Having fun now!

We have had a really nice visit! We went to Mingus Park for lunch, to feed the ducks, and to play, play, play!
Mak is giving CB a good push at the Toddler Playground


I think they are enjoying themselves!

And of course, our little hamarina!!


CB fed some ducks and ate some of the bread himself..

Mak shows CB just how it's done...

CB entertains himself really well. He seems to like the deck a bunch

while Tetee watches cartoons all huddled up

and Mak just lays back and enjoys his Sunday morning TV fix...

The weather has been pretty nice if a little windier than usual. About normal for here but a little chillier than they are used to. The valley has been really warm - so that means more wind for us.... so cool it valley!! We get some strange looks in our long sleeves and sweatshirts :-) Highs have been low 70's just about every day. Garden is doing great ~ the sweet peas got so heavy they pulled the fence forward and fell - Keith had to 'rope' them up or we'd be picking off of the ground!! Mak has had fun picking strawberries on a daily basis and Tetee helps me water every afternoon. CB runs and runs and runs his little legs off keeping up with everyone! Mak helped me pick the broccoli and cauliflower amidst Tetee's comments that she 'don't like that stuff' so we were wasting our time... LOL Well, she didn't eat it - but Keith and I sure did! and planted more for later..... :-)

Time is almost up, we will be taking them home next week. I am sure glad they got so spend some time with us.. What blessings~~

Frustration

If anyone ever, ever, ever asks you if you want your AT&T services bundled.... run, don't walk, run away from the conversation!! Keith has just spent 2 whole days trying to find out why we have a late payment on our accounts that have been set up on autopay for somewhere around 5 years!

Back when we went on the road again.... In April, I called AT&T, that used to be Bellsouth, and asked them to disconnect our home phone number. The very nice man at the other end of the line convinced me that I didn't really want to do that - but instead - I wanted to have all of my oh-so-important calls forwarded to my cell phone. (2 months later 2 calls have been forwarded~~) So, for only about $20 per month, my whole billing system would not get all messed up and I wouldn't lose my number, and everything would transition on all smoothly, nicely, and I'd continue to have a wonderful, nice life.....

Fast forward to when Keith opens 2 AT&T bills - one for long distance and 1 with a late payment on it!!!!! So I go back to my email that said "Your AT&T bill is ready to review" and.... I click on the link.... and I use my login and password (as I have most every month for about 5 years) and I am greeted with the message that.... "changes have been made to this account and it is no longer accessible online".

So Keith calls customer service.... He gets the 'residential people' - because that is the number on the bill he has been sent... They can tell him that the bill is overdue - they can't see why - because the line has been put on remote call forwarding so no further information (or the billing breakdown) is available, so I get concerned that his cell phone and data card will be 'suspended' also. So I ask why it isn't on the bill.... no one can tell me - because it isn't residential. So I go look at the wireless website and I see where they have charged the credit card for June, the bundled mess for May, April, March but no information any further back. By this time Keith has been on the phone for a couple of hours being transferred here and there and he just wants to know what the billl is for and to pay it. So I try to pay it online.... again ... cannot access account online.... even tho' the continuous recording says... 'save time and go to att.com'!!! What a circle jerk!!!

So Keith calls back and presses the option to pay the bill that should have been an autopay and we never got a paper bill and couldn't access it online... and the woman says 'there will be a $5 charge to pay this bill via a live representative'!!! So I lose it and tell her that I am not giving AT&T an additional $5 for thier errors and messed up systems!! and Keith hangs up!!!

This morning at 5:30 am he gets up and starts calling again. He finally gets the bill paid - hopefully without the $5 additional charge and he was trying to find out why the bill was late and not autopaid so that it would not happen again (and he has the paper in front of him that says they have received wireless payments monthly forever!) and NO ONE COULD TELL HIM just what the $150+ broke down to nor could anyone guarantee that his cell and data card would not be interupted.!!!

So about 7:30 this morning - after being transferred around for 2 more hours... we will not have a landline in Florida any longer. Keith's cell and data card are safe, the bill is paid, we still do not know why we have been double billed, there is no call forwarding, and no one can tell us because no one (even the combined billing department) can access a combined bill once it has been un-combined and no one can see the individual portions of a bill that was combined.

AND, for taxes, I need the prior bills. The ones from January to May. The ones that I usually print only the pages I need for records. I cannot access them online as the service has been interrupted. They transfer Keith to the department to get copies of the bills that we didn't get because we did it all online and electronically (you know - save the trees! and the burn barrel) and I didn't print because it isn't the end of the year and I don't need them yet.... and she says ~ ~ all bright and cheerful ~~~"Of course we will gladly send you whatever copies you need. There will be a $3.50 fee for each previous bill added to your next bill. What address do you need for it to be sent to?" At that - he hung up. I was wishing all sorts of bad things on the system as a whole (not any singled out person!) and sorely wish that 'customer service' was again CUSTOMER SERVICE. In relating the same story over and over again for 2 days - and receiving totally irrevelent answers over and over again - I don't know if I wasn't explaining what happened in English and understandably - or if no one really cares as long as they get paid. I'd bet on the latter!!! And poor Keith.....

So, as the many, many reps at AT&T continually said..... ~~~~ "HAVE A NICE DAY!!"

They were here....

The Elmore family arrived about 2 days ahead of their eta... and I am happy for every minute they were able to be here!!! Evidently they didn't spend as much time traveling as I thought they would!!

While they were here they accomplished all sorts of things.... Thanks to Shawn and company at D&R Traditional Builders - the studio was finished in time - Tim got himself out of the camper - and there was a place for them all
to sleep!! Yay!! So now, - the studio is done, my kitchen is finished (except for the stuff that I haven't decided what I want done yet!), and the garden is growing! Rod and S'te mowed the lawn, made sure the garden was weeded, shopped for a vehicle, and stripped, textured, and painted the kitchen walls. On Saturday we had company from Powers and Myrtle Point. Aunt Nita, Uncle Jim, Susie and her Husband, and Linda all came bearing food.... Amanda and Jason brought the kids and a homemade potato salad (that was totally yummy!) and we had a great time catching up. Amanda brought me the cutest handmade invitation for Danika's 2nd birthday. These girls.. they are such great Mom's! I was really suprised that no other family or friends came - I am sure that it is their loss, I know we missed seeing them. The weather was not really wonderful... it was overcast, windy, and usual June Coos Bay weather.... but that is why we planned it for so early to start with! LOL... So we had enough food left over ~~~ that we sent a bunch of it away.

They had themselves and the 3 oldest kids packed up and were on their way to Washington by 1 pm on Sunday - and were waylaid by backlogged traffic due to an 'incident' on the bridge in Portland - so didn't make it up there until really late!

So I have the 3 youngest for a few days, or so. We are having great fun playing in the yard and taking care of the garden. Mak has been picking the ripe strawberries for me, Tetee and Mak helped to weed the garden and thin the carrots today... Tetee has been busy helping me water every day... Maybe tomorrow I will get a bit more done.

I was going to post pictures - but I can't make my 'puter behave, so you'll have to go to Flickr to see the final result on the studio.
The studio

Destini's Birthday

S'te and Amanda with their 'almost 2's"!

Really cool hand crafted invitation!!

And Naner and Jayman in my freshly painted, new cabinets, and floored kitchen!!

Live is wonderful ~ ~ you just have to be patient ~ ~

Just Waitin'

Workin' hard watching the guys :) getting the bathroom revamped so it will be really useful this summer! The old rotten bathroom next to the studio is being refurbished! I know it's been awhile.... the toilet we took out said 1947 on the lid.... Habitat for Humanity looked at it when we took it over. The took the toilet - but the sink wasn't all that great.... so it went to the dump... as well as a lot of rotten wood. I'm sure the bugs that like rotten wood will have to find new homes.... LOL

Keith is visiting his Mom in Indiana and will attend his 50th Class Reunion later today. I will miss not being there to share it with him - but April and the kids went over with him. It will be a really nice family time. Maybe I will get to go next year!

Later this week S'te and family should be dropping in for a short visit on thier way North to Washington. I am just so excited!!!!

The weather has been typical Coos Bay, cloudy and misty in the morning but sunny and really warm in the afternoon. I'll be jinxing it by saying this... but I hope it continues for awhile. The garden is going great... should be out there weeding now... but .... well.... you know how it is>>>> :-)

At 9 tonight it will have been 32 years since my precious baby girl
was added to the blessings of my life...

And I don't have the Senior Picture
or
the Navy Great Lakes Picture
or
the Brand new Mommy Picture
but I do have....

I mean 13th... (oops)

Thank you Lord

Kitchen Project Complete!

Hooray hooray!! All done - well - except for the walls (they just HAVE to wait for S'te) The table came today so I'm all done with the kitchen until later when something is figured out for the walls and ceiling. There was 4 layers of wall paper over the wall-in-a-wall and painted paneling over that!! We took 2 loads to the dump!! But it's done and it's beautiful - even if I do say so myself!!

Lookee Lookee!!!
From this

to this!!

And it all got done before the Elmore's come to visit in 2 weeks! And Keith will be getting here just before they come - so I'll have my blessings all in a row! I'm so happy!! Just wonderful. I'll be so glad to see him - it seems like forever since I left him in San Diego and came up here to get things ready for the family visit. And he is traveling to 2 more states before he comes back to me. But he will be here soon!