Is this Hospitable?

Our blogs are our virtual homes.  I think when I am invited to someone's home, I should be treated in a hospitable manner, don't you?

I recently went to a blog and this ad popped up...

This is a new low for me.  When an ad pops up that even covers the blog post, that's just too much.  I shook my head in disbelief, hit the print screen and X'd out.  I do not even remember what blog this was.  I doubt it is anyone who visits here, because my followers would never treat a guest in such a poor manner.  This blog owner cares only about how much profit she/he can make from these obnoxious advertisers!
I am finding blogs less interesting to read. There are way too many bloggers out there waiting to be discovered. They blog only  to make a profit and it's a huge turnoff.  Reading blogs is getting to be just like reading magazines--the ads outweigh the content.  That is whey I let almost all of my magazine subscriptions expire.  Now I am almost at that point with blogs.  It's just not fun being used as a "hit" for their advertising aspirations.

Off my soapbox and back to gardening...

DH was shocked when he noticed how big this Burning Bush was.



It is in flower right now. The flowers are nearly invisible against the golden green foliage.

There is not much of else of interest right now. I did notice that the hyacinth beans broke through the ground  yesterday.

To the right of this arbor is where I planted the packs of amaranthus seeds that I showed you in this post.

 

It has been over two weeks and so far nothing has come up!  If nothing breaks ground this week, I will have to plant something different there.

One of these days, I really should put the chairs around that white table. :)

Rustic Frames

Love these twig/bark frames!

Not really feeling the love for this..

Really, must we be subjected to these ads on blogs?

I kid you  not, this popped up while I was surfing some decorating linky party blogs. I took a screen shot just so I could prove it.

 This blog was overloaded with advertising, enough to  cause my computer to bog down and stop before it all loaded.  As I was X'ing out (as I tend to do immediately on ad-filled blogs), this pop up got through. I will never know what sucks more than bridesmaid shoes because I refuse to click on a blog advertisement.  I will not return to that blog or any other that invites me in and then inundates me with advertising--especially the universally hated pop-ups.

Stop Following Me Coldwater Creek!

See this screen print of my Yahoo email? 

Look over to the right side and notice the advertisement.  It's from CC, where I order a lot of clothing.  I find these ads on my screen everywhere I go.  Often the exact items I looked at earlier are shown on the side bar.  I already own 2 of the 3 jackets pictured here. This is not accidental. CC uses their cookies to track me and have their ads pop up everywhere I go!   I even get it on blogs that have turned on advertising.

Here is a  blog I was   visiting early yesterday morning. I got to the bottom of the page and --Yikes! -- There they are again!  I own six of the items pictured here.  I probably clicked on the other two, but did not buy them.  You would think they would at the very least not keep showing me the items I have already purchased.

Remember yesterday when I mentioned that I went to YouTube to watch some cupcake decorating videos? Well, look who followed me there!

I am getting very, very sick of this Coldwater Creek! If you keep following me around the net, I may have to stop ordering from you.

  I don't like it at all. It feels like a privacy violation to me.  I am never going to click on any of their ads. In fact I never ever click on any ad on any blog, or Internet site that I visit.  I do not appreciate being bombarded by advertising. The only way to get rid of this garbage is not to click on them. Advertisers will not pay if their ads are not successful.

AAAAAA--I just got home from work and clicked on MSN and what do I find?

More ads from CC. I looked at everyone of these items yesterday.

Has anyone else noticed similar ads from places you order online?

How Many Times am I going to See Elf Marshmallows on a stick?

Well, at least 18.

As that is the number of memes that this person had attached her post to. Yes, 18! (they are not really elf marshmallows on a stick--I just used that as an example so that the real abuser is not known)

This is my rant of people using the same post for numerous memes.

I really enjoy finding a meme that interests me--Christmas decorating, tablescaping, gardening, quilting, etc.  Some of the meme hosts have hundreds of participants and it can be such fun to just click on each one and find posts that you are interested in. You can spend a good hour or more just checking them all out.

But during the past year, I have been seeing the same posts attached to dozens of memes. 

The first time I saw marshmallow elves on a stick, I thought, "Wow! What a great idea!"

Second time - "Oh, yeah, these are so cute." I looked over all the details in case I wanted to do it, too.

Third time - "Oh, there's those elf marshmallows on a stick AGAIN."

Fourth time - "It can't be the same post again!  She must google "memes" and attach to everyone she can find.  I am pretty sick of seeing these elf marshmallows on a stick."

Fifth time - "OH PLEASE, NOT ELF MARSHMALLOWS-ON-A-STICK AGAIN!"

sixth - eighteenth time - I clicked the big X as rapidly as I could  and tried to withhold a scream which would wake  my husband from a sound sleep. . . remember I surf at 5:00 a.m.

Please people-- I love to find memes of interest and visit all the sites, but the least you can do is post something NEW to each meme! NOBODY wants to see elf marshmallows on a stick 18 times!

18 is not even the worst I have found. Seriously, I found one person who linked the same post to 28 different memes!

Recently I have noticed a number of blog owners  leaving a perfunctory comment on a site---"oh, that is sooooo cute...."  and then saying, "Please attach this post to my Wacky Christmas,  Thanksgiving, Wild Wednesday, Terrific Tuesday, Footsie Friday,  etc. meme".  This is ridiculous! The blog owners really have little interest in the post they are commenting on, they are just  out soliciting links! Is this junior high or what? I guess the more people who post to your meme, the more popular you think you are.

Other meme owners list all the rules and then never bother to delete those who do not abide.  Like when they insist that you use their  permalink (a very, very good rule).  One of the memes I used to visit had well over a 100 linkers and I have found that more than 75% of those just link to the main page of the host blog, which is very frustrating when you want to find the other linkers two months after. If the blog owner was doing his/her job properly they would delete all of those who do not follow this rule, so that I (AND YOU) will never experience the frustration of clicking and finding the current post rather than the meme post.  Most of these meme-abuse owners really don't care if you follow the rules, they just want as many links back to their site as they can get.
IT IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!  

This post came about because I just found a Christmas meme and the first 5 of 7 posts I clicked on were posts I had already seen -- numerous times.  I just closed out of that blog and came here to rant.

So if you made it this far, thank you for listening.

Forgive the Subject Matter of Today's Post, But....

Today DH was stacking a new 24-pack of TP on the bathroom shelf. He noticed that it was not stacking quite right and reached behind and pulled out the disobedient roll. Hmmmmmmm....no wonder.........the back roll appeared to be a half inch higher than the rolls he was stacking. We were outraged to learn that Northern had been so sneaky in charging us more without our realizing that we've been had.

We have no idea how long that roll has been back there, but according to the article below, it's been a long time!

I found this on cageyconsumer.com:

Beginning about April 2000, Fort James Paper Company (800-243-5384) reduced the number of sheets in the regular size rolls of its Quilted Northern brand of toilet paper, from 280 sheets to 200 sheets. Not only that, but they decreased the length of each sheet from 4.4 inches to 4.0 inches. Concurrent with this change, they began adding "triple" rolls to their existing "double" rolls and regular size rolls.

The old double rolls had 560 of the 4.4 inch sheets, the new triple rolls have 600 of the 4.0 inch sheets. If you multiply these numbers out, you'll find out that the triple rolls are actually 2% shorter than the old double rolls. The combined effect of these changes is a price increase greater than 50%, assuming that the price per roll remains the same.

2000? We've been duped for the past decade and didn't even realize it!

Maybe it's time to go back to the Sears Robeck catalog...........or we could all print off some of those 1,000 plus page bills in Washington, that no senator or congress person had time to read before voting in. At least they would be useful for something.

If you really want to know the history of TP, go and read this CNN article, entitled "Toilet Paper Belongs to America." I found it quite fascinating.........I learned that the average American uses 57 squares a day...

Now I wonder would that be the old 4.4 inch sheets or the current 4.0 sheets?

Warning--Work Rant

I am off work for the rest of this year. The only positive about never being able to take a full week of vacation (I ALWAYS have to work on Monday) is that I have 4 stray vacation days hanging out there for me to use up.

I work in a very weird environment--nobody is happy when you take a vacation -- they all act like you are being anti-company or something.

If I was the Big Kahuna and one of my employees gave up EVERY SINGLE MONDAY of the year to work, NO MATTER WHAT, I would be very happy with the dedication of that person and I might even reward that person with an extra day off now and then, just for not having to try to do all the reports, payroll, Accounts Payable, etc. that she is doing on those Mondays that I would have to learn to do. NOT THE CASE where I work. I am sure that legally I don't have to be subjected to working 52 Mondays a year.

The reality is that I don't really mind. I just mind being taken for granted and listening to remarks like, "How do I know how many vacation days you have left? You are the one who tracks them." Like I am cheating or something. (In addition to Sales, I am also the Human Resource person, & the Executive Assistant. Let me add that most hotels pay three people very hefty salaries for those 3 positions.) I can see where he might erroneously think that as the others are off for their full two-week vacations and I am only off for my 4-days. It may seem as though as I am off more often. Oh, well, after 24 years, I am used to it. Nonetheless, I am so very close to telling him to take that job and shove it!

So no work talk for the rest of the year!

Oh, my, these truffles are good!
They were part of my wine-on-top-of-the-package Christmas gift. I just opened them yesterday. MMMMMMMMMMMMM. I am only allowing myself two per day to savor their melt-in-the-mouth chocolate goodness. I have not had my two for today yet. Perhaps later tonight. Thanks, Chris!

While putting away the Christmas decorations, I decided to get rid of some games that have been sitting on the shelf for the past 15 years.
Just look at all of these games!

I also found a portable BBQ grill that has never been taken out of the box.
I think I bought it for DH before we were married (we've been married almost 21 years). I guess that gift was a DUD! LOL

It looks like we need to make a trip to donate to the thrift store.

I finished a new table runner yesterday.

Tomorrow I think I will begin hand quilting one of the quilts I finished piecing last fall.

This Magazine is a Bargain--so Why Did I Throw it in the Garbage?

Traditional Home. I used to get this magazine. Today I got an offer that I almost could not refuse.
Three years for the price of one! But how much is it? I grabbed three papers before I caught a glimpse of a price-- $14.97................but wait............look closely...........plus postage/handling.
So how much is the P/H? I had to spend more time rummaging through the pile until I finally found the paper with the real price - PLUS $5.00. Notice that no place does it actually say $19.97.

They like to play the little game of trying to make the consumer think it's less than it really is.

Why?

I think $19.97 is a great price. Had they stated that to begin with, I would have subscribed because I am a sucker for a good mag price.

But now I had to toss the whole thing in the garbage.

It's the principle. I simply refuse to buy a magazine that tries to hide its real price. If everyone would do that, they would stop that irritating practice.

I got the same offer from another magazine last week and I took that one. It was $19.99, but it stated the full price up front. No games.


I like that.

Jean,if you are out there, do these leaves look like your hollyhocks?

Update: Jean never sent me hollyhock seeds! She sent me foxglove seeds. That's why these leaves look different than the hollyhock leaves I googled!

A Cocooning Weekend

After spending most of the morning running errands, I returned home to spend the afternoon preparing a warm comfort meal.

My Mom & Dad came over early in the afternoon and we spent a few hours on this cold, snowy Saturday playing nickle/dime poker. I have played poker since I was, as they say, knee-high to a grasshopper....as I kid my parents often had friends over on the weekends to play cards. I remember standing around the table just waiting for someone to need to use the bathroom so I could play their hand while they were gone. I can still remember a lot of the games, though I have not played very often in the last 30 years.

I had dinner all set to go into the oven before they came so I did not have to interrupt the games too much with cooking chores.

I made a pizza lasagna.

I layered pepperoni, ground beef, mushrooms, onions, pizza sauce, cottage cheese, Parmesan, mozzarella cheese and a 5-blend Italian cheese. These pics are before it went into the oven.
I also took a loaf of French Bread and spread melted garlic butter and caramelized Vidalia onions over each half.

Then I put Mozzarella cheese on one side and Parmesan cheese on the other,
folded it back together, wrapped it in foil and stuck in the oven for the last half an hour.
Dessert was easy. I took a chocolate shell and filled it with peanut butter ice cream that I had rolled in crushed pecans and topped with a tiny little chocolate cookie and some Reese's sauce. Then I put a maraschino cherry in the bottom of this glass and inserted the whole little filled shell into the glass.

So we had an enjoyable afternoon, good company and a nice meal.

Then I watched the news.

Peanut butter is probably NOT the kind of ice cream I should have bought.

I hope we don't all get sick!

Tomorrow I am planning to stay home all day, bake a little, sew a little and make a pork roast with sauerkraut from a recipe that I found recently on a blog.

I hope all of you in the cold weather states are keeping warm. We are in another snow storm...about 5 inches so far and probably more tomorrow. We have not had snow like this in many years.

I am actually enjoying it.

All Work & No Play Makes for a Dull Life

So last weekend we went to a casino with my mom and dad.

My Mom and I had so much fun playing EBAY video slot machines. They are penny slots--though that's a misnomer. They actually take a minimum bet of fifty cents and a maximum of $2.50. That's a 50 cent/$1 machine to me.

Nonetheless, they are action packed with a bonus round that everyone playing is involved in. I think there were 5 people who could play at once.

Here is a picture of what they look like.

I got this picture at this Flicker account.

We spent hours playing this machine and even ended up coming ahead a few dollars.

This weekend I will be washing floors and cleaning toilets. I really would prefer to be playing this machine!

Lack of Customer Service

I am always amazed when I compare the high level of customer service we provide at the hotel with what I receive when I am on the opposite side of the counter.

I am not exaggerating when I say that at the hotel where I work, we go overboard trying to please customers. It’s really ridiculous the lengths we go. It’s very rare that I see that level of service given by businesses I deal with.

Remember the Husqvarna Sapphire sewing machine I bought last January? I bought this machine because of its quilting possibilities. In order to make use of these possibilities one must, in addition to the pricey machine, purchase the “Quilter’s Kit”, which has the sewing feet needed to machine quilt. I ordered it before I walked out of the shop on January 23, 2008. It’s a pretty expensive little kit – somewhere in the $300 range.

I don’t know the actual price because I have never received it. It is now August 6, 2008. I have called three times and talked to the store owner. I asked him specifically if he would call me when it came in. He said he would call. Yesterday I went to the shop in person to see if they had one in stock. Of course, they didn’t. The owner was not in, but the lady who sold me the machine was. She apologized and said she would leave the owner a note. I called again today. The owner won’t be back until tomorrow.

I think I have been very patient. It has been nearly seven months and I am still Quilter kitless!

I have witnessed adults throw hissy fits at our hotel counter for way less.

Just recently a lady screamed at the guest service rep until she was redfaced because she booked "last available room type" over the internet and she got a smoking room. As the name implies, there is no guarantee as to the type of room you get and a screen pops up which specifically states that smoking preference cannot be guaranteed.

The hotel had not one ounce of blame on this one and yet, this woman-- dressed in business attire--threw a tantrum like a two-year old child until we gave her a nonsmoking room. Of course, a nonsmoking room does not just magically appear. It was a room that someone else had reserved and expected to get when they arrived. I just hope someone in a nonsmoking room canceled that night so the conniving woman didn't ruin another person's day by taking their room. Ms. Businesswoman waited too long to reserve and the only rooms left were smoking, so she made the reservation knowing full well that she was not guaranteed a nonsmoking room. The sad thing is her conniving worked because we try to please them all--even those we know are flat out lying. I hope she broke one of those 2.5-inch heels on her walk down to that nonsmoking room.

It's been nearly 29 weeks and I can't even get Local Sewing Store to order a quilter's kit. Many business owners in my small town complain about losing money to internet orders. I wonder why they can't figure out what motivates us to do so...I am giving this guy two more weeks and then I, too, will be surfing for an internet source.

Wrapped Gift Boxes to Match the Tree

I got home a bit after 5:00 pm today. It is now 8:36 p.m. and I just got off the telephone! I talk on the phone a lot at work and really hate to talk on the phone at home. My mother called both of my sisters to find out if they knew why my line was busy for so long. She was just about to come over to see if I was O.K. when I called her.

I have been calling to invite everyone to my Christmas festivities.

Christine, if you still read my blog, I hope you got your email invitation! We can't drink slushes without you! This year I am planning on two different kinds--Pineapple Paradise and Christmas Cranberry.

I am having back-to-back parties on Dec. 23 and Dec. 24. The 23rd will be only 10 people and I think I will be doing a Soup Buffet. On Christmas Eve I will be doing my family party and will have at least double that number. That will be a heavy appetizer party.

I will have such fun planning everything!

I had my nails done after work. I am so into snow now that I had a snowflake painted on one nail.


Any way on to my gift wrapping adventures:

Foil gift wrap is not very photogenic. I have been trying to get a decent photo of these boxes for three days. I guess these are as good as it's going to get.

I like to use these computer paper boxes for the more fancy gift wraps. Then I make a big bow from the wrapping paper and the ribbon I used. These boxes do take a bit of time, so I only do them for the more special gifts or if I am going to use them as decorations as I am here.

Last Christmas I did a "how to" post on making gift wrapped bows, so I am not going to repeat it here. If you want to know how, just click the "Christmas" category and look for the post in 2006. There are step-by-step directions. I guess you could also type "gift wrapping bows" in the search box and see if it comes up.

I will eventually use these boxes as gift receptacles. I just haven't bought any gifts yet, so they are all empty. It's so nice to have prewrapped boxes so that when I get the gift, I can just put it in an awaiting box. Of course, it does not always work out. At least half the time, what I buy is too big for the box.

This is the finished box:

I used some of the gift wrapping paper as well as the ribbon on the front. Then I tied a big silver heart into the bow.

I did a second box and used some gold stars and silver walnuts in place of the heart.
I have a bronze gift bag with a silver star hanging from it and two smaller shirt boxes in a non foil paper.

It is very difficult to see them in these pictures as the foil reflects the light. Hopefully, you get the idea.

A Few Fries Short of a Happy Meal

is what the guy must have been who tried to pass this million dollar bill to a cashier at a Pittsburgh supermarket this past Saturday.

Needless to say he spent the weekend in the PA slammer.

It takes all kinds...

Remember When the Customer was Always Right?

I bought a new dress for an upcoming wedding.

I loved the description in the catalog:

Steeped in color as a frost-touched plum.............the description writer should get a raise for coming up with that analogy!

....Twirled in a gentle jacquard, not "a jacquard fabric", no, it's "twirled" in a gentle jacquard....I love it!

The cute part is the back which is cut out to allow skin to show through.

Why, what's that big white blemish on my skin?

Ah, it's the big ugly label! Now why would they stick the label here? It's totally crazy because it must come out. So I had to carefully cut it out and pray that I didn't cut the lace with it. Couldn't they have stuck it in a hidden side seam? No, that would be too logical and customer friendly.

Why is it that companies today go all out to make their product inconvenient for the consumer?


I have already written to Campbell's soup to complain about opening those pop top cans of tomato soup. It's impossible to open them without breaking a nail. I now use a spoon to stick under the tab, but the tomato soup never fails to splatter all over the counter when the top pops. It's also a pain to get all the soup out of the can with that lip in the way. But since the supermarket shelves are still all pop tops, my complaint did not inspire Campbell's to change the can design. :) They did at least send me a letter along with some coupons for their other products. It was a canned letter, but it was better than no response.


Since I am on a rant, here are two more things I hate:

#1 Hand blow dryers in rest rooms.

EVERYONE knows that consumers HATE these. Why do businesses insist on using them? I always get a kick out of the engraved signs on the blowers that say something like, "For the Convenience of our Customers we Have Installed.....". The only reason it was installed was less cost for the business - they save labor for towel installation/cleaning and replacement paper towels. Who cares if it's inconvenient for the customer? How many times have you dried your hands on your pant leg?

#2 Recordings instead of real people answering the phone.

I don't know of one single person who prefers recordings. Yet companies just keep using them. How frustrating is it when your question does not match the numbers you can push? At many places, it is impossible to get to a human to ask a question. THey need a "If this is the last time you will do business with us, push 9" button.

Remember gas stations pumping your gas AND washing your windows? The gas stations make way more profit today than they did then. Why could they afford to do it when they made small profits, but can't now that they make mega-billions? Once the Goober-owned "filling" stations disappeared, so did the service.

I hope I live to see the day they bring back customer service!

Why do you think they call it "Mayo"?

because you pronounce it "mayo nnaise NOT MAN NAISE!!!! There is no man in mayonnaise.

I am watching the Food Network and the hostess is saying "mannaise" over and over and over.............it is driving me crazy, crazy, crazy!!!! THERE IS NO "N' IN THE FIRST SYLLABLE OF MAYONNAISE !!!!

YES, I AM SCREAMING!!!! FOR GOD'S SAKE IF YOU ARE ON THE FOOD NETWORK, YOU SHOULD AT LEAST KNOW HOW TO PRONOUNCE THIS WORD!


This is a BIG irritant to me. I know many people say "mannaise", like "man". Why? I just cannot see where they get the "man" part!!!

God, it feels good to have this blog so I can finally vent! LOL.

So, fess up. How do you pronounce, "mayonnaise" ?

I guess this post may be coming off all high and mighty -- like I never mispronounce anything. Well, nothing could be further from the truth--I do certainly mispronounce many words.

One that comes to mind is "mischievous". I tend to say "mis chee vee us". The accent should be the same as the word "mischief". I am trying to catch and correct myself when I say this word. I am sure I irritate many when I say it incorrectly.

Are there any mispronunciations that really bug you?

Poinsettia Christmas Tree

Yesterday I did another tree at work (while mine still sit naked at home).
That is why I have always decorated at home first. This year I did not and am having a tough time trying to get in the mood to do it.
Oh well, it will get done eventually.
This tree is in the dining room at work. It is just red poinsettias, gold bows, some ribbon and some gold/red balls with glitter-covered ferns to stick out here and there.

I did not even realize that they are using red napkins in the restaurant. It's a perfect match even though I had no idea it would be. I basically grabbed whatever I could find and started sticking it on the tree.

It only took 45 minutes to do and I'm happy with it.

Even though it took less than one hour to do, I ended up with a sore foot.

I guess these are not the shoes to wear to decorate.



Ah, it felt good to get back to my desk and kick them off!

Before I left home yesterday morning, I laid out my new lounging p.j.'s that I bought this weekend. They are big and comfy and I was very happy to get home and jump right into them.

Ah, it felt good to get into comfy duds!