Another Saturday Gone

Posted on May 22, 2017May 21, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Another Saturday gone

Sounds like a good title for a country song to me. Its hard to believe that another Saturday has slipped through my fingers and I haven’t done anything interesting to talk about. Who knew that finding topics of interest to share would be so hard?

Where did the Day go?

So let’s see, where did the day go. How did the time get away from me?

8-11 am Wait for the Fire Department to come by for our annual fire inspection.

10:20 take Rocky to the Vet for his annual wellness check. He’s a senior kitty now so this is even more important. Besides he really needed a “mani/pedi”.

His claws were turning into samurai swords!

Lunch and a hair cut.
Top off the gas tank and get the car washed. Get all that sticky tree sap off the hood.
Stop off at Walmart and Big Lots to see what kinds of boats/kayaks they have a how much they cost.

By then it was 3:30 so I checked out cat trees for Rocky.

Why does Rocky need another cat tree?

My silly kitty won’t go on the old cat tree that he used to share with Smokey and Buddy.

He hasn’t been on it since Buddy passed away. I’ve tried catnip spray, hiding treats on it, toys but he just sniffs it and hops down. I thought I’d get him a new one to see if he’d have any interest in something with no other cat scents.

I’ll set the big one on the porch for now.

Weekend Project

With Memorial day Weekend coming up I have decided to complete the long side tracked catification of my back porch/ deck. I have the lattice work to set up and just need to pot some catnip. It will serve to entertain Rocky and keep the mosquitoes away at the same time. Maybe after 10 years of living here I will finally be able to use my deck.

Ebates

Posted on January 4, 2016January 4, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Have any of you used the web page Ebates.com?

I’ve been using it off and on for about a year. I use it when I think of it. Sometimes I’m shopping and find the item I want and forget to go to Ebates first. That’s my mistake. There are so many stores in Ebates that chances are you’ll find the same store you just searched there.

ebates-logo1

I’ll give you an example. I like to buy diabetic crew socks. They are so comfy but they can be expensive and hard to find. I used to get them a Walmart but they haven’t had them the last couple of times I looked. I tried my local CVS store and struck out too. Anyway, Saturday I had a list of things I was going to try to find but before I went out in the cold to shop I decided to search the internet one more time.

I found some rather expensive diabetic socks…$9.99 for 1 pair. Walgreen’s online also had diabetic socks. They were $5.49 for 1 pair. Armed with that information I moved over to the Ebates site and entered “Diabetic socks” and bingo, there they were. I placed my order through Ebates. That particular order carried a 2% rebate. That goes on my account.

In about a month I’ll get a check in the mail for all the rebates I’ve earned since the last check. I think they send it monthly but I really haven’t paid that much attention. The cost to me was the same whether I ordered direct or went through Ebates so why not go for the rebate?

But what I really want to mention is that I also ordered from another store. I ordered some slippers. They have a hard sole so they were not inexpensive. I got an email from Ebates Customer Service saying they had tracked me to the store but did not receive the order from the store. That was a surprise. They asked me to send them a copy of my order receipt. I followed their instructions and copy/pasted the info in the form.

Believe it or not I got an email right back explaining that they still didn’t have the order from the store but that with my documentation they were adding my rebate to my account. If they did not get the order from the store , they would follow up with the store! WOW, a pro-active customer service department.

Big-fat-check

I’ve always enjoyed getting Ebates emails saying “Your Big Fat Check is on the way” and opening the mail to find a check waiting even if it’s only $9 or $10 but throw in this customer service and I think I will make an effort to use the website more often.

Have any of you had any experience with them?

Raining and cold

Posted on October 11, 2014October 11, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I was hoping the weatherman would be wrong but he hit the nail on the head today. Rainy and cold. I might have to break down and put the heat on. I wanted to wait until I had the furnace cleaned. Of course I’ve been procrastinating. Just too many other things grabbing my attention.

The car has really been rattling and the tires are wearing unevenly. It’s 13 years old and has 180000 miles on it. If I need a ton of work is it worth it? If I were to get a new car , what would I want? I have no clue so tomorrow its going into the shop for a thorough going over. When that’s done I should have a good idea of what I need to invest if I’m going to keep it.

It’s still raining so I went to the mall for a haircut. Over an hour wait without an appointment. Lets see what else I can do to pass the day.

A stop at the used book shop to pick up some good reads. Then a visit to my friendly T-Mobile store for a quick education on the new wireless calling. Oh Look, a mattress store is right next door. I need a new mattress but I have no idea what kind. My old one is 20 years old and saggy and lumpy.

1 hour later…..

I have a new mattress being delivered on Wednesday. They will take the old one away. I really didn’t intend to buy a mattress today but it’s been on my mind. I think I tried every mattress in the store from inner springs to memory foam. I ended up with a pretty traditional one, a beauty rest. It had one extra feature that I hope will really work. It has a gel core? Or something like that, that is supposed to keep you cool at night. If that works I will really like that.

$Natural-Latex-Mattresses$

Last stop , groceries. Always a challenge. I settled on a pot roast. I’ll toss it in the crock pot tomorrow morning and that will give me meals for the week.

The rain has finally stopped but its still cold. It’s supposed to be sunny tomorrow but not much warmer. I think I’ll take a look at those books. I got a couple of Brad Meltzer’s and a couple of Iris Johansen’s. That should keep me busy.

Good bye Arthur

Posted on July 6, 2014July 6, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Hurricane Arthur swept through the region and left a lot of downed trees in its wake.

There was some flooding and if the news reports are true, a lot of boats sitting on shore now that had been moored in various harbors.

The rain has cleared out and it is a most beautiful day. The air smells fresh and clean. the humidity is gone and there’s a beautiful gusty breeze. It’s a perfect kind of day.

And I’ve had it with being cooped up! The rash seems to finally be subsiding although I expect it’s going to take a couple more days before it’s completely gone. At least now it doesn’t feel hot to the touch and I seem to be able to button the waistband of a pair of jeans.

I started out the morning checking out a few kitchen places in the area. They were closed for the holiday weekend so then I started hitting the furniture stores. I worked my way from Bernie and Phyl’s in Raynham to Jordan’s Furniture in Avon ending up at Bob’s Discount Furniture in Randolph/Soughton.

I thought I was just getting ideas but I was really discouraged by the time I got to “Bob’s”. I knew exactly what I wanted but no one seemed to have it. Jordan’s Furniture was so crazy expensive I couldn’t get over it. I did check their outlet section but only found recliners, no matching love seat. They had the material and style I was looking for in the discontinued lines. I didn’t see anything at all in the main store.

Bernie and Phyl’s had an adorable recliner rocker that was so comfortable that I almost bought it on the spot but it would have never lasted in my house.

It was upholstered in a nubby fabric that would have called “here Kitty Kitty” to my cats and I would have no one to blame but myself for bringing in such a temptation.

So by the time I reached Bob’s I was vulnerable and when I found a love seat and matching recliner in chocolate brown (love that color). I was sold.

Plus the cost of both pieces was less that the cost of just one anywhere else! I know the argument, you get what you pay for. But my $400 couch lasted 15 years and it’s just me (and 2 cats) so I expect it will last.

Oh and did I mention it’s a “micro fiber”. Soft and easy to clean and rumor has it that cats don’t like it. It’s going to be delivered next Saturday!

Post Trashed/ The Day After

Posted on November 29, 2013November 29, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Good Morning Friends!

Anyone with a Turkey Hangover?

I had quite a post planned for today all about my thoughts on Black Friday. Comments and opinions about shopping on Thanksgiving. Those poor people who had to miss Thanksgiving with their families because the big, greedy retail stores wanted one more day to put their paws in our pockets.

Then I thought whoa! Until this year I was one of those “Poor people” who had to work and it wasn’t so bad. Before I worked in Plymouth I seldom worked alone and we all brought holiday food to work. Our workplace became a Thanksgiving meal and the folks working celebrated with each other. It was nice. I still celebrated on my own when I had my next day off. The extra money that I got by working the holiday certainly came in handy.

Once they moved the office to Plymouth and went “Virtual” I found I didn’t always have anyone working with me in my office. Oh I had co-workers, just not at my location but again, I didn’t mind. It was usually a quiet day and it was in Plymouth that some of the nicest things were done for me.

One Thanksgiving 2 different co-workers drove to the office to bring me Thanksgiving Dinner because they knew I was alone there! I was amazed and thankful to even be thought of once, but twice. That’s pretty special.

Another holiday when just 4 of us were working one of the 4 brought in a whole meal; ham, baked potatoes, veggies…for all of us. All home made. He got up early before work, cooked up the feast and surprised us all!

Come to think of it, I have more good memories of working holidays than bad.

And judging from the interviews on the news, these workers were happy too. They talked about earning extra money for Christmas, about break rooms overflowing with food, of happy friends that were shopping and saying hi; people they wouldn’t see if they were at home.

So I don’t know if opening on Thanksgiving is really so bad. I worked because a telecommunication company that offers phone service has to have people on in case of emergency . It’s the law in Massachusetts, maybe even Federal law but here were people working retail, laughing and singing the praises of their employers for being open and giving them the opportunity to earn a little extra for the upcoming holiday season.