Ketchup

So much has happened since last we spoke. We are currently residing in our new home, with a brand new heater, thanks to the swift action of USAA bank and Lemmon Heating and Air. And I didn’t have to be in the state for it to happen. Turns out that with nothing more than a phone call, and the correct answer to some very personal questions, you too can be the recipient of a loan, whose disbursement check is being sent to a neighbor near you! Thankfully, the whole transaction was on the up and up. The check was FedEx-ed to the wonderful neighbors two doors down, properly deposited in the appropriate account, and the heating and air guy accepted PayPal payments. Couldn’t get more convenient, if it tried.
But, alas, Paypal was looking out for the interest of its valued customer, and thought that my account had been accessed by a third party, and held the payment for a few days, until I got savvy and checked on the payment. It seems that after spending less than a hundred bucks per transaction over the course of the years, and suddenly making a payment of thousands of dollars from another state and a different ISP address sends up red flags. Who knew? But I was able to convince the nice lady that although I had made a transaction that big from another state, and I wasn’t the actual person on the account, and, by the way, you can’t call the confirmed telephone number on the account, because it’s changed, and, while I’m at it, let’s change the address on the account, too, that it was a legitimate payment, and please release the funds so the nice man who did me a huge favor can get paid, thankyouverymuch! She actually believed me, so I didn’t have to tell poor Mr. Lemmon that the mean, mean people at PayPal were withholding payment, not me. [Sigh of relief]

After spending the past two weeks moving the rest of our belongings to our new place, the kids and I finally got around to putting up the tree. I have a method of doing it that works for me. I put on rows of branches, winding white lights as we go, (no pre-lit tree for me) and then we decorate, leaving the angel for Shawn to put on when he gets home from work. Before I put on a string of lights, I test it, and periodically throughout the building of the tree, I test them all again. This way I don’t get finished and find that I have to do the lights again. I did the same thing this time, but after we came back from eating dinner, the whole top strand was out. At this point, I’m not sure if I’ll get around to re-stringing it. Okay, my Dad’s coming down the weekend after Christmas, so I probably will, but not today.
**Update** Shawn reached into the tree and jiggled the cord where the top string of lights connected to the one below it, found it loose, and secured it, turning them on, and saving me a hassle.
My hero!
[sigh]

I spent some quality time today at the mall with my niece, which was nice. We had a ball. She is crazy, and one of the only two teen-agers I enjoy spending time with. She’s a lot like her mother, which means I get her. Other kids, like my own, notsomuch. We did some shopping, some cracking jokes, she’s kick-butt at narrating for people in situations. Of course, it’s all for our entertainment. Nothing mean or ugly, and they can’t hear her. Like when I graciously let someone have my parking spot, and the lady left in a snit after she thought I was trying to steal her my space, B. thanked me kindly that I was so thoughtful and generous. Or in a store when someone’s shopping basket filled the entire aisle, and I had to ask her to excuse me, so I could pass, B. said, ‘I’ll be happy to move out of the way and let you by’ when the lady rolled her eyes at me and snatched her cart out of the way so fast the kid in the seat got whiplash.

Roxy had to go to a new home last week. Ever since she helped foster Zaccheus, she has been vying for the alpha female position, which belongs to Cricket. This resulted in several 'to the death' type fights. Fearing for her safety, or Cricket's, and worrying that one of the kids would be hurt, we did the painful, but best thing in the situation. She went to an older couple who have been family friends since I was very young. They have no small children, and their own dog passed away last year. They were ready to open up their home to another pet, so it worked out for all involved. Hailey was very grown up about losing 'her' dog. There were some tears, but she understood.

It is so good to be back online. I missed everyone, and it'll take me a few days to catch up with you all, but I will, I promise.