Happy New Year December 30, 2009

Happy New Year to all my readers. I hope that the year 2010 brings better times, more smiles and a simpler life.

If you have not logged onto our Web site and watched the video titled “Local quilters stitching warmth and joy”, you need to now. What big smiles those children have and to think a toy or the latest technology gadget didn’t do it. This is what giving and receiving is all about. Log on to www.hampshirereview.com and scroll down to our Multimedia section. The video is there.

I have some new Consumer Report info coming soon. I love this magazine. They give all sorts of info about lab tests, results and what is the best and worst. No, it is not the best and worst dressed on the red carpet. It is the better rated washer or dryer, TV, computer and whatever else you can think of.

I have a good example. I had a microwave go bad. I went shopping for a new one; found what I liked and purchased it. Well, within the first year….actually during the last month of the 1 yr. warranty the door latch broke. First, why would they make the most used part out of plastic. Oh, I know, so you have to buy a new one again. Forgot for a moment, it is about the all mighty dollar. Back to my Consumer Reports story. I subscribed some time after that incident. I did subscribe because of this incident. I get so tired of trying to make a good decision when  I purchase something. Too many options and price differences. Like I say, “Keep it simple”. They do it for you. I came across an article in one of the issues that rated the microwaves. Guess what? The one I purchased and it broke with in the first year was rated to be the one to need the most repairs.

There is an article listed in the latest issue in reference to these new Snuggie blankets that were sold through the holiday. If you have one log back soon and read what type of ratings it received. You won’t be happy after 10 wash and dry cycles.

Have a very Happy New Year. I will blog to you next year. I got that one from my youngest. She said she loves to tell her classmates “See ya next year.”, like they are taking a leave of absence or something. Get it, this week is 2009 and it has been. Next week will be 2010. Ok, if you got that then can you get this? If you were born exactly on 12:00 midnight on December 31st – January 1st, which year would you say you  were born in?

Merry Christmas December 23, 2009

Here we are a few days before another Christmas. Our stockings are hung, gifts are wrapped and cards have been sent. Wishing all my readers a Very Merry Christmas. I do hope that everyone enjoys that special Christmas feeling of visiting with loved ones and giving them gifts. I hope you will also think of those that are without gifts to exchange or loved ones to spend time with, those without shelter or food and those that are in the hospital this time of year.

Staying warm! December 21, 2009

http://greatstuff.dow.com/pdfs/checklist.pdf. View this check list to see where you need to fill those holes letting the cold in. After the snow that came this weekend  we all could use ideas on how to insulate a little better. I found a neat article that contained this info on our Lifestyle page under the Home & Lifestyle button. Go to hampshirereview.com. Also, log on weekly to find neat “How to videos” in reference to cooking or do it yourself projects. We are all heading out to holiday parties and could use  ideas on quick appetizers.

It’s December December 3, 2009

Can you believe it is December. We were just getting the pool ready. I know we all say from time to time, “My how time flies.” Really time has flown this year. I don’t know if we just were too busy wondering if prices of everything were going to keep going up and who would lose their job next.

It is December and almost the end of this year. Hopefully next year brings better things.

My decorations are up. Some shopping is done. I need to wrap, bake cookies and send cards. I’m going to be a little on the religious side now. Where does the real meaning of Christmas come in. We all worry about all the gifts and who we have to purchase for. There is all the buzz about:  my decorations are up inside and out, I am part of a cookie exchange, I have lots of cards to mail this year.

Seriously, when do we stop to say: I am going to volunteer this Christmas, We are sending a care package to the troops, My family is not exchanging gifts this year-we are going to give the money to a homeless shelter or We helped our elderly neighbor hang lights outside. I think Christmas would be so much more meaningful, less stressful and we would all be happy come January 1, 2010.

If we would start keeping in mind what Christmas is really all about we would all be better off. Who wants to start the chain.

It is the beginning of December…see what you can do to make your holiday less stressful.

It’s bare out there. No, it is a bear out there. Cont’d November 5, 2009

It’s a bear and he won’t leave. As I said over the weekend we were out-of-town. Didn’t arrive home til after dark Sunday evening. On Monday morning my husband and I noticed the pool winter cover was torn. We thought possibly it had a little too much rain on it and stretch to way beyond its limit. Urgh. Did find bear prints on the front porch, was told by a friend he picked up some trash while he was guarding the house. The beginning of this story is under It’s bare out there. No, it is a bear out there.

When my daughter and I then arrived home on Monday evening we noticed the cooler was outside the building laying on its side, a bucket of roof coating was laying on its side, sleds and ski board was all off the shelf on the floor of the building, camouflage was laying all over and dog food/rabbit food was everywhere. I could not believe it. I love wildlife. Think it is so neat to see. I just could not believe I seen what mess a bear could make. This isn’t all. We walked over to the pool. Still not knowing for sure if this bear tore the cover. At least I didn’t, think my husband did.

Well, let me tell you…my daughter was on one side and yelled “Mom it was the bear, look he pushed the side of the pool in!” Not in one place but two. Two nice dents in the pool. Four nice tears in the pool cover. We assume he went around the pool pushing, clawing and scratching. He ended up climbing the deck, tearing a nice hole in the cover and I guess had a drink after he ate all that dog food.

He has not left. I am getting very tired of him. My husband purchased a bear stamp. Hate to do it. But he has got to go.

So on Monday evening we had a 4-H meeting to attend. It started at 6pm. and ended around 7:30. We arrived home, it was dark, had my headlights on and was wondering “Is that bear around, wonder if I will see him.” Sure as …. there he was. Black streak running in front of my headlights as I pull up to the driveway. My driveway splits, one way will take you to the front of the basement door and the other way will take you up to the building. He was in front of the building. I pulled up, beeped my horn and I mean beeped my horn. I screamed, “THERE IS THE BEAR!” My daughter is flipping out. (I am laughing writing this, it is just amazing he is still around and what he is doing.) I pull up to the house and laid on the horn more, motioning my husband to come out and escort us into the house.

He did, he escorted us in. I walk in to find a bow laying there. I love my husband. He knows I am tired of this bear. I am eating, sleeping and dreaming bear.Also wondering what else will I wake up to see that he has tore up.

That is not all. On Tuesday I washed a load of tennis shoes. I decided to lay them on my back deck and dry for a while. I left them overnight thinking they would be ok. In the back of my mind I wondered if the bear would drag them off. Sure as …. he did. I got up the next day. One was in the yard just a few feet in front of the deck and one was missing. All others were there. Had to go to work, would try to find it when I got home. Thinking it would be in one piece.

After my daughter and I arrived home on Wednesday evening we set out. Now she is not a bit afraid and decided she was going to protect us with her little pellet pistol. I left her think it. I thinking if we see him we are in trouble. I’m sure he only wonders around at there in the mid morning hours. We get out to the back of the house just a little way into the woods/clear-cut and there was the shoe. Not in good shape, from nice white to black, shoe string gone on one side, teeth marks everywhere, holes and shredded spots. I guess he laid there for a while and just chewed on it like a puppy would

OK, this bear has cost us another $182.00 for a pool cover, what ever it will take to fix the pool (I hope, it is only 2 yrs. old) a new pair of tennis shoes, 1 bag of dog food and my sanity. I won’t be able to visit a zoo for a while or think it is cool to see a black bear run in front of my car off the side of a hill. All I can see is what that bear has done to my house. Oh forgot this one tidbit, he walked all over my house. He left proof of everywhere he visited.

It was a nice sunny day on Tuesday and I had my doors open, had the storm doors closed. My storm doors have the full view glass or I can insert screen. My glass in now. I could see through the sunlight nose prints and wetness running down the window. Urgh. I am so done with this bear.

I wish my story was like our editor ‘s story. She had seen a bear in her back yard.  Log on to Sallie See, Editor’s Notes in the blog section. She has a bear story also.

My husband said there is an overpopulation of bear in Hampshire County. I am sure that is only some people’s opinions.

It’s bare out there. No, it is a bear out there. November 2, 2009

I do not mean it is bare out there with no leaves on the trees. What I do mean is I had a bear on my porch. Not just in my back yard. On my porch, in my building, beside my pool and I’m sure wherever else he decided to go.

I know we have bear in the woods. I also know we have bear in Hampshire County. Wow, when I see there was a bear on my porch…that was a little too close for comfort.

A few years ago I was out walking around the house…checking out my flower beds. I am always looking to see if I like what I planted where I planted it. Anyways, I saw some type of light through the little area of woods that is at the edge of my back yard. After the little area of woods is our big open field and then it meets up with our neighbor. I thought the neighbor was up there in our field doing something. I went to check it out. No neighbor, the light was at his house. If you knew my neighbor and what he has done and said to us you would understand. Another day, another story.

While I was headed back to the house (now this is just before dark) I seen a paw print in the mud. We have a yellow lab. Pretty big dog. This paw print was too big for GoJo. I stood frozen, wondering if this bear was somewhere looking at me. I looked for and then grabbed a stick. Yeah, I was with a weapon against a bear. I ran to the house. Shouted for my husband. Told him to come look. He assured me it was a bear. Ok, I thought wow, right in my back yard. No more thoughts about bear. No big deal…they are out there.

Ok, now a few weeks ago our dog food came up missing from the building. Again, ok, no biggie what took it? Was it a bear? Not thinking anything about it. No explanation.

I looked out my kitchen window into the backyard last Thursday. I had seen something white out there. Went to check it out. Here was the bag of dog food, with the container my husband uses to scoop it out. It was lying there just behind our daughter’s playhouse and trampoline area. I brought it back to the building…told my husband about it that evening. Again, he confirmed yes it was a bear. He said “I knew something bigger than a squirrel took that dog food. I knew a coon or possum wouldn’t eat the 15 or so lbs. of food that was left in it.”

Again, no biggie…OK there is a bear in the back yard. Just gotta be careful when going out in the dark.

Now, over the weekend we went away. Came home after dark on Sunday.  Didn’t see anything but the inside of the house. Woke up this morning. (Don’t you love the way I tell a story. I have to set up the scene in your mind.) I noticed the pool cover had torn. Went out to investigate the damage. Beside the steps to the pool was a pile of corn. Eaten, digested and placed there by ??? Had my husband check it out…again he said “Yes that is from a bear.” My thoughts are…OK this bear is getting closer all the time.

My husband pointed out to me what he had done on purpose. He said something about doing something on purpose in the cooler with the dog food scoop.  It was laying out of the cooler on the ground beside the tractor. This confirmed to my husband, yes it is a bear. A bear would open the cooler and drag out the food and the scoop.

We had went on talking about how bears are curios and how it more than likely had been all over the yard. I decided to walk over and look out my bay window. I wanted to check out the front yard for any signs. Sure enough. Right there on my porch PAW PRINTS. I had gotten cold chills and was talking in a higher pitched voice and had said to my husband “There is  paw prints right on the front porch. He was here, right by the window and the door. Oh my gosh.”

We called for our daughter to come check out the paw prints. She wasn’t a bit afraid. As a matter of fact she wants to go bear hunting this winter. Her Uncle James, so she calls him said he would take her. She has been deer, turkey and squirrel hunting. Now she wants to add bear to the list. They may as well stay right in the yard and take care of the one that thinks he is the new family pet. He is staying around just a little bit too much for me.

So yes, it is bear out there and I don’t mean Bare trees.

Economy, Overcharges and Video Cameras October 21, 2009

Well, my title tells it all. I think there are several of you that are or have experienced the same thing I am about to tell you.

I have been overcharged for products I have purchased. No biggie. Sometimes it is not worth the trip back to Cumberland or Winchester. I left it go. Some overcharges have been enough to call the store manager and explain the situation and ask what do I do to get my money back. This is one of those moments. Actually three moments that totaled $105.85 that should have been in my checkbook.

The first overcharge was no biggie. Well, it was at first. The cashier was not at all happy with my canvas bags I brought to have my groceries bagged into.  She rolled her eyes, looked sideways, not at me, sideways and asked “What do you want me to put in these ma’am?” Not in a very nice tone of voice either. I left the first one go. Yes, it happened once before same store. The cashier did not like my bags. This time I was not happy. I said “If you give me a minute to unload the rest of my groceries, I will bag my stuff. I know those bags hold up your process.” She did. I was a little slower than her flinging my stuff, no my groceries across the scanner. They want you to stay a while, make a big purchase. Then when it is check out time, you better hurry and get out of there. She proceeded again to use plastic. I said “Ma’am, I have this type of bag. I don’t want to use the plastic if I don’t have to.” That didn’t work. I showed my frustration. She calmed down. Go figure. In all this mess, she over rang me twice. Once she caught it and credited my order. The other, she didn’t. I know what some of you are thinking…. Don’t you check your receipt before you leave the store or their parking lot? No, I usually have 50,000 errands to run in 6 hrs. I check it at home. That one only cost me $2.10. No biggie, but when it goes along with the $105.85 overcharges all within a two week period.

The second instance was a home improvement store. My husband purchased 2 pcs.  of lumber (don’t know the exact type, doesn’t matter) might have been 2×10′s and was charged for 10. The overcharge was $58.38.  I can see hitting the 1 or 3 that is beside the 2 on a cash register. But 10.  I called the store, told them my story. I was told to give them a day or so and a bunch of numbers off my receipt and the day he was in. The store manager called back that evening. Wow, quick service. I was told, they viewed the video tape and seen my husband had only put two pcs. on the cart. They were really great about it. They did not run me back into the store. My checking account was credited. The moral of this one is, wow you don’t know who is watching or who is recording you. I didn’t have to walk back in the store with proof, lawyer, pleading… nothing. I received a copy of the refund by mail. By the way I have not sent them my thank you and maybe a call to corporate.

I am not mentioning cashier names, or store names. This is not about who done what wrong, but how easy you can be overcharged.  We are all human, and WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES. I just feel in this economy I am watching what is happening to my money. Those little $2 overcharges add up. As you can see in my case it totaled $105.85.

The next incident is….I paid a bill in a store. The bill was to be processed for $45.37 and she processed it for $87.89. $42.52 too much from my account. The good thing is….I am now paid ahead.

So watch those overcharges and you never know the next time you could be on camera. Say…cheese.

My dream home September 23, 2009

This is where I want to live, (sometimes). In a community where things were simple in some ways. Where towns people stopped and talked for a while. They didn’t have road rage or beep because you took too long to get the horse and buggy going. I want a one stop shop, where you go into the General Store for postage stamps, staples ( I don’t mean what you hold paper together with) and friendly faces.  Where there was no fighting for that special toy at Christmas time, or standing in line for checkout.  There were no malls or fifteen different stores to purchase what we needed for around the house. That is the simplicity I’m talking about.

Here is my dream home. Where country decor was country decor. When you could sit around the fire and not worry about phone calls, cell phones to charge, or IPod’s to figure out. Where the family worked together at all times.

There are times when I do like the technology and the way we live today. The convenience of turning on the water at the kitchen sink or the convenience of an instant hot shower. The washer and dryer is nice along with the microwave. My cell phone comes in handy too.  OK, so I do like new as much as old. I just try to simplify the new.

The Last Three of the Ten Time Tips Series September 16, 2009

6. Keep a master list – Just like a hard drive gets full and begins to slow down, so does your brain. Consider backing up your files. Yes, creating a master list may look depressing but consider how it slows you down every time the notion pops into your brain. Keep your master list on top of your desk, ready to add to it or, my personal favorite, put a line through the thing I just finished. You may want to prioritize that list by putting a star next to the really important items. Sort of like a directory on your computer. Try to look at the list everyday. It will be a reminder for you and make you more productive.

I seriously just did this yesterday with my fall cleaning. Normally you hear people say they do spring cleaning. We heated with a wood stove and wow did it make the house dirty. We now have an outdoor furnace and will use it for the first time this year. We are told we are going love it. I am, the dirt is outside. I will just say my house was overdue for a really down and dirty cleaning; windows, curtains, blinds, trim, closets, above my kitchen cabinets and so forth. I couldn’t wait til spring.

I was overwhelmed at what needed to be done so I created my list. I had started a few things about two weeks ago. Don’t think I didn’t add them to my list. I did, because I wanted the satisfaction of crossing off items on my list. Now that motivated me to get more done. If my brother read this blog and you spoke with him he would tell you there is no dirt in my house.

7. Take time to plan – In the long run, planning makes you more productive. Planning allows you to consider what your task is, what is involved, what you need, how long it will take and when something is due.

9. When in doubt, cut it out – Too many people do things like they have always done before them out of habit or familiarity. Continually ask yourself if a task meeting or process is necessary. Don’t focus your energy on low return items just because you have always done so. Break the mold when it needs to be broken.

So there you have, it all ten time tips. I did not do them all at once, didn’t want to maybe bore you. I did not put them in order, thought you would keep reading my blog. I do have this written all in order and would be more than happy to fax or email to you if you find the time tips help you.

Until next time, Simplify and don’t procrastinate.

This week’s update September 11, 2009

Ok, here is what I’ve done this week on my blog. I added pictures to my photo page. I also added a few more Web site references. There is a new “Today’s Thought”. However, here is the big news. I blogged not once but twice in one week. I brought to you some info on what to keep and what to toss.

Hampshire Fest has begun here in the county. Events will be running through Sunday. This will be a little different from our annual Hampshire Heritage Day’s event. This can be a good thing. Change is good.

Our 4-H group will be hosting a food booth. There will be all types of crafts and events. Lots of fall goodies will be available to purchase. The parade is also on the agenda. I would have to say not many things changed.

Any of you readers out there far away or near by, stop in for a fall festival weekend. Grab a bite to eat, enjoy some entertainment, watch the parade and buy some of those fall goodies. Remember keep it simple.