One of the things that I find interesting about this particular time in our society is the changing ideas of what the proper etiquette is for doing things, like going to someone’s wedding, or graduation, or party. I can remember when I was a kid, in order to go anywhere other than shopping, you needed invitations. You wouldn’t DREAM of dropping by someone’s house without an invitation to come visit. After all, you might not be welcome to drop in! Nowadays if I am out running errands and happen to be going near a friend or relative’s house I might decide at the last minute (if I’m running ahead of schedule) to call them on my cell phone and see if they are home and invite myself over for a visit. My mother would tell me that is very rude, that I should never invite myself over to anyone’s house.
Then I respond, well then I’d never get to see anyone because everyone is so busy that when I ask them to set up a future date for us to get together they usually respond with an noncommittal answer that leads me to believe that they think that they will be too busy. My mother would respond that must mean that they really don’t like me and that I should take a hint and improve my personality in some way. Wow, that can really shake up a person’s ego, don’t you think?
Well, shaking off that ego-shattering thought, when I am in the neighborhood and call them on my cell phone and let them know I’m in the area and would love to drop by to see them for a few minutes, or join them for a lunch or dinner at a nearby restaurant, at least half of the time the people say that they are available, and we get together and have a great visit! So I think that in this day and age people are just too darn busy with trying to raise a family and make some money to support themselves that a lot of the old-fashioned traditions are just having to fall by the wayside. What do you think?
Although we have become pretty much a disposal society, I tend to try and fix and repair things that I have purchased rather than just tossing them out, which fills up our landfills and keeps the big business guys raking in the big bucks. I would much rather take my shoes and other footwear to the local shoe repair shop which is a great little mom and pop business that is struggling to keep there doors open, which just breaks my heart. Since Walmart came to town we have all seen way too many small businesses going out of business and we all need to do what we can in order to keep more good folks employed by someone else other than Wally World.
So when I noticed that our outdoor furniture is looking pretty shabby I decided to try and find patio chair repair business that could help with our outdoor furniture repair concerns. Luckily it only took a few minutes by using the Internet to locate a reputable company that will hopefully come to our rescue. We have worked very hard for several years to get our front, side and back yard looking good and to become a place that we can kick back to relax as well as a place that we can entertain during the nice weather days that we are blessed with having throughout the year. We really lucked out this winter and so far spring has been most excellent as well. I sure hope we continue to be blessed during the summer and fall months, but something tells me that that would be pushing our luck just a tad much.
It would really be nice if I could find some one who could help get that darned old hot tub out back up and running again. It is so old that it has become a challenge finding replacement parts for what it needs to be used and enjoyed once again. There is nothing like sitting in a nice hot tub and letting these old bones get a good soaking and letting those tense muscles relax after a hard day of work.
Sometimes I just need a break from burgers for lunch, so Subway has become my restaurant of choice lately. I like to get take advantage of their $5 foot long sub and my favorite is the Spicy Italian. I just wish that they didn’t ask so many questions about how I want it fixed. I understand why they do this but I find that when I’m in a hurry or not in the best of moods that I tend to get a bit cranky and irritated with all the questions. Funny thing is that I’m not the only one that feels that way. There have been several people that I have talked to about Subway that feel the same way.
The wife has decided that with some of the money that we are getting back from our 2011 tax return we are going to find and buy a brand new twin over full bunk bed to put in the guest room. I had never heard of a twin over full bunk bed but after looking at some of the ones that I found online, I have to agree that they would be a good replacement for the futon that is currently in there now.
Last week when I was sick, she decided to sleep in the guest room so as not to catch the nasty virus that threw me for a loop for 3 days. She had never slept on the futon before and was surprised to find how uncomfortable it really was. It was so uncomfortable that she ended up sleeping the last two nights on the sofa!
So after searching the net for the perfect twin over full bunk bed we have decided to go with the Donco Twin/Full Mission Stairway Bunk Bed in Espresso and the fact that we aren’t going to be charged for the shipping and handling I do believe that we will be getting one heck of a deal.
With all of the belt-tightening going on around this house, my wife has been spending more time comparison shopping with the sale flyers that come in the Sunday newspaper. She used to only clip coupons and just take them to the grocery store to save a few pennies here and there, but lately she’s had the chance to find some great deals on things like cleaning supplies at dollar stores and so she has started to spend a little bit of extra time preparing her shopping errands to include stopping at the dollar stores as well.
For years she has been buying most of her party supplies at dollar stores – you can get really great deals there on gift bags and wrapping paper. Since those things don’t have expiration dates, and she can stock up on that type of item, she tries to do that only two or three times a year and buy in bulk so she can just pull out a greeting card or a gift bag from our gift wrapping closet. The amount of money a shopper can save by shopping with coupons and using dollar stores is simply amazing!
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