The cat next door.

There is a cat who lives next door. His name is Scar, he is solid black. From the moment I met him, there was an instant bond between us. I didn’t realize how special that bond actually is, until his owner came around the corner with a shocked look on her face and said, “what are you doing?”

Then she proceeded to go on and on about how Scar hates everyone, and will “take you hand off”. Scar refuses to let me stop petting him, and drools a bit when I am doing it. He is adorable.

Scar is a bit ragged around the edges and has one eye that looks like a glass eye for cats. The eye is not white, or closed, it is a slightly off color from his regular eye and slightly popeyed. It just looks like someone bought him a glass eye, and it closely matches his natural one. I don’t think that is the story. I think secretly, he is a pirate cat, and lost his eye in a fight and replaced it with a doll’s eye. Good Scar!

Other than that, he is a sweetheart. Everytime I come over, he hears my voice and makes a b-line for me. I love him.

Fred is his owner, but his wife tracy is always trying to convince me to take him home with me. I want to, but I can’t take someone else’s cat, and Fred would be devestated, even if Scar is a hand eater. I have at least one to spare, though he only wants mine for my talented petting.

I commented on how he must of had an interesting life and Tracy told me this very interesting story about him.

When Fred and Tracy bought a farm in South Carolina, the woman who sold it to them told them they had to take the cat in the barn, that he was a good mouser. It was a deal breaker, they could not buy the farm without Scar. So they agreed to take the cat. Scar IS a good mouser, but mostly stayed in the barn killing mice and didn’t mingle well.

Because of his reputation of “taking off people’s hands”, he was not well socialized with the rest of the family until one day, one of the horses stepped on him. Fred rushed him to the vet, and they ex-rayed Scar’s whole body – what they discovered inside of Spike looks like the Milky Way Galaxy.

I need to get a photo of this x-ray – this cat was shot at some point in his life, and all the pellets in his body on x-ray look just like the Milky Way. It’s amazing to look at, and amazing that he survived not only being shot and filled with pellets, but stepped on by a horse!

Scar was fine, had a few broken bones and healed up nicely. You would never be able to tell he was ever been stepped on by a horse. He gets around the corner whenever I come over, just fine. I can’t get enough of petting him, such a sweet kitty!

I can’t imagine that anyone would shoot such a sweet cat, but who knows, maybe he was on a personal journey of discovery and went from a very angry individual to one who through major trails and ordeals, became someone very different from who he started out as.

Maybe being shot was a life changing experience, as was being stepped on by a horse. After all that he did end up mingling more, and endeared himself to the family. He moved with my neighbors after all. They didn’t make him a “deal breaker” when they re-sold the farm. He is retired from mousing, and barn living, and has a pretty sweet existence now – laying in the window watching birds in the yard.

In my mind, there is one very angry cat shooting person, who is missing a hand. And that will always remain how I imagine Scar got his reputation as a hand remover. You cannot convince me otherwise. The Milky Way of his soul stands as a testament of life, and living life no matter what the obstacles.

My ongoing AT&T Nightmare

I set up a payment from my bank account to be sent yesterday. The funds are confirmed as withdrawn. I started an internet conversation, because my phone has been turned off. The part that I am confused about is, even though they have not had the actual funds transferred, there is an electronic marker that says they are indeed sent from my bank:

Please wait for a site operator to respond.

You are now chatting with ‘D’

Wesley: Hello

D: I will be happy to review your bill and answer any questions/concerns you may have. It is my priority to resolve this issue for you and answer any other questions you may have.  As a valued customer, I will be happy to review the account to ensure you are getting the best value for your money.

Wesley: Great.

D: Thank you for chatting in today, Mr. Carter.

D: How can I assist you with your bill today?

Wesley: My phone was turned off today, I sent in a payment per my bank 6 days ago, which went through yesterday. Funds have been withdrawn from my bank directly. So I am a bit confused.

Wesley: There may be some confusion, since my number was changed recently. My online profile still says my old number.

D: Online banking can take up to 7-10 business days to post on our end. I do not show any payments that have posted for your past due amount of $129.00 as of yet.

Wesley: Here are my bank stated details: Description: AT&T mobility Bill Payment Posting Date: 04/30/2012 Amount: $136.76 Type: Online Transaction Account Number: eBanking-5104

Wesley: Let me ask you this, I am very unhappy with my service over all. What do you I need to pay to cancel my account entirely?

D: I currently show you have no contract or contract cancellation fee.

D: Your contract ended on 11//8/2009.

W: Perfect. Thank you. Do I have to wait additional five days for my payment to possibly post?

Wesley: The funds left my bank yesterday, which is what I told someone over the fund yesterday.

Wesley: fund = phone.

D: I will setup a payment arrangement and restore your account.

Wesley: I do not need to be restored right now, I want to cancel my account. My only concern is that there is a payment out there in limbo.

D: The payment will show up by 5/11. I show it was sent on 4/30. This payment method usually takes 7-10 business days.

Wesley: Okay, as long as you get it, I guess.

D: Yes, your payment will post in the 7-10 day time frame.

Wesley: Do I need to do anything else at this point?

D: Did you want to cancel service?

Wesley: I’ll keep it for another month, and make a decision at that time. Thanks for all your help.

D: I can setup an arrangement and restore your account with no penalty.

D: Do you want the account restored today?

Wesley: what is an “arrangement”?

D: I will note in the system that your payment will post by 5/11. This will allow me to restore the account and you will stay active.

Wesley: Thank you. do I need to do anything else right now?

D: No, did you want me to go ahead and restore the account and note the arrangement?

Wesley: sure

D: I will view to make sure this can be done for the date of 5/11.

D: Please allow me 1-2 minutes.

Wesley: Okay

D: an arrangement be setup no later than 5/2. I do not think the payment will post by then. I am so sorry, we will have to wait until the payment post to restore the account.

Wesley: Okay, then I will just cancel my account. Can that be my last payment?

D: You will receive 2 more statements. One for 6/4 from 4/26 to 5/25. Then you will receive a final bill with credits that reflect the day you cancel.

Wesley: but I won’t have service up until 5/25?

D: Even thought suspended charges are valid for the time when service is not used due to non-payment.

Wesley: Okay, whatever it takes to cancel. I don’t care at this point.

D: I do apologize that you would like to cancel your service, to better assist you, I will need to refer you to call our Customer Relations Team at 1-800-331-0500. Their hours are Mon – Fri 7:00 am – 10:00 pm and Sat – Sun 9:00 am -7:00 pm.

Wesley: I don’t have a phone, I cannot call. Thanks for all your help though.

D: You can dial and reach this team through 611.

Wesley : Do I need to do anything else to cancel my account at this time?

D: You will need to hold the line and make sure that no buttons and pressed and the line will connect you.

D: You will hear a message. let this play and do not press prompts when you get to the automated system.

Wesley: And that will allow me to cancel my account?

D: Yes, that is correct.

Wesley: Okay, I really appreciate your help.

D: You will get connected to customer care who will transfer you to Customer Relations.

D: You are more than welcome.

Wesley: Thanks, have a great day!

Okay, so that is it – I am canceling my phone service. Everyone can suffer for a bit, until I have enough money to get another one with another company. SUCKS!!! But there it is.

Also 611 did NOT work.

Amazing photos that are not mine, but incredible enough to share!

neotenia’s favorite photos and videos | Flickr.

When Cold Snaps Attack!

With all this unseasonably warm weather, it was bound to happen. A sudden cold snap. Sure, I was prepared on the two nights the weather people warned me about. Unfortunately, there was the one they were not aware of that caught me off-guard.

Night one and two – sheets on the flowering trees, towels on the kitchen counter and all the portable plants and seedlings came in. Then we had some nice warm days, and BOOM – hard frost, just when I thought the plants were safely uncovered. Darn.

The damage is not so great. The hydrangeas are a bit toasted on the leaf edges. The intact buds on the inside where the future blooms are hiding are well protected. All is not lost. The edges of some seedlings are black, but the inside is green. There is always hope.

Nothing has been lost, just slightly disfigured. Right now it is cool, sunny and damp from the torrential rainfall we had last night. This is good, because as a “Guerrilla Gardener”, there are a whole lot of seeds sprinkled in a nearby field that need some watering.

I like collecting cheap and pretty seeds, things that will reseed, and set them free in fallow fields. Sure, they are not native flowers (those are too expensive to sow randomly) but, the places I am setting them free are doomed for eventual scraping and building. Just trying to give them a little color before some dreadful houses are quickly put up too close together.

It is my hope, that the tick laden fields will attract more birds, butterflies and other creepy crawlies – that will then utilize the already prolific native flora to reproduce on, and with.

This reminds me, I need to put out duff for spring nests. Any kind of dryer lint, animal hair (some birds love horse hair to line their nests with) fine string and such stuff – all clumped together for birds to choose from, to make their nests with. They appreciate it, I am sure – having a convenient source of fine lining.

Anyone else dealing with the ups and downs of Spring weather?

Springing Forward

With all this unseasonably warm weather, I have been very excited like most people. Getting the garden ready early. My raised beds were tilled two months ago, and my English Peas are already up 2″, ready to run up the hand made trellis. 

The Preen has been put down to keep the weed seeds from emerging in the ornamental beds. Systemic sprinkles around the boxwoods to eliminate the horrid Leaf Miner that runs rampant. Just pruned the boxwoods too, they were already putting on new growth and in bloom. Gave them a nice rounding off to promote even growth, they look GREAT!

Several clematis vines are already reaching up six inches or more, ready to grasp the natural fiber runners leading them to the downspouts, where they will lend a very informal look, and soften the hard edges of the garage. 

About to go out and check to see if the Bleeding Hearts made it through the hard freeze last night. While changing some beds this past fall, I ran into some unrecognizable roots – all chopped up while moving things around, they went into one hole and popped up already as 20 different blooming heads – all bleeding hearts. Now, distributed throughout two different beds, they will really fill in over the next year.

One of my favorite plants is the peony. My grandparents grew them in the veggie garden, they are believed to keep away pests. So far, they seem deer resistant as well. I hope this trend continues, as a golden herbaceous peony has entered the mix. It cost a small limb, but hopefully will totally be worth it. A hybrid between the herbaceous and the tree peony – this is one of the first YELLOW non-tree varieties. I am looking forward to it’s second year, as it is planted bare-root this year and will most likely have some shock to recover from.

Here is everything you ever want to know about Peony: http://www.paeonia.com/html/peonies/history.htm

If you want to see some of the most amazing Peony, check out this site: http://www.binnyplants.com/Catalogue_ByConditionsPlantsAtoZ.asp?ConditionID=15&Alpha=P

My most recent bonsai styling has been a miniature rhododendron that has been on my covet list for a LONG time – the blossoms are an amazing color of amethyst. As all azaleas are rhododendrons – for the laymen, this can be confusing. Throw in some deciduous azaleas, and it really boggles the mind for most people. I LOVE deciduous azaleas. Many of them are scented and some come in that rare color yellow, that I love so much. One of the most stunning uses I have seen, was a sheared hedge of yellow deciduous azaleas blooming. Maybe one day I can reproduce it. 

Another plant I love, is the lupine. They are just about to put on some secondary leaves, and it might be early enough, that some will flower. Usually they do better in the second year. They have such an unusual leaf, and are deer resistant, with stunning blossoms. I can’t wait for these to do their stuff! 

Various bulbs are blooming, the Mahonia is finishing up and will set seed I can then plant in a hedgerow for the future of deer resistant evergreens. Nasturtiums are coming up nicely – though the window boxes they are planted in had to come in due to the 21 degree night we just had. Tomorrow is suppose to be cold, and then more warm on the way. This has been a very warm spring, and I love the head start it has given my plants. 

Found a really cute Mugo pine topiary, that will lend itself nicely to a bonsai form. Needs some nitrogen and strong sunlight to green up. I have to find the perfect container for it, before cleaning it up, removing some needles and maybe a few branches. The candle buds look great, so this is definitely over all a very healthy find. 

Need any plant advice, let me know. I am always up for interesting questions.

Dear AT&T

After spending 45 minutes with various people on the phone with AT&T today, and since there is NO easy way to just send you an email, here is my complaint for the world to hear.

YOU SUCK!!!

You suck in every way imaginable. I have had a cell phone for 20 years. YES, you heard me – 20 years!!!

Never in my life has it been difficult to just set a voice mail box FROM MY OWN PHONE. It should be easy. I have been doing it, and doing it pretty well – since there were cassette tape answering machines. Mine was one I could remote access – kinda like what my cell phone should be able to do now.

Why is technology going backwards?

It seems like the more advances we have, the harder it is to just have basic service. I pay MORE now than I ever have before just to have a phone. Yes, it’s a cell phone and it has long distance included and SHOULD have a voice mail system, but it doesn’t.

The other thing. The system AT&T has is so antiquated that I understand why people prefer texting. I know what it is, but how many people know what CUT THROUGH PAGING, is?

I will tell you…  Cut through paging is having the option, although no one explains why, of NOT having to listen to someone tell you how to leave a message EVERY time you go to leave a message. Yes, there may be some people in the remote part of the Amazon who do not know how to leave a message yet, but SERIOUSLY????!!!!! – No one is this dumb.

I do not need someone telling me how to leave a message. If you activate cut through paging (by magically figuring it out through trial and error, like I did) – people no longer have to listen to a message telling them how to leave a message if they know the magic key to press. At no time are you given an option telling you how to go straight to leave a message.

Maybe AT&T no longer knows how to, because I have to jump through HOOPS just to leave an email, and after the 20th prompt that did NOT get me just an email address to contact, this is the result.

Dear AT&T – I know everyone has phones, but word of mouth travels faster. Unhappy people talk to their friends. Maybe this is why my phone bill went up. It used to be everyone I knew had AT&T and I could call them all for free. Suddenly, everyone switched but me, and my phone bill kept going up and up and I had no idea why. Finally after making a call to the service department, I found out why. No one I was calling had AT&T anymore. HOW SAD is that?

It seems I am the only one who has AT&T as their service, and they can’t even give me a voicemail with ease. You know what they told me to do? They told me to drive to a AT&T store, and ask them to help me.

You know what they are going to do at the AT&T store (other than roll their eyes when they see my none iPod phone?) – They are going to sigh, and give me the worst customer service like the last time I went into the store to pay my bill. The guy was eating. He didn’t look me in the eye. He didn’t smile. He didn’t act like a human being, he could have been a zombie. I should have been concerned. Maybe, if I cared enough – I could have offered to call an ambulance for him because his life signs were so low.

Then, if I can get a response, after the sigh – they are going to do everything I did, and everything the call service person did, and everything the call service manager did, and they are going to get the same result.

So, AT&T – as your last customer, I am going to put you on notice. YOU ARE ON NOTICE.

If I can’t get a simple resolution, I am going to drop you. Who will be your customer then? Someone who enjoys “cut through paging”?

Facebook, can I have my life back?

It looks like Facebook is down. Sure, I spend way too much time on there. It is one way of staying in touch with friends and family. It is not the ONLY way to stay in touch with them, but it is fun and convenient.

Seriously though, if it vanishes I will not miss it. It has taken up so much of my time and my life. Sure, I can stop at any time I want, really, I can. I think.

I have before. Stopped using FB, but it is just so darn easy to get back into it. I both love and hate Facebook. It has allowed me to get in touch with people I thought were gone forever.

Last night it started with the chat window. It would not work. Today, it won’t load at all. I wonder if Anonymous has finally come through. They said it was going down, but the date they gave came and went. I really hate threats that are not followed through. Maybe it was all a joke. Anyone can mask a voice electronically and make idle threats, these days.

I woke up feeling better. Really better. I hope this continues because I am full of energy right now, even though yesterday I felt like dying. So much to do today, I am a little overwhelmed, but it will all happen. I can do it. Need to dig my camera out and get it working again.

Today is lovely St. Patrick’s Day. I have my outfit, I am ready to go. We will see how it all comes together. Hosting my first party in New Jersey, I am a little bit nervous. Every party I have gone to so far has been a bit boring, well, except for my youngest brother’s wedding – that was the most fun wedding I have ever been to!

I am trying to force myself out to the car, to find my clothes, and get all dressed up to go jogging. Then clean my car inside and out. Then there is a huge list of things that need to come together today. Food, decorations, people.

So, I will check to see if FB is up one last night (nervous habit) and then get going with my day.

I hope everyone has a fantastic St. Patty’s day! Be sane, be safe. Honestly, my friends from Ireland think it is an abomination what “the Americans” have done with the holiday. So you might take their true feelings in consideration.

My Seed Wish List

Here are the things I am lusting after currently:

Would a pound be enough? http://www.edenbrothers.com/store/wild_lupine_seeds.html

Some lovely poppies: http://www.edenbrothers.com/store/corn_poppy_seeds.html

OMG crazy hosta: http://www.edenbrothers.com/store/spring-perennials-hosta-white-feather.html

This is insane: http://www.edenbrothers.com/store/spring-perennials-hosta-tortilla-chip.html

Poppies!! http://www.edenbrothers.com/store/california_poppy_seeds_orange.html

I love “odd” color veggies: http://summerhillseeds.com/watermelon-golden-midget-new-for-2012-p-1253.html

These are suppose to be pretty amazing: http://www.ecrater.com/p/8934029/wild-strawberry-seeds-fragaria-vesca-l

http://summerhillseeds.com/strawberry-yellow-wonder-new-for-2012-p-1185.html

http://www.amazon.com/Goldheart-Bleeding-Heart-Dicentra-Potted/dp/B001LBWV3Q

I love blue mammoth: http://hostas-store.com/index.html?Blue_Mammoth.html

Spring is here, like it or not.

And you know what Spring brings? Beautiful pollen. Yes, it is THAT time again. I can feel it in my lungs. Raw honey, activate!!!

Just finished my bamboo and hand tied hemp twine – English pea trellis. Some of the peas are up 1 1/2″ – Put down two beds of lettuce, carrots, parsley, chard, nasturtiums, beets, onions and arugula.

Note: next year only plant Romaine lettuce. It survived the worst temps of winter, and is now coming to head nicely. All the other lettuce melted into nothing. The all red romaine, did the best of all of them. “Freckles” had a few survivors, but mostly lamed out.

It is SO beautiful outside right now! I am sitting out in the SHADE, because the sun is so bright, I probably will have some sunburn on the neck tomorrow. The breeze is lightly blowing, it really feels great out. All the grass is starting to turn green again, the daffodils are blooming, and the maples are in full bloom with their rust colored blossoms.

This really puts me in a mood for planting! So much to do. Need to finish the stone patio, the brick walk way, put in a raised fire pit and rock wall around the garage to keep the inevitable rain deluge from flooding it again.

Need to put in another raised bed for tomatoes and peppers, basil and maybe something else. Any suggestions?

I don’t want to get up and do anything, yet at the same time I want to do everything. It is such a lovely day! I want to fly a kite, and sit in the hammock and stare at the sky. Yes, we put the hammock up today. it is THAT kind of day!

Everyone Blogs

It seems as if, everyone blogs these days. Doesn’t it?

I am not complaining. Maybe this goes back to what everyone is really doing – writing in their diaries, journals, or replacing direct letters with letters to the world anyone can read.

There is a box in my basement full of journals, poems, letters and dreams written down. A BIG box. This has always been part of who I am. There was a transition period where writing longhand was faster than my typing. Now, that is not the case.

It surprises me that other people are surprised at how fast I type. Now, I type pretty much as fast as I think. Most of my long blogs only take a few minutes to write. I don’t revise, I don’t spellcheck (mostly), if a word turns red, then I do look it up to try and revise the word in my head. I try to write with my stream of thought, how I speak in my head, or how I talk in real life. What you get, is the real me.

I took a typing class in the eighth grade, and failed miserably. Then I tried again in the 11th, and was horrible. Then I tried to learn how to write code, but my dyslexia still undiscovered, prevented that. No matter how much I double check my math or code, there were always mistakes, and it was frustrating. It was like reality changed as soon as I looked away.

What really got me typing was finding my mother’s old “learn how to type” book from when she was in high school. The advice she gave me, was to concentrate on correctness, no matter how slow I was. That speed would come in time, and boy was she correct!

I attribute my speed to all the internet chatting I have done in the past 20 years. Yes, it all started out slow, and in real time back in the old BBS days, it was like watching a snail crawl across grass – for other people. Now, that snail is powered by lasers! I got to the point where having a conversation with six people at the same time was easy, online. Funny, people are slower than ever with texting. I hate texting, and have it disabled on my phone. Mostly because it takes so much time.

I don’t have time for slowness. Typing is super fast, but texting on your phone, no matter how fast you think you are, will never be as fast as my typing. Now, I hear that AIM might go away, because people are using new forms of communication. Slower forms of communication, actually.

Everyone is using everything off their iphones and androids, but what it really comes down to, is they don’t have the time to pick up a phone and actually connect with a person. They only have time to write a twitter to the wind. I call it “pissing in the dark”. You have NO idea what you are hitting. OR – if anyone is paying attention at all. How is that for social inter-reaction?

I found that all those quick texts, add up. They add up to a whole lot of wind, and no substance. That picking up the phone and having a conversation is more real, than anything else going on. That talking instantly on AIM or YIM is faster than Skyping with all that slow talk banter back and forth.

So yes, the future is now, we are all doing it, but it seems like there are more blocks in our way than ever before. If I say “land line” most people have NO IDEA what I mean. If I actually say to their face that I do not have texting, they text me and wonder why I don’t respond. NO MEANS NO you shallow non thinking idiots!!!

NO means it does not exist on my phone. That you cannot send me a stupid link or a picture of your dog’s vomit. It means that if I am on the phone connecting with a person in another state, it is going to last 45 minutes in real time, connecting with a real person, feeling as if we have no distance between us at all.

Bleh, that took five minutes of my life I will never get back. So hopefully you skimmed through it, ignored it, or just looked at the title.