What has happened to Customer Service?!

I wanted to tell them to try this:  Sit & Spin 

this is Miss Tracie Christmas 1986

In May, my HTC phone had totally stopped working...even taking out the battery and putting it back in wouldn't help.  So, I used Pirate's upgrade credit for my Samsung Mesmerize.  At that time, we were told to come in a month or so later for Pirate's upgrade.  Sounds simple, right?  Oh, NO! Nothing is ever that simple.  We were told that records showed both of our upgrade dates were for Nov 2012...what?!  Pirate has had the same phone since 2009!  They actually let us walk out of the store with no resolution, no offer to make it right.  If we hadn't be so upset, we would have waltzed over to the nearest Verizon store and got iphones!

I decided to call their HQ.  I'm so glad I did!  The nice young man from Oklahoma not only cried foul on the store, he fixed what was wrong and is sending out TWO new phones for us.  Wow...did he save their company bacon.  We have been with US Cellular for 11 years because of their coverage.  (Flat tire on the Harley+Mojave Desert = you'd better have cell service! Out of three of us, only our phone had coverage.) 

We are so relieved this issue is resolved.  It really hurt our feelings more than angered us--we've been their best advertisement for 11 years!  

Google + tip:  on the mobile app, you can now change the level of your location status to just your city.  Before, if your profile was public and you made public posts, your EXACT location could be observed by STRANGERS!!  This really worried me, being the mother of two single daughters.  Kudos to Google for getting on that so quickly.  I still have invites if you'd like...just send me an email and I'll fix ya right up!

HAPPY SATURDAY!!

Bracelets For Ryder

Bracelets For Ryder

Just a quick post for now to let you all have a chance to help out Ryder's family. Ryder's smile was infectious, the love between mother and child palpable, and the devastation of his loved ones complete. Thank you, Dear Friends and Readers, for helping any way you can...please send prayers if that is all you can give, because those are priceless.

I've been cigarette free for SIX MONTHS!!

My personal vaporizer, or e cig, and the vapor (instead of smoke!)

I never, ever thought that I could quit smoking...I'd tried every new idea that ever came on the market.  I'd stick with it for a while, then back on the smokes I'd go.  With an electronic cigarette, you still get the nicotine (you can lower your dose as you go...I've gone from 24 mg to 12 mg in these six months), you still satisfy the hand-to-mouth action and what to do with your hands.  It also 'feels' like smoking, so it really is different than anything else out there.

I have NOT gained weight, which is also a reason I'd go back to smoking.  I know, dumb reason, but smoking is dumb in the first  place.  The flavors out there are only limited by your imagination...literally.  You name it, someone has a juice in that flavor....even beer flavor, coffee, pizza, fruity or sweet flavors.  I prefer either caramel, a nutty pecan, or any coffee flavor.  

When I first started with the e-cigs, I didn't want to put it down.  Well, that can lead to a nicotine overdose very quickly if you're not careful!!  It is nothing deadly, because you will stop before then.  You'll be too busy on the basin!  Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, diarrhea and nausea will stop you!  Now I use it just like I would a regular cigarette...after a meal, with my morning coffee, etc.  

Folks will try to sell you the hype that you can smoke this "anywhere" you want to.  Not true.  And in the vein of being a respectful Wal-Mart boondocker, don't try and  push your ecig on the public.  No one has the right to put anything into another's person's 'airspace' so don't be a Rudy Rude about it.  No, it won't harm them, yes, it's just steam or water vapor you're blowing out, but it does resemble smoking, so most folks aren't going to be happy about you vaping right next to them.  (It's like putting out your slides, lawn chairs, and BBQ at the Wal-Mart Inn in the afternoon...just don't do it!!)

It's so nice to smell like cookies instead of cigarette smoke!  My kids always try to guess what flavor I'm vaping, and my two youngest who smoke have been gifted with an entire set-up and supplies.  Tracie is doing quite a bit better with it than Tony, but at least they both have the choice.  

If you'd like to learn more, I suggest starting at ECF, or Electronic Cigarette Forum, http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com and if you'd like to order some lovely e-juice, please visit the site http://juicyliquid.com for a great deal. ECF is a group of wonderful, caring people who are always eager to help the people who are new to vaping.  

If you have a smoker in your life that you love and would like to get an electronic cigarette for them, don't get scammed by 'free offers.'  They will over-charge you and keep dinging your credit card.  Stop by a local cigarette store and ask them if they sell disposable ecigs.  Let your loved one try the relatively inexpensive disposable to see if they like the concept.  Then they can decided what set-up they would like...and ask for advice on ECF if you have any questions!  You can also send me a message on Google + and I'd be happy to help answer any questions you might have.  This is one idea whose time has come!!

Sure hope this is the LAST adjustment to our countdown clock!

These two had bettered get ready

Little do they realize they 'sold' most of their toys in the yard sale, ha ha!  I admit I have a problem, and that's the first step, right?  I cannot pass by a store that has kitty or puppy toys and treats...or CANDY for me, if I'm honest.  (I have always had a need to carry candy in my pockets...)  We also always joke that if you're really super good in this life, you get to come back as one of my pets.  

I think Boone must have been Mother Theresa or a Dali Lama.  He was the most spoiled ever of all my four-legged kids.  The day we brought him home from the breeder I told everyone to just get over it Right Now because I wasn't going to miss one minute of his baby-puppy stage...and I did not!  Each day I nuzzled those puppy smells, touched his ears, toes, everywhere to get him used to a lifetime of groomers handling him...the games we made up!  He was such a smart guy, we called him The Professor and I swear I could've taught him to read!  No regrets with him other than he passed away too soon. (Cancer)  

When Boone died, Scooter complained to the Management that things had quickly gone down hill!  Sissy has a 'slight' weight issue, so we cut back on the treats.  (We'd been giving Boone whatever he wanted at the end, whenever he wanted it.  It was so hard to get him to eat.  Since he was blind, Scooter would wait until he dropped the treat, then rush in to steal it)  Now Sis and Willie have their own little games they play and their routines.  

I can't wait until they are both so comfortable in the Gypsy Rose that they will play chase!  With limited area to run, this could get interesting...and I'm sure there will be several trips 'round the kitchen island!

I think the young man who has no furniture will be coming by tonight or sometime soon to get our couch, chairs, and the last bed besides our King.  We had hoped we'd find a 5er with a king so we could just put in our Sleep Number bed, but none of the toyhaulers had more than a queen, darn it! (Heartland is our chosen brand)  We will either put it in storage or sell it....

Google + keeps growing!!  We're really getting quite the circle  of RV bloggers on there.  I'd like to get my friends and family on Google + so I could dump facebook.  My daughter remembered when we were all on myspace and no one was on fbook.  Now no one is one myspace!  Will Facebook become a victim of Google?  If they start with the games, probably.  Too many folks won't want to leave their farms or fish tanks or mafias.

In the meantime, I did figure out how to get your blog to feed into your fbook notes page!  Go to your notes, then on the bottom left there is an option to manage subscriptions, click on that, and it will prompt you for your url.  Easy!  This blog 'should' self-publish.  It took about my last ten blog entries!

See y'all out there in 25 days...and that's a hard and fast date now...we HAVE to be somewhere the 13th of August with the Gypsy Rose!  Pirate's got a 35 yr reunion at Chelan County Fairgrounds....full hook ups!  There is one special classmate of his that I'm truly excited to meet so I hope she can make it! =)  I'd say her name, but don't want to embarrass her, but B knows who she is and why she's so special to me! 

Anyone who needs a Google + invite, email me!  I still have a ton of them left.

My Home Town

The view from atop the "Lewiston Hill"

On the right side is Washington State, the left is and foreground are Idaho.  My little town of Asotin, WA is around that bend in the river towards the top of the photograph.  The entire town has a population of a whopping 1200....about 400 more folks than when I was growing up there in the 70s/early 80s.

The yard sale was a success and we are forever thankful to our son, Tony.  He let us use his house and driveway because of the location.  Tony didn't want to mess with a yard sale, but he did it for us with a smile and at extreme hassle to him and his roommate.  Yep, gotta thank Eric, too!  

Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!

Seriously? Only 2 more weeks?!

Willie is trying to convince "Pretty Miss Tracie" that this is HIS ride...

I think I'm going to have to reset the countdown yet again...it's looking like another 3 weeks instead of only 2 before we slip the moorings of our old life and motor out into the Black Seas.

I'm in Momma Heaven having my Tracie home and by my side.  I wasn't allowed to lift a finger, and we have had the best time visiting and laughing with each other.  We also have a friend from Arizona here, and Bobby has been staying out at the Gypsy Rose Inn.  We're down to only two beds left in the condo, so the 5 er is our guest house, lol!

My folks will be over today from the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley.  Actually, they live in Asotin, WA, but it's such a small town, we don't even have a stop light there.  It was a wonderful little town to grow up in.  This is the first time they get to see the Gypsy Rose.  I hope Daddy can tell if he could put storage under the bed for me.  We will just have to unscrew the plywood and see what's under there.

So, there is a little controversy happening in the Blog-O-Sphere over whether the blogging RVers all say positive things on each other's blogs because we're Sheeple or otherwise brain-washed or dumbed down beyond the capability to form our own opinions.  Personally, I'm a positive person and have found 99.9% of the RVing public to also be unusually positive folk.  Be it at a rest stop, park, dealership or blogspot...almost all of us are willing to smile, help out, laugh with you or at you, give you advice, help you work on your rig or whatever you need...fellow RVers are always ready to help.

We liken it to the brotherhood (peoplehood?) of motorcycle riders.  We all wave to each other our 'secret waves' on the road, we stop if we see a bike pulled off along the road (whether we're in a 'cage' or two wheels).  We've also noticed a new camaraderie with the truckers on the road. (Do YOU flash your lights when anyone passes you and is able to pull into the lane in front of you?) 

Life is way too short to get upset about the differences between people...we focus on what common ground we can find.  I will never know what wisdom you might have to share if I don't keep my mind open and mouth shut long enough.  And never, but not ever, should you mistake my kindness for weakness.  My body may not work right and appear feeble, but there's a whole lotta fire in this old blonde chick yet.  

I think our mothers all had it right long, long ago:  If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all!

I haz a spud!

 

Willie is such a Big Helper…here’s the proof he likes to cook.

 

I wonder which spots in the Gypsy Rose he will roost on.  I’ll bet his favorite ‘helper spot’ will be on the Island Countertop.  He’s already gotten up there several times, so I think he’ll hang there while I’m cooking and doing KP.

We’ve made the executive decision to remove the 4” foam mattress from the bed and put it back up into the loft.  It made the bed too firm for Pirate’s back—he’s fused in his lower verts.  It will take two of us to get it back up there, but it will be a cushy a soft spot for the rifles.  This idea made me dance with joy, because now I get to use all of that space under the couch for storage of ‘house stuff!’ 

(guess where the canned goods and bulk ‘Costco stuff’ are  going!)

I couldn’t sleep last night (again) so I put price labels on all of the yard sale items…all except Pirate’s garage treasures.  He and Tony will have to decide on prices for that kind of stuff.  We have already sold all of our Gorilla racks!!  Tony also knows of a friend who has no furniture, no anything, so we’re going to be donating a LOT of stuff his way.  This is so wonderful, as we have some things that just are too far gone to sell or donate…my Dad’s chair, our sofa bed, old computer desk on it’s last leg…

I was looking at the closet in the Gypsy and what I’ve already moved out there..yeah, I’m a gonna have ta pare down even more.  Where am I going to wear some of that stuff?  And if a wedding or funeral comes up, I can always go to Wal-Marche’ for a $15 outfit.

Pirate made the executive decision to NOT take his Craftsman tool chest.  Not only will this save us a ton of room, but also over 300 lbs.  We have a light, multi-configurable chest that can be taken apart into whatever drawer combo he wants.

Tomorrow I get to see my daughter!!  =)