To Craigslist or not to Craigslist?

On Fathers Day I was given permission to buy a "big" screen TV.  We saw a couple at Walmart but they didn't have them in stock and it didn't take long to realize that I needed to research what is available on these modern devices and what is important to get on them.  If you read reviews of the various models, you find there are always some people who think they are wonderful and others who hate them.
After talking to Robin Butler (an authority on big screen) I decided to get an LG set through Amazon.  It was a 42 inch 1080p with advanced specs.  I didn't care about LED or 3D.  The price was about $575.00 and free shipping.  It arrived in just a few days but after setting it up (which was easy),  I saw the screen was damaged.  I sent it back and chose to get a refund rather than an exchange.
I looked to see what was on Craigslist a few times but as you may know there are risks when going there.  Someone could come over and kill you.  You might get robbed and wounded.  Someone might come to your house and see how dirty it is.
You might go to someones house and ...
The item might be stolen. 

I was ready to buy a TV again and we were going to a party in Jackson, MI.  I thought I might as well check the Jackson Craigslist and if there was an appropriate TV there, I could see it while in town.
Long story shortened, I found a set for sale there and called.  I met the guy at a gas station there.  He seemed like an upstanding young man about to start school at Kettering.  I bought the set for $270 so that was about $300 less than I would spend buying new.  The set seems to work just fine but it's so big.  I know, you're saying to yourself, "That's what she said".  Now I have to sell my old TV or donate it.  It's a 27 inch RCA.  The color is very good on it. It comes with a remote control.  The price is $20 firm.  Come on over to the house to see it.  This ad may appear on Craigslist but I think, more likely, I'll give it away.

Midsummer

Our new rug sat rolled up for about a week.  No one had the curiosity to unroll it to see how it turned out.  I finally unrolled it while watching Gabe.  It looked just fine and I couldn't detect any odor.  I got down on all fours and put my nose close to the fabric...no smell.  Gabe was curious so I said I was trying to see if there was a bad smell.  He also got close to the fabric and smelled.  He raised a finger in the air and said, "Maybe, dog poop?" 

So far the rug is okay.  We've had visitors from England and are soon expecting more from Denmark.  It makes life more interesting and motivates us to clean and maintain at a higher level than otherwise.  The guys from England allowed me to practice hypnosis with them.  That went very well.  I gave them some suggestions for success in their business life and improved concentration while playing tennis. 

We had Gabe here for the Fourth so we went to the parade again.  We go every year really, but Gabe was a reason to go.  He got a whole hat full of candy and a couple of flags.  He was impressed with the monster truck.  Fire engines were loud and the whole thing must have seemed like a big party to him.

Gabe is back in Toronto now.  He was here for about two weeks.  We went to a couple of free concerts and did a lot of things around the house.  He loves running through the sprinkler.  The Danish women are here and Gabe took a shine to Maj (pronounced my).  She paid a lot of attention to Gabe and is great with kids.  All of these young Danes are fantastic.  They slept in the camper van and kept up a grueling schedule of activities.  They will leave soon and the rest of Summer 2011 will unwind at a gentler pace.   

 

June Already Conclusion

We had gotten to the point in the last blog, where it was to be determined what was to be done about the discarded rug.  Jake wanted nothing to do with it.  He is a retail shopper all the way.  Brooke wants to find out the condition.  If it passes her inspection, it's okay.  Someone else must face the humiliation of retrieving it.  Ken feels there is already enough to be dealt with in the family's life.  They decide to check back after dinner to see if the rug is still there.  The rug is still there after dinner.  It has been moved, indicating others have looked at it and passed it up.  Ken and Jake go to check on the condition of the rug.  Ken (I) knock on the door but there is no answer.  The rug looks pretty good but has an animal smell (urine) which doesn't seem too strong.  If the rug is worth at least $200 it is worth getting it cleaned.  That's what I thought.  We should be hearing from Hagopian this week.  We may have a "new" rug soon or one for sale at our garage sale.  It is a nice looking, machine made rug.  Made in Egypt. I have since spoken to the homeowners who put the rug out.  They had put it out to air out and some animal had urinated on it, possibly a raccoon. She said it was an expensive rug and they were told of a product called "Skunk out" that allegedly would get out odors.

So much for that topic.  I hadn't been watching any sports on TV this Spring.  Well, golf, but that's hardly a sport.  So, I decided to watch some of the basketball semi-finals and finals.  That was very enjoyable for me.  The teams I favored won.  Twice I turned off the TV thinking the game was decided and woke up the next day to find there had been a big come-back in the final minutes.  I think Dirk and the Mavericks deserved the title.


My Brother-in-law needed a sub in his golf league for a couple of weeks.  I filled in and played with his partner Don Bunka.  I did well considering I haven't played in over a year.  The missing ingredient in most players games is practice.  I have been having problems with my chipping.  When I played regularly, I prided myself as having a good wedge game.  I was so distraught at my chipping after my second round this year,  I got out some practice balls and hit about 50 shots.  Just that helped a lot.  I feel guilty going out in the yard to practice golf when there is trimming, edging, planting, scraping and painting to be done.  I'd like to move to a condo.

I'm thinking of writing a book and self publishing it.  "How you can maintain your dignity while retrieving items from the Trash".

June Already

How time flies.  If I start thinking about all the things that I think need doing, I'll really start feeling bad.  Let me say what has been done. 

I couldn't get the Troy-Bilt running last year.  That is it wouldn't stay running for long after it started.  I knew this was something I would have to confront this Spring.  The Troy-Bilt is short for Troy-Bilt Horse, a rototiller that Ray bought in 1979.  This was his pride and joy and helped greatly in gardening  here at 819. 

I was thinking I would have to take the machine to a small engine shop to get it repaired.  I called and was prepared to load it up the next day.  I went out to the shed and dug out the Horse from the far corner.  It would be foolish of me to blindly take it in and have them fix something that was minor and doable right here.  I put in gas and got the engine started and adjusted the screw at the bottom of the carburetor.  It seemed  to be running pretty well!  The fuel line was leaking so I went to Taylor Hardware and got some fuel line replacement.  That wasn't the end of it.  I ended up getting a carb. rebuild kit and using almost all of the parts in there.  The rototiller is working well now and the garden is tilled.

We have also put up a fence to keep out rabbits.  Almost all of the vegetables are planted and it looks pretty good down there.  The flowers are next.  We almost feel an obligation, living here, to have a garden and have a beautiful display of flowers. 

Another item that came up this Spring was a "free" Oriental Rug.  This brings out our psychological interactions.  A rug appeared at the curb in our neighborhood.  No sign of any kind, but close enough to the curb to indicate it was available for free.  We were interested in something for free, of course.  Who would do the embarrassing task of knocking on the door or just taking the rug?  What is wrong with the rug?  To be continued...

Rolodex

There was an ad on TV making reference to some guy who was out of date.  Several beautiful, swim-suit clad, women life guards are saving him from buying the "wrong" beer.  He asks for a telephone number and they make fun of him for having a Rolodex.  He is so hopeless he doesn't even have a cell phone.  Well these little things on these ads are hurtful to the general populace who have Rolex's.  Also, to those who don't have cell phones. 

I was looking for some information on my Rolodex about a week ago and realized how out of date the information was on there.  My fault for not keeping it up.  Probably half of the information on there was out of date.  People who have died or moved.  Businesses that no longer exist.  Some entries that I just don't remember who they are.  One that was a friend of Emma's in college that will probably stay there forever because Emma wrote,"Do Not Throw Away."

There is a lot of useful information there though.  Sometimes I wrote the family members names along with the main contact, so I could come off as having a better memory than I really do, or caring more than I really do.  Another hint, include pet names. While you're at it include birth dates for the humans.

I have one card that has all the local pizza places.  One for golf, and one for VW related people and businesses.

Don't throw out your Rolodex.  If you don't have one, buy one.  They're cheap.  There is no monthly fee, no batteries etc.

And, as a wise old paddleball player once said, "pencils don't forget."  Meaning if you write something down you won't forget it.  The filing system is important though. 

Royal Wedding

My furniture refinishing project turned out very well, by the way.  It took about two weeks, with the drying time between coats and all, but the result was very satisfactory to me.  We had family over for Easter and lately we've all been sick with colds/strep.  I think we are coming out of the depths now and will be having more positive life experiences to report soon. 

I had heard that the interest in the royal wedding was very low this time around.  When Charles and Diane were married 30 years ago many more people were interested in the event.  That was the same year that Brooke and I were wed, so we felt something in common with the new couple.  Funny how it all turned out. 

I thought it would be fun to get up to see the wedding of William and Kathryn today.  I know if Gloria were still around, she would have been up for it.  My Mother also, I'm sure would have liked to witness it.  It's history.  It's a connection and it's a positive renewal.  I have no negative feelings toward the royals.  I'd love to be a royal family member.  Kenneth Edwin, Lord of Genesee County.

I'd much rather have the royal family to talk about than the celebrities in the United States, or sports figures.  It all seems like such a waste of time. 

Anyway I enjoyed the wedding.  I noticed many of the people were not singing the hymns as the service called for.  Just like church services here.  More men seemed to be singing than women.  The women, I noticed, wore elaborate hats and I noticed two heavy women with especially horrible hats that, when I saw them, I thought they reminded me of Cinderella's mean step-sisters.  It turns out they were some cousins who have been having some difficulties with William lately.  Isn't that fun!

If I had a newspaper or magazine I would start a section on following the Royals.  Start with Englands and if it were successful, add in some of the others.  I know Denmark has Royals.  They go out biking amongst the commoners! 

The way things are going in America, maybe we should throw ourselves on the mercy of the Royal family and tell them to please take us back.  We can't make it on our own.

Furniture Refinishing

There is a large backlog of projects awaiting me this Spring.  I decided last week to start with the dining room table.  I bought this Cherry, gate-leg table shortly after we moved here in about 1990.  It was in pretty good shape at that time and was used in our dining room which was used approximately three times per year.  When we moved to 819 in 1999 (dates are approximate) this table was used much more often as being the main table for dinners.  The finish on the table was varnish.  Often we would put a glass of water or pop on the table and with the condensation or spilling, the finish would be compromised.  We also would use the table for projects that were unsuitable for such a finish.  We, as a family, do not have the sensibility of proper care for nicer furniture.  We would do better with the kind of furniture one might find in a day care.  Maybe made of plastic.  Sturdy and even nearly indestructible.  Yet we still want it to look pretty good. 

I've stripped and refinished three smaller tables using Homer Formsby's Wood Refinisher and some form of polyurethane.  The results have been quite good.  The tables have a nice looking finish and one can put a bottle of beer or can of pop on the tables without worry of removing finish or leaving rings.  So now I'm in the midst of removing the old finish from the table top.  Some of this is done chemically, some physically (scrapers) and some physically (electric sanders).  When I get all of the old finish off and have sanded off as much of the old water stains as possible.  I will apply the polyurethane/stain combination.  

Today I was at a point that required a trip to the local hardware store.  Since I was on the road anyway, I had the opportunity to stop at my favorite adult beverage replenishment retailer.  In the old days, one would pick up a 6-pack.  Years later the 12-pack came into vogue.  Today, 2011, an observer in Fenton could have witnessed Ken Lamson carrying a 30-pack of PBR to his camper van.  I thought, "If anyone asks I'll say this is how I judge my physical condition.  Can I carry a 30-pack to my van?"   

I've seen my first Robin of the season this morning.  I have a supply of beer in the house and the materials are at hand for my first Spring project.  All is well with the world and I hope to see all of you very soon.  Better hurry because the 30-pack is going fast.