More on the Phone Saga

I just called to get an authorization return number for the jitterbug phone and to cancel my account.  The first person I talked to was extremely pleasant and understanding, but had to get another person to handle the return.  The return gal was absolutely the most arrogant and unpleasant person I've talked to in a long time.  I did find out the reason they no longer have a Samsung jitterbug is because Samsung quit making flip phones.  All of you who read my blog and have told me you use a flip phone should just protect your phone at all costs.  If you need a new one you will never get the same kind again.  What a shame!

Yesterday my son Steve took me to an ATT store nearby and we selected an Android phone - I think I have that correctly, and at any rate it is not an iPhone.  I just dropped the damn thing trying to see if it is a Samsung, but I'm almost sure it is.  It's going to take me a long time to get used to it, and it's a good thing I rarely use a phone.   Now I have to make sure I ALWAYS keep it where the Destroyer can't reach it.  Only yesterday, just hours after I brought it home, I caught him chewing the box it came in.

The rain has been heavy and constant until just a few hours ago, so I got a quick walk in.  I think I might go out again before it starts back up.

So that's my news for today - I have to say that I just don't understand the attraction of this phone, although I suppose when you get used to it you can no longer do without it.  To me, it is too big to carry around or to put into a pocket but people do, and I might end up like everyone else.

That is all I have to say right now, so cherish your flip phone if that is what you love and use, because there are few of them left!

Waiting

It seems like forever since I've had a good phone and Rocky destroyed it.  Good thing I don't make or receive many calls, and I really don't like using a phone because I have trouble hearing on cell phones.

 This afternoon Steve is going to finally take me to AT&T to select a phone.  He was away on a business trip, and before that his family all had colds that were bad enough to keep them home.  So this afternoon I hope we make it to get a phone.  I shudder  to think of crating Rocky because he absolutely freaks out about it.  He can't be trusted for 5 minutes if I'm occupied with something else, such as taking a shower.  I have nearly everything up high where he can't reach it, but he's getting taller and taller, and there are just some things that I overlook now and then, such as my jacket.

I had a great time with family this past weekend, especially with 2 brothers & their wives, and my niece and her husband, all of whom I don't see very often.  My niece (Julie) and husband (John) wanted to go to Reno, and Friday/Saturday seemed to be clear enough and I-80 open all the way "up the hill".  She told me later that seeing the snow piled so high on one side of the road, and the absolute drop off  into the canyons on the other side  really had her nervous.  They came back to Sacramento $200 richer than when they left, so all went well!  

My mother used to go to the Reno and Lake Tahoe casinos whenever she could get someone to take her, or a bus trip for seniors for that purpose.  I detest gambling and never did enjoy the atmosphere; the last time I went I put a few quarters in a slot machine and got about $250 back - I vowed then and there to never ever gamble again, and I never have!

 We are on a 4-day streak of rain, and I don't think it has stopped since yesterday.  It makes taking Rocky out a real bummer, as I don't like to walk the rain and all we have is a covered driveway.  I don't mind at all looking out the window at the rain, but I don't care for being out in it.  Maybe I should get myself an umbrella but wouldn't have much chance to use one since the rainy season here is so short.   I hate spending money on phones, umbrellas, and crap like that!  I'd much rather spend it on and with my kids and grandkids!

I wonder how long it will take me to be able to use my new phone, whatever kind I get!  I will have to enter all the names & numbers into the directory, and I lost so many of them when the phone was ruined by "The Destroyer". 

Almost blown away!

I took Rocky for a short walk and was hit by the wind from the north!  It is blowing fiercely and I sure didn't stay out long!  Rocky doesn't seem to mind it as much as I do.

Speaking of the basketball star, he still limps slightly, but not all the time.  It seems to come and go, and I have to look closely to even see it as it isn't a pronounced limp.  I noticed yesterday that he wasn't jumping on people, although he ran around with the dogs at the dog park when it was open briefly.  It rained overnight so the darn thing is closed again for today. 

I had lunch with my niece and her husband yesterday and it is so nice to be with them.  Jeannie is having all the family over to her house on Sunday, so it will be a nice gathering.  I cherish those times!

I'm getting antsy to move, and it's down to 3 months to wait.  I have so much to do before then.  I sure hope Rocky has calmed down a bit by then, as he will be turning 1 yr old on the 28th of May.  I realize he will still have another 6 months to a year to go until he acts like a mature dog, and maybe he will remain puppy-like in his energy and temperament for even longer.  I just marvel all the time at how beautiful he is, how playful he is, and sometimes how transparent he is when he tries to trick me!

 I know there are so many things I should be doing, but I don't know where to start!  Getting old is a PITA!

Sports Injury

We spent the afternoon at Jeannie's yesterday, and enjoyed being with my niece Julie and her husband John, from the Milwaukee area.  They think our winter is pretty mild, although I sure need to dress warm!

I stayed indoors while some of the men and kids went out to play basketball.  Of course, the biggest kid of the bunch was mine.  He went up for a shot and came down on one of his paws too hard I think, and it it has been sore ever since.  It only bothers him from time to time, so he must have figured out how to walk without putting pressure on the injured spot.  When Andrew brought him back from his walk this morning he mentioned that Rocky must have hurt himself on the walk, but I assured him that Rocky hurt himself playing basketball.  

I didn't think too much of it, but when I took him out for a walk a few minutes ago he had a difficult time going down the steps, and then I could tell it hurt him to walk.  I'm at a loss to know what to do about it right now and will just watch him closely this evening.    He's been on the couch all afternoon, which is a little unusual

The weather sure looks beautiful today although it seems cold when I go outdoors.   So I'll try to stay indoors as much as I can!

 I think Julie and John might try to make it up I-80 to Reno in a couple of days, although I sure wouldn't have the nerve to attempt it.  When I was Julie's age though, I would have tried anything!

I am really anxious to get together with my d-i-l Megan, and begin going through our plants, seeds, and plans for our gardening project.   I hope we can start on it soon.

I've run on long enough so I'll quit now.  Have a good week.

My new Jitterbug phone

I had the old Jitterbug, made by Samsung, for about 7 years without a problem.  I could probably have used it for several more years if Rocky hadn't chewed it and lost the battery.

The new one is made by Alcatel and is a total piece of crap.  If you are thinking about getting the Jitterbug, my advice would be "DON'T".  It is a bit larger than the Samsung, which fit so nicely in my jeans or jacket pockets, was easy to hold as it wasn't an exact rectangle but curved a bit which made it simple to hold and use it.  One of my sons helped me get the new one set up and he recognized right away that the voice quality wasn't very good.

I used to put the Samsung on the charger overnight about every other night, and take it off when I got up in the morning.  This one makes an annoying ring every few seconds when it has finished charging, about 2 hrs or so.  That means if I put it on charge when I go to bed at night it is going to wake me up just after I get to sleep.  I don't understand why Great Call discontinued a very usable and trouble-free phone to carry this one which has no new features and nothing I would consider better.  

I am going to look into other phones with the same features and that have a pay-as-you-go system.  I pay for a certain number of minutes each month and have never gone over, although I don't use my phone all that much to begin with.  To be truthful, I don't want or need a lot of features - I just want a phone that I can make and receive calls with.  I do use the camera from time to time but don't really need it and that wouldn't be a deciding factor to get this phone.

I really don't like to criticize a product, especially to an audience of the size I blog to.  I might tell one of you individually that I don't care for my phone and this is why, but going on a public forum lets you know that I truly dislike it.

The days go by with stormy skies and then bright sunshine, but the dark clouds are always coming up on the western horizon.  Rocky and I just got back from a walk of about 1 mile while we had the chance. 

More rain and wind!

I really can't complain as many areas in this part of the country are getting much worse.  The wind frightens me a little.  I think it would only take a very small tornado to pick my house up and carry it off to the land of Oz!  Rocky doesn't care for it either.

I recently read an article about how, under no circumstances, should you feed people food to a dog - not even a tiny little treat.  I don't know where this comes from, but I've had dogs all my life, and especially when my babies were small the dogs loved to sit next to them when they were eating, dutifully cleaning up any spills for me.  Dogs love that job, and they take it very seriously. 

Since I don 't drop my food on the floor, Rocky still deserves a chance to get a few good bites.  I just made some toast smeared with butter and lots of apricot preserves, and I think he loves it almost as much as I do.   I only give him a small piece of the toast though.

I don't know how to plan my day.  If the rain keeps up we won't be going for many walks.  My kitchen definitely needs some work, so that may be what I will tackle.  Or not.

Here's to a happy Valentine's Day for all.  

Rainy Day

Not much new here.  It started raining during the night and has been raining heavily ever since.  It did lighten up for about 10 minutes and Rocky and I were out the door for a quick walk.    I don't  think he likes walking in the rain any more than I do.

We are having a lazy day today.  I heard yesterday evening that a blizzard was hitting Redding, CA just north of us; the town is at about 500' of elevation and I don't think they get snow very often - but a blizzard came in off the Pacific last night and blanketed Redding.  Here, we just have temps in the 50's and rain - I don't mind this weather at all.

A niece of mine is arriving in Sacramento with her husband this weekend, flying in from Milwaukee.  I hope the weather will clear up for a bit - they wanted to go to Reno as well as to visit my sister in Nevada, but the roads have been closed for a while due to the snow and icy conditions.  It's funny how a person changes over the years:  I could never understand why my parents let the weather dictate if they went anywhere outside the house.  Now I've become my parents!

Jeannie came by after work yesterday to give me my monthly B-12 shot; she stayed for a while and I broke out a bottle of wine which we enjoyed with some snacks.  I don't often get a chance to spend time with just her, and it was a real treat for me.  Also, she is Rocky's absolute most favorite person in the world so he was in a joyous state, for sure.

There is really nothing happening in my little corner of the world that is worth blogging about.  I should be grateful that nothing is happening!

Enjoy the rest of the week, and I'll be back soon.

Finally, I have a phone!

Steve came by this morning and wanted to see the phone that I was going to return tomorrow if I could find a way to the post office.  Within a few minutes he had it working.  I don't know what he did that I didn't, or how I missed what I should have done, but in case I forget how wonderful it is to be young and in my 40's, this was a reminder.  Then I could do just about anything and rarely needed instructions how to do it! 

To be truthful, I have gone without having an accessible phone for a week and I really didn't miss it much.  If something had happened to my computer however, I would have missed the phone.  All in all I'm glad to have a working phone and feel much safer when I go to sleep at night. 

I need to start making lists of everything in my house and marking what I can get rid of.  This is going to be a whole lot of work, but I'd rather do it myself than for my kids to have to do it all when I'm gone.  I recently heard from a cousin who wrote me about genealogy, which she is evidently starting to get in to.  She maybe expects a few emails, but little does she know she is going to get a shipment of 3 ring binders with info and documentation, by family!

Steve fixed a couple of other things for me, and told me about the mom of a friend of his who might be interested in my house.  She is 70 and still working because she still has to make a mortgage payment.  I hope we can make a deal somehow - I have no idea what I might expect to get if I go through a real estate agent, but it no doubt all washes out in the end.  If I could just do a quick sale it would be worth the peace of mind to me.  There are still several things I need to do before I could sell to anyone, and having a dog underfoot doesn't help matters.

Jeannie and Autumn took me to Costco yesterday and we were gone approximately 2 hours.  When I returned the house was trashed worse than I'd ever seen it before.  Rocky really did a number, so from now on he will be in the crate with the door closed and locked whenever I have to leave him.  I normally leave a few papers or something where he can reach them so he doesn't damage more important things.  I also don't have much of anything low enough to be in his reach.  But when he stands up on his back legs he can reach just about everything.

I was so frustrated I did a google search on how long labrador puppies chew everything in sight.  I didn't expect the answer - 2 to 4 years!  The reason is something that makes perfect sense, and has to do with their breeding and training to retrieve things in their mouths.  They are very much prompted to "mouth" everything and everyone they see, as that is their instinct when retrieving birds and it's in their breeding.  The only thing I don't understand is why he is so intent on destroying things.  I don't care much what he carries in his mouth but I don't like him ruining everything.   I let him get by with a lot, but I raised my kids the same way and they turned out great!  They sure put me through some trying times though.  So here I am again with a pre-adolescent who wants to constantly test my authority.

I wish everyone a good week ahead.

Phone arrived

My phone arrived this afternoon and in trying to run the set-up, I've been in a loop that so far has run 3 different times.  After the 3 set-up attempts, the screen told me to "Charge the phone" so I needed to plug a cord into the wall and the other end into a dock, then place the phone into the dock.  They've added a step here - I used to only plug one end of the charger into the phone - the other end stayed in the socket.  This charging station has 3 separate pieces to hook up or connect.  Every move I made was intently watched by "The Destroyer", so I will need to be careful where I put all these pieces, devices, and above all, the phone.  Ironically, the phone is designed for seniors, who everyone knows, can barely read directions much less follow them.  So why are they adding a step to a simple charging routine?  And why am I in this loop where set-up is required, but ends with an error message to call the company because there is a problem.  I emailed the company explaining that my dog ate the battery to my old phone, so I can't call anyone until I can use my new phone, which requires a call to the company!

I should have died 15 years ago while I was still smart and could follow directions, although I was so intuitive then I rarely needed directions! 

Today I have pulled every piece of furniture in my living room away from the walls and cleaned thoroughly, hoping I would find the errant battery.   If only "The Destroyer" could talk, he might save me a lot of trouble and worry.  He's just nonchalantly chewing away on a bone, glancing at me every now and then.

Patience is all I need and I'll be as right as rain!

 

New Phone

I'm waiting for a new (Jitterbug) phone to arrive.  Rocky got hold of my phone and chewed the back off, exposing the battery.  It still works, so I called Great Call and they are sending me a new one.  It's a good thing I don't send or receive many phone calls, but I definitely need a good basic phone . 

Yesterday I ordered garden seeds - all organic vegetables - and my daughter in law and grandson (Megan and Liam) are going to help me get everything planted in starter pots.  I selected what I think is a good variety (at least of the things that I like), about 10 packets of seeds.  Meg has seeds she has saved from pumpkins and other plants, so we are going to have a planting session in a week or so.  I'm excited about it and hope I can transfer some good plants to the garden at my new apartment.  

I guess I'm still moving in May or around that time.  I really wish I could get in sooner, but the current tenants have a baby, plus their in-laws are living with them and plan to move with them as well. 

As I've mentioned before, Rocky sleeps in my bed and has since I brought him home.  He has grown so much since then, so when he stretches out his front and back paws he covers just about the width of my queen-size bed - on the pillows, of course!  (He likes to be comfy.)   When I get up for the bathroom in the middle of the night I never know if he will be in my spot when I return, and if he is, it is very difficult to get him to move.  One time I just got in bed and laid my head on him.  He didn't mind at all (and didn't move); then I remembered what puppies in a litter look like when they pile all over each other.  He sometimes lays across my legs (he's getting heavy enough so that it isn't very comfortable for me).  The funniest is when he tries to lick me and I have to wrap the sheet around my face and head - he can usually find an opening though.  It's a game we play.

I don't know why I'm so tired and every bone and muscle in my body hurts.  I hope it's just dealing with the dog and nothing else.

The sky is a beautiful blue with huge white puffy clouds, so they evidently haven't been chemtrailing yet today.  I miss seeing the blue skies.   And yes, the contrails from a jet plane are easy to distinguish as they dissipate quickly wheras the chemical trails hang in the sky for a much longer time, poisoning the air as well as the view. 

The Weather!

After a few nice days in the 60's it is turning cooler and windy this afternoon.  We are expecting a storm this evening and I hope the power doesn't go out, although I have a good supply of candles as well as an oid fashioned oil lamp.  The last time we were without power I lit several candles and was shocked to see how little light they give.  It probably wouldn't be as bad if I had good eyesight, but as it is I need a lot of bright light to see well.  I'm also frugal about conserving energy and I don't like to have many lights on, so I'm in between a rock and a hard place!

I ordered a harness for Rocky that seems flimsy but it works!  It is just a couple of straps put together in such a way that he isn't really restrained, but then he doesn't pull ahead too much or take advantage of the fact that there isn't a lot holding him back.  Also, the straps are nowhere near his neck, which I worry about when the leash is attached to his collar and he pulls.  I will get this all sorted out sooner or later. 

My computer is really becoming terrible and needs work or  else replacing.  I just lost two paragraphs I wrote for this blog, so I'm going to quit for now and keep an eye on the storm clouds gathering.

Speaking of computers, I don't want  to spend the money on a new Mac; I thought of getting an iPad but it probably wouldn't work for me for full time use.  Any thoughts or coments on this subject would be appreciated.