Good Morning Everyfriend!  It's still dark and about 48º headed for a high of 64.  Not as warm as yesterday for OK for this time of year.

I decided to get up this morning at what used to be my usual time and see if I fell a bit more sprightly.  I thought maybe the "discipline" would help me to be more alive.  I'll probable need a nap when I get home from my doctor's appt.  They called and asked me to change it to 1o:30 instead of 9 so I have some time to relax this morning.  But on my way home, I have to drive right past the Amish store so I'm not going to...drive past that is.  I'll stop and get whatever I can that's on my list and that will insure that I'll need to rest when I get home.

I sure hope Gloria get her computer fixed pronto!  I know what she's going through right now.

My son texted me last night that he's going to pick up TLH after school today.  So I don't have to put that into my plans this afternoon.  And my neighbor is going to come over and install the light over my washer when I get home.  He's so nice to me!

I hope you all have a wonderful day full of everything and everyone you love.

Good morning, Amy.  They keep promising rain here, but we haven't had any in a long time.  Glad you enjoyed your quilting group yesterday. Travel safely today.

Good morning, Kelly.

Janie--Good morning.  You have a rather busy day planned.  I know Gloria is irritated to be having computer trouble.  The computer is only a few months old. 

Good Morning everyone. well I am slow this A.M. Here. I have been to england out back with peter an All.
All's wife is mostly deaf and blind and incontint. he is her only caregiver. sure have to admire him.
so many people would put them in a nursing home and forget them,in our conversations he always has a big smile. we talk about the good things in life and how different words mean same thing (here fish sticks .is Fingers there)(french fries here patoe chips there) as uasual I don't rember well but lot of other things.
you all have a great day. I am fasting going to VA today blod work and seeing a new doctor and transfuring to warrensburg VA closer to see doctor.

Lloyd

chuckle

A blonde man shouts frantically into the phone, "My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart!"

"Is this her first child?" asks the Doctor.

"No!" he shouts, "this is her husband!"

June and JaneS, I am with you on Amazon.  I ordered something last night and when I went to check out I could not find the box for free shipping (order was over $25).  I went to cancel the order and discovered I had placed the order.  I tried to contact them by e-mail and could not, then tried to cancel my order, thinking I’d work on it this morning when I was more awake and had more time.  I placed the order about 9:15 pm and tried to cancel it at 9:45 pm â€" 30 minutes.  I could not cancel the order because it was already in progress!  I will make a phone call about the free shipping when I finish here.  I know they want to have everyone subscribe to Prime, but I hadn’t ordered anything for several years and it would mean a $99 shipping charge for this order.  I just don’t order often enough.

I hope Gloria has her computer problem solved soon.

Mary Ann

Good morning, Lloyd.  Al is to be admired for the wonderful care he gives his wife.  Good luck transferring to another VA facility.

Mary Ann--Good morning.  I am sorry you are having so much trouble with Amazon.  I have Prime because I order things nearly every week, and in these many years have had no problems.

MaryAnn, you can subscribe monthly to Amazon Prime and get the first month free.  I did that the day after Thanksgiving and then subscribed for one month for $9.96 and cancelled at the end of January.  I made a list of everything I needed to order and got it all before my 10 bucks ran out. 

That worked fine but anything I try to order outside of "prime" never works.

I'm about to take off for my appt.  It takes 46 minutes but I always allow myself an hour.  If I have to wait, she has great magazines.  Enjoy your day.

Joan and Jane, I have not ordered anything from for a few years.  If I did buy more, Prime would be fine, but I don't see that I would order anything in the near future.  I'm trying to get rid of things, not add to my "collection".

They make it very hard to contact them either by e-mail or phone.  I spent over a half hour trying to get the information.

Mary Ann

Janie--You're one smart cookie.  I didn't know about subscribing to Prime and getting a month free or getting a month for $9.96.  I hope you get a good report from the doctor.

Mary Ann--I order things like my cases of Ensure, my flavored water and all types of kitchen/household necessities.  Very seldom does a week go by that I don't place an order.

Good Morning Everyone!

I see everyone is up and about.  Seems to be a lot going on.

Jackie, since when does an Englishman need an excuse for a cup of Tea?

Janie, I hope your apmt goes smoothly and you find lots of goodies at the Amish store.  I would like to go there at least once.  Sounds like they have some good stuff.

I'll be Gloria is fit to be tied.  I think this is her new computer that is acting up.  I wouldn't wont to be tech support when she gets hold of them.

Joanie, as usual enjoyed your posting this morning.  I forwarded a couple of them.   Thank you.

Well, don't know what happen to the rain.  It stopped raining at my house yesterday in the morning and hasn't rain since.  Plenty of it around, just not here. 

Sun, I know you must be frustrated with your hands acting up and the mouse not treating you right.  Maybe it wanted some fresh cheese.......I know dumb joke.

Amy, as usual busy beaver.  You never slow down or run out of go.

Everyone have a great day.....

Halkel, I know, we are sure known as a nation for our tea drinking, I certainly drink my share throughout the day.....

Well we are both supporting identical cotton wool wrapped in sticky plaster arm bands....have to say she was quite gentle....I got her to take my blood pressure as told from last surgery it was on the high side although seemed ok to me as the Doctor who retired due to breast cancer was always looking for a higher reading, and my BP was often higher than she would have liked....only this time my BP was the lowest I have ever had, but she was happy with the result, and so was I, that was until I told R, he sent alarm bells ringing to me, saying maybe my reading was too low, hm, left me wondering if it could be, best keep a check on it.....think she said 137, usually it is in mid 145, as it was last time, or even higher....and that is on BP meds....

R will be making a 153 mile trip back towards our old house tomorrow... He is due to swap his car over with Vauxhall where he used to work...It will be a good 8 to 9 hours he will be gone....He will give the dogs a short run before he leaves, as I cant do it....

Strange he will be going back to Bedfordshire as his sister, hubby, niece and her hubby are over here for the week, FROM Bedfordshire.... In fact they popped round while we were at the surgery, popped a welcome to your new home card through our letter box...R plans to meet up with them Thursday....

Good Morning Everyone from the cloudy
but warm,  Rocky Coast of Maine. 

I went over this morning to Time Warner with
my cable box in hand,   and came home with it
still in hand.   

But,  they dropped my cable bill $75.   
That was enough for me to reconsider dropping
it completely.   

My son Paul was with me and he thought
that I had made the right choice.    If
I decide in a couple of months to get drop
it again and save even more,   I will do so. 

The key the man said is to go over to they
yearly are renegotiate ...     

How about that!!!! 
Sandy

Good morning, halkel.  Glad to hear you share some of the "stuff" I post.  You are right.  It is Gloria's new computer that is not working.  She said she tried to get tech support last night and was unsuccessful. 

Vanilla-Jackie--Good Morning. My BP varies, even with medication twice a day.  It's usually higher when I have to see a medical professional--white coat syndrome, I guess.  Nice that "R's" relatives are visiting and he will meet up with them.  Nice benefit he has with his former employer--new car periodically.

Good Morning, Sandy.  Gee, maybe I should take a tip from you and try to negotiate with my cable company.  I have no premium channels and pay $160/mo.

I was paying Time Warner 180+ a month.  I dropped Starz channel when my dil told me I could subscribe to it on Amazon Prime for about half the price that TWC charged.  That lowered my bill but not as much as I thought because right about then TWC raised their rates again.  They blamed it on the higher taxes in NC.  Right!  But, now I am paying 170+ for TV, Internet, and Phone.  Since I consider all of those necessary I am willing to pay for them.  But, I still grumble every time the bill comes due.   

The man at Time Warner
told me to negotiate every time,   
in person.     

Over the phone is not a good way
to go.   Because they farm out their
phone calls ... 
In person is the only way to go... 
And do it once a year. 

So I have set up a reminder to do it again
in April of 2017.....
I was very pleased with the service that
he gave me. 
I know that it helped to have my son
standing next to me,
but the man talked directly to me.   
Every time, unless my son
Paul asked him a question.   

Then the man got right back to me.
and did not make me feel invisable.
I felt very respected.    And that is a
great feeling!

My son encouraged me to make
the deal,  because he thought that
it was very good. 

Sandy

Sandy, our TW store is a pain!  You have a very long line that moves very slowly and when you do finally get to the person who is at the desk they aren't even pleasant to deal with.  I would probably rather eat nails than go over there and deal with them!  Glad your experience was so good.  I envy you.

Isn't it annoying when service people (mostly when it is a man) won't talk to you?  I'm the homeowner, I pay the bills, and they always talk to my son.....rarely ever to me.

Phyllis--You pay about what I do for the same services.  Like you, Roadrunner does not have pleasant people to help a person in their office.  It reminds me of the folks in our DMV offices.

Sandy--Lucky you to have such pleasant folks to assist you.

I was treated very well and
I was very surprised at how well I was treated.
Because it always hasn't been that way.     

My daughter now when we go someplace, 
she will turn and walk away if the sales person
ignores me.     She is also very aware when
they disrespect me.   As I stated,  Paul did
ask questions,  but never got in between the
sales person and his Mom. 

It was a very good day!
 

Hi everyone on a beautiful morning with the expected temperature to reach 90 this afternoon.  As of now I expect to stay home today although we need to make a quick trip to a nearby nursery and get another tomato plant and some herbs and get them planted.  Yesterday was a very busy day.  We had a very good steak dinner at our men's meeting last night.  I did get new ink that cost almost $100 and also ordered a new Brother's Laser printer. 

Hal, I just got the black and white wireless laser printer as have the HP printer for color or color and black and white.  The toner for the Brother's costs around $40 but will seldom need to purchase a new cartridge.  My computer desk has a shelf that will hold two printers.

Mary Ann, I decided a long time ago it was much less expensive to have the photos printed at Walgreen's.  However, been a long time since I have wanted a photo printed.

MaryTX, if you need to make a lot of copies then a laser printer is certainly the thing to have as the per copy cost is pretty low.  This new one I purchased said the cost is about two cents a copy.  The HP cartridges will print only about 300 copies and it certainly costs much more per copy.  I remember the mimeograph and the little flat plate with a gel type substance  that was used in the copy making process. Now we have 3-D printers that can make multidimensional things that can actually be used like a part.

Kelly, my TV has an on/off switch on the side of the case but it didn't work either as that was the first thing I tried.

June, something told you that the Star Wars movie probably wasn't to your taste in movies.  Aren't you glad you didn't have to buy a ticket?  If you have an Amazon Prime account then there would be no additional shipping charges for a Prime item. 

Jackie, won't your blood be a little thick if you replenish it with biscuits?    I bet the birds will soon find your feeder.  My wife saw her first hummingbird of the season yesterday but hasn't seen any since. A blood pressure of 137 certainly isn't too low unless you all use a different scale than we do in the USA.  Mine seldom run much over 100/60. 

Sandy, nice to stay flexible.  Comcast doesn't like to lose any customers.  I was told the same thing about my rate but it hasn't changed and it has been a little over a year. 

Joan, I think the monthly subscription is a new feature for Amazon.  We use Amazon very often and had three or four deliveries this past few days. 


 

Bis, I like what Merle Haggard said, "You don't want to close the door on hope". And I echo.."Never, never, never". Thank you Bis for being there for our Gloria.

I'm so sorry our Gloria is locked down with a silent computer and I hope her Grandson is able to help her very soon.

Jackie, you are so fortunate to have all those good deliveries. Do they all charge for delivery ?

Amy, our weather is in the "same"  mood. No threats, no wind, no sprinkles, just sunshine. Have you been able to cut off the dance with the snow shovel and blower till winter comes again ?

Janie, I'm glad you have the day off from WM. And I hope your Drs. visit goes well. I don't like to plan any appts. before 10 a.m. now. I have to warm up my bodily motor for about three hours before I go anywhere now.

Hal, you did just recently have some rain didn't you ? We are dry as toast here.

Mary Ann, I have just washed my hands with Amazon. I had even decided to buy into the Prime thing, so I'm tempted to call my bank and tell them not to pay my bill. But I won't…If they couldn't or wouldn't accept my new address, etc. The merchandise will probably go to Sunwest Village, where they will just turn the parcels back to the P.O. in Hemet, and I don't know what they will do with them, but I'm sure not going to pay for what I don't receive.

Bis, I liked shopping at Amazon, but I am very unhappy with their service. I had a woman on "chat" and she was no help at all….her answer was to call my bank…for what ??

Sandy--Unfortunately I don't have any family here available to go with me.

Larry--I've never had a laser printer.  Maybe I should consider getting one?

June--I like Merle Haggard's saying, too.  Sorry you've had so much trouble with Amazon.   I've never had occasion to have to chat with them.

Can't say good morning anymore, so will say good afternoon, Joan, and everybody else.

Like Joan and Larry,  I have been very pleased with my shopping experiences with Amazon.  Joan was kind of responsible for me to try shopping for almost everything.  Since I sometimes have  trouble getting  to the store, I  order all my  big items like toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, and things like that from Amazon.  It sure makes it easier when I do wind up doing a little bit of grocery shopping.  My DIL takes me and I do get tired, but it does give me some exercise once in a while.  I have gotten where I will divide my list in half and my DIL will get some things and I get the rest. I try to get the things that are pretty much in the same area of the store.  I like going to Walmart, because I can get other items that I might need at the time.  But, it sure is hard to walk the length of the store.  If I forget something,  I won't go back to get it. When my DIL catches up with me,  if there is something I missed, she will go back and get it.  And, there are times when I just give her my list and she will do all the shopping for me. 

Several of the big grocery chains in my area do have delivery and it does include produce and other cold items. But, so far, they don't deliver in my area yet.  If and when they do, I will probably try that way. My sister-in-law orders all her groceries and she has been very pleased with all the items she gets. Even produce and meats. Grocery shopping has never been something that I like to do.  My husband was in the grocery business all his working life, and he just loved grocery shopping.  He did most of it almost as the time, until he got disabled. Then, I had to do it, and I never did look forward to going, but we had to eat.   

I did order some grocery items from a new place that sent me a coupon for 15 % off the order.   It was called JET.com.  I got the order this morning, and several things were broken.  Everything was wrapped in bubble wrap, so the mess was contained and didn't get on the other things. And, a couple of the canned goods were dented so bad, I will get rid of them.  Needless to say, I will stay with Amazon when I need some more items.

Sorry that some of you have had a bad experience, but  I am pleased with my business with Amazon.  And, I do order every couple weeks....  sometimes just 1 item.  I know the $99 fee has paid for itself several times.  A couple other places I have ordered from, the postage is sometimes more than the actual item.

Joy

I have to agree with Joy. All of my Amazon experiences have been good. I had two large, weighty  items returned and there was no return shipping added and the items were returned, credited and new items sent out within three working days.

I have had Prime for a couple of years and I order so much because one, prices are cheaper than locally and two, they have many items we do not have locally.

I just received a package of a Bayer houseplant capsule insecticide that was under 8 dollars each pkg. when locally the pkgs. sell for 13.13 apiece. I purchased 6 packages of 10 which last three months each capsule. I purchased a new vacuum when my 20 year old hoover died and a new computer desktop, all with no shipping.

I have purchased food items as well and while I tend to do only a few orders monthly, I have had no issues with returns or customer service. It may be just the luck of the draw with who you speak with, who knows?

If you do not use it regularly, its not worth the time or effort.

The supermarkets here are always bumped up next to each other at either the west or east sides of town and they've forced out all the smaller groceries that were spread out through our town long ago. It is a long bus ride to either side of town and returning taxis never have exact change so you must be sure of having change before they call and the wherewithal to spend. It is an irritating arrangement as my knees are so bad.

We have a large and growing ethnic population due to Vietnam, the University and probably a few "mail order brides." So while small, they are wonderful to shop in as usually family and very good customer service.

One industrious family has a market, a restaurant and a dry cleaning service all on a city lot and does very well. So many people utilize their services that the supermarkets are now advertising "new, larger ethnic food" areas in their stores.

I also have a monthly food subscription at a local farm and there is a farmer's market that goes all year run by local farms as well as a few summer only farmer's markets. I try to avoid the larger stores as they're genetic in product and the food is not always as fresh as local.

Junedrabek, it varies as to whether we pay delivery charge....some of my regular companies have promotions whereby free delivery, some specify free delivery if you spend a certain amount, but I would say most charge a delivery and some have various delivery tiers, whether you want first class or next day delivery but they usually cost you dearly, sometimes an extra on top of your basic charge....If and when I can I wait for the free delivery on my regular company orders, which sometimes may be for that weekend only...or for Mothers day or Easter....

Larry Hanna, too late, the biscuits jar is getting a tad emptier.....

For those who use Amazon.  Did you read that you can now get the Prime Service paying $10 a month instead of the $99 a year.  I may look into that as I don't order a lot from them all the time. Usually when I do it comes to more than $35 and so free shipping anyway

Joy and angelface--It's interesting to me to read how different folks shop, who they buy from, what items they generally purchase etc.

JeanneP--Earlier today somebody (forgot who) posted about that monthly Amazon prime cost.

HI EVERYONE!  Did you miss me?  Anyway, I'm back.  Ive been driving Pat and Michael (Oldiesmann) crazy and I hardly have any hair left.  But here I am.

Of course, I'm not going to be able to catch up on all the posts so I may not be up to date on some of the news, but - I love you all, anyway.   

The monthly charge of $10 for Prime sounds good, but for this order I placed, the charge was $6 and not worth having Prime.  I do not order that much, in fact, my last order was a couple of years ago.  I am not a good candidate for Prime and I know it; I just wish they had their Free Shipping box in plain sight where I would see it instead of having to try to contact them with little success.

Mary Ann

Jeanne Lee--YEAH!!!  Of course, you were missed.  So glad to see you back up and running.

Mary Ann--I can understand why you don't have a need for Amazon Prime.

Yay!  JeanneLee's back!

Joanie, I'm the one who told you all about the $9.96 per month for Prime.  I said I subscribe to Prime on the day after Thanksgiving, I get the free first month, do all my Christmas Shopping and then ask to pay by the month.  I keep it through January and get all the stuff on my list that I need for myself and then cancel at the end of January.  Sneaky!

Sandy, I will NEVER be able to go to my suppliers "in person".  I live in Central PA in the heart of the best farming in the state and I get my internet and phone out of Memphis, Tenn. and my cable out of the Chicago suburbs.  It would cost me more to go there in person than I pay for the services.   However, the cable reps are some of the nicest people I've ever dealt with on the phone.  The only ones I know who were nicer were the Customer Service People at Pennsylvania House Furniture (I was an elite member of that group for 6 years)

When you were talking about Sales/Customer Service people speaking to YOU, I was reminded of the first time I went out to buy a car on my own.  I was in my mid 50s and the sales person was female and about 25.  She took me around the lot and then on a test drive.  And I was ready to buy.  She sat down in her chair with the paper work in front of her and leaned toward me and asked, "Does your husband know you're shopping for a new car?"  I said, "I don't know and I don't care.  He has a divorce and a girl friend."  And I got up, put on my dignity and walked out of the office.  To her credit, she didn't try to chase me down.

The next was a young man about the same age as that girl and he treated me like the rep treated Sandy.  That's why I drive Volkswagens!  And I've never forgotten MARK!