Security Tip Saturday

We got word this morning here at The Compound that another friend had their house broken into. It happened last night while they were downtown at the Yum! Center for the UofL basketball game.  They had posted pictures during the game on their Facebook page. 

I'm smart enough to know that we can't say with 100% accuracy that the break-in occurred because someone saw their posts on Facebook and knew they weren't at home.  But as you well know, I firmly believe there is no such thing as coincidence. 

Once again, let me stress to you to resist the urge to "check in" on Facebook when you are out and about, and wait until you are back home if you want to post pictures of some place you just visited.  It's much safer that way. 

Stay safe.

Black Friday Update, Part Four

I would be remiss if I didn't give you a report of my Black Friday shopping.  

Thursday 11/28
4:45 pm   Went to Dollar General Store to load up on Angel Soft toilet paper on sale for four bucks a twelve-pack.  There was one other shopper in the store during the few minutes I was there.  I bought five packs, a six-pack of Bounty paper towels, also on sale for four bucks, and a two-liter of Diet Pepsi for 85 cents.

5:03 pm  Arrived at Rite-Aid, only to be bummed that they closed three minutes earlier.  Oh well.  I'll just go tomorrow morning and buy my laundry detergent that's on sale buy-one-get-two-free. 

5:10 pm   Arrived at the WalMart on the Greenbelt.  Please note I was not going there to get in line or do any shopping; I went just to see how big the crowd would be.  I parked in the Sonic parking lot and observed for a few minutes.  When I left at 5:20, there were no parking spots available in the WalMart lot, and people were parking in the few spaces at Sonic and in the small strip mall next to WalMart.  I got out of there just in time. 

Friday 11/29
4:45 am  The alarm went off and I was up and dressed and out the door.

5:07 am  Pulled into a fairly-close parking spot at Home Depot, on a mission to buy something for my Sweet Mother for Christmas -- a wagon.  She's wanted a new wagon for a year or two, to use when she does her gardening.  I feel safe in mentioning the wagon here in this report, because #1, she doesn't read TWIT, and #2, friends that read it had best keep their mouths shut and not tell her.  

5:08 am As I went into the main entrance at Home Depot, I stopped for a second to check out the cool (no pun intended) area they had set up right by the entrance -- they had about a dozen big coffee dispensers filled with coffee and hot chocolate, and lots of boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts for the shoppers.  I didn't eat a donut nor get a cup of coffee, but that was very cool of Home Depot to do that for their customers. 

5:17 am  I was back in the van and headed back to the warmth and comfort of my bed at The Compound.   I was able to get the wagon (unassembled, of course) into the shopping cart and loaded into the back of the Odyessy with little effort.  On the way back home, I noticed traffic was still light, and I saw only one car in the drive-thru at White Castle. 

5:31 am   I put my sleep clothes back on, took out my contact lens and crawled back into bed for a few more hours sleep, very satisfied with my Black Friday shopping efforts.  There's not many people that I would get up at 4:45 in the morning on a day off for, but my Sweet Mother wants a wagon, and a wagon she shall have.

Black Friday Countdown, Part Three

My friend and his son made it through another night with temps well below freezing.  But they are seeing more action in the line today.  

11/27/13
 4:00am  We decided to make a run for the toilets at WalMart. Since WalMart is so close to BB, our total trip time was 15 minutes.   Well, I'll admit it. This year's black Friday shopping was totally different than normal. Maybe it is the economy or most likely the cold weather, nobody is camped out at stores like usual. Even WalMart had no people. I should caveat that this only seems to hold true for southern Indiana. By all accounts from the workers inside BB, the stores in Louisville have tons of people waiting and camping. Over here? Well, its just me and my son. It turns out that our 36 hour camp so far could have been shortened by at least 36 hours.  Now, there still may end up being a lot of people come. It may reach a point where the line to get in wraps around the building. But that time is not now. Not at 4:24 in the morning anyway. Maybe it will in another hour or so.

9:30am   Our friend from work finally showed up. The son and I made room in our tent and now we have 3 people. At 10:00 am more people started showing up. Now only 6 hours left until vouchers are handed out.

10:50 am  Our line has finally grown. By 10:45am, we have two ladies sitting in lawn chairs and a huge tent with a mother and her 20-something-year-old son.  Since the line is what it is, my work friend and my son decided to go to the gas station.

 

3:30 pm  The store opens in 2.5 hours. More people are in line now. Still, it is way lower than normal. Some friends of mine spotted me in line and stopped to say hi. Unfortunately, when the husband asked if he could sit in our tent, I of course had to tell him where the end of the line is. He's ok. There still aren't that many people in line yet.

4:00 pm  The local media is here at 4pm. The interviewed the person in line behind us. BB workers are showing up now too.

 

 4:11pm. The line is longer now.  The Best Buy workers told us the tickets/vouchers will start being handed out at 5pm.

5:45 pm  Editor's Update -- I did a drive-by at the WalMart a mile from The Compound just to gawk, and the parking lot was full.  I don't know where anyone else will park.  I'm glad I got out of there and safely made it home. 

6:20pm. Finally we are finished. Total we bought a very nice Dell desktop computer a with 24" LED monitor plus a copy of Microsoft office, a Kindle Fire (for a friend), Sony smart blue ray player and an iPod Nano. I wanted to buy a nice touch screen laptop, but my wife said no. It would have put us over $1,000 and too much money. The desktop didn't come without drama. That was the big ticket item I was waiting for. Unfortunately, they didn't hand out vouchers for that item. That meant I needed to get to that item before other people. Since we were first in line, we shouldn't have had a problem. But, all of our items were scattered across the store. Fortunately, we got to the computers in time. They only had five of this computer/monitor bundle in stock.

Black Friday Countdown, Part Two

Before I post the second installment of the Black Friday Update, let me first give a disclaimer.  In no way, shape, or form, would I wait out in sub-freezing temperatures to buy a laptop and a desktop computer.  As much as I want to meet Ann and Nancy Wilson, I don't think I would camp out for over two days like my coworker is doing.  But to each his own.  

11/27/13

9:01 a.m.  It is almost 9am now and just waking up. The shopping area is very busy with cars right now, but I'm afraid to look outside. We are probably still the only people here.
Around 3am, the grounds crew for the shopping facility came through with leaf blowers and street sweepers. That was very startling.
Well, we better get up now that we are awake.

9:30 a.m.  It is 9:30am now, Wednesday morning. As I stepped out of the tent, I was greeted by snow. Soft, fluffy, powdery snow. What I wasn't greeted by were new people in line. We are still the only people in line. I'm sure more people will come, I'm just not sure when. Attached is picture of our tent (more space now) and a picture of the snow falling across the parking lot.
Best buy isn't open yet, but workers are already here. I think I will attempt to communicate with them again once the store officially opens today. Hopefully the day workers will be more receptive than the ones at night.

10:10 a.m.  I just witnessed something interesting. Over the past 30 minutes, best buy's parking lot filled. 5 or 6 people walked up to the barred front door and waited. Gradually more people made their way to the line. When the door was finally unlocked, literally 100 more people leaped from their cars and went to the doors. They came in all shapes and sizes. Old and young. Fit and out of shape. Fashionable and fashion challenged. However, the one thing they all had in common is that not one person or group of people got in line with us. HATERS!

10:15 a.m.  I just saw the first person that I'm aware of take a picture of our camp. The guy was wearing an Ohio State jacket. Thanks Ohio State man, whoever you are.

10:45am. We just had someone show us some black Friday love. A guy posed for a picture in front of our tent. It was funny watching him because we are actually sitting in our warm truck.

1:30 pm  It is 1:30pm now, 26.5 hours away from vouchers. The sun is out nice and bright now. My son and I went to DQ at 11:30 then sat in our truck from noon until 1:00. Since it warmed up to a balmy 28-degrees, we decided to walk around BB for a bit. As was the case before, the employees wouldn't give us any information on quantities that will be available. I thought about asking to speak to their boss or their boss’s boss, but then decided against it. Not that it really matters how many they have of each item because we are still the only people in line.
We are back in the tent now. The full sun is creating a very warm environment inside the tent. Either that or I’m suffering from hypothermia.  I think I'm going to read that book now I've been thinking about for a long time.

6:05 pm  It is 6:00pm Wednesday. 24 hours until the best buy opens, 22 hours until vouchers. I understand that it is cold, but that hasn't stopped people before. The best buy stores in Louisville have thriving tent communities, but for some reason we are the only people waiting at the Clarksville store. I must investigate why.

6:22 pm  I just finished talking with people inside the store. I told them my concerns that nobody is waiting at Clarksville but us, but the Louisville stores have thriving tent communities. I was assured Clarksville will have all the doorbuster items, just they couldn't tell me how many of each. They also said it was very odd that nobody else was camped out already. 
 
7:08 pm  Several BB workers just came outside to check on us to see if we were either dead, alive or still on their property. They assured us again that they have all of the top items available. Their concern is that once people at the other stores in Louisville find out there is nobody (save 1 tent) at Clarksville, they could get a swarm of people. Well, I don't see a swarm happening anytime soon.

  
 

Black Friday Countdown, Part One

A friend/coworker and his son have begun a journey - they are in line at a Best Buy in southern Indiana, waiting for the Black Friday deals.  This intrigues me - enough that I am posting all of his updates in TWIT.  Personally, I would not wait in line for two days if they were giving the stuff away for free, but I digress.  In the next two days, I will be posting my friend's commentaries about life waiting in the Black Friday line.  
 
11/26/13

4:30 p.m.  Its 4:30 and we are finally on our way. It has been one hour since I was at a Best Buy in Clarksville.

5:42 pm  My trusty partner Stephen (my son) and I made it to best buy Clarksville at about 4:40pm Tuesday evening. By 5:10 we had our camp completely set. Oh, and we are 1st in line. The people at those other best buy stores can stick it in their ear. It is about 5:35 now. Nobody else is in line yet. I guess they are all wimps like my former best buy camping partner. Stephen is inside the store right now, using the facilities, scoping out where the doorbuster items are being kept and probably playing game demos. For me, I'm totally chilling. Only 46.5 hours to go until vouchers are handed out. When we were setting up camp, a police officer asked me if something was really worth waiting that long outside for. I told him there really isn't, but we have fun doing it and meeting new people. I also lied to him and said every room in my house has a door buster flat screen HDTV thanks to best buy. He thought that was pretty funny. I also told him I'm not above selling my place in line. We shall see.......

5:45 pm A little girl with her parents just walked by. She walked close to the tent and said loudly, "Is anybody in there?"  I said MAYBE very loudly and she ran off. Yes, my first little kid weirded out!

6:00 pm  Best Buy Camping List:

One 3-person tentOne air mattress

Two sub zero sleeping bags

Two 5-degree sleeping bags

One case of bottled water

One 6-pack of bottled Mountain Dew

One case of military MRE

MetRx protein bars - various varieties

Two folding chairs

Multiple layers of clothing, jackets and hats

One battery powered lantern

Two books

One Nintendo 3DS

That's all I can think of for now. My family is only a phone call and 20 minutes away should we need anything.

6:01 pm  It is 6:00pm and someone just drove up to our tent and yelled at us. Loudly they yelled, "Go home and enjoy Thanksgiving!" Before I could open the tent and tell the Jesus loves you, they drove off quickly. Oh well, haters gonna hate...

6:11 pm  It just started snowing at 6:10pm. HOORAY!

Parking Lot Crash of 2013 Update

Things are rolling now, faithful readers.  My insurance company called today and told me how much (albeit small) they would pay me.  So the ball is rolling now and soon the work will be started to fix the old Blazer.  
Hopefully on Wednesday I'll get to make it over to the county clerk's office to get some paperwork completed, and then it will be just a couple of more weeks [hopefully] before my insurance company gets me the check. 

Some friends are dissing me now because I've made the decision to get the Blazer fixed instead of just buying another car.  But honestly, with a student loan payment and other financial obligations, this is the only option I have right now. 

As of now, I don't regret making the decision to get the Blazer fixed.  The only thing I do regret is waiting almost six weeks to turn the crap into my insurance company. 

As always, I'll keep you posted. 
 

Link Of The Week

Thanksgiving will be here in just a few days, and the grocery stores have been a madhouse with people buying their turkey and all of the trimmings.  Our family seldom has turkey, mainly because we prefer chicken.  As far back as I can remember, we had a big old baked chicken for Thanksgiving.  It was big enough for us to have leftover chicken sandwiches, which we all loved.  But I digress.  On the few occasions when we had a turkey, I remember Grandma getting up before dawn to put the turkey in the oven.  That's a lot of work and dedication, if you ask me.  But then again, I don't cook.  

If you are like me and don't cook, but still want to fix a turkey on Thanksgiving, I found a great website to help you out.  Visit  http://americanfood.about.com/od/resourcesadditionalinfo/a/Cooking_Turkey.htm and it will tell you all you need to know about fixing a great turkey.  Good luck.

Strange Saturday

I had to go to work for half of a day for inventory, and when I got home, I was greeted with some strange news.  A friend had called the house this morning to just chat with us. Since I wasn't home, she chatted with the Old Man and then my Sweet Mother.  Both of them reported that they had a great phone convo with our friend.

This reminded me that in this day and age, hardly anyone has phone conversations with friends.  It's usually by text or email.  This phone call today was very refreshing.  It makes me kinda sad that my close friends don't ever call me anymore - they usually get in touch by text or email.  I still like to hear (or even better, see) a person when we are having communication.  I truly miss the physical interation, even if it is by voice. 

It's not New Year's Day yet, but in the new year, I am going to be better at either talking or being with my friends.  Because the texting thing just isn't cutting it.

Flashback Friday

I am very happy to report that my vintage plastic Noel candles arrived today.  I was very impressed at the fast shipment, considering they came from Oregon.  We have them currently set up in the dining room, but next week I will be taking them to work as part of our office Christmas decorations.  I will post pictures once we get the office decorated on Monday.  I must say this was one of my better eBay purchases in all of my eBay bidding and buying. 

Parking Lot Crash of 2013 Update

I don't think I've mentioned this before, but in the five weeks that I've been dealing with the Parking Lot Crash of 2013, I have had a horrible case of the hives.  Almost every day since the crash happened, I have itched like crazy.  Some days it's gotten so bad that I've had to take a couple of Benadryl.  Believe me when I tell you that today is one of those days.  

I just hope and pray that this all comes to an end soon so my nerves can catch a break. 

Parking Lot Crash of 2013 Update

I have a little bit of good news to report on what has been a very dismal and stressful previous five weeks.  Yep, it was five weeks tomorrow when the Parking Lot Crash of 2013 occurred. I finally decided to quit waiting for the insurance company and filed the claim with my insurance company, and within ten minutes of my phone call, my insurance company was calling me back saying that they were going to waive my deductible because I was not at fault.  Well, no shit.  And they said that an adjuster would be out either Friday or Monday.  They also assured me that this claim would not cause my rates to go up.  I just regret that I waited five weeks to turn it in to my insurance company.  If I'd done this in the beginning, I'd probably be back on the road in my old Blazer by now.  Oh well.  Live and learn.  As always, I'll keep you posted.

Well Said, Abraham Lincoln

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

 Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

File Under: WTF?

I borrowed the car today and drove to work, and on the way home stopped by one of our favorite grocery stores, Aldi's.  I went with the main goal of getting a spiral-sliced ham.  I'm fed up with paying out the ass for processed lunchmeat that you hardly get two sandwiches from the package.  So I decided to get a ham.  Well, half a ham.  And when I got to the store, I got the only spiral-sliced ham in the entire store.  Yes, the only one.  Keep in mind Thanksgiving is just a week and a half away; you'd think the store would be full of spiral-sliced hams for all of the folks that don't like turkey. 

I picked up a few other things and then went through the check-out line, only to have the clerk make a comment about how she thought there weren't any more spiral-sliced hams in the store.  She had the voice of experience; she said she'd fielded a dozen or more phone calls today from people asking if they had any spiral-sliced hams.  I guess the store clerks didn't see the one spiral-sliced ham in the refrigerator case. 

As soon as I got home tonight, Mom took the ham out of my hands and immediately opened it and cut a few slices off for us for supper.  It was awesome, and I cannot wait for lunch tomorrow so I can have a ham sandwich.

But who knew?  I got the only spiral-sliced ham in the store.  I'm glad I didn't have to fight anybody over it.

App Of The Week

As you already know, I'm a planner and I love lists.  I'm not OCD about it, but I like to have a list whenever I have something that needs to be done.  I make a list of items to pack whenever I am going to spend a night or two out of town, and I make a list of things that need to be done before I am gone for more than a couple of days at work.  That having been said, let me share with you an app that I use for my lists.  It's called Rich Note, and it's available for iOS and Android.  Please take a moment to download it and use it.  You won't be disappointed.

Screwy Saturday

My social calendar is pretty full - I've been invited to two big events today--- the U of L vs Houston football game and the B.B. King concert over at the Horseshoe Casino.  I'm feeling pretty sassy today and I need some fun so I am going to attempt (key word) to attend both of these events today.  It's all in the realm of possibility.  I should be able to be at the U of L football game for possibly three quarters, and then come home and change and head across the river to Horseshoe and spend some time with the King of the Blues. 

The older I get, the more I really don't feel like doing stuff like this, but this weekend, I'm all about having a good time. 

As always, I will keep you posted.

Flashback Friday

I know Thanksgiving isn't even here yet, and there's still leftover Halloween candy in the stores for 75% off, but it's not too early to think about Christmas decorations.  

Ever since I was a kid, I've always wanted a pair of these very cool plastic light-up Christmas candles.  And now by golly, I'm getting a pair.  Actually, I wanted the plastic choir people more than the candles, but they are a hot item, and I'm not willing to part with a Benjamin for one.  So I'll settle for these vintage candles.  

The pair I got from eBay are 39 inches tall, and the seller says they still light up.  They'd better, that's all I can say.  

I plan on taking these to work and setting them on each side of my office door. I will be sure to post pictures when I do my holiday decorating.  

Thursday Updates

It truly pains me to say that I'm dealing with a case of the hives today.  With the stress over the Blazer, and with a big dramatic security breach last night at church, I've been a basket case today, and it took no time for me to start feeling itchy and breaking out with the hives.  

I'm getting ready to go soak in a bath tub full of anti-itch stuff and then crawl on the bed and read and relax for the rest of the evening.  

As the picture from a few year ago said, pray for bettah dayz.  

Something You Don't Hear Every Day

My Dad asked me a question this evening, and it's a question that an adult child wouldn't expect their 79 year-old father to ask them.  Dad asked me (and I quote) "What's a selfie?"

I don't make this stuff up.  

Thought For The Day

I believe that there's not much that a bowl of warm just-out-of-the-oven banana pudding can't fix. 

Happy Veterans Day

TWIT would like to wish a very happy Veterans Day to all of the brave men and women who served to protect our country.  I especially would like to say Happy Veterans Day to my favorite veteran, my Dad. 
And I would also like to give a special Happy Veterans Day to all of the Korean War veterans. Somehow, the brave men and women that served in the Korean War get put on the back burner, but they are not forgotten by me and my family.  My dad proudly served during the Korean War.

Thank you all for your service. 

Link Of The Week

This Link of the Week is very time sensitive -- you need to click on the link tomorrow, Monday November 10 from 10:00 a.m.till 11:59 p.m.  Here is the info directly from the Special Olympics website.  Please help them out and click on the link so they can get a new van.  And if you don't mind, please share their page and link on your Facebook pages. 

  With the Veterans Day holiday coming on Monday, we just wanted to pass along a reminder that Monday will be our voting day in the Toyota 100 Cars for Good Challenge. We are in the running for a brand new Toyota van, but to win we must be one of the top two vote getters out of a group of five non-profit organizations.

With our staff and storage centralized in Louisville and Frankfort, our ability to project people and equipment out into the state is vital to our fulfilling our mission. A new van would add much needed capacity for our program and improve our delivery of services. But we need your help.

Once again I ask you to please make plans now to log on to 100carsforgood.com and vote for Special Olympics Kentucky on Monday. Voting is open from 10 am to 11:59 pm Eastern Time. Voting takes no more than a minute and your vote could be the one that helps us win this much-needed van.

It's A Beautiful Day

As I type this, I am listening to U2's "Beautiful Day" on iTunes because it is in deed a beautiful day.  It's sunny with not a cloud in the sky, and the trees are full of their fall colors.  It's not too cool and not too warm today.  It's a beautiful day.  And the weatherazzi is calling for snow on Tuesday and Wednesday, with lows in the 20's for a good part of next week.  Yep, snow.  The latest forecast I heard was less than a quarter of an inch of snow, but as we all know, that will be more than enough to wreak havoc with traffic.  It will definitely be Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.  As always, I'll keep you posted.  In the meanwhile, I'm going to the store today for milk and bread.

Flashback Friday

On this Flashback Friday, TWIT would like to wish Bonnie Raitt a happy 64th birthday.  During her career, she has won a prestigious 10 Grammy awards - the latest earlier this year. 

I didn't know it was Bonnie Raitt's birthday until I was driving home from work this evening.  I was on my way back to The Compound after picking up our usual Friday night fish, and couldn't find anything on the radio so I hit the "seek" button and it came to rest on the Louisville Free Public Library radio station.  They were playing an entire hour of Bonnie Raitt songs in her honor.  

I'm not going to lie and say Bonnie Raitt is the reason that I decided to play the guitar; you all already know that distinction goes to Nancy Wilson.  But Bonnie Raitt is an inspiration because at 64, she is still rocking with the best of them.  

I've had the privilege of seeing Bonnie Raitt three times in concert, and each time, I was thoroughly entertained.  I repeat, she can still rock with the best of them. 

Happy birthday, Bonnie Raitt. Keep on rocking. 

New Recipe Thursday

We had something new/different for supper tonight, and it was so good, that I wanted to share the recipe with you, faithful readers.  But you know I don't cook.  

For supper tonight, Mom fixed the ever-popular green bean casserole, with the little crispy fried onions on top.  Only she didn't use cream of mushroom soup as the recipe calls for. Instead, she used cream of chicken soup.  There wasn't much left in the bowl by the time supper was over, I'm here to tell you.  The cream of chicken soup gave it more flavor than the standard cream of chicken soup.  And instead of the French style green beans, Mom used a quart of our homegrown canned green beans.  I'm sure that had something to do with the awesome flavor as well. 

Substituting cream of chicken soup for cream of mushroom soup definitely gets the TWIT Seal of Approval.  Try it - you'll like it. 

Parking Lot Crash Of 2013 Update

We're dealing with some issues at The Compound tonight, but I wanted to give an update on the Parking Lot Crash Of 2013.  Today I received an envelope from the kid's insurance company that weighed at least one pound.  As I said, we're dealing with some issues tonight, and I don't have the energy, strength, or patience to read the entire huge packet that the insurance company sent me.  I am going to play the Scarlet O'Hara card, and I will deal with it tomorrow.  As always, I will keep you posted.

It Happens All The Time

Today, we start a recurring post in TWIT called "It Happens All The Time."  From time to time, I will post about something that "happens all the time." 

There are days at work when I sit in my office for a few hours without getting up from my desk; when I am working on a project and just don't need to get up and go anywhere. Invariably, when I DO get up from my desk and go get something from the printer or go to the bathroom, that moment is when someone will call me.  It happens all the time.

Hat's Off

Normally, I don't single people out in TWIT unless it's for a very good reason.  Today, I have a very good reason to mention a friend in TWIT.  I am giving a big Hat's Off to my little friend, The Girl.  She's the daughter of an old friend/coworker/faithful reader, SH.  The Girl made me a very cool pink rubber band bracelet - the kind that are all the rage right now.  Not only did she send me the cool bracelet today, but The Girl dipped into her Halloween stash and also sent me my favorite candy bar, a Reese Cup.  And it was a full a full-size Reese Cup, too; not a mini.  

Many thanks to The Girl for sharing not only your talent, but your candy, with me.  You rock. 

Link Of The Week

You already know that I am old school.  Even though I have the latest in technology, I'm still old school. Example, if I need to pick someone up in the morning and give them a ride to work, I tape a handwritten note to my keys as soon as the person asks for a ride.  Sure, I use reminders on my phone, tablets, and computer, but I digress.  

The fine folks at Johnson & Johnson want to help you remember.  You can sign up for Right@Home Reminders, and you will get an email or text reminding you do something.  Whether it's replacing the batteries in your smoke detectors twice a year, or taking the turkey out of the freezer to properly thaw out, you can have a reminder sent.  All you need to do is visit http://www.rightathome.com/Pages/Program_Faq.aspx and sign up.  I love it and with a ton of things going on right now, I use it a lot.

Farewell, Rocky Dog

The hearts of everyone here at The Compound are broken after we lost our beloved Rocky Dog yesterday.  I say "our" Rocky, because he spent almost as much time at our house -especially with Mom - as he did with his family.  

He was diagnosed with COPD and arthritis back in the early spring, and his vet said that he probably wouldn't make it through the summer.  But Rocky hung in there until yesterday morning.  

I can probably count on one hand the number of times that Mom took her daily walk without Rocky by her side.  And every Saturday morning, he would come over for a fresh, homemade biscuit.  He even had his own personalized food bowl and water bowl at our house to use.  

Rocky was a faithful, loyal companion, and loved those that loved him. 

The Compound will never be the same. 

 

Flashback Friday

The current crafty trend is the very cool bracelets made out of small colored rubber bands.  They are very popular, especially among the younger girls.  Some schools have banned them because they say they are "distracting", and others have even gone so far as to put a limit on the number of bracelets the kids can wear.  

The rubber band bracelets are made on a plastic loom.  We were talking about these rubber band bracelets at work the other day, when our conversation turned to the old school metal loom as picture above and the resulting pot holders.  You'd take these loops of different colored material (resembling giant, thick, multi-colored rubber bands) and using the loom, you'd weave them into a pot holder.  This was very popular back in the day when I was a kid.  

I loved trying (key word) to make the loop potholders, but I never had the patience to make one.  I would get the loops strung up on the loom, and then get disgusted with it and leave it in the floor, only to step on the loom later and throw a fit when it hurt my foot.  I know for a fact that I personally never completed a potholder; Grandma or Mom would always finish them for me.  I can only imagine that this is probably the same way today with the rubber band bracelet loom.