Going with the flow

 Not much we can do about anything. We can take care of each other and embrace each day as they come along. 

We can be kind...I could be kinder....so I let Far Guy cook.  I didn't even swear when the phone rang and it was a recording that said wait on the line we want to talk to you.  #iwaskindanddidntcallthemdumbasses

The bear is still visiting...I wonder if he/she knows I am a bit gimpy right now...just call me Chester.  It is only a matter of time before that bear comes out in the daylight.   He/she must have a den nearby.

 

Far Side

Can't fix stupid

 I have had a frustrating couple of days concerning the care of my Mom.  Some people are not doing their job.  She is not receiving the level of care that she needs at the Nursing Home.  The health care team at the home is dealing with staffing shortages...at least that is one of their excuses. 

Some of the excuses that they make do not ring true and no one is accountable. Some of their answers are down right stupid and you know what they say...you can't fix stupid. 

Far Side

Monday Madness on Tuesday

 Well...it was a miracle that we got Internet, TV and Phone service.   The technician called and said "I do not know what happened, but your service has been restored."  Huh...you don't know what you are doing...a gal on Saturday told us that a system "migration" was happening but it should not bother us...my guess is that we got migrated to some internet netherland.   They are supposed to be keeping one eye on our problem.  The tv goes in and out...it says the connection has been lost...there is still something rotten in netherlands.   I let Far Guy deal with them...I would just want to rip someones testicles off. 

Speaking of getting ripped off...our Postal System sucks.  We have a new substitute mail man who doesn't know where anyone lives...he and I had a discussion on Monday morning ( do not leave a official notice that says I was not home at mail delivery time because you were confused by three mail boxes...you were just stupid and lazy)...he now knows where I live.  And the stupid broad in the Post Office doesn't wear her mask over her nose just her big mouth. AND I entrusted my big girl camera into this system so it can be cleaned and repaired...and I feel naked without that camera...I have separation issues. 

Remember that refrigerator I ordered on November 5 ?  From a local business and I ordered an Amana...made in Newton Iowa...not even a foreign country involved.  Not a huge special order either...it should have an ice maker that actually makes ice and the rest of the fridge should be cool.  January 15 was the delivery date.  I waited a long time past that date to call....I should get a gold star!!  The local business said " If it was here we would have called you.  WE don't know where it is."  108 days.   Uffda.  Good thing our old fridge is still working...but with our rotten luck with things breaking down in the past few weeks...you never know...at least outside is one huge refrigerator.  Buy American they say...

Well there it is...and the shot last week makes me have hot flashes...how in the world it found one crappy hormone left in this old body I am not sure.   My arm is back to normal...but I am still tired.  Tired and cranky...bet you couldn't guess.  

Oh well it could be worse we could live in Texas.  

 

Scrubbies I finished over the weekend.

Far Side

Do your job

 We had to travel 96 miles to straighten out something because someone was not doing their job correctly.   When we got there we asked them "Why"  they said "We have no idea and this is the first time this has ever happened." We got it straightened out and drove 96 miles back home again.  Of course they made many apologies.  

 

The first part of the drive was very frosty.   We saw Bald Eagles and Vultures on a deer carcass.  We saw someones prize bull had been hit by a car...we wondered what the car looked like.  I took a photo of the big old bull but shall spare you. 

As you can see we have hardly any snow.  On the way back there were some interesting clouds. 

We enjoyed the warm afternoon...I think it broke some records. 

I managed to make it to the Post Office before we left so all the Christmas cards and packages have been mailed.  I think the gal that works in the Post Office had a partial lobotomy.... as I handed over the bag with 130 Christmas cards she asked "Are any of them overweight?"  I smiled and replied "Weigh them all if you wish." She threw the bag on the floor and sighed. At least this time she was wearing a mask...however people that came in to check their mail boxes were not.  I almost asked one guy what his problem was with masks...but I decided to keep my big mouth shut...and that was really REALLY hard for me...so I just bit the inside of my cheek (I am certain my lip quivered) and glared at him. 

A bit of history...my lip quivers if I am really really angry.  I am going to practice my evil eye look in the mirror until I get it perfected.

Far Side

Cold so what else is new?

As I write this the winds are howling and snow is blowing around.  The wind chills are reported to be –40 below zero.  Just a tad chilly.

One day I needed to vent. Several little things were bothering me. Sometimes little things stack up and bug the crap out of me.

Pyrex is a pretty good name and usually they have a lifetime warranty.

My Pyrex spatula should not have broken whilst I was stirring a batch of cookies.  Far Guy said “Throw it out and buy a new one.”  I sent a photo and wrote to World Kitchens LLC who put me in touch with Robinson Home Products who bought Pyrex Accessories, I complained and low and behold a week or so later my new spatula showed up in the mail.  The new one is identical although it is not marked Pyrex it still has  a lifetime warranty.  It is stated such on the tag.

I will keep this tag just incase it happens again. $5.00 is $5.00

Next I confronted the Vectra 3D problem.  We qualified for a rebate in the form of free product.  They sent us just plain Vectra which is just for flea control.  We needed and should have gotten Vectra 3D which we need to control the damn ticks that attack Chance.  I emailed the company about two months ago…no response, then I called and left a message.  I emailed them again and finally got a response …they would make the substitution and I should mail the other product back in a postage paid envelope they would provide.  Easy Peasy..NOT.  The correct replacement came in the mail alright, but the envelope was not postage paid and the envelope was too small for the return product. ARE THEY FREAKING IDIOTS?  I wrote a note suggesting that they didn’t know their product or their butt from a hole in the ground and felt I should not have had to go out and purchase a mailer and postage because of their STUPID mistake. I have not heard back from them.  I suppose I could have just kept both products..but I am honest to a fault sometimes.  I think they should reimburse me for my costs and send an apology in the form of free product or something.  Well $40.00 is $40.00.

So all in all my complaints were handled…some good and some not so good.  Now if I could get  all my weather related complaints handled by email or mail then life would be good.

We are staying warm, we still have sewer, water and electricity many people are not so lucky this year.  The recent high winds took out electricity in many areas. I wonder if the winter will ever end.

Towanda

The phone rang early.  Far Guy answered..and he quickly turned the phone over to me since I had been dealing with the “mess” for months.

Someone in their infinite wisdom changed to a different computer system.  During the change only half their information was retained..I heard they lost 2 million dollars because of this “little” computer glitch.

We have been part of this glitch for months..since January.  I have talked with many people at this provider of service..a different one every month.  (I keep track of their names and the time of day I spoke with them.)

They coded something wrong.  I asked them to fix it.  They said it would take at least two months to fix..that was four months ago.  I kept calling and complaining politely.  They always said they would get back to me with an update.  No one ever called back.

Then they sent me a letter that said I was way overdue and owed them $63.  I waited on hold one day for 20 minutes and finally hung up.  Let the bums call me, eventually someone will call.

The phone caller (collector) wanted payment right now with a credit card over the phone.  Ya sure..not likely.

I asked if the problem had been solved..”What problem ?  The problem we have is you did not pay your past due bill.”   I explained and she said “WELL, I will have to go back through 135 pages to find that problem.”  I said “FINE I will wait.”

After a while she came back on the line and said “I see that problem, it has not been resolved, it is still under review. Now lets talk about your outstanding bill.”  I said “FINE when did I make my last two payments?”  She found them..it seems that if something is under review..and you make a payment the payment goes to the oldest bill..unless you tell them different.  So I was paying part of the reviewed bill, and nothing was being applied to the other billing..which I had paid in full.   She said “Well it is your fault, you should have told us to apply your payment to the active account.”  DUH.. I said “You mean to tell me that you couldn’t have figured it out yourself?  You are wasting my time,  I don’t owe you anything ..correct?”  She had to agree.  I asked for her full name..she wouldn’t give it to me.  I said “Sounds to me like you people are real messed up calling people and telling them that they are past due on a bill that is non existent.”

Towanda:)

Pretty Picture: Loons at the beach.

On the corner of happy and healthy

That commercial rankles me something fierce. 
December 20..that would have been 17 days ago.  I used a gift card online at the corner of happy and healthy..for a photo gift for myself.   Of course my purchase was for more than my gift card..so I enter my credit card number..but the wrong expiration date..boom my card was refused and my gift card eaten up or out there in cyber space someplace.
I called the “number” and was told that gift cards could not be used online for photo gifts…it is not permitted.  I asked for a supervisor and was transferred to someone else who had no idea how to fix the problem.  Then I was given a different number to call..I did and the cranky non helpful teenager I spoke to..said that there was no way she could check my balance on my gift card or do anything about it for two days.  I said “fine”.
I wrote a very detailed account and emailed it to Customer Service..with a request demand that they call me in two days when they found my gift card money.
Since then I have received numerous emails saying they are working on it and it should be resolved shortly.  They gave me 20 free 4 X 6 photo prints.  I used them too.
They emailed me a customer service survey..the dummies ..you can guess what my reply was to that.
Seventeen days I have been waiting..the gift card was a gift..I guess it is no skin off my nose if it is never resolved..but it is just the principal of the situation.  A less bitchy  stalwart person would have given up by now.  They stole my gift card or at the least they are holding it hostage.   I am not real pleased with those people at the corner of happy and healthy.  If this ever gets resolved I am going to go into the store and buy something ..anything..and they will never see me at their online or local store ever again.  So there! :)  (  I feel much better now.)
Update 11:33 AM It pays to bitch in a blog..they called from Corporate Headquarters and the 10.00 should be back on my gift card:)

Chance: Far Side is in a bad mood

Hey it is I Chance, the handsome blogging dog! Far Side is in a fairly bad mood, so I am taking over today.

I think it began when she gave me a lecture at the peonies, she said "Look at this Chance, why do you suppose these peonies look crappy on this side of the plant? Frost in June, can you believe it, frost nipped these little buggers twice. " She has no idea why in the world we live in such a God forsaken place that freezes ten months out of the year. I wanted to remind her that it hasn't snowed in June..yet. So we got a little frost..she will get over it.

Then there was that dreadful day that Far Guy did not stop to photograph the Wild Blue Phlox, which turned out to be Dames Rocket anyway. This time he stopped a good long time and let her get all the photographs she wanted. Far Guy got out of the dog house that day. She even apologized for being a bit testy. I think they kissed and made up!

Then yesterday all heck broke loose. There is nothing that irritates Far Side more than someone that is not doing their job. I do my job all the time, and I stay out of the dog house. Far Guy does his job too, he is the cook. I would not want to be that person by the name of Judy, who made Far Side cuss a blue streak. Because Judy was not doing her job, another nice lady could not do her job, which made another man not able to do his job either. No one was doing their job, and I wanted to run inside and pee on their leg. But no dogs were allowed, besides that I was on my leash. Far Guy said "Let's get you the heck out of here! " After our long trip she took a really long stress induced nap, and when she woke up she barfed. I always feel better after I barf..so I am sure she will be fine. Far Side says that..

this should be applied to Judy's backside.

Far Side might be back tomorrow..if not you will be stuck with that lousy A Thousand Words idea she came up with. :(