The Bag Lady has managed to piss away another weekend. She had planned on doing a few things around the house, but the best laid plans.....
The weather has been really mild for the past several weeks, and a lot of snow has melted. There is a crust on the remaining snow that allows the Princess dog to scamper around, exploring places she hasn't been able to access since the snow got too deep.
Saturday morning, the Princess did her customary dance to the door, scarcely allowing it to open all the way before she was running and barking. She does this every morning - almost as though she needs to announce to the rest of the world that she's awake and on the job. (The Bag Lady thinks that perhaps this has more to do with the dog being afraid of the dark than anything else...) Ahem.
The Bag Lady went through her morning routine, pouring hot coffee in her eyes and drinking her contact lens solution... err... something like that, anyway... She had propped herself up in front of the computer and was getting caught up on reading blogs when she realized that the dog was still barking, and it was her "there really IS something going on out there" bark - the one that says she is serious and isn't anyone coming outside to back her up?
The Bag Lady knows better than to open the door when the Princess is in that mode because the Princess thinks you will be right behind her and she runs out to where the danger is, so the Bag Lady peered out the window to try to determine what had the Princess so riled up. She finally spotted a deer. Then she saw another deer. They were in the pasture on the other side of the fence, and the Princess was on the lawn close to the house. THEN the Bag Lady saw a coyote. Then she saw another coyote! And then she witnessed something she had never seen before. The two coyotes were attacking the deer! The deer were defending themselves quite admirably. One coyote would take a run at the deer while the other snuck around behind, but the deer were smart enough to stand side by side, facing opposite directions. When one coyote would take a run at them, one of the deer would kick at it!
The Bag Lady is not sure who the Princess was rooting for, but she certainly was making her displeasure known! The coyotes finally gave up and left the deer alone. And the Princess trotted back to the house, pleased with herself for restoring peace to her domain.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Rose-tinted Rant
Times have certainly changed.
Does anyone else remember the "good old days" when, if you had a problem with something you purchased, you could call the store where you bought it and they would either send a repairman, or ask you to bring it back to them to be either fixed or replaced?
The good old days when, if you made a purchase of a major appliance, it would sometimes outlast YOU? The days when customer service actually meant something, rather than was just given lip-service by someone four thousand miles away, stuck in a little cubicle or at a long row of desks with a telephone console, a computer and a headset?
The days when, if you went down to the local general store, or appliance store, or hardware store, you actually KNEW the person behind the counter, and he had a reputation to uphold. He CARED about whether or not you were happy with the product he sold you, whether it was a washing machine, a car, or even a head of lettuce! It wasn't just about the money. Sure, he was trying to make a living, just like everyone else, but if he got a reputation for selling crap, or not following through on his promises of service, he would lose business. It MATTERED to his bottom line if he lost customers.
The Bag Lady is obviously not a happy person this day. She has been waiting since the end of January for a repairman to come and fix the latch on her front-loading washing machine. This is the third time she has cleaned her house and made sure everything was hunky-dory for the repairman (this company insists that the walk be clear of snow and all animals in the house be locked up..... if the Bag Lady doesn't get her washing machine fixed soon, the dog isn't the only one who is going to have to be locked away to keep from attacking..... oops, guess that shouldn't be broadcast, should it?), only to receive a phone call telling her that he isn't coming. This time, all but one of the parts that he ordered are here (last time, none of them had come) The Bag Lady doesn't even know what this repairman looks like, because he hasn't darkened her door. The company she purchased the machine from prides themselves on having the repair done within a week. Well, it's been over a month and the Bag Lady is still unable to use her freakin' washing machine!! She is beginning to believe that she has made a mistake purchasing this particular machine. Of course, almost all of the major appliances are made by essentially the same company nowadays, so it would probably be the same story regardless of the brand of machine.
The Bag Lady realizes that she is probably looking at the "good old days" through rose-tinted glasses, but fer cryin' out loud, talking to someone who lives on the other side of the country (or the world) about her problem just doesn't give the same sense of satisfaction as being able to look the owner in the eye and tell him/her you are unhappy with the service they have provided. The Bag Lady suspects that the person she spoke to this morning doesn't even live in the same country as the Bag Lady! (To be honest, the woman had such a thick Southern US accent, the Bag Lady started craving crawfish and mint juleps!)
The upshot of all this ranting is that the Bag Lady is resigned to waiting at least another week before she can use her washing machine. Sigh.
And if mint juleps actually tasted as good as they sound, she'd be sipping one right now.
Does anyone else remember the "good old days" when, if you had a problem with something you purchased, you could call the store where you bought it and they would either send a repairman, or ask you to bring it back to them to be either fixed or replaced?
The good old days when, if you made a purchase of a major appliance, it would sometimes outlast YOU? The days when customer service actually meant something, rather than was just given lip-service by someone four thousand miles away, stuck in a little cubicle or at a long row of desks with a telephone console, a computer and a headset?
The days when, if you went down to the local general store, or appliance store, or hardware store, you actually KNEW the person behind the counter, and he had a reputation to uphold. He CARED about whether or not you were happy with the product he sold you, whether it was a washing machine, a car, or even a head of lettuce! It wasn't just about the money. Sure, he was trying to make a living, just like everyone else, but if he got a reputation for selling crap, or not following through on his promises of service, he would lose business. It MATTERED to his bottom line if he lost customers.
The Bag Lady is obviously not a happy person this day. She has been waiting since the end of January for a repairman to come and fix the latch on her front-loading washing machine. This is the third time she has cleaned her house and made sure everything was hunky-dory for the repairman (this company insists that the walk be clear of snow and all animals in the house be locked up..... if the Bag Lady doesn't get her washing machine fixed soon, the dog isn't the only one who is going to have to be locked away to keep from attacking..... oops, guess that shouldn't be broadcast, should it?), only to receive a phone call telling her that he isn't coming. This time, all but one of the parts that he ordered are here (last time, none of them had come) The Bag Lady doesn't even know what this repairman looks like, because he hasn't darkened her door. The company she purchased the machine from prides themselves on having the repair done within a week. Well, it's been over a month and the Bag Lady is still unable to use her freakin' washing machine!! She is beginning to believe that she has made a mistake purchasing this particular machine. Of course, almost all of the major appliances are made by essentially the same company nowadays, so it would probably be the same story regardless of the brand of machine.
The Bag Lady realizes that she is probably looking at the "good old days" through rose-tinted glasses, but fer cryin' out loud, talking to someone who lives on the other side of the country (or the world) about her problem just doesn't give the same sense of satisfaction as being able to look the owner in the eye and tell him/her you are unhappy with the service they have provided. The Bag Lady suspects that the person she spoke to this morning doesn't even live in the same country as the Bag Lady! (To be honest, the woman had such a thick Southern US accent, the Bag Lady started craving crawfish and mint juleps!)
The upshot of all this ranting is that the Bag Lady is resigned to waiting at least another week before she can use her washing machine. Sigh.
And if mint juleps actually tasted as good as they sound, she'd be sipping one right now.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Blatant Self-Promotion
The Bag Lady has entered a contest, but needs help from her friends..... she entered one of her photos in a contest to win a laptop (yes, she knows she just bought one, but if she won another, she could donate it to the museum...... so, essentially, you would be helping out the museum if you went and voted for her picture!)
Click on the link and at least check out the photo!
Access Your Core from Intel
Oh, and just by voting? You, too, will have a chance to win a computer!!
(And, apparently, the Bag Lady has pulled up stakes and moved to Alaska. She heard it was nice there.)
Click on the link and at least check out the photo!
Access Your Core from Intel
Oh, and just by voting? You, too, will have a chance to win a computer!!
(And, apparently, the Bag Lady has pulled up stakes and moved to Alaska. She heard it was nice there.)
Friday, February 26, 2010
Transformers
The Bag Lady had a busy day yesterday, but it did not all go according to plan. It took her until 10 am to realize that she was mistaken about the repairman coming to fix her washer. The Rancher came in from doing some chores outside and asked her if he had phoned yet, which made her look at the note she left herself, which was when she realized it said March 4th. Sigh.
Her meeting was not a long one, so she had more time in the afternoon to do a few things around the house. She put a soup together and weeded out some papers in her office. Late in the afternoon, she and the Rancher settled in to watch the gold medal women's hockey game between Canada and the States. It was fast, it was exciting, it was down to the last 1 minute and 20 seconds.... Canada was ahead by 2 goals and
the screen went black as the power went off.
They knew that Canada would probably win, but a lot can happen in a fast-paced hockey game in a minute and 20 seconds. The Americans might score, cheating Canada out of a shut-out win.
The Bag Lady called the power company, who promised to send out a serviceman. Then the Bag Lady spoke to the neighbour, just to double-check that their power was off, too. There are only the two households on the line, and the power has been known to go off on just this section. The Bag Lady settled in with a flashlight and a book, while the Rancher napped on the couch. (yes, they lead an exciting life!)
The Rancher finally drove to the highway to confirm that yes, the switch at the highway was open, so the Bag Lady called the power company back to let them know. An hour or so after that, the serviceman from the power company drove into their yard and waded through the snow to their transformer pole (where the main breaker is situated), then eventually waded back out to his truck........
He finally came to the house and the Rancher went outside to talk to him. He explained to the Rancher that the problem appeared to be that the transformer in their yard had blown and would have to be replaced, and could the Rancher please plow a path to the transformer pole so the serviceman could get his truck out there?
Sigh.
Three big trucks eventually pulled into theparking lot space the Rancher had cleared and set to work. Five and a half hours after it went off, the power was restored. There is now a nice shiny new transformer in their yard that will, hopefully, provide them with many years of service.
Her meeting was not a long one, so she had more time in the afternoon to do a few things around the house. She put a soup together and weeded out some papers in her office. Late in the afternoon, she and the Rancher settled in to watch the gold medal women's hockey game between Canada and the States. It was fast, it was exciting, it was down to the last 1 minute and 20 seconds.... Canada was ahead by 2 goals and
the screen went black as the power went off.
They knew that Canada would probably win, but a lot can happen in a fast-paced hockey game in a minute and 20 seconds. The Americans might score, cheating Canada out of a shut-out win.
The Bag Lady called the power company, who promised to send out a serviceman. Then the Bag Lady spoke to the neighbour, just to double-check that their power was off, too. There are only the two households on the line, and the power has been known to go off on just this section. The Bag Lady settled in with a flashlight and a book, while the Rancher napped on the couch. (yes, they lead an exciting life!)
The Rancher finally drove to the highway to confirm that yes, the switch at the highway was open, so the Bag Lady called the power company back to let them know. An hour or so after that, the serviceman from the power company drove into their yard and waded through the snow to their transformer pole (where the main breaker is situated), then eventually waded back out to his truck........
He finally came to the house and the Rancher went outside to talk to him. He explained to the Rancher that the problem appeared to be that the transformer in their yard had blown and would have to be replaced, and could the Rancher please plow a path to the transformer pole so the serviceman could get his truck out there?
Sigh.
Three big trucks eventually pulled into the
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Time is Flying!
It has been another busy week around the Bag Lady's household. She has been hard at work at her job in town, and working on papers for the museum.
She and the Rancher took some steers to the abbatoir yesterday after she got off work. The meat processing place that they prefer is about an hour's drive away, but they really do a good job, and their facility is absolutely spotless! The Bag Lady knows this because every time they take an animal there, the owner takes them on a tour! After saying goodbye to the steers, the Bag Lady and the Rancher took the long way home so they could have supper with the Rancher's sister and her husband.
The Bag Lady has a repairman coming to her house today. Remember her front-loading washing machine? The door latch broke the other day and needs to be replaced. She has to admit, she is looking forward to having it fixed so she can do some laundry. (OMG, did she actually say that she is looking forward to doing laundry???)
She also has a meeting to attend this afternoon at the museum.
Wow, where did February go?
She and the Rancher took some steers to the abbatoir yesterday after she got off work. The meat processing place that they prefer is about an hour's drive away, but they really do a good job, and their facility is absolutely spotless! The Bag Lady knows this because every time they take an animal there, the owner takes them on a tour! After saying goodbye to the steers, the Bag Lady and the Rancher took the long way home so they could have supper with the Rancher's sister and her husband.
The Bag Lady has a repairman coming to her house today. Remember her front-loading washing machine? The door latch broke the other day and needs to be replaced. She has to admit, she is looking forward to having it fixed so she can do some laundry. (OMG, did she actually say that she is looking forward to doing laundry???)
She also has a meeting to attend this afternoon at the museum.
Wow, where did February go?
Monday, February 22, 2010
Quick Update Again!
It appears as though the Bag Lady purchased her laptop just in time. Her other computer seems to be in a bit of a snit now, so perhaps it is jealous....
She and the Rancher had quite a busy weekend, which didn't leave her a lot of time to compose a blog post, so this will be just a quick update on the fly. She has to go to her job in town today.
She has been working on all the paperwork she needs to have before she can start accessioning for the museum. There are a lot of forms she needs to make and she doesn't want to forget anything. She wants to make sure she has everything organized and in order before she takes in a single item for display.
But right now she needs to dash off to work
She and the Rancher had quite a busy weekend, which didn't leave her a lot of time to compose a blog post, so this will be just a quick update on the fly. She has to go to her job in town today.
She has been working on all the paperwork she needs to have before she can start accessioning for the museum. There are a lot of forms she needs to make and she doesn't want to forget anything. She wants to make sure she has everything organized and in order before she takes in a single item for display.
But right now she needs to dash off to work
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Quick Update
The Bag Lady has been really quite busy this week, and is using that as her excuse for not posting!
In spite of the fact (or perhaps more accurately, because of the fact) that she only worked two days this week, she really had to put out. She is on a bit of a deadline for sprucing up some of the areas at her workplace, so she was busy painting for most of the last two days (and isn't anywhere close to being done!) She has to wait for someone else to move some things out of her way (they are just too danged heavy for her to do it herself!) and the someone else has other things to do, too. Sigh.
On the homefront, she bought herself a laptop computer so she can tote it back and forth with her in her capacity of curator at the new museum. The museum doesn't have a computer, and she thinks she will need one, so she found an inexpensive laptop at Costco that she simply couldn't live without! Now all she needs to do is figure out how to use it. She also bought a router so she could access the internet without a warren of wires to trip over, and actually managed to hook it up AND have it work properly, all on her own! (She is quite proud of herself for that!)
The weather in her neck of the woods continues to be quite mild, which makes her happy. Except, of course, for the periods of freezing rain, which do not make her happy! Today promises to be clear and sunny and quite warm, so she is planning to spend some time outside enjoying it.
There are chores to attend to outside (giving the calves grain, filling bird feeders, sweeping up the sunflower seeds that the woodpeckers delight in tossing around, etc.) and in (laundry, cleaning, etc.) and you can bet that the Bag Lady will be concentrating on the outside chores as much as she can! In fact, as soon as the sun comes up, the Bag Lady will be outside!
In spite of the fact (or perhaps more accurately, because of the fact) that she only worked two days this week, she really had to put out. She is on a bit of a deadline for sprucing up some of the areas at her workplace, so she was busy painting for most of the last two days (and isn't anywhere close to being done!) She has to wait for someone else to move some things out of her way (they are just too danged heavy for her to do it herself!) and the someone else has other things to do, too. Sigh.
On the homefront, she bought herself a laptop computer so she can tote it back and forth with her in her capacity of curator at the new museum. The museum doesn't have a computer, and she thinks she will need one, so she found an inexpensive laptop at Costco that she simply couldn't live without! Now all she needs to do is figure out how to use it. She also bought a router so she could access the internet without a warren of wires to trip over, and actually managed to hook it up AND have it work properly, all on her own! (She is quite proud of herself for that!)
The weather in her neck of the woods continues to be quite mild, which makes her happy. Except, of course, for the periods of freezing rain, which do not make her happy! Today promises to be clear and sunny and quite warm, so she is planning to spend some time outside enjoying it.
There are chores to attend to outside (giving the calves grain, filling bird feeders, sweeping up the sunflower seeds that the woodpeckers delight in tossing around, etc.) and in (laundry, cleaning, etc.) and you can bet that the Bag Lady will be concentrating on the outside chores as much as she can! In fact, as soon as the sun comes up, the Bag Lady will be outside!
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