sister and brother-in-law tragically lost both of their dogs this past weekend. After this happened they received two 40 pound bags of dog food that they had ordered from Chewy.com. My brother-in-law sent them an email requesting permission to send the dog food back for refund minus the shipping cost. They responded with unbelievable kindness. They credited their credit card for the full purchase price and asked them to donate the dog food to a local shelter. They sent a second email requesting a picture of one of the dogs to put in their memorial book to honor her. And then today my sister and brother-in-law received these beautiful flowers from Chewy.com. I wish I could tell everybody this story. This is the kind of story that needs to go viral. This is an incredible company.”

Shameless Plug for Chewy.com

Chewy.com

This is a shameless plug for the website Chewy.com.

I’ve bought about 6 things there since we got our new puppy.

• First, it’s easy to order from their website.
• Second, their delivery time is amazingly fast. You feel almost as if you just ordered it and it arrives.
• Third, their quality is great.
• Fourth, their customer service is outstanding. I just discovered this today.

I had ordered a collar for Amber. I meant to order a regular 1″ wide nylon collar with a snap closure. What I actually ordered was a martingale collar, which was a choke collar competitor, which wouldn’t work with our setup.

I called customer service. I got right through, didn’t have to go through a phone tree, didn’t have to press ‘1’ to continue in English. I told the man I wanted to return an item.

The man asked me, “What’s wrong with it? I told him flatly that, due to my own stupidity and sloppy reading, I had ordered the wrong thing and needed to return it. He laughed, telling me he did that all the time. He told me he would give me credit in the full amount of the item, tax, and shipping, credited to my credit card, which would take 3 to 5 business days. When I asked about returning the collar I had received, he just said, “Please give it to a charity or someone who might enjoy it.”

I sat for a moment, dumfounded. I told him that I had ordered 5 or 6 things from Chewy.com and had just found ANOTHER reason to tell people what an outstanding company it is.

If you have pets or know people who have pets, please spread the word to give Chewy.com a try. I rarely give shameless plugs for companies, but this one is outstanding.