Today on TCM:
1) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
2) The Maltese Falcon
3) Casa Blanca
If “The Caine Mutiny” were to be shown, I could have frittered away almost the whole day.
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TCM had a very nice tribute to those in the movies industry, from big name stars to those behind the cameras, who died this year. Very nicely done.
Overheard while I was shopping at the well-known toy store.
Customer to Snotty R Us employee: “I’m looking for a small remote control car. . .” (She gave a complete description of the toy.) “Do you know the name of it?”
Snotty R Us employee: “I can’t remember all the names of the toys in this store.”
As I grow older, I become a little quirkier. I suppose I have always been a little different from most people. I have mentioned my attitude about my shoes and handbags matching. The bread on my sandwiches must “match,” and the filling of the sandwich must reach the edges. My fear of heights is getting worse. I stand backward in the shower; that is, I face away from the spray. I noticed people on tv and in the movies always face the spray. I was/am convinced that my way is best.
Now another quirk has reared it’s head. Sunshine in my face makes me very cranky. In the morning when the sun is low on the horizon and we are driving on a highway with trees close by, the strobe-like effect of the quickly changing light and shadow makes me even more uncomfortable and crankier. I feel like the scientist in “The Andromeda Strain” who goes into a catatonic state when she sees a flashing light. I don’t get catatonic even though Mr. Fixit probably wishes I would; I get testy. I have a hat in car to shade my eyes, and it helps a little.
The other day I was complaining about the sun in my face. He pulled over on the shoulder and let me drive. The sun was on the passenger side. Isn’t he a sweetie for putting up with me and my quirks? I think so.
When Mr. Fixit and I walked into the donut shop, I didn’t pay particular attention to the woman in front of us who was ordering. I noticed that she was in her late 50’s or maybe her early 60’s and that she didn’t have a pleasant look on her face as she walked over to a table.
Mr. Fixit ordered his coffee and I ordered a cup of tea and took a table not far from the woman. I was aware that she was there, but not much more. She sat there a while with her coffee; I assumed that she was waiting for someone.
A few minutes later she returned to the counter and said she wanted to return the coffee. “I didn’t touch it. I bought it for someone who is not able to meet me,” she said. I was amazed. I had never seen anyone return a coffee.
The counter person didn’t know how to ring up the return. I guess she had never had a coffee returned.
A man standing in line waiting to order offered to take the coffee and pay her for it. The price of the coffee was $1.49. She agreed. The staff was still trying to decide how to process the return. The man gave her $2.00 and she turned around and walked out without giving him any change.
Not only did she return a $1.49 coffee, but she made money on the deal. I wonder if she thanked the guy.
The young lady who served her the coffee sat beside us when she went on break. I asked her if anyone had ever returned coffee before. She said no and added that the woman had given her a hard time when she purchased the coffee. She saw three pots of coffee and didn’t want the one that was partially filled. She wanted to be served from the full pots. I might add that there were a number of people in and out buying coffee, so I know that the pot couldn’t have been sitting there that long.
Some people have a lot of nerve, but there are still some nice people in the world like the man who paid $2.00 for a $1.49 coffee with only a bemused look on his face and a small shake of his head.
Tonight may be the last game of any kind until January (unless basketball begins earlier than normal). At one time, our four grandsons were all playing baseball at the same time, and Bella was playing volleyball. With the exception of Cole’s games, all of them played on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and most of the time they played at approximately same times at different venues. Scheduling alone was confusing, to say the least. We usually made two games out of four each night.
Bella found a sport she likes—volleyball. She said she wanted to try it because they play in an air- conditioned gym, and she likes the outfit. I don’t blame her one bit; I don’t like to sweat either.
The girls started out being too polite to really go after the ball and too lady-like to hit the ball hard enough to get it across the net. In the last few games, Bella’s self-confidence blossomed, she scored in every game.
I don’t much like watching Noah and Owen play basketball. The parents are super critical of everything about the game, and some of them have no problem yelling at their children. The children range in age from 12 (Noah’s group) to 9 (Owen’s group) yet the parents seem to think that the little guys should have the co-ordination and instincts of pro players. They are nuts!
From observations made during our little jaunts, it seems that there are many men who are recently retired, or nearing retirement age, who ride Harley motorcycles. I can see the attraction. It looks as if cruising down the highway with the wind in your hair would be great fun. I admit to being a little envious until I think about the splat of bugs on one’s person or helmet.
There is one thing I don’t quite understand about the Harley experience. It seems that there is a rule about acceptable dress for Harley riders.
Saturday when Mr. Fixit and I were cruising in our little red compact car we stopped to eat. While we were enjoying the wonderful weather, the foliage, and our meal, several Harley’s drove into the parking lot. The group was made up of mostly couples, but there were a few single men. Most of them fell into the nearing-retirement or newly-retired age range.
The women wore slacks, jackets, sensible shoes, and helmets. The men wore jackets, sensible footwear, jeans, and helmets. Some of them wore chaps. One had on leather chaps-type protection that only reached the knee.
The unusual thing I noticed was all the jackets, shirts, and headgear the men were wearing were all Harley items; that is, on all the items the words “Harley Davidson” was prominent.
Is there a rule, or perhaps it motorcycle etiquette, that participants in the pastime are required to wear only clothing with the H-D Logo? Or is it simply a way to let the world know they have H-D’s? Are phone calls flying back and forth on Friday evening to decide what to wear on the weekend ride? What happens if someone shows up in an unbranded leather jacket or a plain shirt? Are they discouraged from riding without the proper gear? Hmm. . . I wonder.
Even so, riding in our little red car in regular clothes seems a little boring when I see the Harley’s pass by. It gives me the same feeling when I see birds soaring high above in lazy circles—that feeling can best be described as restless envy.
A couple of weeks ago we were notified by our water department that we probably had a major leak. I assume they have some way to monitor the amount of water being used aside from reading the meter. We were notified a day before they read the meter. That was on a Thursday. We turned off the water at the meter and only turned it on when absolutely necessary. Our sons came over Saturday morning to dig a hole and repair the leak. Thank heavens for sons who don’t mind lending a hand.
I waited with fear in my heart for the new bill. It finally arrived on the 1st. My worst fears were realized.
Usually we use 3,300 to 3,500 gallons a month. The reading showed over 27,000 gallons flowed through the meter. The amount charged for water, sewage, bond, and garbage pick-up was $320.00. Needless to say, if I paid that amount, serious damage would have been done to our financial situation.
Yesterday I went to City Hall and ask if they could make an adjustment to the sewage fee because the water ran into the yard instead of the sewer. (The grass is such a nice shade of green in the leak area.) The young lady said that, of course, we would have to pay for the 27,000 gallons of water, but she would give us credit for not using the sewer. Yea!
The bill started out with a credit balance of $140.00. I pay some of my bills ahead so that in cases of dire need I can skip a few payments when necessary. She then did a few calculations which involved the past three months and said that $4.50 would bring the account back to zero. I don’t know how she came up with that number but I am glad she did.
I gave her a check for $50 so that I can start rebuilding my credit balance, but I’m so happy I didn’t have to come up with $320. “Blood from a stone” and all that, you know.
Years ago we purchased our satellite system in a retail store when they were very, very expensive. It cost us over $600 for two receivers and dishes. We had to buy a special thing for the dish called a dual LNB so that we would only need one dish. I don’t remember exactly what year we bought it, but for the past several years we have been receiving a gift from Directv because we have been customers for more than 10 years.
Over the years, we have had very few problems. The remotes had to be replaced and the old receivers were replaced. I simply called Directv and arranged for the new receivers, and I ordered the new remotes on line from their web site.
Now we are having a new problem. Through a process of elimination, we think we need a new LNB on the dish itself. The problem? No one sells satellite system and replacements in retail stores. Not Radio Shack, not Best Buy. I have scoured the Directv web site and I can’t find how to order the part or even a new dish.
In the meantime, we are down to one television. Mr. Fixit found a single LNB in the original dish box and it’s working for one TV.
I see Directv trucks running around all over the place, but I think they are installers with no place of business. I think they work out of their homes. Does that mean that I have to pay for a service call to simply buy a part? I am so p.o.ed.
I found a part on line, but we’re not sure if it’s compatible with our system.
I wish there are a number on the Directv web sight for me to call tech support. Who you goin’ to call? Not Directv! I can’t find the number! (Maybe it’s there; I just can’t find it.)
I have a new syndrome (ailment) to report—Nook Color Thumb.
Nook in its cover:
Nook with cover open and folded back:
My hand holding said Nook:
I hold it like this so that I don’t accidently cause the pages to flip when I don’t want them to flip.
My hand with fingers in normal position:
My hand after holding Reader for a length of time:
Note the position of the thumb. It is drawn up against the forefinger and won’t move. After massaging it a bit, the cramp-like sensation disappears allowing the thumb to move again. If I again hold the Reader, the thumb and parts of the hand cramp again.
I wonder if this will be recognized by the powers that be as a legitimate syndrome. I would like it to be known as Lucy’s Nook Thumb Syndrome. I’ll be famous!
Hmmm. . .My 7” tablet doesn’t cause me this problem. Of course, the tablet is less weighty.
Mr. Fixit saw the cardiologist Friday. His blood pressure has been very high for a few days. The doctor put him on a new medication to control it.
It was during the visit that he asked us why we were upset during the stay at the hospital. I finally got to have my say to this guy.
When Mr. Fixit was sent to the large hospital the physician that we normally see was off for the weekend. He saw Mr. Fixit in the emergency room Friday night. We didn’t see him again until the office visit Friday. His partner arranged for the transfer and said the heart cath would be either Monday or Tuesday. We assumed it would be Tuesday. We didn’t expect to be put ahead of others. However, the nursing staff at the hospital began paging him Sunday evening after we arrived to get orders from him. He never answered his page. Monday we didn’t see a doctor at all. All day long the nurses were trying to get in touch with him. They told us that this group had a reputation for ignoring their pages.
Tuesday morning came and still no orders had been received. The nurses were upset and finally paged a third partner in the practice. We had never heard of this guy. By this time Mr. Fixit was getting ready to leave.
When the third partner came in, he said, “We didn’t know you were here. If I had known I could have done your procedure yesterday.” I was so angry. We didn’t know this guy from Adam, and he assumed that he would just walk in without the benefit of knowing Mr. Fixit’s history and do the heart cath. When he walked out of the room for a moment, I asked the nurse, “Who is this guy? How do we know if he is competent?” The nurse explained that he was a new partner in the practice and he was competent to do the procedure. She also told us we didn’t have to let him do the procedure. She suggested that we talk to the patient advocate at the hospital. But we decided to go ahead and let him do the procedure so Mr. Fixit wouldn’t have to spend an extra day there.
After the procedure, I did speak to the advocate, and I asked her not to do anything until I called her. We wanted to wait until after the first check-up. We wanted to speak with this doctor face to face and let him know that his handling of Mr. Fixit’s case was not acceptable.
The next morning the third partner came in with the discharge papers, and he knew we were upset. Apparently, the advocate,or perhaps the nursing staff, had told him that we were very angry. He said that he would take over the case if we wanted. I had a feeling that there could have been a power issue within the practice. We made an appointment with him for the follow-up.
I received a call from the first doctor the next day asking us to change the appointment and see him. I agreed. When he put his office manager on the phone to make the appointment, she asked me what the problem was. I told her that I would discuss it with the doctor when we came in Friday. She said she wanted to know because the doctor wanted to document the situation. That made me even madder. I declined to discuss it her again.
During the office visit, I explained to him that we had very little confidence in a doctor who “forgets” that his patient was awaiting a procedure. I also explained that I was angry that his office manager said he wanted to document the situation without talking to me himself. He apologized several times and denied that he received the any page from the nursing staff. He tried to blame the whole thing on the second partner. He also said that the new partner could not have performed the procedure on Monday because he (our doctor) had booked the cath lab for most of the morning. He had one excuse after the other. I told him I didn’t care to hear his excuses because forgetting his patient was completely unacceptable under any circumstances. I was completely civil to him. I didn’t raise my voice one time.
When Mr. Fixit had his stent put in several years ago, we had a problem with him, too. We were told the procedure would take about 45 minutes. Two and one half hours later, we still hadn’t heard that he was in recovery. We were in the waiting room. Finally, my son called someone and found that his doofus had neglected to let us know that Mr. Fixit had been returned to his room. I was a nervous wreck by that time. I was sure that there had been complications.
When the doctor came into to speak with us later, I told him then that he or one of his team should have let us know what was going on. He apologized that time, too, but he said he had an emergency come in and he had to save a man’s life. I told him I was glad he saved a life but that he had a responsibility to us to let me know that my husband wasn’t dead. I told him that time, too, that his actions, or lack of action, was unacceptable. Fat lot of good that did. He also decided to do the heart cath at one hospital and to put in the stent in another hospital almost doubling our bill.
As soon as Mr. Fixit’s blood pressure problem is resolved, we will attempt to find another cardiologist who associated with our insurance network. Dr. Doofus thinks that the problem has been resolved; he might be a little surprised when he sees a request to transfer Mr. Fixit’s files to another physician. No, maybe not. I have a feeling that as long as he has patients needing his services who are in our position he won’t give two hoots unless we decide to make a complaint to the hospital.
Today a water department guy came to our door and said that we should check for a leak because our water consumption doubled for last month.
This afternoon we found the leak. It’s between the meter and the house; therefore, it is our responsibility to repair it. Mr. Fixit is making plans to dig up the area to fix it tomorrow.
I reminded him rather forcefully that it was only two weeks ago tonight that he had a heart attack. He says he fine and he’s going to start it tomorrow after his checkup with the doctor.
What do you do with a person like this?
There were some problems with Mr. Fixit’s recent hospitalization. They were disturbing to say the least.
Sunday night after moving to the large hospital, Mr. Fixit woke about 3:00 am. The heart monitor that was in his pocket slipped out. I helped him find it in the bed linens and put it back into the pocket of his gown. Apparently, there was no interruption of the data being sent to the people monitoring him because no one came to see if there was a problem.
After waking, he said that he was experiencing that indigestion feeling he had Thursday night. (That’s when we suspect he had the actual heart attack.) He pushed the button to call the nurse. They answered quickly and ask his about his problem. He explained and they said they would send a nurse to his room.
After about 10 minutes, the discomfort had lessened, but the nurse hadn’t come to check on him. In 20 minutes the discomfort had completely disappeared. I stayed awake from 3 am to 7 am and not one nurse so much as stuck her head in the door. I have a feeling that she thought I was asleep because I didn’t turn on the overhead light. I was reading using my reader.
We didn’t know whether to mention it or not. When you are in a vulnerable position as we were, you think twice before making waves.
During the course of the morning when the day shift started making rounds, a nurse asked if he had any problems during the night. I then explained that he had some discomfort but that it disappeared. I then told her that we had asked for a nurse, but no one checked on him.
I went to sleep about midnight and slept until he woke me at 3:00 so I suppose someone could have checked on him between those hours, but no one came to check on him after he reported his discomfort.
The next night we had a different nurse, and they seemed to be very solicitous. The fact of the matter is that we don’t know if the nurse ignored him or if the person who answered his call neglected to notify the nurse.
The next day there were problems with the cardiologist who was to do the heart cath. More to follow tomorrow.
Mr. Fixit is home now. The heart cath went well and showed no blockage either in the old stent or in any of the other arteries.
Several unsettling things happened while he was in the hospital, but those stories will have to wait. We are both very tired today. Let’s just say that hospitals and doctors aren’t like they used to be (to their detriment).
Here we sit at a large hospital in a neighboring city. We still haven’t been told when Mr. Fixit will have the heart cath done. We are waiting for the cardiology team to let him know. It could be this afternoon or sometime tomorrow. It seems that things are a bit unorganized in this institution.
He is feeling okay. He’s just tired. When we were in the smaller hospital, they woke him at least every two hours to check on him. After you wake, it’s a little difficult to get back to sleep. The staff at the small hospital was terrific and very helpful.
Not knowing the immediate future causes a bit of a hardship on me. I need to have time to go home to shower and to get a decent meal instead of eating out of the vending machines. I don’t have some of my meds with me either. My glucose levels are either sky high or low enough that my mind is a little muddled. But maybe that’s because I’ve had very little sleep since Thursday night.
The cats haven’t been fed today either. They may revert to their feral nature and start hunting leaving the remains as gifts for me. Yuk!
I rode in the ambulance yesterday when they transferred him. That was exciting; I’ve never been in one under any circumstances. I suggested that I would drive if the need arose. I think that might rank up there with driving a lap around a speedway in a stock car. They didn’t take me up on my offer. I didn’t ask to turn on the siren and lights, but I was sorely tempted.
And so we wait.
Mr. Fixit is doing quite well. He has been stabilized and will soon be moved to a regular room from Critical Care. I can hardly wait. Once you are in this unit, you can’t just leave and return. You have to be admitted each time. I try not to leave so I don’t have to bother anyone at the nurses’ station. .
He will be moved to a large hospital tomorrow for a heart cath and possibly a stent. If the blockage that caused the event is in the old stent, he will have by-pass surgery. If a completely different artery is blocked, they will put in a new stent.
He didn’t sleep at all last night because he was tethered to monitors and there is still an IV being used. He was so uncomfortable. I slept a couple of hours in a recliner, but I’m very tired also. To say that he was not a happy camper is a gross understatement.
I’m glad there was only minor damage (as far as we know at this time).
Today didn’t go exactly as planned. In fact, not one thing went as planned. We were going to Barnes and Noble to ask a question about my Nook. I also planned to go to the hairdresser and to take some books back to the library. We didn’t accomplish anything on the “to-do” list.
It all began last night. We had three baseball games scheduled. We skipped Levi’s game because it was Owen’s turn for us to watch him play. Noah’s game was scheduled immediately after Owen’s.
During Noah’s game, Mr. Fixit bought a snack and ate some it. It seemed to cause him to have heartburn or indigestion. We arrive home about 10:00 pm. His discomfort continued after he went to bed.
After breakfast this morning, he was feeling okay except for the heartburn. He decided to check his blood pressure. It was okay; it was lower than usual. The BP monitor also shows your pulse rate. This wasn’t okay. It was up to 155 and indicated an irregular beat. I suggested that he take it again; it remained in the 150’s. His indigestion went away and he felt fine and his color was normal.
While I was in the shower, he decided to go for his walk. While he was gone, I called his cardiologist, and the nurse suggested that I take him to the emergency room ASAP. I picked him up in the car and passed on the information from the nurse. He was having none of it. He said he felt fine. Finally, after “discussing” the problem for several hours, he decided maybe the best course of action would be a visit to the hospital. We arrived about 2:00 pm.
It is now just past 11:30 pm, and we are in the Critical Care Unit. The medication has finally kicked in. His heart rate is down to 60 as it should be.
When we first arrived, an EKG was done. I asked the attending ER physician if it looked as if he had had a heart attack. He said that it didn’t appear so. He said it showed only a very irregular heartbeat. We were told that if he didn’t respond to the medication to reduce and stabilize his heart rate, a pacemaker could have been in his future. I guess we don’t have to worry about that now.
When he was brought to Critical Care, the nurse told us that the blood work indicated that he did, indeed, have a mild heart attack. He had no symptoms except for the “indigestion.”
Tomorrow morning there are some tests scheduled to determine how much damage was done to the heart and to check to see if another heart catherization and stent is in his future.
Today when I was trying to get him to the hospital, I was thinking about his 74th birthday that is in a few days. I was thinking that he was very lucky not to have had a major heart problem by this age. Lots of men have. I still feel very lucky that even though there was damage to his heart; it seems to be minor. I hope the tests tomorrow prove it so.
During the ‘70’s when mini-series were very popular television programming, I chose not to watch. I missed “Roots,” “The Thornbirds,” “Shogun,” and all the rest except for one; I watched “Chiefs.” It was based on a novel by Stuart Woods. I liked the mini-series very much so I read the book which I also enjoyed. I may have read one or two other stand-alone novels by Mr. Woods.
Mr. Woods has written several series books including one series featuring a character named Stone Barrington, a lawyer. To be perfectly honest, the character left me cold. I read one book in that series and left them behind.
Mr. Woods then began several other series, one of which featured a retired female MP who becomes chief of police in a small Florida. I liked this character more.
He has another series which I can read featuring another lawyer. While he is not one of favorite characters, I can find positive things to say about the writing, plots, and characters.
I checked a couple of his books out a week or so ago, and I discovered something that put me off a bit. At the end of the books, there is an “Author’s Note.” In this note, he has instructions for his readers as to the contents of any e-mail they may send. While I understand some of his comments, his tone is arrogant. Among other things, he wants no attachments; he doesn’t want to be added to mailing lists for “funny stories, prayers, political causes, charitable fund-raising, petitions, or sentimental claptrap.”
He wants no ideas for a book. “If you have a good idea for a book, write it yourself, but I will not be able to advise you on how to get it published.”
He wants to hear nothing about typographical errors or editorial errors. “If you feel an irrestistible urge to tell someone, please wire. . . Do not e-mail your discoveries to me, as I will already have learned about them from others.”
He doesn’t even want to hear from anyone who may want to acquire the film, dramatic or television rights to his books, but he does include an address for his agent. I wonder how many people who read his books are begging to acquire such rights.
While I do understand why he doesn’t want book ideas (I suppose he could be sued if one of his books contained one iota of anything similar from a fan), and I don’t like getting forwarded mail either. However, it seems to me that as a writer he should have been able to make his requests a little less arrogant and a little more civil.
I get the feeling he will be glad to receive emails with glowing reviews of his talent, but little else. I will have a little problem spending my hard-to-come-by dollars to purchase any more of his books.
When I woke up yesterday, my foot was very swollen, and it hurt more than it had the day before. I decided to go the doctor just in case.
The X-ray showed no broken bones, but the diagnostician hasn’t looked at the film yet. I’m willing to take the word of the nurse-practitioner and my doctor, both of whom said they saw no broken bones. They will call if anything is found.
The blood work showed no elevated white cell counts so that means there is no infection even though the nurse said she felt more warmth around my ankle than normal.
She gave me a tentative diagnosis that I really don’t like. It’s not that bad, but there can be recurrence of the symptoms. There is some additional lab work to be done to prove the tentative diagnosis.
Frankly, I think it is a sprain, or a mild ligament or tendon problem. If that’s what it is, I don’t have to worry about it happening again unless I fall off my shoes or step in a hole.
A cortisone medication and a mild pain reliever were prescribed. Whether the cause is the condition that can recur or whether the problem is a strained something-or-other, the cortisone should help.
I told Mr. Fixit that I think the medical people are wrong with their opinion of a “condition.” He asked me when I got my medical degree. I’m going to change his name to Mr. Smart Guy.
Night before last I woke as usual about 2:00 am. I read for three hours and turned off the light to resume sleep. There was no apparent problem.
From 5:00 am to 7:00 am, I woke several times with pain in my foot around the heel. Even the sheet touching it caused pain. It felt like a sprain, and there was swelling around the ankle and heel. Only I could sprain an ankle in sleeping in bed. By the time I got up at 7 am, I could barely walk. I hobbled around most of the day.
Today, the soreness has lessened, but the swelling is still pretty bad. I think the swelling is worse today than it was yesterday.
Now I’m in a quandary: Should I go to the doctor or should I wait since the pain isn’t so bad? I think I’ll just wait it out a few days and see what happens.
In the last few months, Verizon, Microsoft, our car dealer, and Google (Blogger) have incurred my wrath. Now it’s Netflix.
Yesterday morning I, along with millions of other people, received an e-mail from Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, informing us of the separation of his DVD rental business and his video streaming business.
When streaming first began, it was an free adjunct to the DVD rentals. I thought it was a great idea. I streamed movies quite often to my computer. It worked quite well. At the time, we had DSL Lite which is a slow version of regular DSL. I never had any problem with buffering or any delay in the movies. The only problem was the contrast on my monitor made the pictures too dark, and I couldn’t get it adjusted properly. Then they changed the player and shot my streaming to hell. The videos would be interrupted numerous times, and each time it took longer to resume. I stopped streaming.
Recently we upgraded to a faster DSL, and I could again stream movies to my computer.
Last Christmas, Mr. Fixit and I bought a streaming device to attach to the television. Mr. Fixit watched old B/W westerns for days on end. The only problem with this was my internet speed was greatly reduced. It would take a lot longer for pages to load. After the “new” wore off, Mr. Fixit only streams videos occasionally. I seldom stream because the videos I prefer are not available for streaming.
Now Netflix has decided that they will start charging a fee for streaming and another fee for DVD rental. Okay, that’s their privilege, but I don’t intend to pay an extra fee for fewer videos offered for streaming. The selection is just too small compared to the selection of DVD’s available.
My complaint is that they didn’t give me a choice before billing me this month. I checked my bill and they decided that I would partake of both services. In order to discontinue this streaming, I had to opt out.
It seems to me that I should have given me the choice to opt in before billing me for a service I don’t want. I will pay the extra $8.00 this month, but I have already opted out for streaming.
Mr. Hastings may have made a major business error with this whole deal. I think that he should have procured a larger library for streaming than he has now before he started charging for the service. A million people have cancelled the service since the separation was announced. I think many, many more people will choose to forego any service from this company until he has more product to offer.
Our local public library is now offering e-books, and I love it (so far). It’s convenient and easy to use, and, of course, it’s FREE! I spend too much money at Amazon. While there are more titles available than I expected, I hope the list will grow and include older works by contemporary authors.
There is one drawback. My tablet informs me that my operating system (Android 2.something) will not support Adobe which is a must for the program the library uses. It’s a little difficult trying to read in bed using the laptop. I’ve started checking into e-readers that are compatible with the library system. I can use my tablet for Kindle books. It looks like Nook is my best bet. I need to do a lot more research and start saving a little money.
Things haven’t been going well lately.
1. We had to have one of our cats put down.
2. Verizon caused major problems with my phone.
3. Microsoft put a program on my computer that I don’t want, and no one seems to know how to remove the program.
4. There is a warning light on the instrument panel in the car that stays on all the time. We have taken it back to the dealer 5 or 6 times. They haven’t fixed it and they won’t admit that they do NOT know how to fix it.
5. Blogger wants me to install Google Chrome and I don’t want to.
6. My desk chair (the only one in the house where I can sit comfortably) is broken.
Now—Cue the The Twilight Zone music.
Yesterday after taking Little Boy to the vet (see yesterday’s post), we ran some errands and came home. I turned on the computer to check on the news and complete the rest of my morning computer ritual. The chair was just fine. It’s getting old and I was getting ready to cover the worn spots with duct tape, but it was comfortable, and, okay, ugly.
We went out again. When we returned, the chair was raised to its highest position (When I left, it was at its lowest position.) and it was facing 180 degrees from the position it had been in when I left. In order to raise the chair you have to push a handle on the side of the chair without being in the chair. It also had a tilt to one side—a large tilt. Had a plump Goldilocks done a B & E and sat in Mama Bear’s chair until it broke?
We checked to see if any valuables (few as they may be) were missing in case Goldilocks had a bit of larceny in her heart. The laptops are here, the PC is here, and my rolls of quarters are on the chest as usual. All the other electronics and Mr. Fixit’s tools are accounted for. No valuables appear to be missing. There was still porridge in the fridge left over from breakfast which, I maintain, clears Goldie from any suspicion whatsoever.
The only living being in the house at the time was Little Girl. Could it be that while we’re away she plays games on the PC? Does she check out the “LOL Cats” site? Perhaps she decided to change the position of the chair. I can’t figure out how she did it since she doesn’t have opposable thumbs. Hm-m-m.
Have we a poltergeist? Uh-oh! Did I make the wrong decision regarding L-i-t-t-l-e B-0-y and now he has decided to haunt pester us a bit? You have to admit the timing is suspicious.
Mr. Fixit bought me a new chair today, and at the moment, he is taking the old chair apart to solve the mystery of the tilted chair. There is no major discovery yet.
If he does find an explanation and can fix it, I told him I would like to have the old chair back and he can have the new one. The old one fits my bucket like a fine bucket seat. And I have a roll of duct tape to repair the upholstery.
I hope he finds a reasonable explanation so I won’t worry about you-know-who being angry with me, and I can forego the exorcism. I also have to check to see if Little Girl has been hiding her opposable thumbs from me.
UPDATE
This is why he is known as Mr. Fixit. While he didn’t discover the origin of the problem, he Mickey Moused it to remove the tilt. My bucket is now ensconced in my old chair, and he was rewarded with the new chair. I explained to him that there is one little caveat that goes with the new chair. If his Mickey Mousing should fail and my old chair tilts and goes up and down all by itself, I get the new chair back.
The last few weeks have been frustrating and upsetting to me. I’m angry at Verizon, Microsoft, Maybelline, and myself.
I recently wrote that the decision to have our landline discontinued seemed to be working out. It’s now become a problem. It was another bad decision I made. Depending on Verizon exclusively is a mistake.
I discovered a few things about Verizon. First of all, did you know that not all Verizon stores are Verizon stores? I need a new phone so I compared prices. I went to the small Verizon store in our town. It looks like a Verizon store. It has the Verizon logo and the décor is similar to other Verizon stores. It handles only Verizon products so I assumed that it was a Verizon store. It is actually a sort of a franchise deal. That means they can sell phones for whatever price suits them. They don’t have to abide by Corporate Verizon store advertisements.
The phone I want is just a phone. It doesn’t have internet access, it doesn’t have a camera, or even Blue Tooth capability. It’s just a flip phone with big numbers, and a large, readable display. It is marketed primarily to persons in my age group (that means old). I don’t want to renew my contract for 2 years because I’m not sure I want to continue our long association with Verizon. I think it might be best just to pay full price for the phone since it costs so much to cancel the contract early. It costs more to cancel the contract early than the price of a new phone.
I checked Verizon on line. The price was $169.00. The price at the “franchise” store was $250.00. It was $200.00 in Walmart. I found one on Ebay for $145.00. One on Amazon is $129.00. The associate at the corporate store wouldn’t discuss the full price of the phone with me. He wants to sell $700.00 phones. While I have the wherewithal to purchase a phone, I don’t want to make a mistake and waste my money. And there are other considerations that are contributing to my inability to make a decision.
If I commit to a 2 year contract, I can get the phone for as little as a penny using a franchise establishment or the corporate Verizon store offers it for $39.00 if I renew the contract.
I think I creeped out one of the sales associates at one store. My Fixit and I have a family plan, or shared minutes as it was called years ago. I asked the young man (All associates in these stores look to be about 16 years old to me.) if I died before the two-year contract was fulfilled could Mr. Fixit cancel the family plan. He stuttered for a second and he said that in the event of death the contract could be negated. Mr. Fixit saw that he was a bit flustered by my question and told him that I am not expected to die any time soon. But being the practical person I am, I added, “But you never know, do you?”
I am currently using an old phone that my daughter-in-law is letting me use. It doesn’t hold a charge. If I talk more than five or ten minutes, it goes from a full charge down (4 bars) to almost no charge (1 bar).
One other thing I discovered through this phone ordeal is that Verizon folks lie. It may be a lie by omission, telling complete untruths, and by PR people who put their own spin on things. I’ve come to the conclusion that most businesses will do any underhanded thing to get your money. There is very little integrity left in the retail world.
I have asked advice from a few people, but I still can’t make a decision. My pride is holding me back (as well as not wanting to waste our resources). I hate hearing, “I told you so.” So here a I sit dithering about. My decision-making track record lately hasn’t been the best.
We’ll take up Microsoft and Maybelline at a later date. There are some surprising and intrusive things going on with Microsoft, too. And what is this message I get that my browser is no longer compatible with Blogger? It is suggested that I change my browser to Google Chrome. That really burns me, too. I don’t want Google putting its nose into my business anymore than I want Microsoft putting intrusive programs on my computer without asking me first or at least telling me that it has been done. As for Maybelline, that was just a little inconvenience, but with all the other crap going, it brought me to tears yesterday.
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| Bean Plataspid |
Mr. Fixit, Ben, and Cole left this morning for Boston to see the Bosox play the Yankees (at least, I think the Yankees are playing.) They drove to Charlotte (a two hour drive) for their flight.
Ben had really good luck with this bad weather that we’ve been having. He was in Florida for a business meeting before they knew for sure that Irene would not do much damage there. I think his trip home was delayed a day because so many people were leaving. After Irene hit New England, there was no delay in flights or alteration to the game schedule.
They are going to the game tonight and leaving tomorrow morning. It’s a short trip, but they all love baseball and the Sox. This should be one birthday gift that Cole will remember for a long time.
As I was paying bills, I found one from the anesthesiologist Mr. Fixit used during his outpatient surgery last month.
We were charged $839.50 for anesthesia. The next line reads, “ANES-PATIENT EXTREME AGE UNDER.” The charge was an additional $71.00. (The line was typed in all caps just as it appeared on the statement.) The next line is a credit of $71.00 with the notation,” TRACKING ONLY.” I have no doubt that shortly we elders will be charged this fee in the future because we are old.
Mr. Fixit is by no means “extremely” old; he’s 73. That classification was a bit of a shock to him. I was appalled by the extra $71.00 we were charged even though the amounted was credited.
I wonder when “extreme age” begins. I’m 65. Am I extremely old? I can always pretend I’m an “extreme elder” much like those who participate in “extreme sports.”
It looks as if the unbearably hot weather is over for now. I hope it’s gone until next summer. It still isn’t comfortable for me, but it’s much better than it was.
Mr. Fixit has another little get-away planned. Cole’s 16th birthday was last week. As his gift, his dad booked a flight to Boston and bought tickets for a Red Sox game. He asked Mr. Fixit to go—his treat. Isn’t that nice? I think they are all very excited. As far as I know, they are only staying one night, and I don’t know how many games they will be able to catch.
Bachman won the straw vote in Iowa! What in the world were they thinking?
A local news outlet reported today a shooting incident at a bowling alley. The person being shot at reported to police:
“. . . could not provide investigator's with JR's full name, but said that they were arguing because she was previously pregnant with his child and did not have the baby.”
She does not know the last name of the man who fathered her child? She “did not have the baby?” What exactly does that mean?
Is it just me or does anyone else think this is dreadfully strange?
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| Granddad and Me circa early 1946 |
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| Granddad and Nan circa 1955 |
Cole, our oldest grandson, has been playing baseball since he was five years old. His l6th birthday is this month. I have attended a majority of his games.
I have seen some unusual things during the games. I’ve seen parents sleep during the games, transact business, read, engage in conversation from the first inning to the last, and phone and text for most of the game. I’ve seen good things and not so good things.
This past Sunday I saw something new. One of the mothers gave herself a pedicure and a manicure. I wondered if the polish would dry since it was so hot and humid. It just struck me as funny.
And speaking of hot, a little while ago I was washing salad ingredients. The cold water was so warm that the leaf lettuce came from the water less crisp than when it went in.
This hot, humid weather is killing me. Not only does it make me feel sweaty and dirty 24/7, but it brings on big time depression. How weird is that? I don’t want to talk to anyone, I don’t want to see anyone, and I don’t want to hear anyone. All I want to do is sit in a cool room with a book.
Will November ever come?
Yesterday we drove to Charleston, SC to see Cole’s Showcase team play in a tournament. It lasts all week, but Sunday was the only day we could go. (Mr. Fixit has some out-patient surgery tomorrow. I don’t think he will be up to making the 3 /12 to 4 hour trip after the surgery.)
We were lucky; it was hot, but not as hot as I expected. The last time we were there it was horrible. I wasn’t looking forward to the trip at all. The temp was in the mid to upper 80’s and, of course, the humidity was up there. The breeze made it a little more comfortable. I complain about the heat and humidity but those poor boys don’t get the sit under the canopy in the shade and drink cool drinks.
He has one more tournament for the summer session, and I think it’s closer to home, thank goodness. I’m to old to make these long daytrips, plus sitting through a double header in the heat.
I’ll be glad when Fall Ball starts!
This is the first flower on a hibiscus plant that Mr. Fixit ordered from a gift catalog. It measures about 7” across. He bought three plants for $3.00. The other plants have buds but haven’t bloomed yet. Each one is supposed to be a different color.
This is the best buy he’s made from any of the gift catalogs he just can’t resist.
The crepe myrtles are gorgeous this year. The colors are vivid, and the branches are covered in blooms (except mine). The ones at our local Wal-mart are outstanding. They are a deep, bright red.
(As usual, click on photo for more detail.)
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| Bull Dogs of Hartwell, Ga. |
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| Green Wave, Easley, S. C. (Cole's Team) |
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| Bobcats, Seneca, S.C. |
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| Clemson University Tigers, Clemson, SC. (There are tiger paws everywhere.) |
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| Ty Cobb Museum, Royston, Ga. |
Phone - After the beginning of this year, we decided to discontinue our telephone landline and depend entirely on our cell phones. This allowed me to upgrade our DSL service.
The only time I miss having the landline is when I must deal with automated answering devices with those infernal menus. Some menus are very long; some don’t repeat your options (my doctor’s office, for example). The menus are easier to deal with if the keypad is not on the receiver. We had two wired phones with the keypads on the bases instead of the receivers. The keypads on the base are also easier to use when refilling prescriptions by phone.
Another problem is changing your number with all the people that had our telephone number. It’s easy to forget to change the number at the pharmacy or the library.
The best result is that we no longer have to deal with telemarketers and charities asking for donations. It’s embarrassing not to be able to give as I used to.
My faster internet connection speed is not that much faster than our DSL Lite was and every week or so it begins to slow perceptively. I have to unplug the router for a few seconds; it seems to correct the problem. It’s just annoying.
Bathroom – I decided to use the bathroom downstairs rather than taking a chance on falling in the upstairs tub/shower combination. The downstairs has only a shower stall.
I bought new accessories and it looks nice, and I feel much safer.
The one problem is litter. One of Little Girl’s litter boxes is in that bathroom. She likes clay litter, but she tracks it out of the box. Stepping on those little clay particles with no shoes is uncomfortable to say the least. However, a little pain from stepping on litter is better than breaking something if I fell while getting out of the bathtub.
Kindle – I love my little tablet with the Kindle program. It’s so nice to be able to download a book in the middle of the night if I finish one book and need another one.
One of the things I don’t like about it is the amount of errors in the text, i.e spelling, spacing, missing pages. I’ve found mistakes in mainstream books as well as the self-published ones. There was one written by one of my favorite authors which was so flawed, I found it difficult to read. The author happens to be a college professor so I know he knows how to correctly paragraph dialog. I’ve never had that problems while reading his printed books. I spent half my time reading his Kindle edition book trying to decided who was talking. It was so aggravating. The one I was reading today skipped a page or two. I’ve noticed that the self-published ones have more spelling errors and typos than the mainstream books.
The other problem is that it’s just too easy to use. If I’m not careful, I could go WAY over budget each month. I buy an Amazon gift card with a set amount to keep myself in bounds.
Legislative leaders, both Democrats and Republicans, have called for Rep. Weiner (Dem. – NY) to resign his position because of the “scandalous” pictures he posted on line. Instead he is asking for leave to seek treatment. (It seems like now days if you’re caught being naughty all you have to do to redeem yourself is to enter some sort of rehab program. Is there a program for the terminally stupid?)
I don’t really care if he is posting childish, tasteless pictures on himself unless he was involved with minors. If he did include minors on his mailing list, he should be arrested and charged with any number of sexual offenses.
I think he should resign not because of the photos but because no one this stupid should be making monumental decisions affecting millions of US citizens.
Is the man so out of step with the real world that he didn’t know that whatever is out there on the worldwide web is there FOREVER? Has he never seen one episode of CSI or NCIS? Perhaps he was too busy taking tacky pictures of himself to watch television. He could learn something from Gibbs.
I would be very angry if my representative (even if I didn’t vote for him and don’t agree with his stance on most issues) did something this moronic.
Will elected officials, Democrats and Republicans, ever learn?
Mr./Ms. Politician, if you are doing sleazy, sordid acts, please learn to be more discrete. We have huge problems to solve without being sidetracked by your nasty, narcissistic peccadillos.
(And someone should take him to the woodshed for the hurt and embarrassment this must have caused his wife.)
Mr. Fixit and I have been working for a little over a week. My younger son is the quality control guy at his company, and they had an emergency with one of their customers. A lot of parts have to be inspected. There are thousands and thousands of hex nuts with tiny numbers that must be checked and culled. It’s boring but the extra money will be nice-- and the work is temporary.
What’s not so nice is the almost 1 hour drive (each way) to reach the company. It’s been 25 years since I have worked outside our home (I’ve done work at home though) and the organizational skills I had when I worked are sadly lacking. I had forgotten how hard it is to work and to take care of a home. We have been eating out every night.
Part of that is because it’s the end of school here, and we were invited to attend Noah’s graduation from fifth grade, and Owen’s Awards day. There also have been a ball game or two thrown in. We can’t miss those things no matter what. (I was so proud of both the boys. They both were on the A honor roll for the whole year.)
Another minor, but irritating problem cropped up. An advisory was issued saying that our water had to be boiled before ingesting. It lasted more than a day.
My insomnia has caused me a bit of a problem. I’ve been running on about 3 hours sleep a night with no opportunity to nap in the afternoons. It’s makes me grumpy, but I try to keep control of it. Every two or three nights I get 5 or 6 hours which helps a lot.
I’ve learned a few new things, too. First, it seems that all traffic laws are suspended during both the morning and afternoon rush hours. People are simply nuts!
The second thing I’ve learned is that I could never, NEVER!, work with Mr. Fixit for an extended time. By yesterday afternoon, he had changed from Mr. Fixit to Mr. Management. I was ready to call the union rep but, alas, this is South Carolina and there are no union reps. I called him on his attitude and his response was, “I was just a supervisor too long. I think like management.” Fine, manage someone else, but not me! So There!
The third thing I’ve learned is that working when you’re 65 years old is a helluva lot different than when you’re 35.
Next week I won’t be working much because Noah and Owen’s daycare provider doesn’t begin regular hours until the Monday after school is out. They will stay with me for at least three days. This weekend I’m going to do laundry to get our clothes ready (that means actually ironing more than one thing at the time like I usually do) and I’m going to do a little cooking and freezing a few dinners ahead. Maybe my organization skills will come back.
Surprisingly, it’s been nice change. I don’t mind the work at all, and the harrowing morning drive gets my adrenalin pumping.
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| Entrance |
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| Chimneys & Columns |
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| Basement Level |
The last few weeks have been very busy for us. The grandchildren have been involved in sports. At times, we have had three games scheduled on the same evening. This past Saturday Owen had a game at 10:30 am and Cole had a double header scheduled at 1:00 pm in a different city. They played one nine inning game and one seven inning one. We didn’t get home until 8:00 pm.
Levi’s touch football is over, and Owen’s last game was last night. He may make the All-Star team though. Cole is just beginning his summer baseball season. They have to wait until all the high varsity teams has finished.
I’ve missed a lot of blog fodder while cheering the grandsons on. I missed the whole Donald Trump president thing. (He was surprised that people had such disdain for him?) I’m not even going to get into the tea party candidates or others who want to do away with Social Security and Medicare. Just wait until their children have to start to contributing to Grandmother and Grandfather’s living expenses. They may decide that Social Security wasn’t such a bad idea.
Now the religious leader who predicted the Rapture is saying he miscalculated again. (He “miscalculated” once before.) To tell you the truth, I was a bit taken aback when the horrible tornado hit Missouri. Anyway, now he predicts the cataclysm for the fall.
I also missed commenting on the royal wedding. No, I didn’t get up a 4:00 am to watch, but I couldn’t help but see bits and pieces of the spectacular. Her dress was very nice, and the prince looked like a prince. What was the young princess thinking with that hideous thing stuck on her head? I read that The Wiggles were bidding on the hat. I haven’t figured that one out yet.
Then there was the story, or maybe I should say “no-story,” of the mother injecting her 8 year old daughter with Botox before pageants. First there were pictures, and then the mother said it was a hoax. Huh?
I’m sure that as the presidential campaign season continues there will be ample opportunity for me to be snotty, snide, catty and sarcastic. I’ll try not to overdo it.
