Good Morning, America

...and South Africa
...and Philippines
...and WORLD!

Sorry, I haven’t been around for a while ... Life gets in the way. Just a quick update on my Life, but I promise not to bore you!

I’ve had doctors’ appointments with my parents...
I continue to travel 50 miles to my parents at least one day a week to help...
I’ve had to mow the yard...
AND I GOT A JOB!!!

Okay, the job!!! I am able to still work at home and help with my parents, which was an absolute “must” in my life! I am assisting a publishing company on the east coast by editing books for publication! And---IT IS FUN! Of course, I don’t get to read each and every book, but I have set aside some to read fully at a later date. It helps with the bank account and I am having fun...what more could a person ask??

I’ve also continued my fight over the shower curtains (see previous blog about customer service)! I didn’t win and I didn’t lose. I got the money back I paid for the 'dry-cleaning' curtains and I got the curtains back ... after they finally found them! I finally talked with a ‘manager’ who admitted they had been washed instead of dry-cleaned, which made them shrink 8 inches. I bought these shower curtains specifically for the guest bath about 4 years ago when my daughter got married. They each cost $40 and PEERLESS CLEANERS would only give me about 10 cents on the dollar toward replacement. One of the times I called, they stated I couldn’t have the curtains back because they had already cut me a check, to which I responded, “No one asked me if I wanted a check.” The manager was totally shocked when he found out how I had been treated since May 7. I received no compensation for the trips to the dry cleaners. I received no compensation for my inconvenience. I received a little gratification when I told the manager that my mouth was the best advertising tool and I would make every effort to voice my disgruntledness to each and every person with whom I come in contact! No biggie to him ... this company has been around a very long time. He stated he would have a “coaching session” with the manager at the store level.

Ya know, if businesses had less “corporate” and more hands-on managers, many of these problems would never happen. This upper-level manager I finally spoke to stated he had never heard about the problem until I called, although the store-level manager stated she had notified “management”. Come to find out, “management” was her “team leader”.

Okay, corporate America. Get away from “team” anything. Make employees responsible for their actions and don’t support poor behavior by conducting a “coaching” session. Let’s get back to the basics of good ole-fashioned CUSTOMER SERVICE!!

I’m done babbling!

Time-Out at the Lake!

Youngest granddaughter, Bridget,
at the lake...Pretty classy "shades"!

We finally got a couple days at the lake. No cottage; this is a reservoir near my hometown. We have been going there since it opened in 1965 and now our son owns a home right next to the boat ramp! We have a 20’ deck boat, which both of our children basically grew up on and both learned to ski behind! Our son, believe this or not, skied when he was 2 years old! We bought the “trainer” skis, which are tied together and the child doesn’t have to do anything but hold on to the handle! Our daughter tried it at 2 years old, but she fell and got a “snoot full” and wouldn’t try it again until she was 3 ... and she was successful!

Both of our children now have MASTERCRAFT ski boats and our son has competed in many skiing tournaments! YEP, we are proud parents and grandparents. Our oldest granddaughter, who is 3, tried the skis last year, but she had just turned 2 ... so we will give it a try again over the July 4th holiday weekend! CAN'T WAIT!

While we were out this past weekend, I was able to snap a couple pictures of the youngest granddaughter, who is 8 months old!

This is our
son & granddaughter!

The lake is a great place to relax, meet with friends and just “get away from it all”.

Please, if you have time, share with me some of your “relaxation” enjoyments ... we all need that little getaway when we can grab it.

OLA Plug:

Don’t forget to check out www.OLA.com , where you will find over 14 million listings for everything from soup to nuts. I’ve got more to list, but have been a little busy and hopefully will get to it in the next day or so.

Upcoming on the “listings” will be a very old small hand-printing set, including nearly all of the little rubber letters, which are placed into a metal grid and then used to make signs. I also have “The Master” oil spout, some silverplate flatware and some vintage shoe horns that will soon be available.


AND, To My Fellow OLA Bloggers: I have been very remiss in getting all of your blog links completed. Please be patient with me -- it will soon happen!

Have a terrific Thursday. As soon as the grass dries, I will be outside upon the tractor getting the yard mowed! The sun is shining, the sky is blue and it is going to be a terrific Thursday!

Thanks for your visit---and please, click on the “comments” button and leave me a note about your visit here and who you are, where are you from, etc. I have noticed that there have been visitors from all around the world ... we have such great international friends, I can’t wait to “meet” you!

An Exciting Weekend!

What a wonderful weekend we had with the grandkiddies. But we also had a major catastrophe with a storm that did considerable damage to our son’s property. I’ll give ya the scoop!!!

The family arrived late Friday night. And so did the storm. About 6:00 p.m., I just happened to hear that a tornado had been spotted in a rural area near our son’s home. I called his wife and she immediately took the baby and all 3 dogs and hit the basement. A short time later, after the rain stopped, she went outside and no particular damage. Then, she looked out across the sky, saw a dark cloud of dust or rain--she wasn’t sure which---and hit the basement fast again! Next time she came out, a huge tree was down in their yard and their pole building was heavily damaged. Now, they also have a very old bank barn and fortunately it was spared as well as a smaller, but very old barn.

Their boat and Suburban were parked in the pole building. The storm ripped off the huge overhead door, ripped into both front and back corners of the building and tore down a couple heavy support beams. Of course, the wind left 4 windows in the building totally intact. (Aren’t these storms strange how they actually hit!). Somehow, the vehicle and boat were both totally undamaged.

Our 20’ boat was parked outside in front of the building. The wind actually shoved this very heavy boat into the pole building, causing very minor damage to the boat. And again, in a storm’s strange way, it never even touched the small, aluminum fishing boat parked right in front of the building!!

Fortunately, all are safe and that is certainly most important.

GRANDKIDDIES VISIT

We had a wonderful time with the grandkiddies. They were able to play outside, even after the storm, jumping and running in mudpuddles! And of course, the 18 month old boy had a wonderful time riding on Papaw’s lawn tractor.

The soon-to-be 3-year old immediately saw presents on the dining room table. She told Mamaw, “I see presents, but I can wait”. How remarkable for a little one.

And wait she did! We hid the presents (not to tempt her any more!) and had a birthday party at her great-grandparent’s home on Sunday. She was so excited to open presents and eat her cake. She even did a great job at blowing out her candles!!!

I haven’t downloaded any of the pictures yet---so I may include those later! (Depends upon how good my photography skills were trying to capture active kiddies!).

Are you looking for things to do with YOUR grandkiddies when they visit? I found this site..thanks to ABargain4You at onlineauction.com. I found a bunch of things I can do with the kiddies on our next visit, so make sure you check it out. And, while you are at it, don't forget to check out ABargain4You at OLA!!!

ONLINE SALES

Actually, online sales at www.onlineauction.com
have increased, not only for me, but for many of the sellers I chat with on the community boards. More and more buyers are learning that the items listed are actually less expensive, because the sellers are not increasing the costs to cover fees.

Buyers---remember: There are no buyer fees. Simply register and buy!!! It’s that easy! Click here to view all of my listings!

Sellers -- remember: The basic cost at OLA is only $8.00 per month for as many listings as your little ole heart desires. AND ABSOLUTELY NO Final Value Fees!

LISTINGS
I’m actually gonna get my rear-end in gear and get some more items listed this week. So, please check back often at ONLINEAUCTION.COM for great bargains and unique items.

Grandchildren---They Are The Best!

Not much to write about today because I am getting ready for the grandkiddies to arrive from Illinois. Sweet Emmrey will turn 3 in June and we are celebrating part of her birthday this weekend!
As you will note in one of my earlier muses, she is going to start tap dance in the fall. So, her leotard, tights and tap shoes are already to go, waiting for the “Unwrapping Party”!

And, of course, she got some toys, too! A special little Barbie with all of the princess costumes will make her a very happy little girl.

Now, she has a little brother who is 18 months old. Did I mention he is also a HOLY TERROR!! Never stops...just keeps on a steady, constant run all day long! And yes, he got a little present to open as well!!

AUCTION ITEMS

I will be listing some more auction items soon, so stay tuned. There is a vintage Meck Trail Blazer radio/phonograph in a wooden case (tube type radio), a cobalt blue ceramic spittoon that has been in the family forever; a vintage brass 3-cigar holder by R&G Co. (cigar makers)...and several more items! I will post some pictures here as soon as I can!

Hope everyone has a great weekend. In Indiana, the sun is supposed to shine and the weather is supposed to be warm. Of course, the operative words are...SUPPOSED TO BE!!! Ya’ll know what they say about Indiana weather....if you don’t like it, wait 5 minutes and it will change!

Happy Wednesday to all!!! I spent most of yesterday trying to figure out exactly how to blog and I think I have made some progress!

Today will take me to a town about 20 miles from here, digging through the basement of an old abandoned building in their downtown area. A friend owns this building and is signing papers to sell it and have it cleaned out in 90 days! WhoooHooo---hoping to find some treasures that he and I can share! We know that it was, many years ago, a pharmacy of some sort. Wouldn't that be wonderful to find old, old apothecary bottles and similar memorabilia. I will definitely post back to you and hopefully can include some pictures of some of the items to share. I think the owner of the building wants me to bring EVERYTHING back----! He must think I live in either a mansion or an abandoned warehouse. My spare bedroom certainly isn't that huge!!!

On another topic...can't wait for the weekend. Am looking forward to seeing my grandbabies from Illinois and hoping that the weather is warm enough to do a little boating.

Speaking of my grandbabies, our oldest granddaughter is only 3, but she will soon start dance classes. Her mother was only 3 when she started...and she danced for 19 years! Of course, we can't afford to invest tons of money into shoes that will only last a few months, but I did find a couple very nice affordable websites.

Dance4Less has a wide array of items and the shipping costs are within reason.

And BabyUltimate also has some of the things I will be looking for! Please check them both out...hopefully you will find something you need for your kids or grandkiddies!