I is for Identify Theft - A-Z Writing Challenge

I is for  Identity Theft in the 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge.

I think Identify Theft deserves some more complaining, since I'm still angry about it.

Has it happened to you? Have you had your identity stolen and found that the low-life emptied out your bank account? It happened to me, recently, and it's not fun -- not fun, at all.  Oh, the timing was perfect. I had just made a big deposit and, within 24 hours, it was all gone.  Of course, I didn't know that until out shopping the next day and had my card declined. Declined! It was embarrassing. I had to put the cart aside, full of carefully chosen purchases.  But, they did say they would hold my cart until I returned.

Shot over to the bank, just a minute or two away, and, within minutes, found out that I had just bought some surfing equipment (well, it is almost summer!), $200+ worth of smoking paraphernalia (what could that be?), some hunting equipment, and clothes at Macy's.  All done online. Leaving me more than $1000 in the hole. Grrrrrrr.


Thankfully, the bank said because I reported everything so fast, they'll be able to fix my account so that the monies are returned and any NSF charges are reversed -- but, it wasn't funny. Hit my savings and headed back to the store.  This is all well and good, considering it was a debit card. But, the thing that bothers me the most is that my debit card can also be used as a credit card. Credit card holders are protected after the first $50 has been taken from their accounts. Apparently, that's not the case for debit card holders, even though they can also be used as credit cards.

I don't want a credit card. I don't like them. Why should I be penalized for paying everything at time of purchase? (I mean, I wasn't but it's only because I reported it, in time for them to cancel the purchases.) When I bought my house back in 1990, they said I was having a problem because I had a credit card and that was considered 'risky'! Well, after getting the house, I finally got rid of the credit card. Whoopee! Then, I was ready to buy the house I'm in, now, and I was told I was a risk because I DIDN'T have a credit card! What?!?!?!? Apparently, banks think people who owe large amounts of money are more reliable than people who pay their bills and don't carry revolving credit. It's a world gone mad -- but, no madder than I am, at the moment.

I've thought about dusting off my cauldron and whipping up a good curse recipe from the old days, and then decided that would bring even more bad karma into the world, so I just let the jerks get off with a verbal cursing of,  "May you end up living in your mother-in-law's house!"




For those of you who have just happened upon this page, I'm Entry #424 in a group of 1682 participants in this 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge! Do yourself a favor and check out a group of fantastic bloggers. You're bound to find someone you might like to follow. Don't forget to leave some loving comments and spread the word. It could even inspire you to think about joining next year's Challenge, yourself!

H is for Hares and the Easter Rat A-Z Writing Challenge

H is for Hares and the Easter Rat in the 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge.

It's probably because it's the day after the holiday, but I just couldn't help thinking about the Easter Bunny.  Then, I made the mistake of letting my mind just go with the flow and began to wonder why we picked a rodent to bring our children their Easter goodies.

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Easter Rat at rest after busy holiday

I wonder how many children would look forward to Easter morning, if they knew that their beautiful basket had been brought by a giant rat! Yep, that's what that little adorable bunny really is, a member of the rat family. I don't mind the chisel-like teeth, but I must confess that I have a problem with their eating their own feces to extract more nutrients from their plant diet. Did you know this? I mean, I'm not that fond of my own leftovers, but... Will we ever look at Bugs Bunny the same? I'm just throwing this out to you. Trying hard not to split hairs, here, but, maybe we need a new Easter benefactor? Or, shall this be our little secret?


For those of you who have just happened upon this page, I'm Entry #408 in a group of 1682 participants in this 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge! Do yourself a favor and check out a group of fantastic bloggers. You're bound to find someone you might like to follow. Don't forget to leave some loving comments and spread the word. It could even inspire you to think about joining next year's Challenge, yourself!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone!

Here's some of this  year's pysanki orders heading out to new homes.

I've been doing this craft for more than forty years and still enjoy it. They used to be given to friends and family with the egg inside. The recipient put theirs in a safe place, away from high heat, and would let it dry out until there was just a little ball inside. Today, because we now take orders and ship the pysanki all over the world, the eggs are blown and fancy hangers etc. are added. I have mixed emotions about this; but, it is a way for more people to enjoy and share a wonderful craft that dates back to 900 B.C. Why don't you check it out and see if this doesn't interest you. It's a great way for the family to get together and share, sort of like the old quilting bees!

G is for 'Feed Me' Gardening - A-Z Writing Challenge

G is for 'Feed Me' Gardening  in the 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge.

I love gardening -- so long as my gardens feed me. Oh, I don't mean my soul. Just watching plants grow is spiritually fulfilling, to me. I mean plants that give you enough food and herbs that allow you to enjoy their bounty in season and still have enough to put by to carry you through to the next year. Our winter was so mild, everything came in early, so I hope our current temperature drop doesn't freeze the smallest plants during its two-day visit.

Above is my mini-orchard, planted five years ago in lasagna garden beds prepared the year before. See how I did it, without shovels or back-breaking work, here. This type of garden is perfect for anyone with rocky soil and can be done in a half hour. I even used the method to top off my 6' x 20' container garden that initially started out as a modified French Intensive garden, so it's a combination now.  In five years, the soil had settled to almost twelve inches below the top, so it needed refurbishing -- and, a new coat of paint!

The system works great in planters, too! Morning watering is done with a stroll and a cup of coffee in hand.  And, that's pretty much all that's needed until harvest time. Gives me plenty of time for everything else in my life -- especially, writing.

Ornamental gardens? I do them to make my house look nice but my main love is the vegetables and herbs that feed my family. How about you? Do you have a summer garden? What type of gardening do you prefer?

For those of you who have just happened upon this page, I'm Entry #424 in a group of 1682 participants in this 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge! Do yourself a favor and check out a group of fantastic bloggers. You're bound to find someone you might like to follow. Don't forget to leave some loving comments and spread the word. It could even inspire you to think about joining next year's Challenge, yourself!

F is for FB in the A-Z Writing Challenge

F is for Facebook in the 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge.

No picture, today.

I'm almost afraid to ask whether or not you are on Facebook. What I do know is that I'm beginning to feel as though Facebook is a stalker – or, what I consider stalking. I know that it has become primarily a tool for advertisers but FB's current behavior would not be tolerated in the real world. If representatives from Walmart, Saks Fifth Avenue, your local farmers market, any store, aggressively followed your every step, you could bring stalking charges against them.

And, yet, we have allowed this invasive website to shadow our every move, so that our "friends" will know where we are, what we do, where we've been, and what we like -- steps, that, in real life, we don't necessarily share with our most intimate friends. Something is drastically wrong, here. Am I the only one that is getting disturbed to find that FB is on almost every site you visit, now? And, ready to share this info with the world?

Conversely, what I enjoy the most about Facebook is that I can keep up with my family and friends scattered around the world. Unfortunately, to enjoy that closeness, we have to include them as "friends" and expand to add associates, only to discover that Facebook then allows their close friends and associates to "friend" us. It isn't long before we discover we don't know half the people on our Friend List. This has created a most irritating problem of unknown "friends" who want to Instant Chat with me, who then become abusive when I won't. One 'friend' was so breathtakingly persistent, even after I specifically asked them to leave me alone, that I became afraid to go online. I still can't figure out how to get rid this person off my list.

I know that we can opt out of who we want to see our postings, but I don't think that that should be the standard. I think we should be given the option of opting in to new apps and not have to worry about where our personal information is being shared, if we are not computer savvy enough, in the first place. And, with Facebook constantly changing its layout, this becomes a job, in itself. I love playing the games with my family members and close friends. It's as close to family gatherings as we can get. But, I wouldn't ask them to pay as they advanced, and I don't like think we should have to on FB. Games should be free, since they so freely share out information with advertisers. Let those advertisers support the games, entirely.

What used to be fun has become tiresome. Almost all the games now want you to buy more coins/tokens to continue playing or invite your friends to "help" you advance to a new level. Frankly, I don't want to irritate my friends by asking them to have to join the app and share their personal information, just to give me some help. This allows even more people I don't know access to my profile and how I spent my day. You earn coins as you play the games, but you can't spend them, so what's the point in that? – you have to buy more coins to play. Grrrr.

Am I being petty? Do you like the direction Facebook is heading? Do you find it invasive? Am I too old-fashioned?

For those of you who have just happened upon this page, I'm Entry #424 in a group of 1682 participants in this 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge! Do yourself a favor and check out a group of fantastic bloggers. You're bound to find someone you might like to follow. Don't forget to leave some loving comments and spread the word. It could even inspire you to think about joining next year's Challenge, yourself!

E is for Excitement A-Z Writing Challenge

E is for Excitement in the 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge.

This will be brief. This was me twice, TWICE, this past week. The first time was when the bank informed me that my account had been hacked and I was now in the hole almost $1,000!  Excitement! Oh, yeah, heart attack exciting. Although the dirty low-down scumbag tried to spend my hard-earned money on surfing equipment, God-knows-what at the tobacco store ($282 worth!), clothing at Macy's, and, music, all online, by acting fast, the Fraud department was able to stop the processing and all monies were returned to my account.  Now, it's up to the merchants to follow through. Never realized how much I used my card. But, it was stopped immediately and a new issue is going to take at least ten days. I'm left with writing checks. Checks! I'd almost forgotten how. But, at least, there was some excitement over the weekend.

Moment two of excitement came when I had to make a call and couldn't find my Bluetooth! It wasn't in my purse, wasn't in my left pocket, wasn't in my right pocket. Where did I leave it? At the dentist? Hardware store? No. I'm getting angry, upset, EXCITED! Where the H--- did I leave it?

Okay, I said to myself, "Myself, go over the day, slowly." Nothing made sense. It was gone. Last call I took was in the store. I was beside myself. How many times do I have to check every section of my purse! It just wasn't there... Sonofab....!!!! Oh, yeah, I'm excited, now! To top it off, a bee flew in my window and sailed right by my head, so I took a swat and. . . my hand hit my Bluetooth! On my ear, ready and waiting to do service.  I guess old age means that, now, I not only have to worry about where I've left my glasses but the 21st Century has added a Bluetooth to the pot! My heart can't take this much excitement... I'm going to bed.



For those of you who have just happened upon this page, I'm Entry #424 in a group of 1682 participants in this 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge! Do yourself a favor and check out a group of fantastic bloggers. You're bound to find someone you might like to follow. Don't forget to leave some loving comments and spread the word. It could even inspire you to think about joining next year's Challenge, yourself!

D is for Destiny A-Z Writing Challenge

D is for Destiny in the 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge.

Okay, I'm the first to admit that this challenge has placed me in a very strange mood; but, I'm just going to go with the flow and let it happen. (See what not getting your ducks in a row does!)

Were you predestined for the life you're leading today? (And, this posting is not about religious predestination) Remember when young people were raised up in the family trade and expected to carry that business into their generation? There are still some families, today, leaving each child the beginnings of future stability. What the child does with it, is their own business -- but, they've been given a head start. Then, again, as we know from history, this doesn't always work out. The old arc of rich-privileged-poor, keeps repeating and the gilded future goes to a different family.

But, are we really in control of our future? Most folks will tell you their employment has almost nothing to do with their major in college. Of course, that doesn't really matter, unless your current job is doctor and your major was liberal arts and social media. I mean, I'd be a little nervous turning my appendix over to you -- but, what a YouTube op; eh? I digress...

So many gurus tell our young that, "... you are the Master of your fate...," but, that's not really true.  It doesn't work -- except, for the very few. Why? Because we are not that much in charge of our lives and, unless helped from the outside, we end up living a life that has been conditioned by someone else's thinking. If you're firing on all cylinders and have been given the education, can find the job, know the right people, there's a pretty good possibility it will happen for you; if not, the road to your dream can be pretty rocky.

The problem is, we don't stop getting older while waiting for the resources, the breaks, or, the jobs. Some people are able to pick up after an early retirement by going to college or trade school and have a second career finally doing what they enjoy. For others, life, time, and illness, have closed that door. There is a season for all things and, when putting off some dreams, we have to compromise. And, sometimes, dreams need just a little alteration to create the same success in a smaller pond.

I think it's cruel to set a child up for a lifetime of feeling they aren't a success because they weren't able to visualize their future strong enough to make it come true. If you can pay your bills, take care of your obligations, have extra money to feed your soul and give back to your community, you're a flag-waving success. In my opinion, that's a chest-thumping goal.

What do you think? What were your dreams? Who decided your destiny? You? Your family? What are your plans for making them come true? Do you have a new plan?


For those of you who have just happened upon this page, I'm Entry #424 in a group of 1682 participants in this 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge! Do yourself a favor and check out a group of fantastic bloggers. You're bound to find someone you might like to follow. Don't forget to leave some loving comments and spread the word. It could even inspire you to think about joining next year's Challenge, yourself!