snadblog

I’ve been wanting to get rid of the household phone line for several years, but stuck with it for several reasons, namely:

1. The ReplayTV needed it to dial out nightly
2. The number itself is tied to Dennis’ business (LTS)
3. We had to fax LTS invoices to customers weekly
4. I used the phone for my work-at-home job

We’ve managed to get a couple items off that list pretty easily this year. For instance, we replaced the ReplayTV with a HD Tivo that can connect wirelessly to our home network. We also no longer fax invoices to that LTS customer.

With those two things gone, we were no longer tied to an actual land line phone, and we switched to a VOIP line offered through the cable company. Despite the insistent commercials that will tell you this offers great savings over a land line, the cost was just about the same. The bright side is that it gave us free long distance, with helped with my work calls.

And then, as you probably know, I recently lost my job and no longer needed to keep a line around for those 10-20 hours of conference calls each week. That’s another item off the list.

The only thing left worth worrying about was the fact that the number is tied to Dennis’ business. That’s important and not so easy to change. But it wasn’t worth the $40 a month to keep the line.

So last week I implemented a plan suggested to me by some friends. I added a new line to our existing cell phone account and ported the home number over to it. We have hundreds of extra rollover minutes expiring every month that will be more than adequate to cover the minutes we would use on that line. And since it’s only $9.99 to add a line, it was a very smart financial move.

That means that our household number happens to be a cell phone that just sits on the end table in the living room. And the bonus is that we can take it with us when we travel, and won’t miss important calls we might be expecting. Just be warned that without a phone in every room now, I might not make it to the phone in time if you call :)

Now I just need to go disconnect all the phones around the house and see if I can sell ‘em on Craigslist.

(Thanks for the idea, Hensleys!)

As I was preparing lunch a bit ago, I thought it would be a nice treat to have a (non-alcoholic) mojito to drink. I did my usual and made a quick simple syrup in the microwave (in the glass). I added the lime and mint and swirled it around, then added the club soda.

Except I accidentally grabbed water instead of club soda. Still drinkable, but not the result I was hoping for.

And then the glass cracked. The glass had gotten too hot and I was impatient and went for it anyway. The cold water cracked the glass right up the side.

And then I realized I couldn’t drink it at all, because there were likely bits of broken glass in it.

And then as I dumped the liquid into the sink, I realized the glass was my Alaska Brewing Company glass that I got at a restaurant in Alaska.

Sigh.

See, Casey, this is why those PacMan glasses are in a box in the attic :/

Most of you know that I’ve had a “No Solicitations” sign on my front door for some time now. You’ve all gotten a good laugh at it, but unfortunately, it doesn’t successfully keep the solicitors away, as evidenced by a pair of magazine-selling women who rang the doorbell last week. I think it fails to work partly because some solicitors don’t care and partly because they don’t actually know what “solicit” means. (Yes, Mr. Religion Peddler, it counts as soliciting even if you’re not trying to sell me something for money.)

However, I think the biggest reason the sign is not working, especially lately, is because it is faded. It’s hard to see, even for me, and I know what it says.

So I made a new one. And it is totally, 100%, IN YOUR FACE.

This new sign is so noticeable that it startles me every time I walk up to my own door, even after a week now. Time will tell if it works or not.

*fingers crossed*

We don’t get a lot of snow here in Lexington, and when we do, it usually melts so fast that there’s no chance for sledding. But on the rare occasion when it DOES snow, and the snow sticks around long enough for some fun, most folks learn the hard way that stores here simply do not stock sleds. You’ve got to buy one when you don’t need it, and hang on to it for years until the perfect opportunity arises to use it.

That’s exactly what I did years ago, when I was in college. There was no snow in sight, but I saw sleds for sale cheap, so I bought one. Perhaps one day that winter there MIGHT be snow, and I was going to be prepared. Of course there wasn’t, and it ended up with all the other junk in our garage attic, which is a great place to put something you never want to see again.

But this winter has been very snowy ’round these parts, and there have been many sledding opportunities. One of our neighbors drove all around town a couple weeks ago, looking everywhere for a sled for his 2-yr-old daughter, but there were none to be had. When he arrived home empty-handed, he mentioned it to Dennis as they passed on the sidewalk. Dennis remembered that maybe we had one in the attic, so he called me downstairs and I climbed up to look.

When I got up there, it all started coming back to me. There was the long sled I had bought those many years ago, but next to it were two more smaller “disc” sleds. I must have thought those were better and bought them during another snow-less winter. Then next to those were the two sleds we had bought for Dennis’ sister as a Christmas gift one year, but had forgotten to take with us to New York.

So that means I had a bunch of sleds — five actually — that I’d never even used.

As I started handing them down the ladder to Dennis, our neighbor stood by with his eyes opened wide, watching the parade of sleds. Finally I got to a pink one that was perfect for his daughter. He offered to buy it from us but when we pointed out that we clearly didn’t need it, he took it as a gift.

I was thrilled to give the little girl a chance to enjoy the sledding that is so elusive here.

The next day, Dennis told one of his friends about it, and learned that the friend had been in the same situation. He’d driven all over town looking for sleds for his girls, so we let him raid the stash in the garage and take two of them home. We still had two left, after all, which was way more than we’d ever need.

This afternoon, the two boys who live next door came knocking on our door and asked if they could borrow our sleds. I don’t know if Dennis offered them in the past or if they just guessed that we would have them, but I was once again able to make a kid’s day by having a stockpile of sleds.

It’s so nice when being a packrat finally pays off!

I just went to Google to search for some information, and as I began typing my search terms into the field, Google prompted me with guesses as to what my search string should be. This is usually very helpful and can save me some typing, but rarely is it really amusing. Until today, that is. My query started with “why” and as soon as I got that typed in, I couldn’t help but notice Google’s suggestions:

I have blacked out two which I find offensive and don’t want to appear on my blog, but the rest are worth a look. Of course the classic “Why is the sky blue?” would appear in the top 10 “Why” list. And a few of those others are things I’ve often pondered. However, I didn’t realize that so many people were curious as to why they can’t own a Canadian!