(barely audible) I see.......stupid people

It all started first thing this morning.

For the third day in a row, there were no cups or sugar in the breakroom. Is it really that difficult to keep it stocked? (Cups are in the closet and sugar is in the cabinet.)

Next, I have a email informing me that someone has scheduled a meeting for Friday afternoon. Why Friday afternoon? No idea. I decline. It's rescheduled for Thursday and promptly cancelled. I still don't know why I'm needed for the meeting. IMHO, I think meetings are the single greatest detriment to Corporate America.

Next, lunch is a disaster. Apparently, the cook can't tell red from brown. My co-worker's first burger is overcooked and the replacement burger is still raw. The manager delivers the replacement burger and quickly disappears before it is cut into. Interesting approach to customer service..

Returning to the office, I get an e-mail asking me to send a note saying it's ok for the president to sign something. Huh? Who am I to say? That's why they pay him the big bucks.

Ok, maybe they're not stupid, just lazy. We're all entitled to a lazy day now and again but I need to check the calendar, there may be a full moon tonight.

Another project....

This weekend we also tacked another project that we needed to finish. This was supposed to be a quick wrap up of something we started a couple of months ago. Who knew?

We installed laminate flooring in our home office a while back but ran out of time to get the closet floored so we put that on hold. This weekend we pulled the tools out and started. This closet took twice as long as it should have and it's only 24" deep and 14' wide. Every time we got one length of flooring attached another would come loose. Aggggr. Again confirming that things are always more difficult......

The floor is now in and only requires installation of the threshold. Another project completed.

Drip, Drip, ... Drain

When I say that the dishwasher project has been a pain in the neck, rest assured that I'm being kind. We've been working on that 'stinker' all week. First it leaked, then it wouldn't drain. Then it wouldn't fit, and now, then we were back to a slow drip. But it finally stopped leaking and now it's working! Persistence pays off.


What frustrates me most of all, is that a dishwasher installation is SOOOO simple. Three connections: electrical, water and drain. Where our problem started was with inadequate instructions. The manufacturer provided a very brief installation instruction sheet which left a lot to be desired and provided no troubleshooting information. The user manual wasn't much better. And to top it off, the unit is so new that it's not even on the company's website. Customer service was customer NO-service. I called twice and got two different answers to the same question. The manufacturer wanted to blame the problem on installation and the vendor wanted to blame the problem on a defect. In reality it was neither - it was not defective nor installed incorrectly, it was just temperamental.


This whole situation just confirms what we already knew: It's always more difficult than you think and it always takes twice as long.

Dishwasher Needed!

For months now, we've been struggling with our dishwasher.

Once a load started, the door would ease off the latch just the slightest bit and the dishwasher would stop in mid-cycle. We adjusted the latch several times until it just wouldn't help anymore. We started relying on a trusty clamp to ensure that the door would stay sealed during the whole cycle. To keep the 'little girls' from gashing their heads on the clamp, a stress ball was added to the end extending into the room. It was quite a sight.

Then, to make matters worse - the spring mechanism for the door broke a couple of weeks ago. After a quick look, I decided that it wasn't worth the effort to repair and we would have to start looking for a replacement.

For some reason, the folks who live here before us decided that a black dishwasher was the best fit for a kitchen with white cabinets and white appliances. Go figure! After comparison shopping at some local stores, we settled on a white Frigidaire dishwasher with concealed controls. Lowes was running a 10% off sale and offered free delivery (after rebate).

The old unit was uninstalled Monday night and taken away by the nice folks from Lowes on Tuesday when they delivered the new unit. Hubby and I worked on installing the new one last night but after all our efforts, including two trips to the home store, it leaked. The DREADED LEAK. Obviously sensing my frustration with not having the dishwasher installed, my dear hubby fixed the problem today so I will be able to wash the dinner dishes in the new Dishwasher. Isn't he the greatest?

I just have to wonder ... why do people put insulated lunch bags in the office fridge? If the purpose of the bag is to keep the outside temperature out - then, if the insulated bag is in the fridge, are they trying to keep the cold out? How does that make any sense? All this accomplishes is to fill up the limited space with things that don't really require the extra cold.


If my lunch is cold - or even room temperature for that matter - when I put it in an insulated bag, it will stay more than cool enough until lunch just sitting on my desk. If it started out room temperature, I might add some kind of ice pack or extra cold item.


Rarely, if ever, do I put my lunch in the office fridge. There just too much competition for the limited space. Besides, nothing is going to "tick" me off more than having my lunch 'disappear.'

Salad Days!

At last, the cucumbers are big enough to pick. This delicious salad was composed of two homegrown tomatoes, one homegrown cucumber, a small homegrown jalapeno and topped with store bought croutons and some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Yum, yum! Next year I will increase the number of cucumber plants and get them started much earlier.

The plants are continuing to grow and develop new fruits. I built some additional cages to support their height. The wire cages I purchased are just not strong enough to support the weight of both the plant and the tomatoes. We had some wire fencing in our yard left over from the previous owners. I cut about 36" of this and formed a cylindrical cage to sit outside the five gallon bucket. This will work for now but as the plants grow beyond their height, I'll have to add some additional support at the top.

Twenty Books, "Twenty Wishes"

I missed my post yesterday because I found myself captivated by a new book, "Twenty Wishes" by Debbie Macomber. I placed this book on reserve at my local library two months ago so I was very excited when they called to say that it was in. It's the story of a widow who, through friends and a list of Twenty Wishes, finds the joy in life again. It's a very quick read and once you start, you won't want to put the book down. The only downside is that by bedtime, I had reached the end of the book.

Now, I've reached a goal I've set for myself this year to read twenty books. I've read fiction and non-fiction, historical biographies, spiritual journeys, self-help and a thriller about espionage and terrorism. What would I recommend? Along with "Twenty Wishes," I'd recommend "Founding Mothers" by Cokie Roberts. You'll be amazed at the impact, influence, and sacrifice made by the mothers, sisters and wives of our founding fathers. I also enjoyed "The Shack," by William P. Young, which chronicles a father's spritual journey after the kidnaping and killing of his daughter.

What are you reading?

Going Green

Ok, I'm not an environmentalist by a long shot but I would consider myself to be not only frugal but practical as well. Today I started carpooling to work twice a week. No, I don't think it will Save the Planet but it will save me a little green at the pump. Just one day each week that my car sits idle is almost 20% of my fuel costs for the week.

Now if I can just find a way to cut 20% of all my other costs!

Day One!

First, just let me say that creating a title for this blog was a challenging task. As they say, all the good names have already been taken!

This will be a blog about the things I'm doing, what interest me and whatever else seems worthy of the title.

The first thing I want to talk about is my tomato garden. It all started with two little tomato plants my hubby brought home one day. Since we don't actually have a space in our yard appropriate for a vegetable garden, an alternate solution had to be found. I went to the local home store to see what kind of containers they had and quickly found that a stylish planter would set me back big bucks. After a little internet search, I concluded that regular 5 gallon buckets would likely do the job. I planted two in April, four in May and two in June. With a regular dose of Miracle Grow Tomato Food, the plants took off and the first two quickly became as tall as me. So far, we've harvested about 4-5 tomatoes and we are now dealing with some cracking due to a weeks worth of rain in our drought stricken area. They've got a good taste so we expect to be enjoying these for weeks - or maybe months - to come.

You should give it a try!