All of the potted impatiens that I brought in from the porch are still thriving. I think there are about eight pots scattered around the house. Most of them are tucked in corners of the living room, den and bedroom – usually on the floor because I don’t have anywhere else to put them.

They’re doing surprisingly well!

I’m glad I didn’t let them succumb to the freezing temperatures.

It’s really hard, almost impossible, for me to deliberately leave a potted plant outside when I know a hard freeze is on the way. So, for a while, I shuttle them back and forth, day and night, until the moment that I know that daytime temperatures are going to stay cold.

Then they move inside.

I’d like to have an extra room or two. Oh, who am I kidding? Or three or four. One of them would be a room for the plants, with big windows and lots of light. I’d keep it on the cool side and I’d be able to stash all my outdoor plants there for the winter. They’d thrive. I’d put a big old comfy chair in there, where I would sit and read, surrounded by flowers.

Oh, and I’d like a greenhouse.

Is that asking too much?

Yesterday’s ‘adventure’: I spent over 2 ½ hours on the phone trying to reach someone at what will be my former health insurance company at the end of the day today. This company automatically changed my old policy, which had been canceled due to the ACA, and sent me a bill for a much more costly policy. All I wanted to do was cancel it.

Every time I tried, the robotic ‘menu’ would not give me an option to speak with someone about canceling my policy. There were all sorts of other options, some of which I tried but took me to a dead end. I would finally get a hold of a human being only to be told I needed to call another number, which would then take me to another dead end. This went on and on and on. Of course, I tried pressing O several times. That didn’t work. Finally, after 2+ hours of this nonsense, I reached a supervisor who said she would try to transfer me. I begged her not to connect me to the main number but to a person. She put me on hold and after a while, returned to say that she finally got through but got a message that Member Services had closed for the day.

Unbelievably frustrating. She did give me a tip or two as to how to dodge all the ‘options’ and get through to a person. I’ll be trying that in a few minutes. Wish me luck.

Is it too much to simply want to be connected to a person? Why do we have to hear a robotic voice endlessly loop through all the menu options? Surely it doesn’t require a Ph.D. to realize there should be an option to speak with someone in Customer Service?

This is the kind of thing that drives people crazy, including yours truly.

Have a safe and wonderful New Year’s Eve. We’re not big on celebrating or watching the ball drop. We plan on staying home. And I can pretty safely bet that we’ll be asleep before midnight.

Happy Tuesday