Saturday, Feb. 10th

[Colliemom]

Good Morning on this second Saturday of February. I too have a hard time remembering it’s mid February, especially with all the bare ground, where there should be at least a foot or more of snow. And a third day of record breaking 50 degree temps.

Miss Molly continues to improve and the swelling has gone down around the surgery site. I took her with me yesterday in my while I ran my errands and went to church fish fry. and she just laid out n the backseat. She’s used to riding around as she has lots of miles under those paws. We came home with a nice, lighter weight, clear and bit more flexible cone. She was fine with it and was getting around much easier. This one attaches to her collar, so that holds better. Just need to figure out ann easier way to tie it on. Her long hair tangles up in ties I jury rigged last night. In a way I would like like to think up some idea of maybe making some kind of a collar that I can just tie around her neck that would be comfortable and not have to use her regular collar. Brain will be busy thinking today.

Big news in town yesterday, was the opening of our rebuilt Hobby Lobby which was severely damaged by the tornado and had to be demolished. This new store is bigger at 22,000 sq. Ft. Neighbors were there yesterday and said it was beautiful and lots of stuff to see. I went by yesterday on my errands and the parking lot was packed. They brought staff in from other stores to handle the Influx of people. I had thought of going up today, but decided to wait till Monday.

Beth, that’s crazy about step paint color. If there’s no written rules as you say, then she has nothing to enforce. Don’t let her get to you. The nice and helpful people in the park,are a bonus and worth staying there for. Anne, did you get the cupcakes baked? Barbie, hope your new agent can get your place sold.

Nothing much on agenda today. Might or might not put some varnish in my windowsills to protect the finish. I use this varnish in my woodcrafts. Good stuff. Will definitely be working on my DP. Neighbor is coming by to drop off her black Washi tape (paper tape in Chinese) npMt current DP is a 14x16 with the canvas border, but if you trim it to the edge of the picture itself, then you have an odd size. So sone will put Washi tape, duct tape or paint the border to level k like a mat or a wide frame. I’m hoping to finish it in next couple of days, so I can go to Houghton Lake and get a frame. My neighbor priced a frame and acrylic for her latest one at Hobby Lobby and price wasrediculous for what she needed. She is holding one in her cart on Amazon which is a quarter of the price, t but she’s going to wait until she goes. Go to Houghton Lake and see what she can find first. We prefer the wood to plastic ones.

So that’s all going in here. Dogs are sleeping, drops and supplement’s administered. So all’s well in my world at the moment. Have a nice day and stay safe out there.

[OregonLuvr]

Good morning Sue, so glad you found a suitable collar for Molly. Those stiff "cones of shame" are horrible. Happy to hear she is on the mend. I made an appointment at my vet office as Emma will need all her vaccines in June so thought I would call and schedule. HA HA they are actually booked out until June so glad I called. I need the rabies to renew her dog license in June. Sometimes my timing works out. I knew appts were a couple months out just not that far out!!!!
I was going to bake my sugar free cake today but the neighbor is having cake and ice cream for her husband this evening as he turns 80 today. So figured that would satisfy my sweet craving. I will go to the store today and get a birthday card for him. Also need to go to Home Depot and get my Gardz for repairing my VOG wall in the bathroom then will start painting since I cannot do anything much outside.

Laundry today And will need to figure out something for dinner. Not sure what I want yet so hard to decide what to take out of the freezer. I have salad fixings and plenty of do ahead dinners so I wont starve.
Since I have been up since 4am and finished my 2 cups of coffee I will get some breakfast and ease into my day.

[Acadianmom]

Sue, the vets always put a strip of gauze to hold cones on and that never lasted very long. I would just put a regular collar in the loops and that would keep it on a cat.

Not much going on this morning. I went out to the barn to check the cat food. The neighbor feeds the cat at the barn and the other neighbors cat is usually there too. He feeds at the barn when he brings his mule. I think about asking one of the rescues for another barn cat. Gypsy does not like strange cats at her barn so I would have to keep one caged for a couple of weeks so she wouldn't run it off.

I went to town yesterday and got my fish dinner. I also bought a container of their corn and crab bisque. It's not as good as mine but I don't want to make a batch and have to put more soup in the freezer. I want to try to make fried pies using the canned biscuits so might do that later. I could make the dough but mine never comes out very good and it's messy with flour everywhere.

It is overcast and windy this morning but the radar shows the rain is in North Louisiana. It got up to 77 yesterday and it's already 72 this morning. This is just crazy weather but I'll take warm over a freeze. Guess I better get dressed. Luna keeps brining her ball and wants me to throw it. There's not much room to chase a ball in the house. I finally started letting her go out without a leash if I'm with her. So far she is good about coming if I call her. I stand on the hill and throw her ball down the hill so she get worn out faster having to run up the hill.

Martha

[Bethers]

Sue, I'm glad you found a better cone. Great news.

I'm amazed how upset I am over my steps. In taking with other residents that I'm friends with, a few have been thinking of leaving, including my immediate neighbors that I love. So it wouldn't be hard to leave. If it's going to happen, it has to be decided before my season ends and while I can get the tt moved. There's one park I'm interested in so in the next few days I'll go check it out. The other interested is a little further, but I might take a look. If I decide to stay I'll have done due diligence. I hope.

I just finished my taxes and sent them in electronically as I actually have a refund coming.

[Cudedog]

Beth, in my never-humble opinion I think it unconscionable that the park "manager" would have the outrageous temerity to enforce her opinion (if it's not written, it is just an opinion!) on how her muddy little world should work.

I would be angry too - in fact, I am angry on your behalf!!

You - may - even have legal standing, in that what she is doing is actually harassing you, by the precise definition of this word.

All that being said, if it was me (and, of course, it is not me) I would definitely be considering a move. Life is far too short to spend any time at all dealing with [sounds like] glass bowls.

Good luck!!

Green steps indeed! Who gives a flying truck (and a four-wheel-drive one, at that!!) about what the color of - someone else's - steps might be???



Good grief!!!

Anne

[Colliemom]

Anne, I love your rant. I can just picture going up one side of that manger and down the other But what you say is true. Beth, you will have to find out where the others are thinking of going and maybe you can all be in same park.

[Bethers]

Anne and Sue thank you for understanding my feelings on this. Leaving here which very well may happen won't mean I'll lose the friends I have here, just that we'll have to plan out times getting together more. And I really think one will most likely quit coming down this way if they don't come back here. So changes will be happening. I'm really hoping the park I'm interested in will work for me. It's on, maybe even closer to, some canals like the ones Ty and I enjoy walking here. So if I like it I'll be talking to them about signing. And it's only about 10 miles from where I am now. Today we had notices on our mailboxes about things not allowed in the garbage. I don't really have a problem with them (but it says NO metal and that is weirdly confusing considering there's metal jewelry, etc) but just how it seems they keep making new rules. This notice I believe happened because someone put a coffee table out by the dumpster this week. Some people got it in and the garbage company only says everything has to be IN the dumpster. Anyway, I'm doubting things will improve. Had I foreseen this I wouldn't have purchased the tt. But that's done, so moving forward! Funny that the co-op with my casita has more rules, but I know what they are ahead of time. And we can vote on changes to them, etc. I had to have the color of my roof approved this past summer. I think I had at least 20 choices and every color I was considering was allowed.

Enough. I got almost no sleep last night but I'm calmer now whichever way this turns out.

[JudyJB]

Condo associations can really be a problem. I lived in a condo for 15 years before I got my motorhome, and we (I was president for most of that time) tried very hard to be reasonable, but I had a friend who lived in a complex with a lot of older "biddies" who had nothing to do during the day. When you went to visit her or even to pick her up in your car, doors would open and people would peek out of windows to see who was there. And one of my cousins sold his house in a gated complex in Florida because a group of residents used to walk around every night and make sure no one had planted the wrong kind of plants or had a pickup truck in their driveway. I could never figure out why pickup trucks were not allowed in that place or in the one my friend lived in--they certainly were not covered with dirt or had ladders and construction equipment in them. Florida is just filled with old people who are terrified of crime, so almost all new developments, condos, homes, or apartments, have strict rules for stuff like you are talking about, and it is ridiculous. My cousin and his wife got really tired of all the nosy neighbors who had nothing better to do and the ridiculous rules, so they found a much bigger, nicer, and cheaper house in a regular subdivision!!

So how are your blue steps, or even the wrong color of your roof, going to reduce the value of homes in your place???? Maybe they need a rule against ridiculous rules.

I spent a few hours today working on continuing to clean out some of my storage areas. My mildewed extra clothing came out very nice and clean, so I did some switching of stuff on a waterproof clear plastic storage bin--put clothing in waterproof one and moved stuff that will not get damaged if it gets damp to another one. I also double-wrapped my down comforter in two contractor heavy-duty bags, and taped it shut with duct tape. Tomorrow's project is to scrub out my utility compartment. Then I want to put the rubber stuff into the basement storage area where I keep water hoses, wheel chocks, and cleaning stuff.

Now all I have to do is remember where I moved stuff to!!

[Shirlv]

Berh, I agree if you know the rules before hand you can agree or move on. The last week in the apartment , the manager send a notice stating there could not be water on your balcony that would impact the tenet below. She knew I was moving and I think checking my file. She must have come across my email and pictures of my dirty water soak living room door and balcony floor. I don’t think she was aware of the situation. My rant for the last couple months has been with Straight Talk. I have had my cell phone with this company for many years and been very satisfied. They offered a device that enabled a landline that was wireless $17 a month. Cell and home phone are prepaid. I am in the third month of trying to discontinue them charging my credit card. Three calls to Straight talk resulted in me being given impossible tasks. None of these had anything to do with security but to enable them to take my money. Do you know you can not just contact your bank and stop the payment. I was so angry, thought I would have a heart attack. I canceled my credit card and they accessed the new one. I was handling the situation by phone with ban. Thought the matter over, nope did it again. This time called my local bank and explained AGAIN. Can’t tell you how relieve I was to hear “Miss Shirley I will fix this for you”. The bank has replaced my money but I am waiting for another new credit card. The nasty woman I felt with at the company thought she was talking to an old woman who would just give up and forget it. She is really dealing with a Total Badass and I got this. Beth, sometimes it’s the only thing that works.

[OregonLuvr]

I dont mind rules. Actually I like them. As long as they are reasonable AND in writing so you know from the get go what is and what is not allowed. And if they are enforced equally. No favoritism. Where I lived before we had a 7 page lease we signed which was fine and things were reasonable. But then there are always the people who go against the policies and expect special treatment. They also were not good at enforcing the rules. So if you make a rule then you have to have someone to enforce it. In your case Beth that is nothing short of ridiculous. And unless it was in writing how would you know. The bad part is they can evict you for no reason. So if you are on their bad side I would be looking elsewhere also.

Nothing too much going on here today. Got my tax papers all together, did some laundry and not much else. Tomorrow will watch the game.

Shirl that is one of the reasons I dont like auto pay. I like control LOL I do have auto pay for my Medical supplemental and prescription plans. I feel okay about that. I have a couple of streaming apps on auto pay but it is very easy to cancel those, I cancel for a while then sign up again, then cancel ha ha no issue and it is only for small amounts Good for you getting it resolved.

[BarbaraRose]

Am already ready for bed! I called Spectrum and the guy ran me thru a bunch of instructions and finally fixed the problem. Started watching golf and then it started acting up again. I tried to remember what all he had me do and after pushing a lot of buttons, I finally got it working again. That happened a few more times and then it stayed good until the tournament was over. I switched over to watch a movie and shortly after, the whole thing started again except it came up with a different screen, like a testing screen. I tried everything but I couldn't get it to work right again so I just got ready for bed (at 7pm) .

I got my two sample cabinet door handles and decided on one of them (champagne gold) that looks perfect on the doors, nice and simple design that matches much better. It looks so nice, I ordered enough for all the cabinets/drawers in the house! (72 of them ). Should be here in another week or so. That will keep me real busy putting all those on!



Was super windy today! And we had an outdoor arts and crafts sale here this morning. I heard it had a good turnout tho, even with all the wind.

Have a good night.

[Acadianmom]

If I was looking for a house I wouldn't even look at a house that had a HOA. I have seen where the HOA is run by the company that developed a subdivision. That looks like a way for them to keep collecting money. They could make the payment anything they wanted.

I went thru trying to stop a payment that was being taken from my bank account. It was some computer service my son had signed up for. It was so long ago that he was still in school. I tried to cancel it with the company and that didn't work. I told the bank not to pay it and every month they would. I would have to go in and have them reverse the payment. After a couple of months of that I closed the bank account. Since then the only thing that is drafted from an account is the phone bill and that's something Harold did.

Beth if you can't put metal in the garbage what do they want you to do with cans?

Martha

[Bethers]

Martha, and that's why I laughed out loud at that message. Like, Karen, I'm not against rules. And I don't mind as long as they are known and all must follow them and you can decide whether you want to accept them or not. In the case of my steps if there had been rules about colors, I might not have liked it, but I would have accepted and followed. To know I was doing them blue, not say anything and after the fact tell me I have to repaint them. Nope.

Martha, in this case the place is family owned. What they say goes. So this can be as bad as an HOA. Nothing's perfect.

[snowball]

hear of all sorts of stories about HOA's like you said if you know what is expected and it's in writing then of course you would comply but when it is out of the blue and not written down so you know in advance a different story and if it was an issue with them why in the word did they not say something when the first coat was put on... why are other's thinking of moving?
hopefully you will find a different park that you can enjoy
Barbie which did you choose the plain gold? it's a pretty one that is a lot of handles to put on things...
I have most of my bills on auto haven't had a problem with closing them but then the only thing I have I have ended was my satellite and no problems there... I actually like it things get paid on time.... just remembered that I've not paid for the month's books and they are closed on the weekend will have to try and remember to pay Monday
went to the grocery store today it's sure not hard to spend lots of money going to have salmon Monday night but didn't want to go to the store Monday so got it today dd will be here she comes to do the laundry feel I can at least feed her a good meal... going to make butternut risotto to go with it hopefully it will turn out good
we ate what we brought home from the meal out the other night ... I put two ziplock bags with the shrimp scampi in the freezer and left a bit out for mom she eat it all guessed that one right... I'm not a fan of bringing home left overs... never get them heated right... this time the pasta was almost not edible a few bites the rest of it in the garbage other than the chicken was good
I bet that store will be busy on Monday as well Sue that is the day before Valentine's Day or close to it ... you may want to wait a bit longer
you all have a great day
sheila

[SoCalGalcas]

I just lost my post. I’ll try to remember what I said! First off, Beth I can agree with you completely! Things like that drive me crazy!
I’m lmucky with the HOA here. I wonderi if that is because we have such a large building? And, we have lobby attendance 24 hours. 7 days a week.
Today’s a TV day for me. I watched a basketball game this morning and will have the Super Bowl on will No Sound! I cannot stand those talking heads!
Yesterday I went to a birthday party for my GGS who is turning nine!
That’s all I remember to comment on! Lyn