Mouse

2/28/2017

Yesterday, while rummaging around in the pantry, I noticed that one of our traps had caught a mouse.  Then I really started moving things around and found all kinds of "evidence" on the pantry floor.  Our pantry is full and would be a mouse's idea of heaven.  I, on the other hand, think mice(s) should stay outside, or at the very least stay in the garage.  Once you come into the house, there is only one thing on my mind - get rid of you/them right now.

So, I pulled out everything that was on the pantry floor and now have it stacked on the table.  Of course, all this food is within the dogs' reach, so I have had to put up a dog gate to protect the food.  Jeff set new traps yesterday and I'm hoping that we'll soon see one or two less mice.  I still think mice should come with a sign saying something like "I'm one of "x") or "I'm the last mouse".  I think that would only be fair.

I've also given thought to getting a cat.  Cats are usually good mouse hunters.  I could try and let the dogs have a go in the pantry, but I think they'd be concentrating on food smells, and less on mouse smells!

Today, I'm off the ceramic store to pick up the projects that Stacey, Benjamin and I painted last week.  Then I'm going to the mail box store to drop off a few packages that need to be returned.  After that, your guess is as good as mine about what I'll do the rest of the day.

With my new Kindle, I am able to get electronic books from the library.  So far, I've received two books from the library.  It's just super cool the way I order a book, I get an email, I follow the link and voila I have a new book to read.  I couldn't download books on my old Kindle DX as it is not supported.  Also, my new Kindle is small enough to fit into my purse and a charge lasts weeks not days.

Have a great day.

P

It's Monday Again

2/27/2017

When I look at the calendar, I am amazed that on Wednesday, it will already be March.  How can this happen?  Two months have just zipped by, and I must not have been paying attention to the passing days.

I stayed up last night to watch the Oscars, but went to bed before the best actor/actress and picture awards were announced.  I thought Jimmy Kimmel was doing a good job of hosting, and I really enjoyed the candy drops, as I'm sure some of the folks in the audience did too.  As tight as some of the dresses were, I'm pretty sure that none of the ladies downed a hamburger before getting dressed.  Just saying.

There were some really elegant dresses on the red carpet, and then there were some that just seemed to scream "look at me".  I don't know how much tape was needed to keep some of the dresses from becoming an unexpected and I'm assuming unwanted, flash of skin.  There was someone in the front row, who I didn't recognize, who was wearing a very low cut dress and unfortunately, in my opinion, had her "girls", which were huge, almost hanging out.  I think that sometimes the more you cover, the sexier you become.  Meryl Streep looked gorgeous in her outfit and she wasn't flaunting vast amounts of skin.  Elegant lady.

I did notice some of the women who had blonde hair who were wearing yellow.  For me, that seems like an unwise color choice.  What happened to a splash of a bright color, to accent their coloring.  I, for one, can't pull off the color yellow.  I am a "winter" when it comes to clothes - bright reds, blues, greens, etc.  

Yesterday, I saw moments of absolute periods of the girls being very good dogs.  Could it be that they are beginning to mature?  I would say yes, except when I look out the window, I see all the evidence of Jeff's favorite pillow strewn across the lawn.  There are a number of things that we know we can't just laying on the ground - shoes, socks, etc.  But a pillow?  Mind you, I think that they probably really enjoyed watching the "snow" fall on the yard.  Jeff, on the other hand, was less impressed as that is the second pillow his that they have destroyed.  The pillow on my recliner, never gets taken.

Our few days of cooler weather is going to change in the next day or two.  I'm not quite ready for winter to really be over.  Spring weather is lovely but that leads into the summer, and I absolutely hate being hot.  

Have a good day.  Notice I didn't suggest that you were enjoying your Monday, just would like it to be a good one.

P

I'm back

2/25/2017

Some, of hopefully all of you, may have noticed my absence.  Due to technical difficulties caused by me I wasn't able to log onto my blog.  I don't even know why I try to handle more technical than plugging in a cord.  Ultimately, my best efforts result in some form of tragedy.  And yes, I did manage to get into difficulty and thankfully Jeff was able to detangle me AGAIN!

I went to the doctor yesterday, and had to wait an hour, which I believe is really unfair.  They took xrays and nothing was broken in my knee.  The doctor actually spent oh saying 2 minutes might even be a stretch.  Told me I had arthritis in my knee and that I had severely bruised my knee - ya think?  Rest and time will heal me.  I have no idea how many hundreds of dollars they charged Medicare for my 2 minute visit, but I'm sure that they bill Medicare for as much as they can get away with.

After the doctor, Stacey, Benjamin and I went to Pizza Hut for pizza.  We decided against Mickey D's, because we always eat there.  Personal pizzas for everyone, and my favorite is of course pineapple with either ham or pepperoni.  We bought ourselves a box of fudge brownies to take home with us.

We made a stop at Whole Foods because I wanted to get a gluten free dessert for the man who services our cars.  When my car was in for it's "health and welfare" checkup, they washed my car and even polished the chrome.  Where else do you get that level of service?  I bought Bill some vanilla cupcakes and thanked him profusely for the extra effort he and his employees had put into my car.

Now for the last part of our adventure.  We went out to an art studio where they blow glass.  If you know me, then you know how much I love glass.  The three of us picked out what we wanted to make.  Benjamin and I wanted to just make flat discs, which in my case can be hung up, but Benjamin didn't want to be able to hang his piece.  Stacey opted for a heart.  I chose purples because deep down and mostly buried it's my favorite color!  Stacey bought each of us a tree of life necklace that changes colors depending on the light.  It was an absolute blast.  The only part we played in the actual glass making was to blow when the glass was hot.  After blowing the glass to the correct size, we took turns with our pieces using a watered board and gently pushing down each side.  The pieces will be sent to us, since it didn't seem to make sense for us to drive out there just to pick up our treasures.

Also, this week speaking of technical things, I had bought myself a new Kindle.  I love my old Kindle DX, which has a super big screen, but the technology is old and I'm not able to load electronic books from the library onto the DX.  So, decided it was time for me to move into the new century of electronics and bought a very thin Kindle that with the exception of powering it on, has no buttons.  You merely touch the screen with a stylus or your finger.  How cool is that?  Jeff, of course, had to help me this morning because I had once again gotten myself tied in a knot.  He got my Kindle registered to my account.  Now, all I have to do is move my "books" from my DX to the new Kindle.  
We had our first thunderstorm of the year today.  Bella and Daisy neither one seemed the least bit troubled by the noise.  Old Sam would absolutely go nuts when he heard thunder, so I'm very pleased that the girls actually don't seem to care.

Have a wonderful weekend.  I'll be watching the Oscars tomorrow, even though Jeff and I haven't seen any of the movies!

P

 

A Beautiful Thursday

2/23/2017

Sitting here with the windows open, it's hard to imagine it's still winter, at least that's what the calendar says.  The furnace has been turned off and for the moment long sleeves are put away.  Those folks that want snow, and I don't mind having a "bit" because it makes everything pretty, are disappointed in our weather this year so far.

Tomorrow, Stacey and Benjamin are driving me to the doctor.  Yes, I actually decided that my business of sucking it up, wasn't making my knee better.  Instead, if anything, it's left me cranky!  I'd drive myself, but Jeff and I are doing the rotating our cars in and out for service, and I won't have my car tomorrow.  I'm not expecting the doctor to find much of anything wrong, but since the pain, etc., isn't going away, I guess I'd better make sure.  And, an added bonus of having Stacey with me, she can hear and retain whatever the doctor says.  Me?  I'll be able to remember some of what I'm told, but probably not everything.  A sad but true fact of who I am now.

Since Benjamin is home schooled, it has occurred to me that we could go to Lowe's and buy some seeds or young plants for him to grow as part of his science class.  I don't have much of a green thumb, and at this point putting plants in the backyard would be a joke, because the girls have eaten pretty much everything in the yard!

The season finale of "The Curse of Oak Island" was last night.  The team did find a corner piece of metal that was tested and found to be quite old.  The metal reminds me of a corner of a military foot locker.  Jeff and I want the team to eventually find something of significant value.  Every time, the drill thing goes into the hole named the Money Pit, generally all that comes back up is mud and some wood.  Jeff and I will just have to wait for the new season, whenever that is, to see how the story continues to unfold.  Sometimes, these reality shows seem to be more addicting than soap operas!

I did make spaghetti last night, and it turned out pretty well.  Tonight's dinner?  Pork chops I think.

I'm going to hop off the computer so that I can get dressed and sit in the sunshine for a bit.

P

Wednesday

2/22/2017

How do I know it's Wednesday?  Because Wednesday is recycling day.  Although with the holiday on Monday, the pick-up may not happen until tomorrow.  Either way, it's at the curb.

Yesterday, PRIOR to dusting (ha ha), Stacey called and she and Benjamin were in Bethesda and close to the house.  She picked me up and we headed for the Art Studio to do some ceramic painting.  Benjamin painted a teddy bear I think pink.  He changed his mind numerous times!  Stacey painted a heart shaped plate in blue and then added "dots" of different colors to make the letter "B".  I, opted to paint a coffee mug that says "Love You to the Moon and Back", which has been what Benjamin and I say to each other when we say good-bye.

Now, I'm not the artist that Stacey is.  She has such a talent for all things creative.  I, on the other hand, can't even consider creative as a major asset of mine!  I painted the inside of the mug one color of purple and the outside a different color of purple.  The words are "painted" more or less in pink and the moon, stars and handle were painted yellow.  I then asked Stacey to paint a "lipstick" mark on one side of the mug!  All of my coffee cups have lipstick marks on the rim.  When we have company, I have a few mugs set aside that I don't mar with lipstick.  

We spent a bit of time at the store, chatting and painting and in my case, re-painting when I made an "oops" and painted the wrong color in the wrong spot.  You sincerely don't ever want me to help you paint a wall in your house!  I'm truly that bad of a painter.   We left for McDonald's to round out our special outing with a burger for me and a happy meal for Benjamin.  Stacey opted to get her dinner at Taco Bell, so all three of us were happy.  

This morning, I decided that I could no longer ignore the pain in my right knee that I injured when I fell a week or two ago.  The knee is still painful, swollen and numb.  I'm sure that I haven't broken anything, because I can bend the knee, but I found that driving and having to put my right foot on the pedals, is a bit (or actually more than a bit) painful.  Or, I'm simply looking for another reason to not drive.

Today, I have no excuse for not dusting or any other household chore that I've been putting off.  I don't know what I think is going to happen to the dust.  A dust fairy is going to come into the house during the night and wipe the place clean - I wish.

Time to get moving.  I've got stuff to do!

P

Logical Monday

2/21/2017

Since Jeff had yesterday off, today feels like a Monday, rather than Tuesday.  When you stay home all the time, it's really hard to remember what day of the week it is!  I know, I know, everybody should have this problem.

My new Kindle arrived and it's small and sleek with a touch screen, which means there's no buttons to break.  However, as I do most, okay all, of the time, I manage to get my head screwed on backwards (no easy feat I assure you), and then the simplest of technical tasks, like registering my new Kindle becomes overwhelming.  I really want to be able to do some things on my own, but if it involves more than screwing in a light bulb, I'm literally out to sea.  

I talked with Amazon support, very nice people by the way.  Didn't understand about wireless and thought we didn't use wireless in the house, so decided to send back my small and sleek new Kindle.  But, then Jeff talked me off the ledge and said that we would look at my new Kindle when he gets home.  He takes very good care of me and I, in turn, "try" (emphasis on the word try) to do things on my own.  The result is generally a disaster. 

We did the Costco/WalMart run yesterday afternoon.  By the time we get home, it was getting late so I had to make Jeff dinner in a bag, sweet and sour chicken by the way.  I doctor it up a bit, by adding more chicken, pineapple and shrimp.  For something that comes from a bag, it's pretty tasty and quick to make.

Now that I've given up on setting up my new Kindle, I'm going to turn my attention to cleaning up the kitchen and starting dinner, spaghetti I think.  At the cost of red meat, i.e., steak, it's no wonder that after a few months, Jeff and I crave steak.  We're such carnivores!

It's an overcast day, but not cold.  I'm beginning to think that winter is just going to pass us by this year.  Costco and WalMart were bursting at the seams with seeds, bulbs, fertilizer, etc. yesterday.  I think it's a bit premature to start spring planting, and when it is time, we have a fair amount of work to do.  Thanks to the girls, we basically have no grass left in the backyard, which we will have to fix this spring.  And that means partitioning in some way part of the yard to keep the girls out.  That exercise should be so much fun!

Sorry this is late.  Have a great day.

P

Feels Like Sunday!

2/20/2017

Since Jeff has today off  - thank you to all Presidents, it feels more like Sunday than Monday.  When Jeff went out to Andy's yesterday, he took the girls with him.  Since Andy's house sits on acreage, Daisy in particular, was able to run and run.  It was a very quiet ride home (smiley face here)!

While he was gone, I made macaroni salad, one of Jeff's favorite things to eat and coconut cream pudding, with added coconut.  Both of these dishes were well received.  For the past "x" years, Jeff and on of our friends, always feel that I should put either more: mayo or pickle relish and sometimes both!  I tend to ignore criticism about my salad.  If YOU want to add more stuff, be my guest.

I have a Kindle DX and some of you may not have even heard about this model.  The screen is bigger, which is good for old and tired eyes.  The DX was retired in 2014 and I bought my used DX in 2015.  This week one of the key buttons on the DX has started breaking off.  A used DX now costs more than a new Kindle!  That's madness.  So, I decided it was time to get with new technology and bought myself a Kindle Paperwhite.  You move through your book on this Kindle by using your finger or a stylus.  No buttons to break!  And, of course, you have to have buy a cover too.  My doctor keeps telling me how she downloads books from the library to her Kindle.  I've spoken to the librarian, and she didn't even know what a Kindle DX was, and no I can't load free books on the DX. So happy belated Happy Valentine's Day to me.  I can still read some books with smaller print by using my reading glasses, but frankly it's a strain. 

Our weather is so beautiful, that I've opened up a few windows.  We are supposed to have glorious weather for the rest of this week.  Perhaps winter is going to pass us by.  Everybody likes to see a little snow; but, Jeff has reminded me that we don't have boys around to shovel anymore.  Perhaps it's better that it doesn't snow this year.

I managed, and only I could manage to do this, but managed to get myself locked out of Amazon Prime.  I have always been under Andy's prime account, but something went wrong (likely, I pressed some button erroneously) and Amazon said that I was only allowed free two day shipping.  Nope, not going to happen.  So, I bought myself a prime account so that I could not only enjoy the shipping discount, but also be able to watch Amazon's movies and television shows.  I am now set: I have my new Kindle arriving and my prime account is now active.  All is good with the world.

I hope you have today off.  That extra day tacked onto a weekend, is really good for Jeff. I'm not suggesting that he actually gets to sleep in, because the girls' internal alarms start going off at 7:00, but he will have time for a nap today.

Enjoy your day.

P

Spring Is Here?!

2/18/2017

Today and tomorrow are both supposed to have temperatures in the 60's.  This morning I turned the furnace off and I'll open up windows to let the fresh air in.  Could we be having a winter that produces no snow?  Seems likely, which disappoints a lot of people.

Jeff is going out to Scott's house this morning, pick up the truck, drive to Andy's house, pick up the spreader and then go back to Scott's house.  I certainly hope that the boys appreciate all that he does for them.  I will stay home and babysit the girls, and hopefully they won't spend the whole day barking.  Actually, it's Daisy that won't stop barking when she starts!  (Sigh).  

Last night, because it was Friday, Jeff brought home tacos for dinner.  I look forward to my tacos all week.  Why? Not because they are super duper tasty, but it means I don't have to think about, cook or clean up after dinner.  Toss the empty containers in the trash and I'm out of the kitchen in mere minutes.

It's a three day weekend for Jeff, which means he can "sleep" in until 7-7:30 am, before the girls begin to get restless and start looking for things, anything, that they can chew up and likely as not, destroy.  Nobody likes waking up to the sound of tearing.  Yesterday, for fun, they managed to get into the living room, grabbed a pillow from the coach and tore it into thousands of pieces.  When I saw the mess, it looked very much like a bomb had gone off.  (Color me not happy).

I don't know which of the girls starts chewing on something and then the other one has to join in.  My bet is it's Daisy, but I can't be sure.  Possibly, I could check for DNA!!!

After I get dressed, I'm going to take my Kindle and go sit in the backyard and get some real, as opposed to fake, sun on my face.

Enjoy your day.

P

Thank Goodness It's Friday

2/17/2017

Yup it's Friday and for some workers out there, also means a three day weekend.  That alone is cause for celebration.

Last night before going to bed, I looked, and I don't know why, into the living room.  I was really surprised when I saw a large portion of the den sofa on the floor.  Sometime when I wasn't looking, the girls had torn off more leather and a whole lot of foam stuffing.  So much for reselling the sofa!

I do try my best to keep my eyes on the dogs, but that's a daunting task.  While I'm doing "x", they're tearing up "y".  I'm hoping that the chewing part of puppy hood will soon be over.  Their favorite things to tear into are pillows and the sofa.  Shoes they seem to leave alone and socks they only seem to carry around.  It is no joke that the backyard looks like a bomb went off!  I wish that our fence was a lot taller so that the neighbors didn't/wouldn't have to look upon the mess that the girls have created.

All of us were in the living room being quiet - and then the neighbor's dog started barking.  This causes Bella and Daisy to go crazy.  Bella will stop barking after a bit and come back into the house.  Daisy not so much.  Even if I'm offering her a treat, she'll stand on the basement stairs and pretty much snub me.  This does nothing for my "good" nature.  The truth is that the longer I play cat and mouse with Daisy, the less I'm feeling good natured, and the more likely I am to become a bit (okay more than a bit) angry and I end up sounding like a fish wife!

I've got some packages to return to Amazon today.  They make returns super easy and most of the time it's free shipping.  You absolutely can't beat that.  

Today is dreary but this weekend we are supposed to have spectacular and warm weather, in the 60's.  I don't want to say it out loud, but could winter really be over for us?  I guess time will tell.  I know that most people would like and even enjoy a bit of snow.  Notice I said bit.  There's no need to have "foots" of snow, because after it falls, and you're through shoveling, that much snow just becomes a real drag.  Of course, I can't really complain because I don't do any shoveling, but Jeff does and it's hard work.

I'm off to pick up the foam sofa pieces and after that I'm not sure what else I'll do.  I'll think of something.

P

Carpets

2/16/2017

Yesterday, I had Stanley Steemer back at the house.  It always amazes me how they can take a really shitty (and I mean that literally) carpet and turn it into something that looks brand new.  I think, okay maybe hope would be the right word, that the girls are beginning to "get it" about going outside.  To ensure that they actually do go outside, means following them down the stairs, go outside and yell like a fish wife "go potty", followed by hopefully "good girl".  Yes, I could put them downstairs and hope for the best, but my hoping for the best isn't turning out so well.

This morning, the basement door is closed and I'll take them outside every hour or hour and a half.  This accomplishes two things: one that they can't respond to stupid dog next door who can't go potty on his own without sounding an alarm; and, two allows me to make sure they actually do go outside.  How happy I'll be when I know that they are really and truly potty trained!

After the gloomy day yesterday, today it's brilliant sunshine.  It's cold outside, but the sky is bright blue, and a day like this, can really push your spirit up.  Or, at least mine anyway.

This is pretty short today.  There is nothing much happening on the "Bassett Estate"

Stay cool or stay warm, depending on where you are!

P

Gloomy Gus Kind Of Day

2/15/2017

By now, if you received chocolates yesterday, you might have already eaten a few, (okay maybe more than a few) depending on how much you love chocolate.  On a scale of 1 to "x" of how much I like chocolate, that "x" number is off the charts!  I'm not fussy.  White, dark, milk and/or a combination of any of those - yummy.

Since Daisy, on her walks, which is infrequent because of her behavior, I have bought her a guaranteed no-slip collar.  Actually, the guarantee is for a replacement if the collar becomes a chew toy!  The reviews are positive from buyers who all swear that their dogs, regardless of size, do not slip out of their collar.  When Jeff has taken Daisy out for a walk, she has managed to get out of her collar, whether it's a choke or regular one.  It's easy to see why Daisy doesn't get to go outside for a walk very often.

Bella walks very well on a leash.  No pulling or "squirrel" distractions!  One of Jeff's next thing to teach Bella, is how to get in and out of the car.  Last summer, when I took her to be spayed, it was literally all I could do to haul her heavy behind into the car.  Luckily, on the other end, the technicians helped me.

I believe, or maybe I just want to believe, that the girls are growing up.  The downstairs hall way is only occasional tinkled on.  The progress into getting the girls to grow into great dogs, is a long and slow process.  After losing several neck pillows that Jeff uses in his recliner, he now knows that he MUST take the pillow away after he goes to bed.  Several pillows have recently died a horrible death, and the backyard is filled with snowy stuffing.  And since it doesn't look like we're going to have any snow in the immediate future, the pillow stuffing will just have to do!

The new dog bed we bought was the subject of chewing yesterday.  The old bed was also chewed at one time; but, after I sewed up the hole, they have left it alone (teeth wise) ever since.  I guess one of today's chore will be to put all of the stuffing back in the bed and then sewing the hole shut.  I'm not the best at sewing, but I definitely deserve an "A" for effort!

Unfortunately, Daisy continues to exhibit true terrier behavior: digging and barking, not necessarily in that order.  Our neighbor's dog, can't go outside in his yard quietly.  Nope, he barks which starts an absolute frenzy with Bella and Daisy.  I really don't appreciate the barking, when both dogs are either sleeping (preferred) or chewing on a bone.

No news, big or little, happening here, and I like it that way.  Problems of any kind, tend to put me in a tailspin and Jeff normally has to get involved, as far as talking me of the ledge goes.

P


 

Face Creams Continued .....

2/14/2017

Before anything else, let me wish all of you Happy Valentine's Day.  Hopefully, your day might involve flowers and/or chocolate.  I'd be fine with getting chocolate, my flavor choice! (smiley face here).

Yesterday, I took out a magnifying glass to one of the jars of cream and found a phone number for the Pure Radiance Company.  The somewhat snippy lady on the phone says that since Jeff didn't decline auto ship and/or return the product within 14 days, we're stuck paying the bill.  She offered me several options: return the creams, unopened of course, back to them at my expense.  If I did that I'd get my entire charge of $166.32 back.

The other option was to keep the creams and they would give me back 50% of the $166.32, which comes to somewhere in the neighborhood of $83.15.  I believe I told her, in perhaps not the most lady-like language, that hell no was I going to accept a refund of 50%.  I took the creams and boxed them up and went off to the mailbox store.  Because I believe I'm dealing with a slimy company, I sent the box via UPS so that I could have a tracking number.  My gut feeling is that if I sent the box back via USPS, they might deny ever receiving it.  Note to self: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Today I have an appointment with my psychiatrist.  Since it's Valentine's Day, I am bringing her a small package of Lindor Truffles, who knows perhaps she'll share!

Today's gift from the girls was a piece of hard plastic.  Hard to identify it after they've finished chewing it up. But, it was something they found in the basement.  It's a slow method of "recycling", but pretty much everything they find in the basement, has to be thrown out, sigh.

I have found a wonderful way to send "e cards" to my friends.  There is a company called Jacquie Lawson, who has the most wonderful and beautiful cards, advent cards, etc. for sale.  If you buy a one year membership for $14.00, you can send out as many cards to friends and family as you wish.  I think the cost is a bargain, when you factor in the cost of most cards today, which can cost anywhere from say $2.99 to upwards of $4.99, plus postage.   Yesterday, I sent out 10 "e cards" to friends and family.  Based on the response thank you notes I'm getting, it seems as if the cards have been well received.  

Whatever you do today, I hope it includes, at the very least, chocolate.

P

Panic Buying

2/13/2017

Yesterday, Jeff and I went to WalMart, the best place for one stop shopping and low prices!  While going through the store, I noticed a lot of people who seemed to be in a panic.  Flowers, candy and cards were flying off the shelves.  Just about anything pink, red and/or white from wrapping paper to ribbons was in most shopping carts.

I bought my own chocolate - Cadbury's fruit and nut bar, which is a personal favorite of mine.  I also bought Linder Truffles for my psychiatrist, who I'm seeing tomorrow.  Maybe she'll share one with me!

Tomorrow night is one of the worst days to eat out in a restaurant, unless you have a reservation.  Jeff and I had our "Valentine" dinner last week.  The restaurant wasn't overly crowded and we only had a very short wait for a table.

We were supposed to have a lot of high winds last night, but today seems perfectly calm.  The sky is blue, and while it's cold outside, it's not as cold as it could be for this time of year.  And, we've had no snow to speak of.  A few snow showers that don't amount to much, but definitely no inches or foots!

This blog is short, just no news from the Bassett estate!

Men, if you haven't already done so, better get to the store today.

P

It's Free I Swear!

2/12/2017

At Christmas, Jeff bought me a very thoughtful and unexpected gift.  I have a "wisdom" (okay, age) spot beneath one eye and I don't like it.  I think it makes me look old and tired.  Jeff found an advertisement for some anti-aging cream that was/is supposed to help with those spots.  And yes the cream was free, you just had to pay for shipping of $4.95.

I was really delighted with my gift although it hasn't made any difference, at least that I can see.  In yesterday's mail, a box came with the two creams that Jeff had bought in December.  The problem was there was no company name on the box, just a P.O. Box for an address.  It took me several hours to find that the creams came from a Dr. Sears from a company called Pure Radiance.

It was a search to find the right phone numbers for this company.  But, with the arrival of the new box on Saturday, I was sure that Jeff had been put on some kind of "auto ship" for the creams.  I called the phone number and the operator told me that customer service would call me next week.  I'm pretty sure that the box I received on Saturday, cost more than the original $4.95.  I told the lady that I wanted to cancel all future shipments.  We'll see what happens next week.

According to one website that I found the "small" print on free items such as these is: 



Some skin cream manufacturers will have a small section below the ordering form that says something like this: “By accepting the terms and conditions, you’re agreeing to pay Beauty Product Scam Company $4.95 for shipping and handling today. 14 days after your order is complete, your credit card will be charged the low price of $84.95 for the full-sized product you just received. You will also be signed up for the Beauty Product Scam Company’s exclusive VIP pricing program. You will continue to receive orders of Beauty Product Scam every month at our discount rate $84.95 + $4.95 shipping and handling. If you wish to cancel, you can do so by calling xxx-xx-xxxx and cancel at any time.”

So, buyer beware of said "free" times and read the small print!

P

Wilma

2/11/2017

As many of you know, I have been writing about Wilma, a retired librarian for a number of years.  I will have a spurt of I know what to write, and start writing as fast as I can.  The reason to write when I'm in a creative moment, is because a lot of the time my "creative genius" goes dark!  In other words, I got "na da" to put on a page, zip, zilch, nothing. 

Long ago, when Wilma was first born in my head, I promised Jeff that I would buy him a bigger, faster plane if I ever sold Wilma's story for more than $1.50.  Obviously, if I never write anything, then there's nothing to sell.  It's sort of like hoping you win the lottery, but you haven't bought a ticket.

Yesterday, instead of doing some mundane chore around the house, I took Wilma out for a spin - pulled her out of my computer's memory where she was safely stored.  Initially, Wilma was going to find a missing diary of Abraham Lincoln, and for that story line I had written previously hundreds of pages.

But, once I opened up my "book", I thought of something better than Lincoln.  The "book" is called "The 200 Year Separation" and it's about Wilma and a slave named Jonas.  Based on my notebook, in which I have written down pages and pages of facts involving slaves, I must have at one time or another, thought about making a slave part of Wilma's story.  

I charged ahead yesterday filled with new optimism and wrote feverishly for several hours.  After reading and rewriting, I was very pleased with my new first few chapters.  Wilma, is still an old lady who doesn't care what anybody thinks about her.  She is a widow who lives primarily on toast (heavily buttered), coffee (hot or cold doesn't matter) and ice cream!  My kind of girl.

Wilma's husband has left her a letter telling her about a safety deposit box at the bank, that she knows nothing about.  Inside that box is the diary of a slave named Jonas, who was brought to America by ship in the 1800's.

So that's the basic premise of my story.  The tricky part comes when Wilma and Jonas connect 200 years apart, hence the title.  I have to get Jonas out of the south and into Baltimore, which is where a lot of slaves headed because then they could take ships to Canada.  And, I have to get Wilma to discover some clue (for lack of a better word) about Jonas.  Anyway, that's what I accomplished yesterday.

It's not a pretty day outside, but it's dry which means that the paw prints in the house will only be dusty not muddy, and I'll take that any day of the week!

Happy Saturday.

P 

Why I Don't Leave the House

2/10/2017

I like my house.  I like the "old lady" look and feel of it.  Walls decorated with my mother's needle points and embroidered bell pulls and pictures.  I love the collection of my cups and saucers, even though I detest dusting them - leave them alone and the dust isn't so noticeable!  Some of the cups and saucers are from my teen years.  Where ever we traveled, I bought a cup and saucer.  And, no not those junky ones that have pictures of the city you're visiting.  Beautiful ones.  The kind you would feel proud to use for tea and maybe even coffee.

I like the comfortableness of my house.  It's the kind of house where you can put your shoes up on the coffee table, or even the sofa - no problem.  By most people's standards, not that I care a fig about that, it's a cluttered house.  Perhaps, but it's also a house filled with memories, 30 years of them to be exact.  Our children were young when we moved into the house and now they are grown men.

Since we adopted the puppies last summer, if and when I leave the house, I'm never sure if the house will be standing when I return!  Okay, a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.  They are doing an excellent job of bringing up "treasures" from the basement that they have ruined and have to be thrown away.  It's amazing what they can do with just a cord.  And, Daisy (terrier) loves two things, not necessarily in this order: (a) barking and (b) digging.  I'm hoping that she will outgrow both of these habits, but it might take some time unfortunately.  

And, if I do leave the house, I really have nowhere to go.  Oh, I could go to the library and read one of my books.  But, I can also read at the house, have another cup of coffee and remain in control of the dogs.  I know excuses, excuses.  I could go to a store, but unless you're going to buy something why go?  Does anybody actually got to a store to just browse and not buy?  Seems doubtful.

I feel protected in my house.  My house is safe and does not judge me.  I don't have to answer the door and I can hang up the phone from a call soliciting old clothes, money for this charity and that one. From a mental viewpoint, I should leave the house, possibly every day, even if my time away is minutes, rather than hours.  I love to shop, but I have Amazon.  Why should I fight parking lot drama at a mall, when I can get everything I desire, shipped to me?

I have tried volunteering, but the opportunities I tried, weren't successful for me.  I suppose I could keep trying to find the right "fit" for me, but there is a lot holding me back.  The skills of which I was once so proud, have been somewhat diminished since 2013.  Oh to be sure, I can still type like the wind, but have trouble remembering what I've been told to do.  Jeff has to remind me often that he asked me to do "x" and all I can do is stare back at him with the "deer in the headlights" look.  What is he talking about?  I have the best of intentions, but most of the time have trouble following the instructions and/or directions!

I have gates all over the first floor keeping the dogs contained in small spaces.  My goal and hopefully theirs (but I doubt it) is to start thinking about taking a gate or two down, to see how it goes.  I think they are, for the most part, past chewing on furniture (notice I said most), but are happy to gnaw on anything else that they can find.  This morning, when I woke up, the girls had gotten into Jeff's jeans and had emptied his pockets.  So, now there is change all over the floor.  I can never be sure what is going to interest them during the time they wake up and make enough noise, so that I have to get up!  It's definitely a crap shoot.

Happy Friday everyone.

P
 

 

Weather?

2/9/2017

The weatherman, and why don't they ever call them a weather lady? said last night that we MIGHT see a snow flake or two.  Since our winter so far has produced very little in the way of winter weather, I think folks are looking to having a little snow.  Not foots of snow, obviously, but a few inches might be fun - at least for a moment or two.

Right now, it's cold and very windy outside.  Going to the mailbox, I noticed a few, very tiny little flakes in the air.  But if that's the best that Mother Nature can do, we're all going to be disappointed in today's non-weather event.  It's very gray outside and certainly cold enough for snow, we'll just have to wait and see.

There's another bonus to having snow.  The paw prints that mark my floors would merely be wet and not dirty and/or muddy.  Plus, with the exception of old Sam, we've never had a dog that didn't enjoy romping around in snow.  And because neither dog is all white, they'd be easy to spot in deeper snow!

Had to turn the furnace back on, and last night we closed the windows that I'd opened yesterday when it was really mild outside for this time of year.  Coats on? Coats off?  Who can tell.

Jeff took my car to work this morning, in case we happen to have a snow event.  My car is heavier and I think has all wheel drive, which would come in handy during driving.  Since I've been outside to the mailbox, I'll stay in the rest of today.

By the way, I am watching on Amazon an original series called "Z" which stands for Zelda, F. Scott's Fitzgerald's wife.  Very entertaining.  He and Zelda had one child.  In the 1930's, Zelda was treated at Johns Hopkins for schizophrenia and in 1935, he had Zelda placed in a hospital in North Carolina.  Upon his death, the only people who attended his funeral was his daughter and his editor.  He and Zelda are buried in Rockville, Maryland.

P

Sometimes Life Just Well ......

2/8/2017

Sucks!  Just when I think the girls are making progress into becoming adult dogs, there is a setback.  Yesterday's setback was yet another pillow, and I'm running out of them, that they took outdoors and destroyed.   So our backyard, in addition to looking like a war zone, now looks as if it has snowed!  I wish there was some kind of magic switch that would go off and voila they'd become settled and well-behaved - sigh.

A few months ago, I bought an upright vacuum, GUARANTEED never to lose suction.  I even bought a guarantee if the inevitable happened, and the vacuum didn't "suck".  Yesterday, was one of those days when I put the vacuum through it's paces.  I managed to fill TWO big trash bags with shredded paper and occasionally, okay often, missed the bag and shredded paper went everywhere!  I thought no problem.  

While vacuuming, I noticed rather quickly I might add, that the vacuum wasn't actually sucking up anything. Grrr.  So much for never losing suction!  I went back to the instruction book and read about something called a dust cup that is close to the bottom of the vacuum.  I found this cup and let me tell you it was FULL of dog hair, etc.  Using a letter opener, I cleaned out everything, and once I turned the vacuum back on - I had full suction!  Yippee for me.  The fact that I was able to diagnosis and FIX the problem is huge.  Normally, when ever there is anything that needs to be put together, etc., I'm like a fish out of water.  

Last night, Jeff set up my new "help" alert system.  I am supposed to wear the cord with the "button" around my neck always, even when I'm away from home and it won't work.  It makes good sense that if I leave the pendant hanging on a door knob in the house and then I fell - well then I would look pretty stupid.  

While I was sleeping this morning, the girls woke me up with the sound of tearing.  Nothing brings me more to attention than that sound.  Today, they took the bathroom trash can and spread it's contents everywhere.  Of course, they couldn't leave the contents in one piece - nope they shredded everything.  Some days I really regret having puppies.

It's so nice outside that I have the windows opened.  Hard to believe it's supposed to be winter.

P