Ear Wax, Fallen Leaves and Cable Remotes

When I get to the point that I can't hear well even with my hearing aids turned up, it usually means I have ear wax in abundance. Tuesday, I went to C*stco's hearing aid dept., to get my ears checked. The manager there, who I liked lots has flown the coop and a woman has taken his place. She checked my ears but neither had any wax, which was a big surprise to me. At the time she checked it, my right ear was completely stopped up. She advised me to see my doctor, who, she said, would put me on some sort of antihistamine or other sinus meds. My reaction: "Oh, joy, just what I need - more meds." She also made an appointment for me to get my hearing tested again in the middle of December, just in case the sinuses were not the cause of the problem. I may cancel that if I see it's not necessary. I took a Cl*ritin tonight. Wish me luck!

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Our yard men came today to blow 14 days worth of fallen leaves; some of which were still wet from the steady rains last week. Six men, either wearing back-pack blowers or pushing air blowers on wheels worked for at least 40 minutes to corral the leaves into the natural areas of our yard. An hour after they left, you could barely tell they had been here. I wish a front would come in that had winds high enough to blow all the leaves off the trees at one time - but not high enough to blow limbs off or uproot trees. Who do I have to call to order that?

Guess what? The guys blew Stella the spider away! Mr. kenju noticed at dinner time that she was not in her usual spot. I opened the door and saw the remnants of her latest web creation (which really had been a beautiful sight) blowing in the breeze and Stella was no where to be seen. I hope she comes back and I'll let you know if she does.

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Monday night the cable TV remote quit working. I turned it off in the afternoon and when mr. kenju turned it on after dinner - nothing happened. I turned on the TV and the cable box manually and proceeded to re-program the remote, but nothing worked. I had done it many times before and had no problems, so I called the local cable trouble-shooter for help. Either she was watching a sit-com or she was at home herding her children, but I distinctly heard kids in the background. LOL

I told her my tale of woe; she re-booted the box, to no avail. She told me to return the remote and get a new one, which I did the next day. Guess what? It doesn't work either. Pooh. That means I'll call them back and they'll tell me when their guy can come out to the house and install a new cable box**. I'm sure it will be three weeks from next Tuesday, between the hours of midnight and midnight, give or take a few.....

Update: Glory Be!! The cable service people will be here between 1pm and 3pm today!! According to the woman I spoke with last night, we have "low signals"; meaning a new cable box is in order. YAY!

** My younger daughter will say..."I told you so!" She's been telling me for months that we needed a new box.

A Blogger Canvass

Weary Hag's Blogger Canvass

My blog friend Carol at Weary Hag sent this canvass quite a while back, and I forgot all about it. Carol, I hope it isn't too late!

1. While typing - do you prefer classic or italics?

I use both, depending on how I feel at the moment, or what emphasis I might want to place on a group of words.

2. While reading - do you prefer classic or italics? Classic!

3. Worst experience while blogging? [i.e. page froze, lost data, caught using dated or false info, typos - what made you gasp - even a li'l]

When my computer freezes up as I am trying to leave a comment! Very frustrating. Also, I have lost whole posts before I got used to the vagaries of Blogger, and learned to click save after every sentence!

4. Best experience while blogging? [i.e. new friendship/relationship formed, wrote a post that was just short of genius, learned new com tech skill, etc]

I like the written interaction with people from all over the world, but I like meeting fellow bloggers even more. I have met at least 10, and they are all very nice people!

5. Let's assume you're an avid blogger - someone at an intimate dinner or party suggests that blogging is for idiots. In what way do you beat the dog meat out of them - [read: handle the situation] - if at all?

I would simply say that I have four- to five years experience as a blogger, and my thinking about it is that most bloggers are anything but idiotic! Many are very intelligent; at least the ones I have come to know and love.

6. Do you pass your blog URL out to people like sneeze molecules or do you generally keep it to yourself and your own group of mutual blog buddies?

I have passed it out, but not indiscriminately. If someone shows genuine interest, I will tell them how to find me.

7. Do you share your blog with family [children/spouse/siblings/parents] or do you deliberately keep it from them?

My parents are long gone, but they would have liked and been proud of my blog, I think. I have no siblings. My children all know how to get to it, but I don’t think they read it much. They seem to have decided that maybe not all bloggers are axe murderers, so they don't need to keep a check on me!

8. This is for those who only use a fabricated name when blogging: Do you ever wish you could tell people just exactly who you really are or are you content to remain anonymous to the masses?

Even though I blog under an alias (which is a mixture of some of the letters in my names), I have not kept my identity secret. Only the people who run into my blog accidentally are in the dark. But if they read for a while, they will discover who I am.

9. This is for those who use their true name when blogging: Do you ever wish you had remained anonymous or are you pleased as punch to get your real self out there?

Yes; there are many times when I wish I had remained totally anonymous, and that my family didn’t know about the blog. I am somewhat limited in what I can say, although it really isn’t much of a problem for me. I tell nearly everything, eventually (according to mr. kenju!)

10. Of these - which is your favorite genre to read in the blogging community: [choose ONLY one]

a) how-to & advice, b) brief topics covered with a comedic edge, c) personal adventures or experiences, d) photos with captions, e) up-to-the-minute newsy type stories told with blogger's perspective or spin

Option C would be my number one choice, although I do like photos. Heck, I like all those choices!!

11. From one to ten, when reading a blog post ... do spelling & grammar really count? (not the occasional typo). One: they don't count in the least .............. Ten: stop reading midstream and move on.

I’d say nine. I really hate to see bad spelling and grammar; especially when it is apparent that the blogger really doesn’t know how to spell (not just typos, of which I am guilty), but I wouldn’t stop reading a post because of it. I might not revisit that blog, however.

12. Have you been approached to write a book or magazine article or to contribute to an existing publication in any way, solely based upon your blog? (and I don't mean by smokinbettylou or tedthetool)

I wrote a blog post which I later (2 years) submitted to our newspaper. They printed it, and I was asked to submit further writings, and even got a little fan mail, but I never did. I have not been asked to write a book or magazine article….and I doubt I ever would.

13. Do you prefer the read & comment type of post or the interactive style (like this one)?

Either one is fine with me; but as you can see, I took quite a while to answer this one. Read and leave a short comment is more my style.

14. Which applies to you most often? a) I read and comment, b) I read and move along ...

I comment 90% of the time.

15. Are you involved in any other networking venues or is blogging your one and only? [i.e. FB, YT, MSpace, LiveJournal, Classmates, photo hosting sites, etc.] No need to name them unless you want to

I am on Facebook and I once started a My Space page, but gave it up almost immediately. I didn’t like the people it was attracting (creepy). Classmates bothers the heck out of me. I keep telling them not to send me so much email, but they still do. I never joined there, but I am listed.

Too pooped to push out a post at present. Thanks for popping in; I'll be back presently. I hope you'll be patient. Please?

There's nothing to tell. Really.

I could tell you about the 3 baskets of clean laundry I need to fold and put away. The ones that have been piling up for a week.

I could tell you about having to spend $300.08 on my car yesterday, when I learned it was the brakes that were making that awful crunching noise when I turned right.

I could tell you how the lawn service came yesterday morning; cut the grass and blew debris off the deck, and today -- tree debris, branches and pollen are covering absolutely everything. I could tell you how the idiot with a weed eater cut down a small seedling I had transplanted and was nursing along to take the place of the cleyera I lost last spring. I could tell you how mad that made me, but I don't usually curse here.

I could tell you that more and more people I know are losing their jobs, or having their hours cut back, but you already know many who are in that category, don't you? And then I could tell you about the overworked people who are left to do the work of those laid off, without raises to motivate them.

I could tell you that my cats, who don't seem to be eating any more than usual, are filling up their litter boxes faster than I can shovel it into the trash, and when the box is not as clean as they would like, they show their displeasure by peeing beside the box and pooping in the front hall.

I could tell you about my dream last night. I was seated in a movie theater to see a live show (I don't know who the performer was) and as soon as the lights were lowered, I realized that my purse had been stolen. I woke up almost crying I was so upset at losing my money, phone, cards, etc. That'll teach me to put my purse under the seat in front of me!

I could tell you that the fires in North Myrtle Beach are dangerously close to the place we are supposed to stay in May, and it's possible that it will burn. But I don't want to think about that.

I could tell you about the great pizza we had for dinner, because the ground round I tried to thaw in the fridge today was still frozen solid when I came home from work.

But I won't bother.

BTW: that's not me up there at the top!

Odds and Ends

I got these two awards recently. I have the most annoying habit; I save the award, but sometimes I forget to note who gave it to me!! Kay gave me the top one.......THANKS, Kay!!

But I have no idea who gave me this one and I'm saying how sorry I am to that person. Obviously, I am not sharing much love now. :-/

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You MUST go here and see this most amazing place on Earth!!

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When you are typing the word verification on some blogs, does it bother you to see a Q without a U following? I can hardly stand it!!

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Are you as sick of politics as I am? I can't wait to get to November and the vote and have it all over and done!! I just hope we don't have hanging chads or malfunctioning voting machines or mass hysteria again.

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I'll be back tomorrow with some more photos from the tabletop competition.

Double Your Pleasure...Double Your Fun

Sandy tagged me with a meme because I said (in Rosemary's comments) that I was glad I hadn't been tagged! Should have kept my mouth shut, huh?


Here are the rules:
1. Write your own six-word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post.
4. Tag five more blogs with links.
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

Okay, here goes:
1. Florally creative perfectionist sought Prince Charming.
2. I'm not tagging anyone, because nearly everyone I know has already been tagged!

#2#2#2#2#2#2#2

AND, here's another meme, that Nepharia tagged me for. I thought I might as well do two in one post.......LOL

List seven random things about yourself that people may not know.
Link the person who sent this to you, and leave a comment on their blog so that their readers can visit yours.
Post the rules on your blog.
Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, linking their blog.
Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
My seven random things (I hope I can remember some I haven't told before, but it's almost impossible (seeing as how I tell nearly everything!))

1. I AM a perfectionist about SOME things (and I won't tell you which ones....LOL)
2. I consider myself a very lucky person; not in winning things, but in having the family that I do and the opportunities I've had in life, especially those for travel.
3. I am very grateful that I was allowed/given the opportunity to go to college, and my mom insisted that I do it. She wanted me to have an education; one that she didn't take advantage of when she could have.
4. An animal lover from the get-go, I would nevertheless consider very carefully if one of mine needed very expensive surgery or palliative care.
5. My favorite book (and I cannot tell you why) is Anthony Adverse, by Hervey Allen. I read it while I was in high school and I have never forgotten that I loved it. I need to read it again so I'll know why.....LOL
6. I tend not to watch movies over and over. I see that question often in memes and at Michele's, but it is hard for me to answer. There are only a few I'd waste my time on again.
7. I don't like to be photographed, since I seldom care for the resulting picture.

No tags for this one either - for the same reason!

Have you ever looked at my profile picture? A friend said something to me recently about my blog and mentioned the "little picture thingy on the right", which she had never looked at. So, here it is in easily readable size. I'm starting a new series; one I will call Judyisms. This one is a lesson about jumping the gun:

After I returned home from delivering the wedding Saturday, I was puttering around in the garage putting away supplies and idly thinking about the next event. I didn't hear the phone ring, and when I went into the house at 3:15, I was surprised to see the red light blinking to show we had a message. I checked the caller ID, and it was from the church where the wedding was taking place. I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach; calls from the church cannot ever bode well. Listening to the message (which came at 2:50), I heard the bride's sister say they could not find the kissing balls for the flower girls, and she asked me to call on her cell phone. The wedding had started at 3pm, so I was frantic - but I knew they HAD NOT ordered any kissing balls for flower girls - in fact, they had not ordered anything for flower girls!

I called her, leaving a message to that effect, asking her to call me after the wedding and I would explain. For an hour and 20 minutes, I worried. Every possible thought ran through my mind....."What if the bride thought she had ordered them? What if I dropped the ball on this one? (knowing I had not, but still - I wondered.) I discussed it with my daughter, mr. kenju and mr. kenju's brother. Each offered their ideas and solutions (none of which were workable).....LOL. Finally, my cell phone rang. It was the bride's sister again, who said..."I am so sorry that I put you through that. My sister (the bride) knew she had not ordered anything for the flower girls, and I called you before I asked her about it. We thought she had ordered the kissing balls for them, and I am sorry that we called you before we cleared it up."

The moral of the story:

HOLY COW, people! Get the facts straight before you jump the gun and stir up trouble!!