A Good Christmas

I had a good Christmas this year, and I sincerely hope each of you did, too.  As is usual, ours was quiet, but really nice.  The only family I have nearby are Mom and Dad, and I'm grateful to have them close.  Our usual holiday routine is for me to have them over to my apartment on Christmas Eve, then I go to their house on Christmas Day.

On Christmas Eve, I had a little spread prepared: cheese ball, ham ball, barbequed meatballs, ham rolls, cranberry salad, snack mix, lemon pound cake, and pumpkin spice cupcakes.  We indulged in holiday goodies, then called Kris in Australia.  After we'd had a good telephone visit with her and Louise, we exchanged gifts.  It was a lovely evening and we enjoyed spending time together.

On Christmas Day, Mom had prepared a delicious dinner: baby back ribs, coleslaw, potato salad, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and baked beans.  I'd brought rolls and cranberry salad.  After dinner we settled down in the living room for a restful afternoon.  All in all, a wonderful holiday!

That night, just before midnight, my smoke detector went off.  When I hurried to it to find out what was going on, I realized it wasn't the smoke detector,  but the carbon monoxide detector (it was a combo unit).  I pulled the battery out of it, but it was hard-wired as well.  I couldn't figure out how to make it quit screeching except to push the test button each time it went off, so I Googled it.  The instruction manual online was no help at all.  I called the number of the apartment office, but received a recording.  I figured the office would be closed on the 26th for the holiday; with no other ideas, I called the fire department (not 911, but their main number).  I explained that I didn't have an emergency, but that I needed some guidance on how to shut off what was an apparently defective carbon monoxide monitor.  I further explained that I have no gas appliances, and my apartment is all-electric.  The nice gentleman who took my call said that he would talk with his chief, and that someone would call me back very shortly.

Not long after that, I heard a fire truck come into the parking lot.  OH, MAN!!  Thankfully, they didn't have the siren on, but it still embarrassed me that I'd caused so much commotion over a carbon monoxide monitor!!  They were very nice, though, and insisted on using an air quality monitor to be sure there wasn't a problem in the apartment.  As I'd suspected, the monitor was malfunctioning.  They reset it and put it back in the ceiling.  I asked them to show me how to disconnect it in case it went off again.  After they left, it took awhile for me to get back to sleep.  I must have dozed off around 2:00 am; the monitor went off again at 2:45!!  A few brief seconds later, I'd disconnected it, pulled out its backup battery, and dumped it unceremoniously onto the kitchen table.

I'd brought work home from the office to work with on Monday and Tuesday.  I was tired Monday from the unexpected excitement the night before, but managed to make good progress on my office work.  I rested well Monday night, and got even more work done on Tuesday (yesterday).

When I talked with Kris on Christmas Eve she told me that my gift from them was on its way, but might not arrive until the 27th.  Sure enough, UPS delivered it yesterday afternoon: a Keurig coffeemaker!!  I'd been promising myself one for some time and was truly thrilled to receive it!  Setup was quick and easy, and it works like a dream.

Today I went to lunch with Mom and Dad at their favorite local Italian restaurant.  The food was very delicious, and we had a good time.  When I left there, I went to Sam's Club and Wal-Mart to pick up a few items I needed and get the oil changed in the car.

And so, I'm now back at home, still full of calzone but happy to have my shopping out of the way.  Tomorrow Mom has her second cataract surgery, so we'll all be glad when that's over and done.  Her first one went beautifully, so I hope this one goes as well.

So now I think I'll go make myself a hot cocoa in the Keurig and chill out with knitting while watching "Julie and Julia" on TV.  It's probably going to be an early night, which suits me fine.  :-)

Have a great week, friends!

Long Weekends....and Paying For Them

I'm working a flex schedule this summer and am off on Fridays. So, this past weekend (because of Independence Day) was a 4-day weekend for me. Pretty neat, right?

And it WAS neat. I always enjoy having time away from the office. On Friday morning Daddy went to meet some old friends of his (in town for the holiday) at Hardee's over in Duffield. They met on the Friday before the 4th last year, too, and he really enjoyed it. So, since he was going to be away for a bit, Mom asked if I'd like to go shopping that morning.

We try to do that once while I'm off on Fridays during the summer. We go visit a few stores, have a "girlie" lunch, then head home. We used to "shop 'til we drop", but we drop quicker than we used to, so usually one morning is plenty for both of us. *LOL*

We hit a few stores, and when lunchtime rolled around I asked where she'd like to go. We go to places Daddy wouldn't normally care for, tearooms and the like. This time she asked to go to McAlister's Deli in Kingsport. The only time I'd been in there was to get a cold drink during an earlier shopping expedition, so I was happy to try their food. For ages I'd been craving a muffaletta, but didn't know of any place locally that made them. I was really happy to see that their lunch menu included a 1/4 muffaletta with a side for a very reasonable price. It....was...WONDERFUL! Not only was it a generous portion, but simply delectable! I chose a fruit salad for my side item which served as a dessert. The fruit was fresh, sweet, and delicious. Mom had a reuben which she said was wonderful as well. All in all a wonderful shopping/lunch trip!

Saturday I did a bit of household drudgery and rested up a bit from Friday's excursion. I didn't get much sleep that night. Seems that even though it's not legal to shoot fireworks in the city limits, several people were shooting them anyway. I don't begrudge anyone their fun, but DANG. You could knock it off after midnight, couldn't you?? (I am, admittedly, getting old and crabby. *LOL*)

Sunday I was invited to Mom and Dad's for a cookout. Yummy food and good company, as always. :-) That night there were still plenty of fireworks in the neighborhood, which went on until quite late. I guess I was really tired from losing sleep the night before, because it didn't keep me up too long.

Yesterday I knitted a bit (see my knitting blog), did a little laundry, and mostly just rested up for the return to the office today. *drudge, drudge* While knitting I watched most of "Band of Brothers". I've already seen it, but it's such a great series I wanted to watch again. I have it on my computer and need to burn it to DVD. Definitely a keeper!

Movies, movies....what have I seen lately? Mel Gibson's "Edge of Darkness"...dark, but good. "Amelia"...worth the time to watch it, but not as good as I'd hoped it would be. "The Road"...wow! Bleak (which I expected, since the writer also wrote "No Country for Old Men"), but what performances! Now I want to read the book.

I've been watching some Netflix stuff through the Wii unit, too. I've been rewatching the first season of Saturday Night Live and wishing there was anything on television now to compare. I watched a campy little thing about the 50 worst movies ever made. Happily I'd only seen one of them. *LOL* I saw an interesting little documentary from 1975 called "Grey Gardens". I'd heard about this years ago, but never got around to seeing it. I found it intriguing and a little unnerving.

And so this morning, I returned to work. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that I have a good job, honestly. But boy oh boy did I have a rough day today. Our fiscal year ends on June 30, so there's all kinds of things that have to be done after July 1. That, mixed with the holiday, mixed with computer systems that apparently went bump in the night several times over the weekend, made for an interesting day.

I'm really glad to be home with a big ol' glass of iced tea. Hopefully it will be cool enough in a short while to sit out on the deck for awhile with my knitting.

Hope you all had a good weekend, too!

Adventures in Wal-Mart

There are two Wal-Mart stores in my town. From my home it's actually a little closer to the Wal-Mart #2. But the Wal-Mart #1 is on the way home from work, so it's been getting most of my business for years.

However, I think that's coming to an end. Why? Several reasons. One is that Wal-Mart #1 has one of the most dangerous parking lots I've ever encountered. There are several restaurants and other businesses (including a Sam's Club) sharing the entrances and exits, and it's a real nightmare. I don't think I've ever been in that parking lot without at least one close call.

Another reason is that very few "associates" in Wal-Mart #1 seem to care if you need help or not. Yesterday I stopped in to pick up a "Site-to-Store" order (Daddy's Father's Day gift). It was the first time I'd used this service, and it worked well. Until I got to the store to pick it up. I stopped in at Customer Service to find out where I needed to pick up the package. I actually did get courteous instructions from the young woman on where the Site-to-Store pickup area was located, and thanked her. However, when I arrived at the pickup area, no one seemed interested in helping me. As instructed, I pressed a screen at the register and received a message that an associate was on the way to assist me. Four associates walked right past me without so much as looking my direction. Another associate came to the register, smiled at me, took a notebook from under the counter and did something with it, replaced the notebook, smiled again and left. She never ONCE asked if I needed assistance. I pressed the screen again. Another associate came from another area and asked if anyone was helping me. When I told her that several people had walked past, but no one was helping, she was very nice about retrieving my package and making sure that I'd received the item I'd ordered. The next time I use Site-to-Store, it'll be shipped to the OTHER Wal-Mart.

One of the biggest reasons I'll be using the other Wal-Mart is that the temperature in Wal-Mart #1 is HOT. Year round. Summer, Spring, Winter or Fall, I come out of that store soaked in perspiration. Now I'll be the first to admit that I warm up easily, but I'm able to shop comfortably in all other retail stores in the area, so why do I melt down every time I go into that Wal-Mart? I've complained about the heat repeatedly and am always told that the temperature in their store is set in the home office. Maybe the home office should watch the Weather Channel once in awhile.

Oh well. Enough griping for one post. *LOL* At least Daddy's gift was what I ordered, and seems to work as I'd hoped.