New Toy

My son sent me an early birthday present. Yeah, something new, something strange, something very alien to me. This little gem came with no printed instruction. At one time, while playing with it, I saw something that referred me to some app for help. Somehow, I lost that and cannot find it again. I started to try to put my email on it and hit a wall - it was asking me for something I never heard of and can't remember. I know, I should have written it all down. I spent the better part of yesterday trying to figure something, anything out. I did learn how to do the finger print lock/unlock thing. That's about it. I have a long way to go.

He also sent a pencil to use with it, he wants me to tell him how much I like it. Hmm, I need to get to that part first. I see wavy, shaky lines in my future. Artwork? Doubtful.

I'll need to get some kid to come show me how to use this thing. I can't find a "back" place to push, slide, or swipe. Definitely need help!

Enter the Devil

Meet the Devil. Whoever invented this hateful device needs to be tarred and feathered. It is beyond me, how people can almost worship these things by messing with them instead of caring for their children, watching where they are walking or driving, or paying attention to what is happening in the real world.

I needed a new phone and this demon is what DH brought home. My guide book has 162 pages of things that I can hardly understand or remember from one page to the next. I frustrated over it for hours and hours. I was so exhausted that I slept for 10 hours straight when I gave up last night. DH says I am stuck with it and tells me to 'play' with it. I have no desire ...

So far, I have learned how to make the screen stay on long enough for me to see what the bleep was on it.  I also know that holding it is very uncomfortable when talking. What a cruddy design for a phone. I hope by the time I write my next post that It hasn't sailed out the window or - let's just say, I don't look good in orange.

 

Steam Buggy, part of one anyway ...

Last night, when I should have been going to sleep, I switched on the tube and sat dumbly watching some fool using what looked like a cheap steam cleaner and it looked like it worked. Hmm, I thought, I wonder if it would do a good job on my 'looks like a gas station restroom' bathroom. Then it hit me. I own one of those steam cleaning machines ............... somewhere .........

This afternoon, I tore into the back hall, which serves as our laundry, pantry, and storage space. I did find the old familiar Steam Buggy! I did not, however, find the nozzles or the brushes. I remember having a measuring cup for the water, no sign of that either. Soooo, I spent some time looking for something on the net that might lead me to the company so I might find out about getting new attachments. I couldn't find it. Found some on ebay, but the whole thing, not parts. There are other steam cleaners out there, just not my model. Can't even find a manual on line for it. I didn't think it was that old.

Wonder if it will work at all without attachments?

 I'm too tired out now to even try it out. (Plus I have to restack and repack all the junk I had to move, to get at it.) Hey! I did find my medium sized crock pot - so the day was not lost.

Rain is coming in, then thunderstorms, then when that passes, the temperature is going to drop 40 to 50 degrees with a chance of that wintery stuff. Oh, goody, I can hardly wait.

Last weekend for the shopping, folks. I hope you are all done with your preparations. Poor DH is going to have to get groceries in that awful weather, sigh. That song going through your head yet? You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why ...

Argh!

Little Shop of Horrors

So, okay, yesterday, I hacked off some of the leaf fronds to ease up on the weight, it wasn't enough. Tom is getting too big. It's listing and I fear for my plant. On one hand, I consider hacking off the top half to let the tomatoes that are present grow up and ripen - On the other hand, I'm greedy and want to see more of those blossoms turn into tomatoes. What to do? You can see some of my Grandma Engineering - pony tail bands turned bungee cords to support to chair and curtain rod. It is not enough. DH suggested cutting a hole in the seat of the chair for the pot and 2x4's attached to the chair seat to trellis the rapidly growing plant. I looked for a cheap set-up on Amazon. I really don't want a broken chair (and it would be) and 2x4's in my bedroom - no matter how bad I want those BLTs!

Shades of 'Little Shop of Horrors'

 I would ask you what you would do in my situation, but I believe you wouldn't even do such a thing in your bedroom. Am I wrong?

NOT Wordless Wednesday here!

My morning was filled with angst - not mine - all DH. He still hadn't gotten his unemployment. He kept getting these letters from TN office stating how much he owed KY and they were taking his money and sending it to them. We're thinking ????? Nearly two years ago, KY gave DH an extension and after a good while, they said "Our bad, you have to give it back." So they got paid - Wish I could find the receipt for it. They said he couldn't get for a year. Again ????? So, he filed late this fall with TN, as he hadn't worked in KY. No check ????? Let the games begin! For some reason he has received two checks all told. Letters keep coming from TN saying he still owed KY. Now he was getting really BLEEPED. He talked to KY and they sent him a letter stating he didn't owe anything. A few days later TN sends another letter contending he will not get any unemployment until he pays $870! ????? He has been on the phone, hanging over my shoulder instructing me on emails, and had me worried he would go postal over all this. He even faxed a copy of KY's letter up to TN office.

Finally, it is resolved ????? TN is going to send him a couple of checks. There was some problem about his bankruptcy -  ????? (He never in his life had one) and then there was a problem that somehow his last name was spelled with XXXX on the end. They pulled his debit card for benefits and we were told he could get direct deposit for his unemployment. Went to the site to change it and we got The name and social security number do not match. I tried it 3 times. Back to the phone, they must know our number on sight by now. The woman said to try again tomorrow to change it. I told DH that I wanted Chinese for supper and nothing more about unemployment!

Meanwhile I am trying to make a cover for my second Dusty Trunk and coming up empty. I thought I would list The Pear Tree pdf for sale on the BP site. so I did that, trying to mellow out a bit. The cover can wait for tomorrow, right? I noticed that The Pear Tree was still listed on a google search. Curious, I did a regular search and found this:

 What? Is this a scam or what? Bleep! I didn't investigate much, but they had other books from other folks there. I was afraid of some nasty virus or something. I hope they are shut down. If this is/was truly a site, they should be bleeped and then bleeped some more! No wonder I never had any sales! I am never giving any of my stuff away again! I love to write but it is bleep hard work! I hope I can sleep tonight, but this puppy is so wired up now - I doubt it.

If I was a drinker - I would be passed out on the floor by now or at least mellowed out and not giving a bleep! Snot running and not caring.

So - you think I just lay around all day, being waited on and reading, HAH! I usually don't bleat it out all the time. Tonight, I can't be a nice, little, old, gray haired lady. Enjoy your day/night. I plan on taking one of my Xanax and let the world go by tomorrow.

One more time

Not much to say today. I finally got one of my plastic money problems squared away and just one more to go next week.

You see, I have had my debit card through my bank for almost ten years and the bank in all its wisdom sent me the newest one - with my 'J.' one it. The places I use that card has me without the 'J.' and they refused it. It's not in their data, so I must be trying to hack the card.

Talking to the people at the bank was like talking to the toilet for their understanding. My big drug company said "Declined." I was quite put out. The ones I talked to said it shouldn't make a difference, tell that to the big drug company ... After DH got on the phone with them again, they finally sent me a new card and number. I am in business again. 

Why, after so long, somebody decided to screw with my name is beyond me. Now, on Monday, I get to talk to the other bank - to have them send me a new pin for their new card. I never used the pin because it was only used online and I, um, forgot it. After trying what I thought the number was, well ... the ATM locked it out.

Yep, gotta love plastic ...

Have a good weekend!

The Panic Attack

Being a card carrying Techno-phobe, I almost completely really lost it when I read that Win10 was slated to be an automatic update to my Win7. A few years ago, when I had to buy a new computer, Win8 had come on the scene and that was what was on the new computers. I managed to find this califraging Dell with Win7 installed. I already had the programs that would work on it, because when I upgraded the time before, I had to buy new. At the time, I didn't want to have to invest my money and my time, learning a new system and programs. I don't want to have to do that again and the older I get, the more confusing and frustrating it is for me to learn all the new crap garbage sh*t Bleep again!

Yahoo! has changed their page, probably in preparation for Win10, but that is just my assertion. I went to play my games and had to hunt for them. Of course, Blogger and Google have done their bit to mess with my mind.

Son said to fix the comp to 'no updates', but I have a feeling that this too, could eventually turn around and bite me in the bleep. This is the final straw, when my comp no longer works ... I will give it all up and clear out my computer corner for a nice soft recliner and a stack of books. Put a fork in me, I will be done.

Have a good day!

Christmas, Technology, & Telephones

I sat here today, ready to get this Christmas thing done. Catalogs on hand with a slight notion of what I was going to order. I had the computer warmed up, primed to do my worst. First, I would need to get everyone's address, right? 

Seems everyone has moved, changed their phone number, or did what we ourselves did - disconnected from those troublesome land lines. The landlines that had people's addresses attached to their phone numbers. The white pages are totally useless to me now. I could not find a single address that I didn't already have.

I didn't want to have to call and ask for addresses, they would know what the Grinch was up to. That would totally blow the whole thing and take all the fun out of it. So now I am at a complete standstill. I absolutely can't send to the ones I have the addresses for and ignore the ones I don't - that's just not done.

I feel the Grinch moving back in - the fun is leaving quickly. Somehow, I knew this computer thing was going to nip me in the butt sooner or later and I can't really say anything because I am not in the phone book either. If anyone is looking for MY address they are going to find bupkiss. Not that I want anything - I have more stuff than I know what to do with.

I think I am bleeped until they come up with a phone book for cell phones or something. If anyone has an idea how to get accurate addresses without my calling and asking ... Please let me know before it's too late!

It seems Grandma can't get information, but Fannie May and everyone else can. Nothing like getting old and out of the loop.

Those Bleep Immigrants!

“The absolute nerve of these people, coming into our country, they don’t speak English, and they don’t understand our money. Yep, the lowest riff-raff of society is moving in on us! I imagine they are a bunch of beggars and thieves. What is this country coming to? They are allowing so many ignorant people to come in to take over our jobs. It won’t be long and the economy will be spiraling so deep, we’ll never get out of the hole the president put us! It may be their dream, coming to America, but it’s our nightmare.”

These words probably spoken in the mid-1800s, about our great-grand parents and our second great-grand parents, yet I hear them again today. It makes you want to think a little bit—doesn’t it? The terrible Irish—now we all want to be Irish, at least one day a year. Those nasty Italians—what would we do without our pasta and pizza? You get my drift, don’t you? So many of us would not be living here, had it not been for the guts and dreams of our ancestors.

Doing some of my research has made me cry. I read death records, trying to find out what happened to my great-grandfather. He became a widower after making that trip with great-grandma and part of his children. (I still need to go more in depth on this; I sincerely hope I am wrong.) What I have figured out is this—he had five children, ages 5 to 10. He died of liver disease at 73, but not until he raised his brood. I notice that many children died from meningitis, typhoid, and one from croup. It was heart breaking to see a young man had died, after coming all this way from Wales—to be crushed to death in a mine accident.

I have figured out that census takers probably had their hands full. The people almost always had a thick accent. I seriously think that Chicobena was Jacobena, a popular name at the time. Say Chicobena with a thick German accent—see? I have been trailing my line, more by address than by actual spelling. Entries were all made by hand and a ...dau could look like a ...dan or a ...dow, or even a simple ...d!

Playing the Ancestry game

Think you can spot me?

My extended family used to go all out for occasions. This time it was for my sister's confirmation. I couldn't begin to tell you for certain who everyone is. I have a few question marks floating in front of me.

I'm having a good bit of fun and frustration playing the Ancestry game. It gives you clues or hints where to look for information. Pick the wrong hint and your family tree is not going to come out right. You talk to your computer. Seriously, "Where did you get that? I can't find that!" Sometimes, you're saying, "No, no, no, that is soooo wrong," and then the next day you find out you were soooo wrong. Yo do realize that you are playing the game with your cousins or other family members. You don't want to look stupid, ill informed, or wasting their time. It's really not a game, but if you don't play well, you just know they are going to be talking about you behind your computer screen.

I swear, I am going to get carpal tunnel problems or need surgery on my shoulder. When I can finally leave it alone, I feel as if I have been hit by a garbage truck and my desk looks like it too.

I think I need lessons in old fashioned cursive writing. Some names are so hard to tell what that first letter is. I have to take into account that a lot of the people couldn't read English yet and the census taker had to wing it on some of their names when they were saying them in broken English. I found a lulu today, I left it there until I can decipher it. It looks like Chicobena - German name. Not.

Annual Christmas Rant - Warning - Language

Our last "Traditional" Christmas. (You can see how little effort I put into decorating, my heart wasn't in it)

Usually I am zeroed in on the early and crass commercialism it all has come to, or the debt we add to our stress during the most expensive time of the year - Taxes, Heating Bills, etc. Nope, not this time, this time it's BIG and doesn't seem it will ever stop.

What the hell has happened to: "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?" We are being screwed, at first it was inch by inch, but now the oppressors, those few that are changing our lives, are taking their pound of flesh and I am not happy. You shouldn't be happy either! I heard on the news that holidays were no longer the reason for school breaks. No more Christmas Vacation - time off, yes, but it's not for "Christmas". No more Easter vacation either. 

WHO are these people that think we won't mind these little changes? You know WHO, small people, who for money and favors, are being manipulated by a radical group that is taking our right to pursue happiness away because if "OFFENDS" them. 

Well, Dammit, I am offended, yes, ME, the one who complains about the problems that come with Christmas. WE ALL have the right to call things as WE see them. It's time we stopped this bull, NOW. What is wrong with you people?

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Hanukkah

Merry Christmas

Have a good whatever you celebrate!

Offense be damned!

Minnie Pearl

You've seen this pic before. I haven't caught a more recent one. (I didn't have the camera on me at the time) Minnie now sports a cast on her right rear leg. I am sorry about this, but I am NOT surprised.

You live in the country, you let your dogs run free - right? Free to get hit or killed on the busy roads. Free to damage or steal other people's property. I'm just bummed when people are not responsible and have such little value of their pets lives. They have lost several to our busy road already.

Well, at least she didn't get killed...yet. Only time before it happens, she is still running the roads... :(