...oops

so yesterday evening, as I was resting before the Ren.group concert...
Molly started going ballistic, bringing me out of my bedroom...
just in time to see a flat bed truck, with THE WHITE CAR on it...
start backing into my northside neighbor's driveway...

I went outside, went over to a man, that I'd never seen before...
who was telling the driver to leave the car in the driveway...
I introduced myself & discovered that the car was his son's...
[who I had never seen drive, only ride a motorcycle...]

I apologized and told him that it had not only been parked for 4 months...
in front of my house, giving me NO place to put my trash cans...
but that it had sat for a week with a pink warning notice on the windshield...
before it was taken away...

the "Dad" was very nice although I could tell he wasn't too pleased...
he told me that to get the car back had cost $200...
I apologized again & said that if I'd known it was his son's car...
I would have just asked him to move it...

he said that his son was in the wrong for leaving it sit so long...
he also understood how annoying it had been for me...
to have to stop & deal with a garbage can in my driveway for 4 months...
then he said that his son was going to donate the car...
in a couple of months anyway...

??!! why even bring it back ?... this is the end of the tax year... !
or wait until the first week of January for next year...




so for now, here it sits...
the car that won't just, "go away..."



at least I can put out my recyclables can this week...
it's very full...

come to think of it, I now have no more excuses NOT to prune my roses...
cut back the trumpet vine, pull-up the dead tomato plants...
clean off the porch, etc, etc, etc...

sigh...

UPDATE:

last night I heard them trying to start it [it didn't]...
but they managed to move it out of the driveway, onto the street...
but, in front of their house, what a concept !



it should be mentioned that it never occurred to me...
that the car belonged to them...
because for the last 4 months that it was in front of my house...
there was nothing in front of theirs...

...Blogger hurls chunks

once again... I have "issues"...

not being one to leave a functioning "thing" alone to ...
I don't know...function [?]

the folks at Blogger must be bored...
so they decided to "improve things"...

if they want to create a new comment window...
fine... test it first...
make sure it works...
then...offer it to people...
don't make it the default mode with no warning...

it wouldn't recognize my Google account...
and would NOT let me leave a comment anywhere...
not even on my own blog...

I had to go into "settings" and revert all the settings back...
to what they were before...

THEN...my account was recognized...
and I could comment on my own blog...

but not on any others who have the "new & improved" default system...

ARGH....

and at the same time...

they have "tweaked" downloading images...

NOW... they come up in reverse order...

the "done" page showed them in the correct order...
but the preview was reversed...

NOT the thing I needed after having just downloaded 17 jpgs...


I'm close to this...



STUPID BLOGGER...

...don't go shopping on a holiday

so I figured, "nobody will be shopping on Labor Day..."
[...I mean... it's 3:30 PM... people are, out...
doing stuff... just because I have "no life"...
doesn't mean everyone else doesn't...]

so I parked in the almost deserted parking lot...
[I drive about 10 miles round trip to shop there...]
got my reusable bags, got a cart, went inside...

stopped at the ATM... did what I needed to do...
grabbed a couple of in-store bakery bagels...
[the "everything"ones...yummm]
got some deli roast beef, turkey & tabouli...

Ensure w/extra protein...[2 for $14, usually $8.00+ each]
[mmmm... banana...]
bottled water [also on sale...]& snacks for the choir...
a couple of other things...[inc. EV olive oil...]
organic bananas, oranges, bell peppers...
[also on special...red, yellow, orange...$2.99 per lb]
and sweet white corn[really fresh...] 4 for $1.00...

so...I went to "check-out"...

and discovered that unbeknownst to me...

several dozen others had sneaked into the store...
filled their carts...
and had gotten in line at the 2 check stands that were open...
[the line for the "express lane" snaked around...
and down an aisle...disappearing into the meat dept..]



I considered continuing to shop... but I was done...
so I chose a line, that looked equal in wait time to the other...
[there were at least 6 people in front of me in each line...]

of course... I chose the wrong line...
[I always do...]

literally 15 minutes crawl by as the checker for my line...
follows company policy...and "chats"...

and because the 2 check stands that are open...
are right next to each other...
there is a bit of gridlock...
so once you've pulled-in as "next" to the check-out station...
you're blocked-in...

of course, it's at this point...when I'm "next"...
after at least 15 minutes of standing...
that someone opens up "next door"...
and I'm asked to "move over"...

since I couldn't back out and move over...
without forcing several people behinds me to also back out...
creating severe gridlock...
I opt to stay where I am...
after all...I'm next...
[right ? how much longer can it be ?]

but then I haven't considered MZ "Chatty Cathy Checker"....

everyone in the other line...
who was in line when I chose my line...
is not only gone, they're probably home by now...
eating what they purchased... while I waited...

and now that I'm "next"... I begin to understand why...

she's not only "chatty"... but she's inexperienced...
and seems to have the world's s-l-o-w-e-s-t cash register...
it's a good 10 minutes more before it is my turn...
and as I wait, I watch those several, who were behind me...
and who "moved", when I opted to "stay"...
leave with their groceries...

FINALLY... it's my turn...

I don't encourage chatting...
[I'm not rude... just wanting to be on my way...]
I ask the checker not to bag the Ensure in my cloth bags...
and then have to turn around and tell the bagger...
when he shows up...

she hands me a piece of paper...
I start to leave, after telling the bagger, twice...
that I don't need help "out"...
[they always argue...]

the checker says, "wait, your receipt..."
[the piece of paper she had given me was a coupon...]

so, after what seems like forever...
the s-l-o-w machine spits out my receipt...
AND...another coupon for something I don't need or want...

finally making my way to the car...
I load in my groceries...
3 bags half full...[one is choir snacks...]
2 flats of water...[for the church...]
4 6 packs of Ensure....
[& a partridge in a pear tree... just kidding...]

as I make my way home...
to load in my groceries...
then take my walk...

I attempt, purely as a mental exercise, of course...
to figure out HOW I ALWAYS manage to pick the s-l-o-w-e-s-t line...

and then I realize...

God must be teaching me patience...
and, after all... I AM retired...
and have all the time in the world...
or so it would seem...

...ARGH !!!

I don't like guns...
and wouldn't be caught dead in that dress...
[the color's nice...but the style...?]
or those shoes... ouchy mama !
but otherwise...
this sentiment is SO me, right now...

lately... I've had "issues"...
with...


I just spent over an hour ...
trying to find out why 2 links I put in a post...
to a blog I KNOW exists...came up ... "blog not found"...
[it actually took me less time to write this post...
including finding the images...]

I found a typo at first, in one of them..
fixed it...and...voila... it still didn't work...
so, I redid them ...SEVERAL TIMES...
[ah, sarcasm... the refuge of the embittered mind...]

perhaps, I need one of these...

because... after much "experimenting"...
"researching" and plain old "trial & error"...
[mostly the latter...]
all my efforts were STILL unsuccessful...
so...I decided to give it "one more try"...
before deleting and conceding "defeat" ...
at the hands of technology...

so... one last time...
I started from scratch...
retyped the link address...
just like I did it the first time [without the typo]...
AND IT WORKED !!!

"encouraged"...

I did the same procedure with link # 2 [that never had a typo...]
it also worked...

I'm so glad it FINALLY worked...
because I was contemplating this...


or even using this...


I've got to say that between "error...image not downloaded"...
"blogger not responding"..."blog not found"...
"autosave failed" or "server not responding..."

I've felt swallowed up in frustration at Blogger lately...

[is it just my imagination... or does this cat look familiar ?]