Life – Page 5 – New England's Narrow Road

Diving Into Holiday Time

Whether we like it or not, we are now diving into holiday time. Turkey day has come and gone and so has Black Friday. Today, Cyber Monday is a big one for me, as I work online. But how overwhelmed are the online shoppers today? Will they even see anything posted by me.

I hope so.

I mostly sell products leading up to Christmas, as opposed to buying products. This year under the tree will be very skimpy indeed. Not to worry, there is really nothing any of us badly need. And that is probably true in many households.

As time goes on, this time of year leaves more and more of a bad taste in my mouth. The whole Santa thing just doesn’t fly (pardon the pun). It’s impossible to explain to a poor child why Santa gave his friend a new snowboard, when the less fortunate child got a much needed pair of mittens. Santa just doesn’t come out looking good in many instances.

And the saying, “Jesus is the reason for the season” has truth to it, but does anyone really think that Jesus would be happy with the way we celebrate?

So what to do? Skip Christmas and ignore what the world around us does? It’s impossible. I immerse myself in my work and grumble a lot. Bah humbug. I guess this means I have gotten old.

Happy Halloween From Some Black Cats I Know

black cat tongue — H A P P Y H A L L O W E E N !!!

Black cat photo.
One of my faves.
Skittle on the deck.
Sleeping with her tongue out.

Halloween is quiet here. Not many trick-or-treater’s come to my neighborhood. I may give out 6 candy bars. That’s my guess. So I buy big candy, since I can afford to.

Beware of black cats that may cross your path tonight while Trick-or-Treating, or don’t you believe in the black cat folklore?

Personally I think black cats are beautiful. They cross my path daily, and I’m still here to tell about it! At shelters, most cats are black, because people don’t want to take the chance of bringing bad luck into their homes. Ahhhh… this is how the world is now.

STAY SAFE KIDS! And may you get lots of good candy in your treat bags.

The Surprise Baby and Life Beyond

My fourth, and last child was born when I was 41 years old. It’s not unusual to see older people having kids, and I know that many people older than that have given birth. But my oldest son was 20, my other son was 15 and my daughter was almost 10, when he was born. As is true with all aspects of my life, plans when it came to having kids, went out the window. I never wanted my kids to be spaced so far apart in age. And I never wanted to start over in my forties.

Now that my son will be 18 in a few months, I am at a place in my life that I sometimes believed I’d never live to see. All my kids grown up. Continue reading “The Surprise Baby and Life Beyond”

Bad Business Practices and Poor Customer Service

I love New England. It’s a beautiful place to live, although you must have money to enjoy it here. I don’t have money, and I’m planning to move. In order to do so, I must fix up my house, but the incompetence I am dealing with over this spring and summer is slowing me down.

I began a home improvement loan application over a month ago. Those people are dragging their feet. Summer is short. I need the money to begin home improvements. All I ask is that they keep me informed of the progress, but they don’t.

I bought a new refrigerator at Sears, which couldn’t be delivered for 3 weeks. After patiently waiting for it to arrive, it came with the door opening the wrong way. I had specifically asked for it to be switched. It’s been 10 days and although the Sears store manager promised to get on it, he never called me yesterday, as he had promised. So now, at 10am on Friday I am waiting to hear back, after I called the store again this morning.

Is it just because I am a woman? Do sales people, delivery men, store managers, and loan officers think I am barely worth their time? Or is this just part of the growing lackadaisical manner in which business people treat their customers. It seems to have become a way of life. Continue reading “Bad Business Practices and Poor Customer Service”