this blog will be short and in lower case...kinda like flying the flag at half staff...we were preparing to leave decatur, alabama (point mallard campground). i had one
last job to do...i had to clear some leaves from the slideout...it was raining...i slipped from the ladder and broke my shoulder...i will write more when i can use both hands,,,
jim
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Pulling our Home to Florida
Our departure began with a temperature of 6 degrees and the snow was falling as we attempted to dig the Sunset Trail (ST) out of its winter storage and get on the road. The hook up went smoothly enough, but then the fun started. We had lowered the tongue jack down on a concrete block. To our dismay, when we raised the tongue jack, we could not move the concrete block. It was frozen to the ‘frozen ground’. Mary Ellen and I spent a half hour trying to dislodge it. Finally, after using a shovel, hammer, and an ice pick, we dislodged and removed the concrete block.
Pulling the ST out of its snowy and cold storage wasn’t exactly a fun-filled experience. After several ‘outstandingly clever’ maneuvers, we managed to get the ST moving toward the ‘gated exit’. We drove to our favorite ‘fuel center’ and checked the air pressure in our tires. Once this chilly task was completed we were finally ready to head south.
Things went well for the first 65 miles, when a passing car gave us the dreaded signal. As they drove alongside us, the passenger began pointing toward the ground and mouthing tire! Oh yes, we had another flat tire! We called roadside assistance and WAITED. Apparently they decided the best person to remove the flattened rubber and replace it with our spare was located in DALLAS! Actually, it just seemed like he had come to INDIANA from DALLAS. Two and one half hours later we were again ready to roll!!
I’m glad we had planned to only go as far as our son Dan’s house. We had planned to take Dan, Jill and their two girls out to dinner. We now opted for ‘carry in’. Dan had checked various tire retailers to see who had a replacement tire to give us a much needed ‘spare tire’. A ‘Wal-Mart super center’ or as Dan had dubbed it ‘Wal-Mart super slow’ had the tire we needed. We decided to wait until Sunday morning to pick it up. Once we remounted the spare we ventured out with a stop at one of our favorite KOA’s in Bowling Green, KY. The owners, Paul and Susan are great people. Paul is a real character. They are the perfect hosts. If you want a great place to stay in KY, make a stop at the KOA in and tell Paul I sent you.
Of course the day wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t have another minor crisis. When we parked at the KOA, I lowered the tongue jack to prop up the front end. This went fine, but when I began to lower the front a little, the tongue jack froze in place. It wouldn’t move! I started the truck thinking perhaps my 12 volt battery had died, but it still didn’t do anything. I stopped at the office and talked with Paul. He told me about a friend who could certainly fix it. He was very reasonable. However, Paul said that he had a couple ideas. I asked him for a 30 amp fuse. Paul gave me a pack of 4 fuses (cost was $2.50). He didn’t charge me anything! He said it was his way of giving me a discount! As we were leaving the office with the intention of having his friend come out in the morning, he added that sometimes tapping it with a rubber mallet breaks it loose. He was ready to give me a hammer, but I said I had one. When we returned to the ST, Mary Ellen tapped or rapped it a few times and it worked! Paul saved me a few dollars and all it took was a rap with a mallet. By the way, when we left in the morning, I gave Paul the fuses back. He didn’t want to take them. He promised me a discount next time!
We left Bowling Green at 10 a.m. and headed for Point Mallard in Decatur, AL. We’d been here once before, but somehow we managed to get lost. It is about 6 miles off I 65, but signage is non-existent. Sorta like my brain (non existent). It was 54 degrees when we arrived. Kinda rainy, but nice. Up till now, I hadn’t bothered to hook up the water. Since it was so nice I decided to do it. I turned it on, and I heard Mary Ellen YELL, “we have a flood”. Water was coming into the room with the bunk beds by the rear door. Before I could turn off the water, all our floors only required mopping! We hadn't planned to clean until we got to Florida. Thanks to the flood we can cross that one off the list. The problem seems to be the hot water heater. We sopped up the water and decided to wait until we get to Florida to have someone check out the water heater. I have a feeling something froze, expanded and busted something.
Flat tire on day one, tongue jack on day two, and now the water heater! What will tomorrow bring??? Oh, I forgot to mention that we just heard there is a WINTER STORM WATCH for tomorrow!! I don’t want to think about what that means.....
jim
Pulling the ST out of its snowy and cold storage wasn’t exactly a fun-filled experience. After several ‘outstandingly clever’ maneuvers, we managed to get the ST moving toward the ‘gated exit’. We drove to our favorite ‘fuel center’ and checked the air pressure in our tires. Once this chilly task was completed we were finally ready to head south.
Things went well for the first 65 miles, when a passing car gave us the dreaded signal. As they drove alongside us, the passenger began pointing toward the ground and mouthing tire! Oh yes, we had another flat tire! We called roadside assistance and WAITED. Apparently they decided the best person to remove the flattened rubber and replace it with our spare was located in DALLAS! Actually, it just seemed like he had come to INDIANA from DALLAS. Two and one half hours later we were again ready to roll!!
I’m glad we had planned to only go as far as our son Dan’s house. We had planned to take Dan, Jill and their two girls out to dinner. We now opted for ‘carry in’. Dan had checked various tire retailers to see who had a replacement tire to give us a much needed ‘spare tire’. A ‘Wal-Mart super center’ or as Dan had dubbed it ‘Wal-Mart super slow’ had the tire we needed. We decided to wait until Sunday morning to pick it up. Once we remounted the spare we ventured out with a stop at one of our favorite KOA’s in Bowling Green, KY. The owners, Paul and Susan are great people. Paul is a real character. They are the perfect hosts. If you want a great place to stay in KY, make a stop at the KOA in and tell Paul I sent you.
Of course the day wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t have another minor crisis. When we parked at the KOA, I lowered the tongue jack to prop up the front end. This went fine, but when I began to lower the front a little, the tongue jack froze in place. It wouldn’t move! I started the truck thinking perhaps my 12 volt battery had died, but it still didn’t do anything. I stopped at the office and talked with Paul. He told me about a friend who could certainly fix it. He was very reasonable. However, Paul said that he had a couple ideas. I asked him for a 30 amp fuse. Paul gave me a pack of 4 fuses (cost was $2.50). He didn’t charge me anything! He said it was his way of giving me a discount! As we were leaving the office with the intention of having his friend come out in the morning, he added that sometimes tapping it with a rubber mallet breaks it loose. He was ready to give me a hammer, but I said I had one. When we returned to the ST, Mary Ellen tapped or rapped it a few times and it worked! Paul saved me a few dollars and all it took was a rap with a mallet. By the way, when we left in the morning, I gave Paul the fuses back. He didn’t want to take them. He promised me a discount next time!
We left Bowling Green at 10 a.m. and headed for Point Mallard in Decatur, AL. We’d been here once before, but somehow we managed to get lost. It is about 6 miles off I 65, but signage is non-existent. Sorta like my brain (non existent). It was 54 degrees when we arrived. Kinda rainy, but nice. Up till now, I hadn’t bothered to hook up the water. Since it was so nice I decided to do it. I turned it on, and I heard Mary Ellen YELL, “we have a flood”. Water was coming into the room with the bunk beds by the rear door. Before I could turn off the water, all our floors only required mopping! We hadn't planned to clean until we got to Florida. Thanks to the flood we can cross that one off the list. The problem seems to be the hot water heater. We sopped up the water and decided to wait until we get to Florida to have someone check out the water heater. I have a feeling something froze, expanded and busted something.
Flat tire on day one, tongue jack on day two, and now the water heater! What will tomorrow bring??? Oh, I forgot to mention that we just heard there is a WINTER STORM WATCH for tomorrow!! I don’t want to think about what that means.....
jim
Thursday, January 6, 2011
THE JOURNEY BEGINS
We seem to be spending a lot of time moving stuff from storage and bringing it back home. What’s that all about? Pretty soon the storage garage will be empty and everything will be back in the house! It started because of Christmas preparations. Of course this led to a lot of decorations we weren’t going to use this year As you can probably tell, we haven’t sold our house yet. We had hopes of selling it before we left for Florida. This probably won’t happen until Spring. We’ve had eight parties come through the house. Our realtor told us that two really liked it, but apparently not enough to buy it.
Three of our four boys were here for Christmas. Actually we celebrated Christmas on the 18th. As for the 25th, we spent it at Mary Ellen’s sister’s home in Ohio. The most exciting thing about New Years Eve was watching Notre Dame manhandle Miami in the Sun Bowl. During the 1980’s, ND-Miami was labeled ‘Catholics versus Convicts’. The rivalry got heated to the point it was decided it would be best to put a halt to scheduling each other...until now! The former ‘convicts’ have cleaned up their act since the notorious Jimmy Johnson left Miami. Starting in 2012 Notre Dame will start a home and home series with Miami again. Should be fun.
Well, the time is drawing ‘nigh’ and we’ve been making plans for our journey south. Don’t you love that word ‘nigh’. It’s so much nicer than ‘near’. It has a much more literary sound to it. And I being a ‘literalist’ (I think I made up a word) chose to express my literary leanings by using the word ‘nigh’. Now that I’ve beat that to death, let’s move on. We’re planning to depart on the 22nd of January and go as far
as Indianapolis. Our annual problem on day one of our journey is finding a campground that’s open in Indiana. We would have to go into KY to find one and that violates my time on the road rule! Some of you probably remember Mary Ellen’s characterization of my traveling schedule. It goes something like, leave the campground at 10 a.m. Stop for an hour lunch at noon. Proceed for another hour and a half and stop at 2:30 for the night! Some days I actually do 4 hours! My attitude is ‘what’s the hurry’. I’ve allowed 8 days to get to our destination. I didn’t mention that we will stay with son Dan and family in Westfield, IN for our first night. This presented a whole other problem.
The neighborhood, compound, cult where Dan resides prohibits RV’s parked on the street or driveways. Even if the RV is washed! Something to do with ‘trailer trash’ I guess. Anyway, with the help of Dan and my other Indy son, Mark, we tried to find a parking spot where I could safely leave truck and travel trailer from approximately 5 p.m. Saturday until 9 a.m. Sunday. First we investigated the Wal-Mart in Westfield, NO. I than called the local Kroger store. The manager told me they didn’t own the parking lot. When I asked who did she told me she didn’t know. I called the Westfield police department. They were supposed to get back to me if they found a place. I never heard from them. Finally, after checking a couple of far-flung possibilities, I called Marsh. Marsh is a semi upscale supermarket a couple miles from Dan’s house. After my second offer NEVER to buy groceries anywhere else (I guess we’ll have to drive 3 hours for milk), he relented.
So, we’ve got day one handled. I’m always surprised how much mental and a little physical preparation goes into leaving for a few months. This is further complicated by the fact my son, Mark is no longer handling the house while we’re gone. This requires more preparation and planning. First of all is mail. This year we’ll have all our mail forwarded. We’ve never had to do this before. Of course realtors will be showing the house (hopefully) while we’re gone. This will require some notes making sure they turn the furnace back down and be certain to recheck the doors so we don’t have any uninvited “lookers” who have no intention of buying the house.
We’ll get one of the teenagers in our neighborhood to start Mary Ellen’s car at least once a week. Of course the paper must be stopped and the driveway shoveled. There are a lot more little things we need to think about for the first time. We’re now realizing just how much Mark handled in the past. I guess we’ll just have to ‘grow up’ and deal with it!
I sort of made a resolution to stay away from too much political commentary in my blogs this year. It’s not easy for me to do. There is sooooo much stupidity to point out, it’s getting very difficult to choose. I will end this blog by pointing out the folly of our socialist leader. It reminds me of a wonderful quote from Margaret Thatcher on the subject of socialism. She said, “the only problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money”.
In a recent Jason Lewis show he summed it up this way. Government was first established for the sole purpose of protecting the citizens. A police force was put in place to stop people from stealing from others. So the government decided they would take over the role of thievery. They (the government) have decided they know better than any of us where OUR money should be spent. So they take it and give it (some of it that they don’t pocket) away to others. Can you say Robin Hood.
JIM
Three of our four boys were here for Christmas. Actually we celebrated Christmas on the 18th. As for the 25th, we spent it at Mary Ellen’s sister’s home in Ohio. The most exciting thing about New Years Eve was watching Notre Dame manhandle Miami in the Sun Bowl. During the 1980’s, ND-Miami was labeled ‘Catholics versus Convicts’. The rivalry got heated to the point it was decided it would be best to put a halt to scheduling each other...until now! The former ‘convicts’ have cleaned up their act since the notorious Jimmy Johnson left Miami. Starting in 2012 Notre Dame will start a home and home series with Miami again. Should be fun.
Well, the time is drawing ‘nigh’ and we’ve been making plans for our journey south. Don’t you love that word ‘nigh’. It’s so much nicer than ‘near’. It has a much more literary sound to it. And I being a ‘literalist’ (I think I made up a word) chose to express my literary leanings by using the word ‘nigh’. Now that I’ve beat that to death, let’s move on. We’re planning to depart on the 22nd of January and go as far
as Indianapolis. Our annual problem on day one of our journey is finding a campground that’s open in Indiana. We would have to go into KY to find one and that violates my time on the road rule! Some of you probably remember Mary Ellen’s characterization of my traveling schedule. It goes something like, leave the campground at 10 a.m. Stop for an hour lunch at noon. Proceed for another hour and a half and stop at 2:30 for the night! Some days I actually do 4 hours! My attitude is ‘what’s the hurry’. I’ve allowed 8 days to get to our destination. I didn’t mention that we will stay with son Dan and family in Westfield, IN for our first night. This presented a whole other problem.
The neighborhood, compound, cult where Dan resides prohibits RV’s parked on the street or driveways. Even if the RV is washed! Something to do with ‘trailer trash’ I guess. Anyway, with the help of Dan and my other Indy son, Mark, we tried to find a parking spot where I could safely leave truck and travel trailer from approximately 5 p.m. Saturday until 9 a.m. Sunday. First we investigated the Wal-Mart in Westfield, NO. I than called the local Kroger store. The manager told me they didn’t own the parking lot. When I asked who did she told me she didn’t know. I called the Westfield police department. They were supposed to get back to me if they found a place. I never heard from them. Finally, after checking a couple of far-flung possibilities, I called Marsh. Marsh is a semi upscale supermarket a couple miles from Dan’s house. After my second offer NEVER to buy groceries anywhere else (I guess we’ll have to drive 3 hours for milk), he relented.
So, we’ve got day one handled. I’m always surprised how much mental and a little physical preparation goes into leaving for a few months. This is further complicated by the fact my son, Mark is no longer handling the house while we’re gone. This requires more preparation and planning. First of all is mail. This year we’ll have all our mail forwarded. We’ve never had to do this before. Of course realtors will be showing the house (hopefully) while we’re gone. This will require some notes making sure they turn the furnace back down and be certain to recheck the doors so we don’t have any uninvited “lookers” who have no intention of buying the house.
We’ll get one of the teenagers in our neighborhood to start Mary Ellen’s car at least once a week. Of course the paper must be stopped and the driveway shoveled. There are a lot more little things we need to think about for the first time. We’re now realizing just how much Mark handled in the past. I guess we’ll just have to ‘grow up’ and deal with it!
I sort of made a resolution to stay away from too much political commentary in my blogs this year. It’s not easy for me to do. There is sooooo much stupidity to point out, it’s getting very difficult to choose. I will end this blog by pointing out the folly of our socialist leader. It reminds me of a wonderful quote from Margaret Thatcher on the subject of socialism. She said, “the only problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money”.
In a recent Jason Lewis show he summed it up this way. Government was first established for the sole purpose of protecting the citizens. A police force was put in place to stop people from stealing from others. So the government decided they would take over the role of thievery. They (the government) have decided they know better than any of us where OUR money should be spent. So they take it and give it (some of it that they don’t pocket) away to others. Can you say Robin Hood.
JIM
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
THE WEEK THAT WAS
Thank God it’s Over.
I’m speaking of the incessant string of politial ads that have assaulted our ears over the past few months. And when you consider the spin and the ‘out of context’ sound bites, 90% of what we’ve heard from both sides was nothing more than a poorly disguised pack of lies. But it’s over now, and I hope all of you have voted, and voted for a loud repudiation of the Obama agenda.
Going from politics to reality, I must report on our reality during the last week of October in particular. We readied our travel trailer for removal from Spaulding Lake RV Park and storage until January.
This didn’t go without some minor problems.
I had purchased a new hitch with easy to use load levelers. The reason for needing a new hitch was the result of some moron moving the travel trailer (not very far) without the load levelers in place. This moron assumed since he didn’t have to go more than a ½ mile, what could possibly go wrong. So much for assumptions. Anyway, I like the new levelers. Very easy to put on and take off. Now I’m trying to rationalize my stupidity. How’d I do???
It took us awhile to hook up and get the load levelers in place. Of course we had to pull it for 12 miles to my favorite hitch store (Dan’s Hitch). Dan had to make the adjustments so that hitch, trailer and the truck were all in sync. It did give me pause when upon entering Dan’s, I was greeted with “hi Jim”! This may be something I would look forward to at Cheers, but not at Dan’s Hitch. Anyway, we left Dan’s and parked the trailer at our storage area. We said goodbye to the Sunset Trail until we ‘dig it out’ in January. Yes, I did winterize.
Well, the fun was just beginning. Early the next week we woke up to
discover we had no hot water. Our hot water heater isn’t even 2 years old. Of course Lowes told us it wasn’t under warranty. Whatever gave me the idea that it would be? Lowes told us to call the manufacturer, Whirlpool. We did, and they trouble shot with us to try and re-light the pilot. It wouldn’t light.
Whirlpool told us they would have someone come out the next day to diagnose the problem. But, the next morning when we awoke, we discoverd we had no heat. Mary Ellen had what I would call a “blinding glimpse of the obvious”. Of course this blinding glimpse never occurred to yours truly. Maybe, there was no gas coming into our house. Before the Whirlpool guy arrived, I called them and told them we thought we had figured out the problem. We called NIPSCO, our crack gas provider.
NIPSCO arrived and informed us (as Mary Ellen predicted) we had a problem in the gas line. The next thing we knew, there were four NIPSCO trucks out front. One of these was towing a back hoe. They marked the gas line and began to dig. So much for “curb appeal”.
They found the problem and replaced ‘something’. I didn’t know what he was talking about.
They turned the gas on to the house and we thought our problems were over. NIPSCO re-lit both the pilots. But not so fast, Buzzard Breath! When NIPSCO re-lit the furnace he discovered a gas leak. This meant turning off both the water heater and the furnace!
Furnace repairman came the next day and replaced what he referred to as a relief valve. It was a large part. I would never have called it a valve, but who am I to argue with an expert. He relit the furnace pilot and we again had heat. But, no hot water yet. The next day the gentleman from Whirlpool came to “repair” the hot water heater. Turns out there was nothing to repair. He simply relit the pilot and the hot water heater came to life. But WAIT. The saga continues.
While the hot water guy was re-lighting the pilot he noticed a separation in the vent pipe. Its that sheet metal pipe that removes the bad stuff like carbon monoxide and sends it away. Because we had this gap, he recommended we shut off BOTH PILOTS. I expressed my disbelief in a language I don’t think he understood. Of course this gentlemen didn’t
work on vent pipe!
Mary Ellen and I had had enough. After all of this we still had no heat and no hot water. We decided WE could re-attach this vent pipe and re-lite the pilots. After struggling with it for an hour and using various tools we finally closed the gap. We sealed it with an aluminum tape that held it in place and WE re-lit both of the pilots. So far we have both heat and hot water!
I’m proud to announce the opening of M&J heating and cooling repair shop. We’ll specialize in re-lighting pilots and taping vents! I know this is a small niche, but there is a need out there! Right?
It’s the day after the election, but I’m disappointed. In our own district, the democratic incumbent got back in, and on a national level I can’t believe that Reid, Boxer, Frank and several other of the ‘usual suspects’ were returned to Washington. But, at least we took back the House. Not nearly the massacre I was hoping for. There are far too many government dependent people being ‘bussed’ to the polls. Far too many morons being allowed to vote. Hopefully the majority in the House is able to put a stop to some of the socialistic agenda of the current White House. Let’s hope so. I’m already anticipating 2012!
On a brighter side, we’ve had four ‘lookers’ come through our house. One of these was very interested, but no offers yet. I’m not too optimistic on selling it during the winter. We’ll just have to wait until spring I guess, but at least there are some shoppers out there.
Well, as a great man once said, “I have had about all I can take of myself”.
jim
I’m speaking of the incessant string of politial ads that have assaulted our ears over the past few months. And when you consider the spin and the ‘out of context’ sound bites, 90% of what we’ve heard from both sides was nothing more than a poorly disguised pack of lies. But it’s over now, and I hope all of you have voted, and voted for a loud repudiation of the Obama agenda.
Going from politics to reality, I must report on our reality during the last week of October in particular. We readied our travel trailer for removal from Spaulding Lake RV Park and storage until January.
This didn’t go without some minor problems.
I had purchased a new hitch with easy to use load levelers. The reason for needing a new hitch was the result of some moron moving the travel trailer (not very far) without the load levelers in place. This moron assumed since he didn’t have to go more than a ½ mile, what could possibly go wrong. So much for assumptions. Anyway, I like the new levelers. Very easy to put on and take off. Now I’m trying to rationalize my stupidity. How’d I do???
It took us awhile to hook up and get the load levelers in place. Of course we had to pull it for 12 miles to my favorite hitch store (Dan’s Hitch). Dan had to make the adjustments so that hitch, trailer and the truck were all in sync. It did give me pause when upon entering Dan’s, I was greeted with “hi Jim”! This may be something I would look forward to at Cheers, but not at Dan’s Hitch. Anyway, we left Dan’s and parked the trailer at our storage area. We said goodbye to the Sunset Trail until we ‘dig it out’ in January. Yes, I did winterize.
Well, the fun was just beginning. Early the next week we woke up to
discover we had no hot water. Our hot water heater isn’t even 2 years old. Of course Lowes told us it wasn’t under warranty. Whatever gave me the idea that it would be? Lowes told us to call the manufacturer, Whirlpool. We did, and they trouble shot with us to try and re-light the pilot. It wouldn’t light.
Whirlpool told us they would have someone come out the next day to diagnose the problem. But, the next morning when we awoke, we discoverd we had no heat. Mary Ellen had what I would call a “blinding glimpse of the obvious”. Of course this blinding glimpse never occurred to yours truly. Maybe, there was no gas coming into our house. Before the Whirlpool guy arrived, I called them and told them we thought we had figured out the problem. We called NIPSCO, our crack gas provider.
NIPSCO arrived and informed us (as Mary Ellen predicted) we had a problem in the gas line. The next thing we knew, there were four NIPSCO trucks out front. One of these was towing a back hoe. They marked the gas line and began to dig. So much for “curb appeal”.
They found the problem and replaced ‘something’. I didn’t know what he was talking about.
They turned the gas on to the house and we thought our problems were over. NIPSCO re-lit both the pilots. But not so fast, Buzzard Breath! When NIPSCO re-lit the furnace he discovered a gas leak. This meant turning off both the water heater and the furnace!
Furnace repairman came the next day and replaced what he referred to as a relief valve. It was a large part. I would never have called it a valve, but who am I to argue with an expert. He relit the furnace pilot and we again had heat. But, no hot water yet. The next day the gentleman from Whirlpool came to “repair” the hot water heater. Turns out there was nothing to repair. He simply relit the pilot and the hot water heater came to life. But WAIT. The saga continues.
While the hot water guy was re-lighting the pilot he noticed a separation in the vent pipe. Its that sheet metal pipe that removes the bad stuff like carbon monoxide and sends it away. Because we had this gap, he recommended we shut off BOTH PILOTS. I expressed my disbelief in a language I don’t think he understood. Of course this gentlemen didn’t
work on vent pipe!
Mary Ellen and I had had enough. After all of this we still had no heat and no hot water. We decided WE could re-attach this vent pipe and re-lite the pilots. After struggling with it for an hour and using various tools we finally closed the gap. We sealed it with an aluminum tape that held it in place and WE re-lit both of the pilots. So far we have both heat and hot water!
I’m proud to announce the opening of M&J heating and cooling repair shop. We’ll specialize in re-lighting pilots and taping vents! I know this is a small niche, but there is a need out there! Right?
It’s the day after the election, but I’m disappointed. In our own district, the democratic incumbent got back in, and on a national level I can’t believe that Reid, Boxer, Frank and several other of the ‘usual suspects’ were returned to Washington. But, at least we took back the House. Not nearly the massacre I was hoping for. There are far too many government dependent people being ‘bussed’ to the polls. Far too many morons being allowed to vote. Hopefully the majority in the House is able to put a stop to some of the socialistic agenda of the current White House. Let’s hope so. I’m already anticipating 2012!
On a brighter side, we’ve had four ‘lookers’ come through our house. One of these was very interested, but no offers yet. I’m not too optimistic on selling it during the winter. We’ll just have to wait until spring I guess, but at least there are some shoppers out there.
Well, as a great man once said, “I have had about all I can take of myself”.
jim
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Craigslist Expertise 101
For those of you who have gotten into the Craigslist craze, none of this will come as much of a shock. First of all I suggest you don’t get frustrated. Take it from one whose frustration level requires just a slight deviation from the norm to cause outbursts of a magnitude exceeded by few earthquakes. It was so frustrating that I actually quit trying to get connected and get a few items listed.
After a week of brooding about my lack of competence, I gave it one more try. This time I took great care with each step of the process, and it worked. I still think I did it correctly the first time (naturally). The reason for my thinking this way is a result of my going to the ‘customer comment’ section of Craigslist. There were numerous people who claimed they followed the process, but none of their items posted. The answer was the same in each case. I was advised to wait 45 minutes and attempt to re-post the items. Obviously, a lot of people had the same problem I did.
So Craigslist is a great and free way to advertise items. Thusfar I’ve sold five items, with six items that haven’t sold. I still have over ten items I haven’t posted yet. I like to do them in batches of five or six.
I’ve discovered what I consider a rather wierd phenomana or social commentary that I wasn’t expecting. One of the first items I listed with a picture (I always post a photo and complete description) was a three piece wicker furniture set. This included two chairs with cushions and a coffee table. I priced the three pieces at $30. The next morning, thirteen people said they were interested or actually wanted to know when they could pick it up. Great! I responded via e mail to each of these people. I told them what my phone number was and suggested they call me when they were ready to come over so that I could let them know if I still had it. I sat back expecting to spend the next hour fielding phone calls. Do you know that NONE of these people called or e mailed me anymore. I did sell the wicker to one of the guys who did some painting for us.
This scenario repeated itself with the treadmill I had for sale. As of this morning there were ten people who expressed interest. I responded to all ten as I always do. NONE of these people ever re-contacted me. I did sell the treadmill today. The guy who bought it e mailed me late this morning and was here by noon to pick it up.
I guess I’m basing my reaction to these people on my own, and I thought most people’s, method of Craigslist searching and buying.
If I see an item I want, and the price is right, I would contact the person selling it and arrange to come take a look at it. Oh no. This apparently isn’t the modus operendi of your typical Craigslist shopper. I don’t get it. I’m thinking of doing a study on the twenty five potential buyers that I’ve encountered. I frankly don’t get it.
My next adventure will be putting our house on Craigslist. I figure I’ll have 500 respondents, none of whom will ever come to look at it. I’ve written my experience with Craigslist for any of you that may want to take a crack at posting some of your items. Don’t get frustrated, and don’t get too excited when twenty people SEEM to be buyers. They’re just lonely people who need some hi-tech social interaction. They aren’t into hi-touch. They prefer the hidden environment of their computer.
Good luck.
jim
After a week of brooding about my lack of competence, I gave it one more try. This time I took great care with each step of the process, and it worked. I still think I did it correctly the first time (naturally). The reason for my thinking this way is a result of my going to the ‘customer comment’ section of Craigslist. There were numerous people who claimed they followed the process, but none of their items posted. The answer was the same in each case. I was advised to wait 45 minutes and attempt to re-post the items. Obviously, a lot of people had the same problem I did.
So Craigslist is a great and free way to advertise items. Thusfar I’ve sold five items, with six items that haven’t sold. I still have over ten items I haven’t posted yet. I like to do them in batches of five or six.
I’ve discovered what I consider a rather wierd phenomana or social commentary that I wasn’t expecting. One of the first items I listed with a picture (I always post a photo and complete description) was a three piece wicker furniture set. This included two chairs with cushions and a coffee table. I priced the three pieces at $30. The next morning, thirteen people said they were interested or actually wanted to know when they could pick it up. Great! I responded via e mail to each of these people. I told them what my phone number was and suggested they call me when they were ready to come over so that I could let them know if I still had it. I sat back expecting to spend the next hour fielding phone calls. Do you know that NONE of these people called or e mailed me anymore. I did sell the wicker to one of the guys who did some painting for us.
This scenario repeated itself with the treadmill I had for sale. As of this morning there were ten people who expressed interest. I responded to all ten as I always do. NONE of these people ever re-contacted me. I did sell the treadmill today. The guy who bought it e mailed me late this morning and was here by noon to pick it up.
I guess I’m basing my reaction to these people on my own, and I thought most people’s, method of Craigslist searching and buying.
If I see an item I want, and the price is right, I would contact the person selling it and arrange to come take a look at it. Oh no. This apparently isn’t the modus operendi of your typical Craigslist shopper. I don’t get it. I’m thinking of doing a study on the twenty five potential buyers that I’ve encountered. I frankly don’t get it.
My next adventure will be putting our house on Craigslist. I figure I’ll have 500 respondents, none of whom will ever come to look at it. I’ve written my experience with Craigslist for any of you that may want to take a crack at posting some of your items. Don’t get frustrated, and don’t get too excited when twenty people SEEM to be buyers. They’re just lonely people who need some hi-tech social interaction. They aren’t into hi-touch. They prefer the hidden environment of their computer.
Good luck.
jim
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
LUNACY
“There is a tide in the affairs of man that taken at the crest leads on to greatness”. This quote is one of my favorites. As a metaphor it speaks to much of what we are facing now.
When the current occupant of the White House began his regime in January of 2008, he had the opportunity for greatness. His choice was to focus on his ideology rather than listening to the people and applying common sense to his agenda items. In other words, what we now have is a “tsunami of idiocy” eminating from the White House and rubber stamped by a moronic liberal congress.
The major cuprits are of course Obama, Reid and Pelosi, or ORP. Orp puts me in mind of someone throwing up, and that’s what I feel like doing whenever I hear whatever they have to say. To remind you of some memorable sound bites from the wicked witch of the west, I can’t help but think of her now famous quote prior to the healthcare bill passing. She said, I kid you not, “we have to pass healthcare for you to know what’s in it.” Can you believe it? These people represent us! Believe me I would rather represent myself. I certainly have said some stupid things in my life, but I don’t think I’ve ever come close to this outrageous comment.
There are thirty mosques in New York City. I have no problem with having thirty one. I do have a problem with it sitting on the graves of thousands of victims of 9/11. I really believe the guy (eman) who is spearheading this mosque is “flipping off “ the U.S.A. Of course Obama endorsed this mosque prior to denying he had endorsed the wisdom of its location. Why did he have to get involved. This is a NYC issue. The White House should have remained silent. Why didn’t he? Cause he loves to talk. And, whenever he speaks without a teleprompter he puts his foot in his mouth. Of course I could site some examples of ‘foot in mouth’ even with a teleprompter. What’s with his apologizing for the U.S. Has he ever said what he is proud of about the U.S.? NO. When it comes to leadership this guy doesn’t have a clue.
Obama is “managing” the United States, rather than behaving as a leader. There is a great quote that says, “managers play checkers, leaders play chess”. Obama is playing Chutes and Ladders with our future. God knows what he’ll do before we can get a leader in the White House. He has more than two years left. Getting rid of his “rubber stamps” in congress is our only hope for surviving the next couple years.
God bless the U.S.A.
jim
When the current occupant of the White House began his regime in January of 2008, he had the opportunity for greatness. His choice was to focus on his ideology rather than listening to the people and applying common sense to his agenda items. In other words, what we now have is a “tsunami of idiocy” eminating from the White House and rubber stamped by a moronic liberal congress.
The major cuprits are of course Obama, Reid and Pelosi, or ORP. Orp puts me in mind of someone throwing up, and that’s what I feel like doing whenever I hear whatever they have to say. To remind you of some memorable sound bites from the wicked witch of the west, I can’t help but think of her now famous quote prior to the healthcare bill passing. She said, I kid you not, “we have to pass healthcare for you to know what’s in it.” Can you believe it? These people represent us! Believe me I would rather represent myself. I certainly have said some stupid things in my life, but I don’t think I’ve ever come close to this outrageous comment.
There are thirty mosques in New York City. I have no problem with having thirty one. I do have a problem with it sitting on the graves of thousands of victims of 9/11. I really believe the guy (eman) who is spearheading this mosque is “flipping off “ the U.S.A. Of course Obama endorsed this mosque prior to denying he had endorsed the wisdom of its location. Why did he have to get involved. This is a NYC issue. The White House should have remained silent. Why didn’t he? Cause he loves to talk. And, whenever he speaks without a teleprompter he puts his foot in his mouth. Of course I could site some examples of ‘foot in mouth’ even with a teleprompter. What’s with his apologizing for the U.S. Has he ever said what he is proud of about the U.S.? NO. When it comes to leadership this guy doesn’t have a clue.
Obama is “managing” the United States, rather than behaving as a leader. There is a great quote that says, “managers play checkers, leaders play chess”. Obama is playing Chutes and Ladders with our future. God knows what he’ll do before we can get a leader in the White House. He has more than two years left. Getting rid of his “rubber stamps” in congress is our only hope for surviving the next couple years.
God bless the U.S.A.
jim
Thursday, August 19, 2010
The Reign of Audacity Continues
This has been the busiest summer I can remember. We’ve been soooo busy de-trashing the house. Yes, we’re still at it. It’s endless. On the positive side, we’re making progress. The family room and kitchen have been painted. We’re having a new front door installed and the house power washed. Coming up shortly we’re planning to have a ‘tag sale’. We’d like to have the house on the market by mid September. We have decided on our apartment. It’s not at the location I originally said. Not that it really matters to any of you. But, I’ll tell you anyway. It’s called the Highlands. It’s owned and managed by the same company that manages Arbor Lakes. This one is almost identical, but in a better location. Closer to Wal Mart!!
With all the house stuff going on, we’ve managed to squeeze in three trips to Ohio. With Mary Ellen’s sister having a stroke in the Phillipines, my sister moving from her home to a wonderful retirement community with lots of activities, and our house of course, there hasn’t been a lot of time for anything else. Carol is recovering nicely. My sister has started to feel better about her decision. She had a little trouble leaving her home of 50 years, but now she loves where she is.
With all that, we’ve managed to have a couple months of camping. The month of June and again in August we had our camper at Spaulding Lake in Niles, MI. It’s only 20 miles from home and we’ve spent a lot of time commuting. At least it seems like a “summer home” that we can escape to, but we probably shouldn’t have booked the month of August with everything that’s going on.
I’ve told you all of the above as an excuse (to myself) for not doing any writing this summer. But I can no longer remain silent.
What is happening? The United States isn’t what it was just two years ago, and it’s getting worse by the hour. Did you hear about the young people who were told they could not sing the ‘national anthem’ on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial? If that’s not enough, how about another group who were told they could not say the Lord’s Prayer on the steps of the Supreme Court.
We have a resident at 1600 Pensylvania Ave. who couldn’t attend the national prayer breakfast in Washington. I can’t remember any previous president who has opted out of this. Yet, he did have time to attend a Ramadan Dinner!! What’s up with that? During that dinner he made time to express his support of building a Mosque at the site of a radical Islamic attack in September of 2001. Of course when this president didn’t have his Islamic audience giving him a standing O, he started to backtrack on his previous statement. This guy is a disaster.
In November we all have a chance to rid the country of ‘his’ rubber stamps in congress. Throw them all out. I pray that California and Nevada have the votes to get rid of those two morons, Pelosi and Reid. I’m not totally confident since I have no control over this. However, I do have some say in Indiana. Donnely won’t hold on to his seat if my vote counts for anything.
Let’s get involved and turn things around. I really don’t believe we can tolerate the spending and taxation that’s only going to get worse for us, our kids, and our grandkids.
More to come....I’ve only just begun.
jim
With all the house stuff going on, we’ve managed to squeeze in three trips to Ohio. With Mary Ellen’s sister having a stroke in the Phillipines, my sister moving from her home to a wonderful retirement community with lots of activities, and our house of course, there hasn’t been a lot of time for anything else. Carol is recovering nicely. My sister has started to feel better about her decision. She had a little trouble leaving her home of 50 years, but now she loves where she is.
With all that, we’ve managed to have a couple months of camping. The month of June and again in August we had our camper at Spaulding Lake in Niles, MI. It’s only 20 miles from home and we’ve spent a lot of time commuting. At least it seems like a “summer home” that we can escape to, but we probably shouldn’t have booked the month of August with everything that’s going on.
I’ve told you all of the above as an excuse (to myself) for not doing any writing this summer. But I can no longer remain silent.
What is happening? The United States isn’t what it was just two years ago, and it’s getting worse by the hour. Did you hear about the young people who were told they could not sing the ‘national anthem’ on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial? If that’s not enough, how about another group who were told they could not say the Lord’s Prayer on the steps of the Supreme Court.
We have a resident at 1600 Pensylvania Ave. who couldn’t attend the national prayer breakfast in Washington. I can’t remember any previous president who has opted out of this. Yet, he did have time to attend a Ramadan Dinner!! What’s up with that? During that dinner he made time to express his support of building a Mosque at the site of a radical Islamic attack in September of 2001. Of course when this president didn’t have his Islamic audience giving him a standing O, he started to backtrack on his previous statement. This guy is a disaster.
In November we all have a chance to rid the country of ‘his’ rubber stamps in congress. Throw them all out. I pray that California and Nevada have the votes to get rid of those two morons, Pelosi and Reid. I’m not totally confident since I have no control over this. However, I do have some say in Indiana. Donnely won’t hold on to his seat if my vote counts for anything.
Let’s get involved and turn things around. I really don’t believe we can tolerate the spending and taxation that’s only going to get worse for us, our kids, and our grandkids.
More to come....I’ve only just begun.
jim
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