Some wild mustard and, if you look closely, The Dude – both of them sporting the color yellow. This wild plant (some would say ‘weed,’ though here at the cottage it is anything but a weed) is one of the early splashes of color in the spring.
What a day yesterday! We wanted to save money on our cable package and we wanted to finally eliminate our landline, so we called our cable provider (Spectrum, formerly Time Warner Cable) and, I’m not kidding you, four hours later we were ready to scream. I won’t go into it, but it took three different calls (with me still in my pajamas) to get it sorted out. We had a package that was grandfathered in from Time Warner (cable, phone & internet) but no one told us that we couldn’t go back to it if we wanted to. The truth is, we do watch some things on cable – including baseball and TCM – but not a lot, so we were searching for something smaller that involved less of a monthly outlay. We came up with something called Customer Choice, but it turned out that it didn’t include SNY, the local station that airs the Mets games, even though the rep had been pretty sure it would be part of our local coverage. After hanging up, we checked to see if the stations we’d picked were there but four of them weren’t and four stations we didn’t ask for were, which necessitated another call. After endless amounts of time on the second call, we chose another package and were assured that everything we wanted was there. We hung up the phone, turned on the set and…TCM wasn’t there. Another call only to learn that we have to add another package to get TCM. (TCM is our favorite channel, by the way, and my sanity demands it.) Anyway, we started off saving $50/month and now we’re saving about half of that.
We wish we’d never changed our package. It was a giant pain in the ass from start to finish.
To exorcise our demons, we went outside and mowed almost every bit of grass on the property, save the lilac side of the lawn.
At the very least, the property looks great.
I know there are people who don’t have cable, but we’re not quite ready to eliminate it. We like the NBC evening news which is incomprehensible to a younger person, but hey, we’re senior citizens. We like PBS. Maybe something like Roku is in our future, but that involves some research and we have an older ‘smart’ tv, so I don’t know how well it would work.
Things I need for my sanity: TCM and baseball and Jeopardy and old episodes of Seinfeld.
That’s not asking much, right? But cable companies put together packages that are guaranteed to include some of the the things you want but not all the things you want. And there’s no way we need hundreds of channels. The whole thing makes me crazy. I’d like to cut that cord eventually, but my brain can only take so much and those calls fried it.
I’m nearly finished with A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz. Delightful and so well written. Then I have to make a decision: do I attempt to start the Elizabeth George which is SO LONG, or do I return the library books and start another book from my TBR pile?
Thanks for all the links yesterday. I’m not going to order the book from eBay, as many of the listings use a stock photograph and I have no guarantee that it will be the cover I want. And I’m not interested in a used copy. I’ll figure it out. I’m determined, remember?
Today is ‘take it easy day’ after our mowing extravaganza yesterday. One good thing that came out of it besides a beautiful lawn is the realization that we’re getting much fitter. It takes a while to be in good mowing shape and I think we are now.
Saw a hummingbird this morning. Saw the groundhog dining on some grass yesterday.
Stay safe.
Happy Tuesday.
It can be a pain…each time I move I live on these calls…for the last four years I have had Netflix and Hulu. Both for about 15 a month and no ads…
I have roku free on tv also…if a show is on like Bluebloods watch next day on iPad cbs…I am not a tv watcher exc Bluebloods and This is Us…Hulu has tons of old shows…Netflix movies…I am less stressed avoiding news and brought BP down…this is just for me…not others of course…in Indy my tiny antenna worked to get basic channels…I couldn’t stand the commercials…lol…have to say I only have Wi-Fi and loved A. t and T in Indy…Frontier here…welll…
We hate the commercials, too. Especially the Pharmaceutical commercials which are illegal everywhere but here in this country. I mute them.
We have Netflix and Amazon Prime, and frankly, that’s what we watch the most.
Stay safe, Brenda.
I forgot to add that when calling to change addresses and insurances they talk down sometimes because of my elderly status as if I am not smart. Especially when changing car insurance and or medical insurance addresses. I guess it is age but to be frank they have done it for years lol
Enjoy your books and your painting which I hope you are doing
Oh I know! I’ve had that happen, too. xo
A call to spectrum can send me screaming and I get the urge to punch something.
A little FYI,if your TV has a HDMI port you’re good to go with a fire stick or Roku.
Also,there should be apps built into your TV that are accessible as long as you have WIFI.
Good luck,enjoy your rest day and if you need to call the cable company from hell,deep breath,a couple of Xanax or a few shots,LOL
Yes we have Netflix and Amazon Prime built in and that’s how we watch them, but our tv is older and that’s about all that’s built in, except YouTube.
Thanks, Pat.
Stay safe.
I totally understand your outrage with your cable company. I have experienced the same issues with Comcast. I became a “cord cutter” six years ago, cancelled my cable TV service, and have no plans on going back. I purchased a modem and router for my internet service, (had to be on the Comcast approved list 🙄), so that I could cut out those monthly fees as well. Initially I used Roku devices for my streaming service. However, one of the Roku boxes was hot all the time. I did some research and found out it was an inherent issue with certain models at that time. I don’t know if the overheating issue was resolved in newer models because I switched to Amazon Fire TV sticks and haven’t had any issues with those. I like the freedom of not having a contract for TV service, and the ability to put a streaming service on hold or cancel it. Many people do this to save money, particularly those who subscribe to streaming sports. . When the season is over, i.e., baseball, football, etc., they cancel and pick it up again when the new season starts. I’ve had Sling TV for the last six years and just recently put it on hold for three months so I wouldn’t have that fee while I check out some of the other TV apps I’m interested in trying. As Pat mentioned, if your TV has an HDMI port you can use any of the streaming devices and download whatever TV apps interest you.
Thanks so much, Denise! I appreciate your take on this matter.
Stay safe.
I feel for you. Cable is the price of a car payment now. On my to-do list at some point…figure out how to cut the cable cord and still get the few channels we need along with our Prime/Britbox/Netflix. It’s daunting. We gave up TCM to lower our cable bill and I really miss it. They sneak it in with some ridiculous package of channels that are nothing like it so you are stuck. Regarding the book posts yesterday-I was a big Norah Lofts fan and still am. She was popular around the Mary Stewart/Victoria Holt period. Any other Norah fans?
I remember Nora Lofts! I read a few of her books, I think. Wonderful writer.
Thanks, Louise!
Stay safe.
We switched to streaming only with Roku a few years ago. We have more content for less money. We use Hulu live mostly which gives us access to all our usual local channels. We also have Netflix, PBS, and HBO. Roku has alot of free programs as well. We also dropped our landline and switched our cell phones to our wifi provider (Xfinity) for a savings too. We use a Roku stick..just plug it into an HDMI port on your tv. Look on the back, you most likely have one.
Roku was quite easy to set up. If I can do it anyone can. One thing you need is good reliable wifi to stream. Change is hard and it took us alot of time and research before we were ready to try it.
We’re happy we did.
Take care
Thanks so much for the info, Marilyn.
Stay safe.
Yes,we are trying to save wherever we can. I don’t know how families do it today.
Grocery shopping alone is so expensive. I am thankful my husband has a pension because I know in this day and age many do not, but we found out what our increase will be and I thought this cannot be correct. We do the best we can. Our home is paid so we thank God every day.
I wish our home was paid for. I dream of unexpectedly coming into a big old chunk of money and paying it off!
Stay safe, Linda.
I feel your pain! Only my hours were spent with Medicare, blue cross, and the local bank (which I suspect is run by animals).
My husband is the techie in the house and we had roku for years but recently switched to (a) fire stick which he claimed was so much better than roku. My tv is pretty old and the firestick works fine. It also seems a bit easier to use. Just throwing that info in as you do your research. I can’t give reasons as I haven’t a clue how these things work.
Good luck, Claudia!
What do you have on your firestick, Suzanne? Just curious.
Stay safe.
In 2021 we finally bought a moderate sized smart TV and got rid of cable! We only use the cable for our internet. We checked out Roku and Firestick and we’re advised we did not need them. We find almost everything we watch on you-tube. NY news is on there, since they do North Jersey weather we watch it every day. We subscribe to Netflix and BritBox as well. And we’ve been very happy. And we are saving a good chunk of money! Service Electric Cable had just become way too expensive for what we got out of it. For what it’s worth, that’s what we did.
Thanks so much, Judy. That’s helpful.
Stay safe.
nope; you’re not asking for too much!
hope you soon and quickly get all those things.
and that no one ever has to hear again “your call is very important to us” during a long rotation of messages while on hold. or, worse, gets the automatic hang-up after being on hold too long according to whatever company is being called. :l
also hope you can find the book you want with the cover you want.
glad you are taking it easy after all the mowing and frustration.
today is my second day of retirement. feels like my second day of a long-needed vacation. getting some chores done here and i am glad about that. now waiting for landlord to install the air conditioner in a living room window … good timing because it reached 91 yesterday and is supposed to be similarly hot all week (too soon and unpleasant for me anytime).
received lots of treats and flowers on my last day of work. gave the candy to my father, the hanging basket of flowers to my brother and enjoying other flowers here. went for a nice ride with some members of my family on saturday. we went to the biggest lake around here and i found (took … sorry) a couple of big heart-shaped rocks. gave one to my sister and put the other one in a place where i will see it often each day. as i get older, i feel more and more appreciation of and the need for nature. :)
hope everyone is having a good day. stay safe!
kathy
…kathy … !!! … so happy for you in your retirement now; life will only get better as you’re already seeing … congratulations … !!!
thanks, vicki!
i am off to a good start (except for eating a lot of brownies … ha not ha) these past two days … more time with members of my family, sorting through papers (shredding a lot of them), running errands at off-peak hours and not when i am exhausted …
yesterday i had an unwanted “conversation” with my thankfully-now-former boss who had harrassed, threatened and terrorized me. she again got within six inches of me and yelled a lot, tried to bully me … even with witnesses present and even after (and probably because of) knowing i had reported her … … hence the brownies. :l
anyway, i am very happy to be at this point and can see good things ahead.
that is what i wish and pray for you all, too … good things. like what you said about getting your home renovation done, saving money by being able to empty out a storage unit, happiness, good health, safety …
how are you? and the pup? hope well and happy.
thanks again.
xo,
kathy
Kathy, so pleased to know that you’ve finally retired! Enjoy a well earned rest, you certainly deserve it.
thanks very much, dee dee! :)
at times retirement felt impossible, so far away … and it still feels more like a dream, like “oh, i’m on vacation this week” … not yet real, but will get there … happily! i was a social worker for close to forty years and feel good about that, but am extremely glad and grateful to have more time with my family, to work on some personal goals (writing children’s books, for example) and relaxing.
how are you? hope well, happy and safe. what are you doing for fun?
thanks again.
kathy
kathy, I thought of you on Friday!! So glad you have joined our “ranks”! It took me a couple of months to realize I was retired, and not just on vacation. I kept thinking of things that were “due” on certain dates, and breathed large sighs of relief when I realized it was truly retirement!!!! You have a wonderful attitude and will love filling your days with things YOU want to do when you want to do them. It really is a time of discovery, because for so long we do for others the majority of every day. Now your days and your time belong to you and it is time to do things for YOU, ENJOY!! 🖤
thanks so much, chris! :)
other than a very stressful interaction yesterday with the worst boss i ever had (mentioned above in my reply to vicki), it’s going well … getting some stuff done for me these past two mornings (instead of 10:00 at night or later when exhausted), spending time with members of my family and with less worry about that stupid awful covid for me being around far fewer people … good!
as you experienced, it’s not yet sunk in for me about being retired. it does feel like i’m on vacation … good … but better for knowing i don’t have to go to work.
i have pretty simple plans for retirement … spending time with my family always. also, as soon as possible getting my files martha-stewart-level organized. going for walks. knitting, painting, reading. working more on some ideas for children’s books. someday traveling (would love to meet you all in person). and while i am not at all wishing for winter, i like knowing i will be able to stay home, sit by a window and watch it snow. :)
how are you and your family? hope you are all well, happy and staying safe.
thanks again, chris!
xo,
kathy
Happy Retirement!! Glad to have you as a member of the club! ;)
thanks very much, donnamae! :)
still feeling a bit unreal … like a vacation and that next week i’ll have to go back to work … but i think that’s to be expected after working so long (i was a social worker for forty years). while i don’t want to wish away time, i am glad and grateful for now having more time to do things i want, especially spending time with my family. this is a good club, for sure! :)
how are you and your family? hope you all are well, safe and enjoying each day.
thanks again.
xo,
kathy
So happy for you, my friend! It was a long time coming so just soak it all in and enjoy.
Stay safe, Kathy.
agree and will do!
thanks, claudia!
xo,
kathy
xo
I feel your pain trying to change deals over the phone. I recently tried to change to a better/cheaper deal for my landline/broadband with my provider British Telecom and I was in my mind having some new super duper equipment installed by their engineer. I had numerous telephone/email appointments reminding me of the appointment time. An hour before they were due, I had a call from a very pleasant young man saying he was on his way and what exactly did I want to discuss? I said aren’t you coming to upgrade my current equipment. No, he was a ‘sales technician’ who would measure my broadband speed and discuss more suitable (expensive) options
I decided it was just easier to stay with my current package. Sigh.
Just going back to the Mary Stewart books, if you look at the publication date, usually on the back of the title page, were both editions published in 2011?
Happy Tuesday
Sigh, indeed. I feel for you, Dee Dee.
I checked on the Mary Stewart series. The ones with the covers I like were issued in 2017.
Hope this helps!
Stay safe, Dee Dee.
I never watch tv, which saves me a lot of trouble and money. :-)
Good luck!
Couldn’t get by without it as we work in the entertainment industry.
Stay safe, Regula.
You sound like my mother! She didn’t even have a TV until we gave her one of ours a couple of years ago. She has watched ONE movie on it, lol. I take after her a little bit in that I rarely watch TV. I watch Jeopardy most every day, but that’s about it unless a movie once in a blue moon or if I get hooked on a good series, which hasn’t been since Schitt’s Creek over a year ago.
Wow do I understand your frustration. I’ve just been all thru this, back in early February. We had to go to that fiber optic thing; don’t even ask me the details; my husband got into the whole thing, not me (our entire neighborhood has been ‘converted’; we had the slowest internet on the planet; they said we were end of the line with limited service; and, yes, the switchover has definitely helped).
And other discussions ensued about how to reduce the cost of cable/satellite otherwise — I still don’t really understand if these two things are connected, but they seemed to be at the time — which resulted in a basic package where I can’t even get The Weather Channel now although I still get TCM and PBS (exactly, couldn’t be without them!). With no premium channels, it’s a pretty sparse channel lineup, but I have a lot of commercial-free movies recorded from when I occasionally get a ‘free’ weekend offered by HBO, Cinemax, etc thru the satellite dish.
I am a dinosaur by choice; it’s essential to me to keep things simpler; and my husband is mostly uninterested in television. We don’t stream; we don’t have Hulu, Netflix or any of that stuff and, while I know I miss out on a lot of good viewing with some great acting and new shows, it’s just the way it is around here; where, incidentally, I still have a landline as much as you can still call it that in view of this fiber-optic stuff.
With the extremely-high/crazy cost of living — for us, that’s the price of groceries right now, as well as the price of gasoline for the cars, and forget even going to get a sandwich at a drive-up window/fast-food place when out & about, because their ‘restaurant’ prices have skyrocketed with the escalating price of food — we may need to look at things again soon and see where else we can cut the budget, and I’m afraid it will probably be the aforesaid landline and also my family’s long-long-LONGtime mow&blow guy who is himself aging although I know he needs the landscape-service money, and I can’t rely on my own aging husband to do THIS much amount of yardwork on his own.
Sigh; it’s all a dilemma. It’s just costing too much to live in a normal way. Impossible to get ahead. I might have mentioned it already, but my storage rent on our offsite unit went up another $40 per month as of June 1. (I need to look at the notice again to be exactly sure on the amount; I was so disgusted, I pitched the paper across the room and have never looked at it again; they’ve got you over a barrel; they know a lot of people can’t quickly empty their storage units just to avoid a rental increase.) Last year, same thing; the company seems to like the figure of an annual $40 hike each year. But this is completely an expense we could eradicate if we could just get to the stuff inside the unit which needs to get purged or come back in the house.
So, we’re speeding up the home improvements this summer; about to order a small POD (another expense) for the driveway; most of the big furniture will go in it to create space inside the house to work and further declutter/downsize. The house is too crowded to efficiently work and sort. (You know how they do that in the various shows on TV about this sort of thing; the only way to work room by room is that you have to completely EMPTY the room first, then assess what needs to be done in terms of paint or whatever, maybe put up some shelves or replace a window; then carefully reload the room with what you decide to keep [and keep it light!].)
So, that’s my summer ahead, because I don’t want to pay for that POD rent any longer than I have to, depending on how much work my husband can get done on this old house; the aim of course being to then bring stuff out of the offsite unit, in steady increments, so that we can empty the unit and be done with the $250/month rent for good. What a waste of money, when so much inside the unit is sentimental but of no monetary value. I look back on it and wonder how this ever happened, to get ourselves to this point, but we moved a lot, I inherited a lot, I didn’t get rid of enough. Can’t look back; just instead plow forward and try to make it better. Thing is, it’s getting harder and harder to do at our age and with compromised health. Strength, endurance; fatigue level. It’s a lot of physical work and also a mental drain. I think people really do need to think about downsizing when they’re more in their 50s than later. Don’t be like my husband and me, who’ve waited a bit too late.
We’re definitely going to downsize even more – maybe later in the summer when I don’t have to do so much outside.
Stay safe, Vicki.
Claudia…..where do you get the energy to mow and weed and plant? I wouldn’t be able to do anything other than throw myself into bed at the end of the day let alone read or watch tv. Seriously….what gives you so much pep? I am sure there are others on this blog who are wondering also.
In admiration.
I echo Maria; her comment. I stand in awe. I don’t know how you do all that work outside, Claudia; it’s a lot. You’re not doing a lot of daily exercises for aerobics, right? You’re not walking regularly, like every day, true? Not lifting small weights or that sort of thing, for your bones, for strength. I’m sure your diet is a big help because it prevents weight gain and is healthy (vegetarian). But, yes, where do you alternatively get your vitality? It’s amazing! I can’t imagine, even if I had better health than I do, how stiff and sore and exhausted I’d be if I did all the physical tasks you do. Pep; that’s a good word. It’s harder to have pep when facing the 70s age group but you and Don seem to have the fountain of youth. Of course with gardening, since it’s such a great love of yours and you’ve got such a green thumb, you’ve got incentive and want the beautiful results, so you’re motivated! But I just don’t ‘get’ how you stay so physically flexible and strong for all that bending, stretching, lifting at your older age (older than when you first moved into the cottage). To me, it’s like a miracle! I’m in admiration, too — of how you just determinedly set about what you want or need to do, as in nothing will stop you; you’re always purposeful, no lazy brain, no excuses and just so completely ‘keep calm and carry on’! Would love to hear your own take on it. I know your back gets to you, but you seem to heal well and I know you’re mindful of it. But if you have health issues, they’re not otherwise apparent and even if you do, you’ve found a way to not let them get you down. I don’t see you as a moper. What’s the secret, Claudia?!
I wrote about this on today’s post, Vicki. I hope it answers some of this. And let’s be clear, I am often VERY sore at the end of the day. It isn’t always easy.
xo
I wrote about that on today’s post, Maria. Thanks so much for your kind thoughts.
Stay safe.
I have a feeling I’ll be having that same conversation next month with Comcast. I plan to cut the cable wire mid-June, before I leave for the lake. But keep the internet. My bill for internet and cable (with no premium services via the cable) is $239/mo. I have a roku stick, but you need the smart tv for that (google smart tv prices — they aren’t as bad as I thought, depending on the size). I share someone’s netflix pw for now — that may go away as they revamp their services and Acorn for brit stuff (6.99/mo). I suspect when I cut the cord, I will add Amazon Prime and Hulu live (which will give me the locals). Kanopy is free movies, docs and tons of stuff — more than I’d watch in a lifetime — if you have a library card (you can set up an account online with your computer). I am thinking of adding Britbox and possibly Apple TV+ because I like what they offer. A friend did an HBO Max trial for a month and shared the PW with me. I was surprised that HBO has a hub to TCM and you can watch a ton of things from their library through that. I figured I could allow myself to add maybe four streaming services and still be cheaper than cable. (Of course, when I do that, the internet will probably go up. Pirates, all of them!)
And I’m with Maria and Vicki on your energy. And your back, though I know that’s a “sore” subject. I can’t do that planting on the knees thing anymore or other movements that kick the back arthritis into gear. I say “well done.”
It’s a real challenge. Because even if you cut the cable cord, the cost of streaming services can add up. It’s tricky, isn’t it?
I have to do some seed sowing today or tomorrow. I’ll be using a foam knee pad because it isn’t easy for me, either!
Stay safe, Jeanie.
Aaauuugggggg … the cable company!!😑 Your experience sounds all too familiar! Makes me feel ill just saying “the cable company”!! I consistently watch only three stations … but, OF COURSE, they are in a higher tier than “basic cable”. I’ve wasted HOURS of my life with them, but I live in a complex that allows TV access through cable only. I’m sure I could do some sort of “streaming ” … but the only time I really think about that is when my brain is already FRIED from being on the phone with the cable company!!😤
I love Seinfeld … that show never gets old to me🙂
It’s like they deliberately put certain channels in different tiers. It makes me crazy!
I understand.
Stay safe, Debbie.
Spectrum…grrrr. I make my husband deal with them….for my sanity. I thought we got TCM when we got a cheaper package of channels…I was wrong. I miss that channel. Still trying to navigate the whole cable vs streaming options. To me, it is a nightmare.
I wish you luck! ;)
It IS a nightmare! At least I’ve got company in this horror show!
Stay safe, Donnamae.
thanks very much, donnamae! :)
still feeling a bit unreal … like a vacation and that next week i’ll have to go back to work … but i think that’s to be expected after working so long (i was a social worker for a few months short of forty years). while i don’t want to wish away time, i am glad and grateful for now having more time to do things i want, especially spending time with my family. this is a good club, for sure! :)
how are you and your family? hope you all are well, safe and enjoying each day.
thanks again.
xo,
kathy
We cut our cable years ago, but it actually ended up being cheaper to keep basic cable with our internet (same company – AT&T). So we only have one cable box – on our bedroom TV. That’s where I watch Jeopardy most every day. That’s really about all we use it for. We don’t watch the news. Otherwise, we have Netflix, Hulu and Sling. Even with all three of those streaming programs, it’s much less than what we were paying for cable. We’re not big TV people, but with these three streaming programs, we could basically watch just about anything.
FYI, Peacock is a free streaming app where you can watch a lot of different programs and movies.
We have Netflix and Amazon Prime. Yes, I have Peacock on my laptop, though I never really use it.
Stay safe, Melanie!