CROCK POT

Once a week, I go to my daughter’s house to “supervise” my 16 and 14 year-old grandsons.  I use to baby-sit them, but now they are grown and old enough to take care of themselves.  But during the summer when my daughter and son-in-law are at work, it’s probably not a bad idea to have grandma keep an eye on her grandsons and all their friends once a week.

This morning when I walked in I saw a note on the kitchen counter that read, “Boys, please put the crockpot in the frig on the base, plug it in and turn on low.”  I read the note a few times, confused that my daughter wanted the crockpot put in the refrigerate.  But when my grandson came into the kitchen he read the note and knew immediately the crockpot was “in the frig.”  So much for my interpreting skills.

About a half hour later when I went to get a glass of water, I noticed the crockpot was unplugged!!!  So I quickly called my daughter for instructions to make sure her family would have dinner tonight.

By Hannah

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WAR HORSE

Most of the time, when a book is made into a movie, the movie is never as good as the book.  But yesterday when I saw “War Horse” I was impressed with how closely it followed the book and how it included everything I remembered reading.  Although, one thing in the movie I didn’t remember at all was the war medal that the hero’s father had won.  Nevertheless, it was a very good movie and I enjoyed it very much.

By Hannah

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SYSTEM RESTORE

Thank goodness for system restore!!!  The other day my cousin sent me several files displaying our family tree.  Since she created it with a special program, she also sent me the link to download the program for free.  It was fun looking at our family tree and I was impressed with all the work she had done and the wealth of information she had collected.

Unfortunately, the next morning, when I turned on my computer, I was horrified when my normal desktop did not appear.  In fact to my dismay the screen was nothing more than a solid pink display.  After an initial few minutes of panic, I remembered “Safe Mode”.   I turned my computer off and then repeatedly tapped the F8 key as I turned on my computer again.  Once my machine booted up, I searched the help feature and was reminded of the system restore capability.  Simply put, by picking an earlier date, the computer would restore my computer to the exact settings, files, etc. that were on my computer on the date I chose and delete anything added after that date.

Woo Hoo!  I was so excited that all would be well.  And sure enough, my computer started working again.  What a relief!!!!!

By Hannah

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JACOB’S FIRST CAR ACCIDENT

Last Oct, my oldest grandson turned 16.  At the time my car was over 12 years old, so I bought a new one and gave Jacob my old car with less than 50,000 miles on it.  However, there was one stipulation.  He could drive it until he graduated high school in three years.  Then my younger grandson, Jared, would turn 16 and the car would go to him for his last three years of high school.

It was certainly a good plan and hopefully will come to pass.  Unfortunately, the other day, after 9 months with no problems, Jacob had his first and hopefully only fender-bender.  As he backed out of a friend’s driveway he hit a fire hydrant!  Fortunately, the damage near the fender isn’t too bad.  There is a small hole in the exterior and it is slightly crunched like an accordion.  The dent is smaller than a soccer ball and you would hope it would not cost much to fix. But sadly the amount will probably be about three or four thousand dollars – too much to spend on a 13-year-old car.

And so all that will be done is to paint the surface to prevent rusting and to hope that in two more years, my younger grandson Jared, will still have a pretty decent car to drive.

By Hannah

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MY FRANK COUSINS

My grandfather had three brothers, a sister, and two half brothers.  They all married and had children. And in time, their total offspring numbered 26.  My Mom was one of those children and when all her cousins married and had children the Frank family grew to well over 100. 

Of course with so many relatives, it was impossible to develop a close relationship with all of them.  In fact, there are many of my third cousins I don’t know at all as I have never even met them.  But over the past few years, since my parents and others of their generation have died, I have often thought, “What a shame it is that I have cousins I would pass on the street without recognizing.”

So a few weeks ago, I decided to plan a luncheon for my female, third cousins who live in the area.  I talked to a couple who were thrilled to hear about my idea.  That was all I needed.  I made reservations at a nice restaurant, bought some invitations, and am now just anxiously waiting for the day to arrive.  I’m sure it will be great.

By Hannah

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KAHLUA

Recently, I had to buy a bottle of Kahlua for a delicious chocolate dessert that I volunteered to bring to a potluck dinner.  However, when I arrived at the grocery store I was almost prevented from purchasing it.  It was late when I walked into the grocery store and late when I approached the service desk to ask for help.  It takes me forever to find what I need in their liquor department as the liquor does not seem to be arranged in any reasonable order. So I asked if one of their staff would please fetch the Kahlua for me.

To my surprise she said, “We have to hurry. It’s ten to nine and we close the liquor department at 9:00.”  In addition, I had to pay for the Kahlua before 9:00 and I could not carry it in my grocery cart.  They had to keep it at the front desk until I was ready to leave the store.   There are certainly a lot of strange laws in our country and this one was sure new to me !!!

By Hannah

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DEATH BY CHOCOLATE

Last night I had to take dessert to a potluck dinner.  I had originally planned to bring my Mother’s delicious blitz-torte cake made with layers of yellow cake, meringue, whip cream, chopped pineapple and chopped nuts. It was always one of my favorites when I was growing up.  But I feared it might not serve 10 people, so I had to think of another dessert.  Years ago at another potluck I remembered devouring a fabulous chocolate dessert and so I called the woman who made it to get the recipe.

She began by telling me the name of the dessert was “Death by Chocolate,” made with a Pillsbury chocolate cake mix, chocolate pudding, kahlua, chopped heath bars and whipping cream.  And so I made the dessert and it certainly was DELICIOUS.  On top of it, I didn’t have to worry about now having enough.  When I brought the leftovers  home, there was still more in the pan then the guests had eaten.  And trust me … they all ate a lot.  In fact most had seconds.

By Hannah

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REAL ESTATE DISAPPOINTMENT

In the mid 70’s I held a broker’s license and sold real estate for a few years. Although, I went on to other careers, I maintained my license all these years by taking continuing education classes and paying my real estate fee.  Although I haven’t listed or sold a house since 1977, I have since earned money with my license by collecting referral fees.

I simply call owners who attempt to sell their own homes and suggest to them that if they decide to eventually list their property, I can recommend an excellent realtor to them.  If they accept my offer and then list with the agent that I suggest, the real estate agent pays me 20% of the commission for my referral when the house is sold. 

Not a bad deal. But recently, I was very disappointed.  In January I spoke to an owner who said, she would appreciate my referral.    The agent I then recommended met with her and learned that she wanted to continue trying on her own for another month or two, but would eventually list if she was not successful.

Great, I thought and I mentally calculated my earnings.  However, I didn’t hear any more and so yesterday I decided to check the Internet to find out the status of the house.  Lo and behold, I saw that the owner did, in fact, list with the company I recommended.  I then called to ask for the details and discovered much to my dismay that, yes, the owner had listed her home.  But she had listed with a different agent – not the one I had recommended.  I have no idea how that happened, but the bottom line is I will not receive the money I had anticipated !!!

By Hannah

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REAL ESTATE

I only sold real estate from 1973 to 1977.  But I have continued to maintain my real estate license by paying my bi-annual dues and taking the required continuing education classes every two years.  And the reason I keep my license is to occasionally collect a referral fee of $500 to $1,000 or more.

About one night a week (or sometimes less) I call people who are trying to sell their own houses.  I wish them good luck, but tell them if they decide to list their property and they don’t know a good realtor, I can recommend an excellent agent.  If they then list with the agent and the house sells, the realtor pays me about 20% of his commission for the referral fee.

It’s a nice arrangement, but unfortunately, it doesn’t happen very often – maybe once a year.  So today, I was very excited when I learned the good news that one of the home owners I spoke to recently listed his house with the agent I suggested.  Now I just have to wait patiently until the house sells, because if it doesn’t sell I don’t get paid.  So here’s hoping.

By Hannah

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VACUUM BATTERY

I love the new lightweight, portable vacuum that my son and daughter-in-law bought me for Mother’s Day, but I’ve had some problems with it.  The first time I vacuumed my living room it was great. But the second time, within a few minutes of turning it on, it died.  “Oh no!” I thought, “What can the matter be.”  And then I realized, of course the battery needed to be recharged.

So the next time I vacuumed, I made sure that I had charged the battery the required three hours before I started.  Then with no problem, I vacuumed my entire living and dining room.  I love this vacuum cleaner and easily carried it upstairs to finish vacuuming my house.  But within a few minutes it died !!!!  You can imagine how frustrated I was.  I read the manual, then called the Hoover Company, and learned the battery only lasts about 20-25 minutes.  What a bummer.

Since I could never completely vacuum my house in only 25 minutes, my only option was to buy a second battery for a back-up to vacuum the entire house.  But again … what a bummer.  On the other hand, the vacuum had been a gift from my son and the Hoover employee on the phone told me that since my machine was only a couple months old he would give me a 15%  discount on a new battery and waive the shipping.  My total was $62.35.  All in all, not bad, I guess…….

By Hannah

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OSTEOPOROSIS

Yesterday I had an appointment with an endocrinologist about my osteoporosis.  My doctor had diagnosed it in 2003 and for 7 years I took the medication Fosomax to help build my bones.  But stopped two years ago when I started having jaw problems.  Unfortunately, the bones in my wrist have gotten worse and the doctor wants me to start some medication again.

The  doctor ordered a blood test and will decide which medication I need depending on the results.  The options are either a once a year infusion – a simple office visit that only takes about 15 minutes -- or daily injections which I would have to administer to myself.  Of course, I would prefer the once a year choice.  At the same time, the infusion is for patients whose osteoporosis is worse than expected.  Oh well, “C’es la vie. Whatever will be will be.”

By Hannah

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SELF SERVE GAS STATIONS

Whenever a driver with a disability drives up to a self-serve gas station pump, the law allows him/her to request that an attendant pump the gas, even though he/she is buying the gas at the less expensive self-serve price.  Since it’s not a problem for me I have, for years, always pumped my own gas even though I have a handicap license plate. 

So today to my surprise, when I pulled up to the self-serve pump at the gas station that I have frequented for over 25 years, an attendant approached me before I even had a chance to step out of my car.  I asked, “Are you here to fill my gas tank?”  “Yes,” he replied.  And I told him that would be very nice – the temperature outside was 100 degrees.  At the same time, I wondered how he knew I had a handicap license, as I doubted he could have seen it when I drove in to the station.”

“No,” he said smiling, “I didn’t see your license, but I’ve seen you here often before.”  What a nice young man I thought.  And when I arrived home, I called Jim, the owner of the station to let him know what a great employee he has and how much I appreciated the thoughtful service he provided.  Calling his boss to compliment the attendant, was the least I could do to repay his kindness.

By Hannah

www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.