Archive | Sue RSS feed for this section

Our Michigan Adventure

Posted on September 3, 2012 by in Sue

SAME DAY payday loans

A new adventure for Brian and Sue

We are on the road pulling our camper heading to Michigan.  I have been so giddy with excitement the last few days that it has been hard for me to sit still.  There are a couple of reasons for this excitement.  First, it seems like it has been a LONG time since we have taken more than 2-3 days off to go anywhere.  I am SO READY for a vacation!  Secondly, we are going to Michigan.  I have such fond memories of the entire state of Michigan.

I was born in Battle Creek, Michigan.  I only lived there as a baby so I don’t recall it at all.  My first real love, Terry, was from Kalamazoo, Michigan.  After I finished high school I moved to Maple City, Michigan(outside of Traverse City) to start my ‘career as a chef’.  But, my most fondest of childhood memories are from the summer camp I went to every summer from age 5-17.  YMCA Camp Pinewood.  I loved that place!  I went there every summer starting with a week at a time then eventually staying the whole summer.  My parents would put me on a bus at the local YMCA and then I would ride the 4 hours to 4230 Obenauf Rd. Twin Lakes, Michigan.  I still remember the address after 35 years!  I think Camp Pinewood was my saving grace.  I am sure that is where I learned to be independent, self-confident, responsible, compassionate, a leader and a whole lot of other things.  I know Camp Pinewood was where I learned to swim – in Lake Echo.  I also learned to canoe, sail a boat, row a boat, ride a horse, build a fire and shoot a bow and arrow there.

It was just the other day that it finally dawned on me why I am so excited to see my old camp.  My memory of past things has always been horrible.  I do not remember much at all from my past (people, places, things, events, etc.)  I had some events in my childhood that you would not want to remember, therefore I guess I have just blocked out all memories.  My brother, on the other hand remembers EVERYTHING!  He can’t understand why I don’t remember the highways, stores, people, places, etc. in our hometown of Arlington Heights, Illinois– a northwest suburb of Chicago.  I don’t even remember my high school years or the building or friends.  I’ve connected to some old high school people (who have requested my friendship) on Facebook, but I don’t remember them at all.  They mention things I don’t recall.

Day 2: We spent the night in Decatur, Illinois with Brian’s dad.  Now we are back on the road headed to Camp Pinewood – ‘My Piney Wood Hills’-  about 5 hours before we will be there.  I have spent the ride looking through my old Camp Pinewood scrapbook.  I am such a minimalist that I haven’t held on to much that someone would consider sentimental, but I do have my camp scrapbook and all of the old Polaroid pictures!  I wrote the names of the people on the backs of the pictures, but it is amazing to me how many of the people’s names I remembered without even looking.  It wasn’t  just the camping experience there is really something about Camp Pinewood.  I went to all kinds of camps as a kid (Girl Scout camp, day camp, church camp, etc.) but I don’t have memories from any of those camps.  I recently connected with my friend Jimmy from Camp Pinewood (through Facebook).  We were the only 2 CIT’s (Counselor in Training) in 1977.  We had so much fun!  When I told him I was going back to visit my Piney wood Hills he told me that was the BEST summer he ever had in his life.

*see blog post “Adventures at Summer Camp”  http://wp.me/p22j3r-9e

 

7 days later………. We are on our way home.  I am very sad to leave Michigan as I know I will probably never be back. There are other places we want to go and see and now Michigan is crossed off the list.  We had so much fun.  We went to forts, beaches, islands, museums, shops, boats, lighthouses and of course plenty of fudge shops!  My favorite part of the whole trip was the 8 mile bike ride around Mackinac Island.

Biking on Mackinac Island

Biking on Mackinac Island

We packed our bikes in the truck and drove to the ferry. Mackinac Island does not allow any motorized vehicles (no, Sharon, not even scooters!) so we knew our bikes would come in handy.  We got off the ferry, hopped on our bikes and turned right to explore the island.  At the time we didn’t realize it but we were on the road around the island.  It was such a beautiful ride looking out to the lake.  Even though I just recently got on a bike for the first time in 30 (yes, thirty!) years, I did not feel at all self-conscience.  There were people in their 80’s out there riding bikes.  I am REALLY glad we practiced riding our bikes at home this summer because it is not like people say: “It’s like riding a bike, you never forget”.  That is so NOT true.  Starting, stopping and balancing all have to be learned again when it had been so long.  I must say I did pretty well on this 8 mile journey.  I did not fall off the bike once, I did not run anybody down, I stayed on the road (even if I didn’t stay on my side as pointed out to me by an 80-year-old woman who yelled at me) and I only had one issue.  My chain came off.  Switching gears is still not easy for me.  At least in Michigan on this ride around the island it was very flat and I didn’t need to change gears often like we do in Fayetteville.  Brian turned my bike over and had my chain back on in no time.  We pulled off the road to get out-of-the-way.   One family actually slowed down and asked if we were okay.  At the one bathroom stop on the route I met a lady (15+ years older than me) who had not been on a bike in 20 years and did not practice ahead of time.  She concurred with me that it is not as easy as it once was.   Later on down the road I decided it was probably a nice time to get a picture of us and the lake with the Mackinac Bridge in the background.

Mackinac Island

Mackinac Island

We pulled over at a point where there were a few people so one could take our picture.  As I got closer I realized it was the woman who asked if we were okay when my chain fell off.  I pointed out to her that she was the only one that asked as the others whizzed by.  She said that earlier she and her young daughter who were on a bicycle built for two had a fall.  She said not even ONE person stopped to see if they were okay.  I know people from the north are not known for being as friendly as people from the south but I was still shocked.  I am from the north and I think I am pretty friendly.  Maybe I’ve just grown accustomed to living in Arkansas for so long.  We also toured Fort Mackinac while we were on the island which I am pretty sure was Brian’s highlight of the trip.

Fort Mackinac

Fort Mackinac

 

Something else we noted on this trip, but it is not just the difference between the north and south regions of the US.

We have often times felt as though we are invisible at restaurants.  It did happen 3 times on this trip alone, but it has happened in other states, including Arkansas before.   We usually don’t have any problem getting seated at a restaurant; it is the service after that is bothersome.   We have been seated and usually given menus and then left, for long periods of time.  I know minutes sometimes seem like hours when you are hungry but I try to pay attention to the actual time.  Brian thinks it might be because these are not “chain” restaurants where they are required to greet their guests in X amount of time.  I think it is just lack of customer service these days.  What do you think?  Has this ever happened to you?  After 15 minutes of not being acknowledged we usually just walk out.  Last night I asked the hostess if she had let the server know that she seated us.  She told me she probably “forgot”.  How does a server forget to look at their section?   A server did appear but she brought a ticket to the table next to us.  She never acknowledged us.  We were just beginning to get up from the table when the server appeared.  We weren’t in a hurry, but it was just irritating being ‘invisible’.  Are we just being too impatient?  Brian thinks we might expect more because he has managed many restaurants and I have waited tables in our past lives.

“The Macinaw – Icebreaker”

“The Macinaw – Icebreaker”

 

We also toured “The Macinaw – Icebreaker”.  It was the coast guard ship that spent the majority of its time breaking up the ice so that other ships could make it through.  I always love learning about things I never thought of before.  The ship was quite interesting but the strangest thing was that one of the men that was on tour of the ship while we were on it was a former US Coast Guard sailor who had sailed on that  exact ship years ago.  The ship was in operation until 2006 so it wasn’t that long ago, but how many times have you toured a place where one of the tourists was a former member from that era?

 

We parked our camper at Burt Lake State Park in Indian River, Michigan and just took day trips to play ‘tourists’ to different locations each day.  This wasn’t like our typical camping trips as we basically used the state park as our home base.   It was a nice state park, but a bit different from what we are used to.  In Arkansas this summer we have not had mosquitoes due to the lack of rain, but the flies have been horrible.   From my experiences as a kid in Michigan in the summers I remember LOTS of mosquitoes – big ones!  I brought extra fly swatters and extra bug repellent just in case.  Amazingly the BEST part of it was that there were NO BUGS in Michigan!!  No flies.  No mosquitoes.  Nothing.  That made the evenings so enjoyable.

 

 

Adventures at summer camp… 35 years later………

Posted on August 26, 2012 by in Sue

The local Michigan roads that we drove to reach YMCA Camp Pinewood did not look the least familiar to me.   As a child on my way to camp each summer I must have been far too talkative and social on the bus than to pay attention to where we were driving.  It all came back to me as we pulled in and saw the “Lodge”.  I had been a little concerned that I would be disappointed once I arrived.  I knew it would look much smaller to me but I was afraid it would have been too modernized over the last 35 years.  It looked virtually the same.  I was thrilled!!!  My memories came flooding back to me.  We were asked if we wanted a tour.  Of course I wanted a tour – I couldn’t wait!!!  We started in the dinning hall which is in the main lodge.   The only difference (besides looking much smaller) I saw was the tables were long oblong ones rather than the large round ones that we had.  Of course, I am partial to the round ones as a lot of time was spent there singing songs, having skits, making friends, in addition to just eating.  Now it looked more like tables in a school cafeteria. Christina, our tour guide, told us that an alumnus had donated enough money to be able to renovate the whole lodge this fall.  They are hoping that they will be able to find large round tables once again.  She pointed out the old canoe paddles hanging on the walls of the dining hall.  After a canoe trip, everyone on that trip would sign one canoe paddle with the date.  I reminisced as I saw lots of names I recognized.

 

Camp Pinewood Lodge 2012

Camp Pinewood Lodge 2012

Camp Pinewood Lodge circa 1970

Bill Roe & Myron Low
Camp Pinewood Lodge circa 1970

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then went down to the front of the lodge.  The building is still painted in “Pinewood brown”, the steps are still the same old metal steps and the campers still line up in rows by cabin before going in.  The area did appear much smaller and the flag pole did not seem as far away, but everything else was my old Camp Pinewood!  I couldn’t wait to visit the “camp store”.  That was always the highlight after dinner.  We were allowed to spend ‘up to’ .35 per day on candy!  That wouldn’t even buy you one candy bar now.  The ‘store’ had been relocated to a different area but still in the basement of the lodge.  My eyes lit up at the thought of being able to buy a Camp Pinewood sweatshirt.  Christina took us to the store.  Since it is close to the end of summer camp this year the stock is low.  An X-large sweatshirt was all they had left.  I didn’t care if it swallowed me I was going to have one.

Camp Pinewood XL Sweatshirt

Camp Pinewood XL Sweatshirt

 

 

Next, we headed down to the water front.  The first thing I noticed was a paved path from the lodge to the water front.  Pavement??  We didn’t have any pavement, just dirt paths.  For the most part the waterfront looked similar.  Once again, it looked SO MUCH smaller.  I learned to swim in this lake when I was 5 years old.  The swimming area was huge back then.  It is funny how perspective changes when you get older.

Camp Pinewood waterfront 2012

Camp Pinewood waterfront 2012

The majority of the cabins have been ‘redone’.  They are the same wood log type structures painted “Pinewood brown” on the outside.  The insides have just been updated a bit.  Instead of the old rickety metal bunk beds, there are now really nice built-in wooden bunks.  The inside storage areas are much more logical but still primitive.  They left ample room under the wooden bunks for suitcases, foot lockers, duffel bags, etc.  There are little cubby shelves to store a tiny bit of stuff for each camper.   The big difference is that they put balconies on the front of each cabin.  They are really nice and seem like a great place for campers to hang out.

 

Omaha Cabin 2012

Omaha Cabin 2012

Omaha Cabin circa 1970

Omaha Cabin circa 1970

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next was what was called “Niles”.  It was a horseshoe-shaped building where we did arts and crafts.  I spent many many hours here.  Graffiti was accepted on the interior walls and ceilings.  Jimmy (my old friend from camp that I recently reconnected with) had told me ahead of time to look to see if “Jimmy loves Sue” was still on the wall.  We spent the most time here reminiscing.  Christina and Brian were awfully patient with me while I read the walls and remembered people from the past.  I did not find Jimmy’s message but I was impressed with all of the graffiti that was still in tact from the 60’s & 70’s.  Today’s campers do have some respect and have not just written over the ‘old’ stuff.   Niles is not used for arts and crafts any more, it has been turned into cabins to allow more sleeping space.

 

The bathrooms have been redone completely.  When I went there was a square open room with about 8 shower heads coming out of the wall and facing the center.  Everyone just showered in this big open room.  There was one for boys and one for girls.  Now they have even put a bathroom in one of the cabins for the youngest kids.   The new bathrooms look like typical bathrooms at a state park.  6 divided toilets with doors, 4 divided showers with doors, and a row of 4 sinks.  Christina said it had only been recently since the bathrooms were redone.

 

Camp Pinewood chapel 2012

Camp Pinewood chapel 2012

The most noticeable change was to the “Chapel”.  We had rows of seats made of trees buried on their sides to make a bench.  Now they had real benches.  I think there used to be a cross made out of logs which is now a metal structure that sits on a platform (stage like area).  The big shocker was they put ELECTRICITY into the stage area.  Chapel used to be a very quiet place overlooking the lake.  It was quiet the day we went there but I am sure it gets pretty loud sometimes now.  The split rail fence made out of natural trees that used to line the paths around camp are now treated lumber.

 

So, things have changed a bit but it sure looked very much the same to me.  What great memories!!!

Making something good out of a bad situation – A Day in the Life of an Errand Girl

Posted on May 21, 2012 by in Sue

Our grand travel adventures………………

We had been planning a trip for a few months and I was so looking forward to getting away, even if it was to go ‘work’ at my father-in-law’s house.   I really love that man and always love to help him with things that he can’t do for himself anymore.  We figure if it can help him stay in his home by himself a bit longer than we will do whatever it takes to make it happen.  We started off on our adventure early in the morning because we had a 10 hour drive ahead of us.  Brian does all of the driving so I was all set with my laptop, newspaper, nail polish, smart phone, etc. to keep me entertained.  Brian had already taken care of the music via Rhapsody and I packed the snacks, so we were set.   By Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, we were ready to stop for a lunch break.  We decided that for future reference this would not be a good place to stop when we are towing our camper – too many narrow turns and crazy side streets.  We will be taking this route later in the summer along with our camper when we stop again to see Brian’s dad and to head on north to Michigan to do some camping.  This trip we chose to take the Errand Girl van because it is easier for Brian’s dad to get in and out of and it is just more comfortable than the truck.

After lunch I decided it was time to kick back and do my nails.  I’ve become quite proficient at doing them in the van while on trips.  I finished my nails just as we were heading into St. Louis, MO (about 6 hours into our trip).  Traffic had slowed down because we were in a construction zone that turned the 3 lane highway into two lanes.  Then all of a sudden things seem to happen in ‘fast paced slow motion’.  Anyone that has ever been in an accident knows what I mean.  I felt Brian slam on the breaks, I looked up and saw that there was no way we were NOT going to miss the car in front of us.  Of course, I screamed STOP, but that was rather silly when I look back.  Brian had already had the breaks to the floor, there just wasn’t anywhere for us to go.  Luckily Brian is a very contentious and observant driver and he saw the crane on the side of the road hit the power line and saw it drop two cars in front of us!  All I saw was the car in front of us come to a complete stop because the car in front of him had swerved off the road into the construction zone (1/2 on the road and ½ in the construction lane).  BOOM!  One hit and it was over.  Brian looked at me and began apologizing profusely – “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry”.  I guess he thought I was going to be mad or something.  It was obvious there was nothing more we could have done.   I knew the impact was not enough for anyone to get hurt so I wasn’t concerned about that.  I got out of the van and went to see the damage.  The guy whose car we hit had a very long trailer hitch attached to his SUV.  It didn’t look so bad to me.  The trailer hitch had gone through the front of the grill on the van.  There wasn’t a scratch on the SUV!  I was relieved at that.  The first car didn’t get hit at all, he had pulled over enough to avoid the power line and the guy we hit from hitting him.    Then Brian got over the shock and came out to asses the damage.  I told him happily that it didn’t look too bad.  He quickly burst that bubble as he pointed to the liquid pouring out of the car onto the pavement!  It appeared that the trailer hitch had punctured our radiator!

By this time two of the construction crew guys wandered up and asked if anyone was hurt.  “No, no one was hurt”.  They quickly left the scene and went about their business.  At this point I still wasn’t aware of the power line coming down.  Because no one was hurt it didn’t dawn on me to call 911.  I guess I wasn’t really thinking.  I decided the most important thing to do was to call my insurance agent!  Steve Smith, my Farmers Insurance agent, didn’t answer so I left a message and then sent him a text message.  Then I could hear the guy that we hit ask Brian if we had called 911.  OH, I guess I should do that!  Brian told him that was what I was doing (which is probably what Brian thought I was doing seeing that I am usually pretty level-headed).  I quickly called 911.  Of course they wanted to know where we were!  I wasn’t driving nor was I paying much attention.  I told the dispatcher we were on a major highway close to St. Louis.  She didn’t like that response.  I told her I could see a lumber company on the other side of the highway – not what she wanted to hear either.  She wanted to know what mile marker we were at.  Well, if you aren’t right in front of a mile marker it is hard to determine where exactly you are.  I took the phone with me and started walking towards the construction guys.  I figured they would know where they were working.  Well, since we were on a highway and there was lots of commotion at this point, the dispatcher couldn’t hear anything I was saying.  She really wasn’t happy with me.  I was doing the best that I could to find out where we were.  The construction guys said they didn’t know what mile marker we were at either.  GREAT!  I could see an exit ahead of us but because my vision has gone down hill in the last few years I couldn’t read what it said from where I was.  Finally, the guy in the first car knew exactly where we were.  Glad someone knew!

The fire trucks got there before the police.  I guess we were right on the border of two towns.  The fire department was from one town and the police that showed up were from another town.  After interviewing everyone the whole story was finally coming out.  That was the first I heard of the power line coming down and causing all of this mess.  I guess it was a ‘live wire’ and it was very dangerous.  I also found out that it was a major line that came down and knocked out the power all over the town. No streetlights anywhere so we were the first of MANY accidents that day.

Everyone was extremely nice to us and compassionate to  the whole situation EXCEPT the guy whose car we hit.  He said he was ‘feeling a lot of pain in his neck” and claimed he hit his head on the windshield.  Brian pointed out to me that we weren’t even going fast enough for our air bags to deploy.  Neither one of us hit anything.  The guy told the police he had his seat belt on so I am not sure how he hit his head.  His SUV was pretty old and absolutely trashed on the inside.  He said he was concerned about damage to the car that ‘wasn’t visible’.  Whatever……..

A tow truck driver appeared on the scene.  Since our van was the only one that was disabled, we assumed he was there to pick us up.  The “un nice” man that we hit convinced the tow truck driver that his car needed to be towed via a flat-bed because he was sure there must be some damage that couldn’t be seen and he didn’t want to take the risk of driving it until it had been checked out.  That was fine.  I wasn’t really in a hurry because I knew this was a snag in our trip and we were going to be delayed.  Now, I am VERY thankful that we didn’t go with that tow truck driver.  One of the cops called a tow for us.  Joe, was his name.  He was SO NICE and so helpful!  Joe, called a body shop to explain our situation and what we needed.  There had been a horrible hail storm in St. Louis the week before so most body shops were overbooked and very busy.  They told him they would look at the van and determine what they needed to do to just get us back on the road and get the rest fixed when we got home.  By this time, I had already spoken to my Farmers agent, Stephen and he got the ball rolling.  It rolled FAST!  The body shop was less than 5 miles from the scene of the accident but it took us over 45 minutes to get there because all of the traffic lights were out and things were a mess!  Police were everywhere trying to direct traffic . On the tow truck ride to the body shop I spoke with the person handling my claim and she gave me a claim number and everything else I needed.  Joe, the tow truck driver called the body shop to tell them we were on our way and that we would need a rental car – a van.  The body shop called and had the rental van there 5 minutes after we arrived!!!  The body shop said they could do a ‘temporary fix” to get us safely home.  We could pick up the van on our way back home on Friday.  Whoo hoo!  Everyone was just so helpful and nice it was almost ‘too good to be true’.  Maybe the cop and the tow truck driver had some kind of ‘deal’.  Surely the tow truck driver had something going with the body shop????  And the body shop with the car rental place.  We were from out-of-town just passing through.  We didn’t have much choice except to believe what everyone told us and hope for the best.

We were back on the road headed to Decatur,Illinois.  This little adventure only set us back 4 hours so it wasn’t too bad.  It could have been a LOT worse.  We were most thankful that nobody was hurt.  We were exhausted by the time we got to Decatur so we only visited with Brian’s dad for about an hour before calling it a night.

The next two days were spent up early and outside working in the yard.  Our evenings were inside doing other things around the house that needed to be done.  The only breaks we took were spent on the phone answering more questions for cops, insurance companies and the body shop and meals of course.  I wouldn’t miss a meal!  Brian’s dad is always so grateful for all that we do that I just love doing things that are appreciated.    I must say his yard looked much nicer by the time we left!  We even set it up with a neighbor’s grandson to mow his yard every time he mows his grandparents yard.  It is so hard for older folks to admit that they just can’t do the simple things they used to like mowing the yard.  His neighbors had been offering to mow it but he kept telling them that he was going to do it, but then he never would.  I figured out a long time ago, I don’t ask Chuck if he wants me to do something for him, I just do it.  I know he will always say no and tell me that he will do it, but I see how much he appreciates it being done.  Brian’s sister who lives nearby said that every time she asks him he tells her no.  I asked Brian why his sister didn’t just go ahead and do it without asking.  Ahh……  The difference in how we were raised.  Their dad approved everything before it was done in their house.  They would never think to do something without asking permission first.

I spoke with the adjuster and the body shop often just to check on things.  In addition to the trailer hitch going through the radiator it also went through the air conditioner.  The body shop said it was not a problem to replace both of them and still have it ready for us to go home on Friday.  I called the body shop on Friday morning just to make sure.  It is so hard not having ‘control’ over everything and leaving it in someone else’s hands.  The woman who answered the phone checked with the guys in the shop and they assured her that they would have it ready for us by 4:30 that day.  GREAT!  I explained that we had a 4 hour drive to get to them so we wanted to be sure.

Now that we had the go ahead we decided to grab some lunch and then pack the rental van.  This may sound simple because we were there for such a short time.  Guess again!  Going to my father-in-laws always entails bringing back a car load of groceries!!  We had three ice chests packed full with meat and about 20 bags of dry groceries!    Just as the last cooler got put in the van, the phone rang.  It was the body shop…………………  My heart sunk!  There was a problem.  Upon replacing the radiator and the air conditioner they discovered that the alternator was also out!  Great!  I’m thinking it sounds like something simple to fix.  It would be if anyone had an alternator for a 2010 Honda Odyssey!  I couldn’t believe she told me they couldn’t find one in all of St. Louis.  I told her I would call her back.  Brian and his father both said that you can buy alternators at any local auto parts store.  We started calling around to no avail .  We called the Honda dealerships in the St. Louis area.  They all said they did not have one in stock but could get it there overnight.  We thought we might be able to bring one from Illinois with us.  No one we called had one today.  Everyone said they could get it tomorrow.  No, Wimpy, I don’t want a hamburger today that I can pay for tomorrow!!!  I want an alternator today!

Staying one more day in Illinois would not be bad, but we had just loaded the car.  The REAL problem was the body shop is not open on Saturdays!!!  That means they would not get the alternator delivered until sometime Monday and then it would be Tuesday before we could pick up the van!!  We weighed our options and opted for the one scenario we had dreaded the most.  Drive the rental van back to Fayetteville, Arkansas, (a 10 hour drive from where we were) and drive it until the van is done and we can get back to St. Louis (4 hour trip from Fayetteville) to pick it up.  YUCK!  This is really not what I was hoping for.  We knew we couldn’t stay in Illinois until Tuesday.  The car was already loaded with all the coolers and groceries so this was our best option.  I called the body shop and let them know our plan and to go ahead and do the complete fix rather than just the temporary one.  They said the van would be ready on Tuesday.  We knew we couldn’t come back until that weekend.  Oh, yea, they aren’t open on weekends!  So we will come and get it on Friday.  What a pain in the rear this has been!

On the trip home we didn’t talk much.  I worked on the computer and Brian drove.  Then I looked at my calendar and was trying to figure out how to rearrange my schedule again.  Ahh, what if we made this trip to St. Louis a nice weekend get-a-way!  That made the whole thing seem much better.  I discovered that the St. Louis Renaissance Festival was opening for the season on Saturday!  Brian loves Renaissance Festivals and is always talking about Scarborough Faire in Texas.  I have never been so I thought it would be a fun thing to do.

On Friday, we headed out on our not-so-dreaded trip.  We got to the body shop at 4:00 just like I told them we would.  The van was ready and looked as good as new!  They even did a super job of cleaning the inside of the van and scrubbing the floor mats.  It sure looked pretty.  Because of my Farmers Insurance being on top of everything I didn’t have to pay anything at the body shop except my deductible and nothing at the rental car place.  We may even get the deductible back because there is “an ongoing investigation” regarding the construction company and the fault of the accident.  One thing I forgot to mention is that we did NOT get a ticket for following too close, which is pretty much unheard of when you rear end someone.  We were very thankful because in addition to the ticket we would have also gotten fined extra for being in a construction zone.

I loved the Renaissance Faire!  We spent the entire day there and had a grand time.  I have never had the desire to get  a tattoo or anything of the sort.  When we first got there and I saw that they were doing henna tattoo’s I knew that was what I wanted to do.  I’ve never even had the desire to get a henna tattoo before, it just seemed like that was the one souvenir I wanted from the Faire.  I don’t like normal mementos because they usually just sit around and collect dust.  What a lovely weekend we had!  Thank you, Stephen Smith and Farmer’s Insurance for taking such good care of us!

Here is the finished product.

Temporary fun!

Feeding a family for $40 per week – it CAN be done!

Posted on May 2, 2012 by in Articles, Clients, Sue

I received a phone call this week from a TV news reporter who wanted to do a story on feeding a family for $40 a week.  She asked if I could help her out.  I explained that most of my clients were not very concerned with the amount of money that they spend at the store but that because I shop all of the time at lots of different stores I can feed my family on $40.  She said then I was the person she wanted to talk to.

OK, so now I need to come up with a plan because I KNOW I could spend $40 per week, I just don’t.  Granted, I am very thrifty and am always watching the price of food, I have never limited us to $40 per week.  I prefer to eat with very low carbohydrates and no sugar which is VERY hard to do on $40 per week.  If I wasn’t so concerned about health, I could easily do it.

Let’s see:

Breakfast: We both love oatmeal so that would be good for a couple of times per week.  Eggs and toast also fit the bill.  We don’t eat sugary cereal and I have found some bran types for $1.30 per box on sale at some stores.  Pancakes are also cheap, especially if you buy a large box of generic pancake mix.  Buying large quantities of some things pays off for us.  Pancake mix will keep a long time so that is another way to cut costs.  Grits is another low-cost breakfast staple.  Some people may not see grits as a main breakfast dish but a large bowl will satisfy us all morning.  I do think it is wise to also have fresh fruit first thing in the morning.  I have found bags of oranges (about 12 oranges) for $1.48 per bag!  With fruit, you just have to go with what is in season and which stores are having sales.  Fresh fruit is something you can’t stock up on so it will always be changing.  Recently I found a bag of apples (10 Gala apples) for $1.68 per bag.  It is hard to find fresh fruit any cheaper than this.  Remember, what is in season and what is on sale.

Some other breakfast items that are within the $40 per week range are: fruit and grain cereal bars (8 count for $1.49), eggs & toast (using homemade bread), cinnamon toast, homemade biscuits, flavored breads or muffins are always a nice change of pace.

Lunch: We are both pretty easy at lunch.  We like Mac & Cheese, hot dogs, soup, etc.  It is cheaper to make your own mac & cheese than to buy the pre-packaged boxes even though they are pretty cheap.  This just requires buying the cheese in bulk to make it cost-effective.  Hot dogs can often times be found on sale for $1.00 per pack.  When they are, we stock up on them and freeze them.  We do buy the turkey dogs so they are a little ‘less bad’.   We will take two hot dogs and wrap them up in one tortilla instead of a bun.  Besides being cheaper it is also less carbohydrates.  When it comes to soup, I prefer to make mine homemade.  A couple of times a year when we have a turkey I will get as many slices of turkey for sandwiches as I can.  The rest of the turkey is for soups and casseroles.  I make the soups up using the stock I make from the turkey and using whatever vegetables I have lying around.  Adding pasta or rice is a great filler and makes a healthy meal.  I usually freeze the larger bits of turkey to make casseroles at a later date.  Grilled cheese sandwiches are easy and relatively cheap.  For a hardier meal we will sometimes have grilled cheese sandwiches and soup.  If you aren’t prone to making your own soup, Bear Creek has soup mixes that are about $3.00 for 8 servings found in the grocery store.

Dinner: I have found quite a few items that would definitely work for the $40.00 per week meals, but I must say they are not the healthiest!  Fish sticks, corn dogs, canned vegetables are very cheap.  You can get 48 fish sticks for $4.29!  That is about .09 each!  Or 16 corn dogs for $5.49, or .34 each.  Canned veggies can usually be found on sale for .50.  Buy in quantity when you see these and stock up.

We like to eat meat with our dinner meals so I try to buy in bulk and when meat has been marked down.  Meat that has been marked down is still good it just needs to be used that day or put in the freezer.  Our freezer is often full of a variety of meat.  If you look closely as you shop you will find some affordable meats.  Wal-Mart has a selection of ribs of all different varieties.  Once when digging a little deeper in the meat case I found a rack of pork ribs for under $8.00.  I thought it was just a special or a mark down price but it wasn’t marked as special.  The next time I went I found the same ribs at the same cost.  I have since realized that it is the regular price for these ribs.  There are other much more expensive ribs right by them but for some reason these are priced low.   I usually buy a few at a time and put them in the freezer.  I have also found some pre marinated small pork roasts that are similarly priced.  I bought one to try, and we were very happy with the taste. I have since bought more and stuck them in the freezer.

As a child, my parents always purchased half a cow at a time.  We don’t have that kind of freezer space but if you do it would be a good idea to do this or at least split part of a cow with some friends as you can get a much better rate.

When it comes to chicken the price really varies depending on what you like.  If you like dark meat, like we do, then it is much more affordable to buy chicken legs and thighs than it is to by the breasts.  Boneless skinless breasts are nice for a lot of different meals but thighs work just as well if you like dark meat.  Buying a whole chicken is always much cheaper and then you have the benefit of using the ‘leftovers’ for soups.

Pasta, potatoes and rice are good ‘fillers’ that make meat go much farther.  Casseroles can be so much more than the ones your Great Aunt Mabel used to make.   You can use a pound of ground beef to make 8 very small hamburgers or you can use that same pound of beef to make a casserole with 10 servings.  No one will miss the amount of meat per serving if the casserole is filling!   Lately we have been trying to use ground turkey instead of ground beef.  Just keep an eye out at the grocery store as the prices are similar but sometimes one is on sale.

I like to have fresh veggies or salad with dinner each night.  Some tips on fresh produce to follow.  Making your own salad dressing is a lot cheaper than buying ready-made dressings.   We prefer just plain balsamic vinegar and oil which is quick and easy and we always have it on hand.  Just be aware of what vegetables are in season and buy accordingly.  Last summer I noticed a “new to me” vegetable.  Calabactias is a “Mexican Zucchini.  It looks very similar to zucchini and tastes the same to me.  Our garden had a very rough time last year like many gardens in Arkansas.  We got very few zucchini from our own garden so ended up having to purchase them.  Since produce was ridiculous last summer, zucchini, even though in season, was way above the normal price.  I found Calabactias to be half the price.  I had never heard of this veggie before but since it looked so much like zucchini I bought one and took it home and we cooked it just like we would zucchini.  Voila, it tasted just the same!

Desserts/Snacks: homemade brownies, homemade cookies, baked apples, cobbler, etc.  Popcorn made the old-fashioned way is fun for the family and very cheap per serving!   Homemade yogurt is relatively inexpensive.  Homemade popsicles are a fun summer treat.  Always be on the lookout at the grocery store for mark-downs.  Fresh bakery items are often marked down in a certain area of the store.  BEWARE of the name brand items that are 2 for $.  You often see 2 packs of name brand chocolate chip cookies for $4.00.  If you look you will find store brand chocolate chip cookies for much less than $2.00 per bag.   If you have a discount bakery (sometimes called day old) nearby that is always a good place to find some bargains.  You might even find good deals on hotdog/hamburger buns.

Fresh produce: The best/cheapest way to have fresh produce is to grow it yourself.  We have an ever-growing garden – it gets bigger each year!  We use raised beds and add additional beds each year.  Lettuce for salads can be grown almost year round in Arkansas.  There are many good books out there that will help you plan and figure it out.  The next best way to find great fresh produce is at your local farmer’s market.  It is wise to get there early to get the best pickings, but if you are looking for mark downs it is more likely you will find them right before closing time.  Fresh produce in the grocery stores varies widely.   We eat a lot of cauliflower.  Cauliflower has been $2.48 per head at our local grocery stores all winter and spring.  Aldi’s, which is a name brand store has had their cauliflower for $1.68 all winter and this spring it has been UNDER $1.00 per head.  That to me is a huge difference!  Aldi’s produce is always cheaper than the regular grocery stores.  Some people say the quality is not as good.  If it doesn’t look good I don’t buy it, otherwise I think it is comparable.

Coupons:  Personally, I am not a coupon clipper.  I find that often people buy items they would never buy just because they have a coupon and it is a ‘good deal’.  Other times you purchase the item because you have the coupon but don’t bother to look at the prices of the similar items.  I have one client who wants me to use her coupons.  I have noticed that the coupons are usually for ‘new’ products.  For example, I bought her some dishwashing liquid with a coupon.  I think it was for Joy.  It was a ‘new’ type of Joy soap that is supposed to clean better.  It was a smaller size than the usual bottles of Joy that I bought for her and it was more expensive even with the coupon!  That is not a bargain to me.

Pre-packaged foods:  This is where a lot of people waste a lot of money.  People think of it as ‘convenience’ food therefore they buy it.  If money is a concern which it should be to all and time is precious then try setting aside one weekend a month to make your own ‘fast food’.  Yes, it will take some time and a lot of planning but in the end you will be saving a lot of money and possibly your life since it is much healthier.  Yes, fast food is fast and convenient but it does not stay with you long so you are hungrier sooner and the nutritional value is gone.

Some suggestions for your monthly cook fest

*6 of your family’s favorite casseroles – make double batches and freeze singly.

*Make a huge pot of tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes and spices from your garden.  Freeze in containers for quick pull out meals in minutes.

*Make 4 batches of pancakes and freeze in bags of individual servings.  These are easy to pull out and heat up for a quick breakfast.

*Make as many loaves of bread that you might need for the month.  Pre-slice before you freeze for easy toasting.

*Make a couple of pizza crusts to put in the freezer.

*You can even cook up some brown rice or pasta and put it in individual serving containers in the freezer.

*Buy cheese in bulk and divide into portions that you like (shredded, sliced, block, etc.) and freeze them.

*You can even make up a huge pot of mashed potatoes and freeze in serving sizes appropriate for your family.

*Soup, soup, soup!  Make different varieties.  Chili, broccoli cheese, stew, ham & bean, etc.  So easy to freeze and pull out for a quick meal.

*Make some cornbread up and freeze it to go along with those soup meals.

*In the summer when you have those excess fresh veggies cook them up different ways and freeze them.  Or if you are into canning go for it.

Green bean casserole

Stewed zucchini & tomatoes

Sautéed squash

Whole tomatoes (cut out the core and freeze in bags with the skins on.  When ready to use just run under water and the skins peel right off)

Glazed carrots

Peas & carrots

Corn off the cob (conserves space)

 

*Be sure to utilize your crock pot during the weekend.

BBQ beef

Chicken & dumplings

Applesauce

Scalloped potatoes

You see the possibilities are endless!

Two hours before our scheduled ‘interview’ the reporter sent me an email letting me know that her “superiors decided to take the story in a different direction”.   I was ok with that because I got a nice blog post out of this!  I hope some of you will find a benefit from some of the information.

Camping in January OR Do you believe in GHOSTS?

Posted on February 7, 2012 by in Sue

Camping in January………………..

 

January sunset

Both Brian and I are self-employed and work most weekends so we plan well in advance to take some time off.  A month ago we decided to go camping at the end of January.  We had no idea then that the temperatures would be in the 60’s!  We just got very lucky.  We did remember one of the lessons we learned from past camping trips and that is to go during the week.  So, here we are at Whithrow Springs State Park and we have the WHOLE place to ourselves (Benefit #1 of camping in the winter)!!  We got here before lunch yesterday, it was about 60 degrees and sunny!  We set up camp quickly.  We opted not to put the screen house up because there are NO BUGS this time of year (Benefit #2 of winter camping).   We ate some lunch and off on the trails we went.   We hiked the War Eagle Creek Trail, it was a nice steep climb.  We weren’t ready to be done when we got to the end so we picked up the Dogwood Trail and hiked it back to camp.  (Benefit #3 of camping in winter – we did not see one other person on either trail!)

 

We had this all to ourselves!

It was about time for me to start the fire.  Have I mentioned before how much I like making fires???  I do it all.  I gather the wood, build the fire and keep it going the rest of the evening.  (Benefit #4 of camping in winter – wood is everywhere!)  While the fire was going and we were hanging out, I cut Brian’s hair.  It is so much nicer to cut hair outside and not have it get everywhere.  I like his hair shorter than he does but he is a good sport and lets me cut it the way I like it.  He really doesn’t have much say when I am the one holding the scissors!  Brian is in charge of the cooking and what a great meal we had.  He grilled some fish and served it over pasta and broccoli.  It was yummy.  I never would have paired fish and pasta together but after the first time Brian fixed it for me I was hooked.  Pasta, with a little butter and no sauce.   It was so nice out that we chose to eat dinner outside sitting in front of the fire.  We watched the moon rise and the stars come out as we were making our smore’s.  We can’t go camping without smore’s!

Notice his short hair!

For our anniversary I got Brian an iPhone dock with a CD player.  He had mentioned wanting to have some music while we are camping and we didn’t have an old fashioned ‘Boom Box’.  He loves his new toy and he says I did a great job of picking out one with really good speakers.

For Christmas we both found new camping gadgets in our stockings.  I got a new retractable clothes line and he got paper liners for the Dutch oven.  We are having stew for dinner tonight made in the Dutch oven so we will try out the liners and see.

 

Using the new Dutch oven liners

Being the huge history buff that Brian is we decided to drive into town (the big city of Huntsville, Arkansas, pop. 2300) to see some Orval Faubus history.  Orval Faubus is the former Governor of Arkansas.  We stopped at the local Chamber of Commerce hoping to find something that would lead us somewhere.  There was not one bit of information in there about a former governor!  Even if he wasn’t very well liked, you would still think they would have something.  We asked a couple of questions and the guy walked outside with us and pointed to the top of a hill.  There sits a home that Orval Faubus had Fay Jones build for him.   The man from the Chamber seemed to not want to be associated with the name Orval Faubus, which we found strange.  We drove up the big hill.  We saw the driveway that lead to the house.  A car was driving down the driveway as we were driving past.  I told Brian to drive back by, there was a gate, but it was open.  The guy at the chamber told us a Memphis attorney bought the place and lives there part time.  I figured since we just saw a car leaving either the guy who lives there just left or other people venture up to see the house.  I told Brian to go for it.  We drove up the driveway and saw a car in the porte-cochere and turned around and went back down.  It couldn’t have been more than 90 seconds total!  The gate that was open was now CLOSED with a chain!!!  This is not an electric gate;  it is an old fashioned chain link gate with a metal rod that goes in the middle through little holes to keep it closed.  We just looked at each other in amazement…………  What were we going to do?  You could see the chain wrapped around it.  There is NO WAY that someone could have come and closed that gate – we would have seen them or a vehicle or something!  The gate was out of our site for about 30 seconds total!!  I got out and thought I would try to do something.  The chain was wrapped around the gate but the lock was not locked!  I took off the lock and chain, opened the gate and Brian drove through.  I carefully closed the gate back and wrapped the chain around it and left it just as we had found it.  Very strange!  All of this excitement got us hungry so we decided to eat lunch in town.  We ate at “Granny’s”.  The food was good, but all we could talk about was that gate!  After we finished I asked Brian to drive back up to that driveway to see if the gate was still closed.  By now, 45-60 minutes have gone by.  The gate was wide open just like the way we saw it the first time we drove by!  Strange happenings……

A week later and we still are puzzled!

A Day in the Life of an Errand Girl – Party Hosting

Posted on January 23, 2012 by in Clients, Sue

This weekend was the benefit concert for the John Harrison Opera Foundation at The University of Arkansas. It was a homecoming of sorts for the main attraction, Sarah Mesko, a mezzo-soprano and University of Arkansas alumna. You’re probably wondering how this fits in to “A Day in the Life of an Errand Girl” – well, we got to do one of our favorite things – Party Hosting! Mrs. Harrison hired us to do the serving, man the bar and assist with clean-up at the reception. The event took place in the Harrison home which was probably built around the 1890′s. The home is both beautiful and unique. It has very skinny hallways and doors in strange places.

Part of the 'spread'

The narrow hallways made it difficult to maneuver through carrying food and drinks while the guests were hanging out there. Why does it seem that people always gather in the kitchen? Every room in the house was full, not just the kitchen.

Brian playing 'bar tender'

The event was a great success and Mrs. Harrison was happy once again. She had used us in the past so she knew that our work is top-notch!

Sue doing 'clean up'

A good time was had by all and the foundation raised a significant amount of money.

A Day in the Life of an Errand Girl…………My Thoughts………

Posted on December 11, 2011 by in Clients, Sue

A week or so ago I was contacted by a young woman who was looking for transportation for her brother. We discussed the cost and she went ahead and scheduled with us to pick him up on Thursday afternoon. We were to pick him up at his dormitory at The University of Arkansas and bring him to his families home in a town 45 minutes away. She told me he did not have a telephone so the only way she communicates with him is via the internet. I asked who would be responsible for payment and she indicated that he had ‘the’ ATM card. No problem, we could do this. On Thursday morning I telephoned the number that the woman had called me from just to make sure everything was still on since I could not contact her brother. A young man answered the phone. I asked for the woman by name. He questioned who I was calling for???? I repeated it and he said she was at the hospital having a baby! I asked if he was “Mike”? He said he was and so I told him who I was and that we were scheduled to give him a ride in the afternoon and was wanting to confirm. He acted as if he didn’t have a clue what I was talking about. When I told him she had arranged to have me pick him up at The University and bring him home, it dawned on him who I was. He said “Oh, you must be talking about my son, Mike. He is named after me”. It all seemed a bit odd to me but we just do what we are hired to do. I showed up at the dormitory at the agreed upon time. After about 5 minutes a young man came around. I asked if he was Mike and he said he was.

I didn’t want to have a silent 45 minute drive with this 18 year old boy, so I started asking him questions to get the conversation going. I made sure he had the cash and didn’t need to stop at the ATM on the way home. He referred to it as ‘the family ATM card’. Apparently it is a very tight knit family. I found out I was taking Mike to an apartment complex (a very large complex owned by a man who owns most of the apartments in the area and builds them CHEAP!), which is the ‘family home’. He lives there with his Dad (Mike), Mom (who is recently employed out of state), his sister (the one who made the reservation), her boy child and soon her baby girl that was born that morning. I’m not saying living in an apartment is bad, but the number of adult people living in this one apartment and sharing one ATM card is amazing! I don’t know any other University student that doesn’t own a phone (usually a smart phone) and most of them have their own cars. Mike said his family only has one car for all of them and his mom is currently using it out of state at her new job. I (being the nosy one I am) asked how his sister got to the hospital this morning to have her baby. He said the hospital sent a van to pick her up! *NOTE* For those of you that don’t live in this area we do not have public transportation available.

I asked him the usual questions about his major and thoughts about The University. I then asked him about his grades. He said he went to a private high school (in a different state) and they prepared him well for keeping up with his college work. He said he makes mostly B’s. He plans on transferring to the University close to where his mom has taken a job and move along with the rest of the family. He was such a nice, polite kid. I was just so impressed that this kid (and family) that obviously didn’t have a lot of extra money was determined to get his education and get good grades to better himself.

——————————————————————————————————-

Yesterday morning I received a call from an ‘older’ woman asking me if I was a mobile notary and would I come to her. I told her that I was. She seemed thrilled to have found me. She asked about my charges and thought they were fair. She told me that she lost her husband a few weeks ago and she had 2 teacher retirement papers that needed to be notarized. I told her that I had some time that day that I could stop by. She told me she had some ‘errands to run and Christmas shopping to do’ so she wouldn’t be able to meet me at her house until after 3:00 pm. Fine. I would meet her there then. What seemed very strange to me about this was that she was obviously able bodied and could get out. She was even going to be out, why not get it done while she was out? It would definitely be cheaper for her! Again, I don’t ask why I just do what clients want. When I arrived at her house I asked her how she was doing (knowing that she just lost her husband), she was honest with me and told me ‘not very well’. I noticed her house was decorated for Christmas. I complemented her on going ahead and decorating during this difficult time. She pointed out that she didn’t have a Christmas tree up and just “wasn’t going to” do it. Her house really looked beautiful and very Christmasy. Again, to make small talk I asked her who had been the teacher (I knew I was notarizing teacher retirement papers), she or her husband. She told me that she had been the teacher and her husband had been the principal. THEN it dawned on me who she was. I had never met her or her husband before but I knew there was an elementary school named after her husband! I should have made the connection when she told me her last name. She was thrilled that I knew that. I then told her that I had been a teacher in a previous life. We seemed to have an instant bond from there on. My phone rang a couple of times while I was at her house. I just hit the ‘ignore’ button but did notice it was someone from the same number calling each time. That usually means they want something right away. She was so nice and so sweet. She told me she knew she could have gone up to the school or to the bank to have those papers notarized but she just didn’t want to have to see everyone. NOW, I also understand why she wanted me to come to her house to notarize the documents! She told me how glad she was that she found me. What a nice warm feeling that gives me! I asked her how she found me (I try to ask everyone so I know what advertising is working) – she pointed to the phone book. She said, “right in here, you are listed in a lot of different places in this book, you do so much”.

After I left her house I checked my phone expecting to find a voice message from the person who had been trying to call so desperately. No message. In a few short minutes my phone rang again – the same person. It was a young man wanting to know what I did. I told him that I ran errands for people. I asked him what he was interested in. He wanted to know what ‘types of services’ I offer. I’ve heard this tone of voice many times before but not usually during the mid afternoon. I explained that I bought groceries, walked dogs and general errands like that. He sounded so disappointed and said, “Oh”. I then had to explain to him, like so many others, that even though “Escort” and “Errand” are right next to each other in the phone book they are not even similar businesses! He quickly apologized and hung up. I’ve had this conversation with many men over the years so it was nothing new for me. I figured the Principal’s wife (the woman whose house I had just left) would get a kick out of it since she had just told me she found me in the phone book. I called her and she had the biggest hoot over it. It was so nice to hear her belly laugh and she thanked me for that.

A Day (a few weeks!) in the Life of an Errand Girl – Our busy season……

Posted on December 3, 2011 by in Clients, Sue

I know it has been quite a while since I’ve posted! This is our busy time of year and I have gotten caught up in it all. This is what we have been up to these last few weeks……

Each year for the past 3 years I have always organized a group of people to volunteer for what Golden Corral calls Military Monday. It is always the Monday after Veteran’s Day. Golden Corral Restaurants across the nation serve free buffets to all current and retired military personnel. They ask for volunteers each year to assist with getting the Vets and their family members to the tables, serving drinks, cleaning tables, offering bread, etc. We spend a lot of time just ‘chatting’ with them and hearing their stories. It is a lot of work but always leaves us with a great feeling after serving those who served for us. I usually drum up volunteers from the Ambassador group of the Rogers Lowell Chamber of Commerce which I am active in. I also recruited a couple of friends to help.

I spent a bit of time over the past weeks getting a car licensed for someone who had moved out of state. Then I had to take the car to get serviced and cleaned so that the client’s son could fly into town to drive the car back to the east coast where my client is now living. This may sound easier than it was. It was part of a nasty divorce between two clients of mine and somehow I got put in the middle. I just try to make my clients happy by doing what they ask. I don’t always get the fun parts!

It became apparent that a trip to the account was necessary! Regina Young is a wonderful accountant and very patient with me. She didn’t try to convince me, she just came right out and told me I had to start accepting credit cards! Because The Errand Girl pays for all clients merchandise up front and because I have hired so many new contractors she said it was a must for my cash flow to work. I am fairly obedient when people in authoritative positions tell me to do something. So, I set it up online that evening! I now accept Visa, Master Card, American Express and Discover! It has already proven to make things easier!

In addition to all of the regular shopping we do for clients I was also asked to do a TV spot with a local station about what we do. For those of you that have followed me, Ms. Irma was on the interview with me!! She was so nervous – it was cute. Here is the clip in case you haven’t seen it 10 times already.

http://www.4029tv.com/video/29827725/detail.html?taf=fts

Thanks to Angela Taylor of 40/29 who did a great job of editing and putting both me and Ms. Irma at ease!

I made quite a few donation drop-off trips for clients. This always inspires me to ‘clear my own clutter’ at home, so we made some donations too. It always feels so good to get rid of STUFF that is just taking up space and/or collecting dust! One of the errands was taking a 50 inch television that had ‘died’ to be recycled. Yes, a female client and I got that TV in the van by ourselves. I am not going to say we did it without any scraps or bruises, but we did it! I took the TV to my friend, Brent Leas, who works for ESCO Processing and Recycling, LLC. They make it easy to recycle electronics.

Being a Notary Public I was honored to assist a young couple with notarizing some documents for their upcoming adoption of a child from China. I had to meet them at the Washington County Sheriffs Office. Usually when I go to the Sheriffs Office to notarize something it is not such a happy and joyous occasion as this one. This was a nice change of pace!

The cleaning side of The Errand Girl is really taking off. We have acquired a few more bi-weekly contracts. This meant I needed to hire more cleaning contractors. This is a very good thing, but interviewing people is taxing!! How do you tell someone that smells like cigarettes and has rotten front teeth that it wouldn’t be a good idea to hire them to represent you to clean someone’s house? I was able to be honest with them about the cigarette smell – I didn’t bother bringing up the rotten teeth issue. Another person I just spoke to on the phone had to be told, “I don’t think you are what I am looking for”. She asked what I was looking for. I had to be honest with her too and tell her “Someone that doesn’t talk as much”! She told me a LOT more details about her life and the people she had cleaned for than I needed to know. She told me she probably didn’t want to work for me anyway. Whew! Glad she saw that!

Over the Thanksgiving holiday we visited with lots of cats and dogs. They were all very grateful when we walked in the door! They were just getting us ready for all of the visits we will make over the next few weeks. We still have some openings for pet sitting for Christmas.

I spend a lot of time at doctors’ offices. No, I am not the sickly type, I am there with clients. It is amazing to me how impatient older folks are at the doctor. It is very rare that you don’t have to wait for a long period of time to get from the waiting room to the exam room. It is just a fact of life! You would think that older people would be more patient because they have been doing this for much longer than I have (sitting and waiting) and what else do they have to do???? Needless to say, I have spent some time waiting in doctors’ offices lately.

Lunch time! I don’t usually get to sit down and eat lunch (it is usually on the go). The last few weeks I have had the opportunity to attend a couple of luncheons. One of them was the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) luncheon. We heard some really sad sad stories of local kids (and families). We also heard from volunteers for this organization who are making a difference in the life of a child. I was also invited to attend 15 cent hamburger day at a local senior apartment complex. The administration wanted to bring back ‘the good ol days’ of .15 hamburgers for the residents. That was a lot of fun meeting a bunch of new friends with all kinds of different backgrounds and stories to tell.

Someone called me this week asking me to make a delivery of some large boxes for her business. I always ask people how they heard about The Errand Girl. I really expected her to say she saw us on TV. That is the response I have been getting from most people lately. She said she saw the van on the road a long time ago and put the information in her phone because she knew she would ‘need us someday’. Smart lady!

We were successful in avoiding the stores for Black Friday. Mrs. C. called and tried to get me to go but I told her it would wait until Monday (it wasn’t a special item on sale). I did have to go to the grocery store for a couple of clients but it was not a big deal.

The Christmas wrapping season is now upon us. Today was the first day of gift wrapping mania. It seems as though a lot of people are shopping earlier this year – which is a good thing! I don’t recall seeing so many people in the stores actually buying things this early in December.

By the way………… we did hire another cleaning ‘girl’! Welcome Kim Jones to the team!!

Oh, yea, we also updated our website as you can tell with this post! Thanks to Jeannette at Scribe Marketing for her great work!!!

It has been a very busy few weeks, but we are ready for the next one …………..Bring it on!

On the road again………….. A Day in the Life of an Errand Girl

Posted on November 7, 2011 by in Clients, Sue

We are driving back from spending the week in Illinois visiting Brian’s family that lives there (2 sisters and his father).  It is hard for us to get away during the holidays as that is a very busy time for us, so we were celebrating Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years all in one week!

Before I left I felt as though I had to let certain clients know.  My older clients often call me during the week and need something that day.  I sat down with Mrs. C. (see previous post “Some background history of Mrs. C”:   http://errandbiz.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/some-background-history-of-mrs-c/ ..)  a week ahead of time and we wrote it on her calendar when I   would be gone.  The two times I saw her the week before I left I reminded her again.  Of course, she called me on Monday morning to go shopping for her because she knew we were leaving that afternoon.  After I dropped off her groceries and headed to the door she said, “I will miss you”.  In all the years I’ve worked for her she has never said anything like that to me before.  I said, “really?”.  She replied, “Yes, you’ve become a necessary part of my life – I don’t want you to go”.  She touched my heart!  She said, “It’s not fair, I want you to be in town for me!”   I assured her that I would be back before long.  It wasn’t the first time I felt bad ‘leaving’ her, but it was the first time she ever indicated that she missed me when I was gone!

Knowing that we would be celebrating holidays I wanted to buy Christmas gifts to take with us.  I hate paying shipping costs!  Brian’s sisters are really easy to buy for – even though Brian didn’t think so before I came into his life.  We had both sisters taken care of and wrapped before we left.  The hard one is his dad!  What do you buy for an 80 year old man that doesn’t NEED anything???  I have the same problems shopping for my own father.  They have more clothes than they will ever wear again because they don’t go out any more. They don’t need more ‘stuff’ to collect dust as they already have more than they know what to do with.  The slippers we bought last year haven’t been worn enough to warrant a new pair.  Restaurant gift cards aren’t much fun when you’ve lost your life partner.   Tools, pictures, dishes, towels, etc.  No, they already have more than they need!

Brian’s dad is a big man (very tall, solid & with bad knees) who is set in his ways like most people his age.  The one thing we’ve gotten him in the past that was the best idea was ‘stability arms’ that attach to the toilet.  I’m not sure what they are called at the moment but it is like a walker placed backwards on the toilet to help you get up.  He loves it and it is useful!  I’m really into useful or necessary when it comes to giving.  We’ve bought his dad some other ‘help’ gadgets over the years but this is the one he uses.  The As Seen On TV foot scrubber that we gave him is still in the box on a shelf in the bathroom with another one identical to it.  I guess someone else had that grand idea!  I get catalogs that have lots of ‘help gadgets’ in them, I thought to bring the catalogs with me this year to look at them with him!  Great idea!!  We were looking through the catalogs and he didn’t seem to think the things I had in mind would be of use to him, although he had never seen catalogs like this before.  I left the catalogs with him just in case he sees something he might need.  : )

As we were coming back into his dad’s house after going out to eat, I noticed what trouble his dad had getting up the two small steps on his front porch.  I asked him if he ever used his cane (I’ve seen a couple around the house in the past), he said it was in his car when he needed it.  In his car doesn’t do him much good getting in and around the house!  I asked him if having a railing to hold on to would help.  He said he had thought that one might be good but hadn’t done it yet.  That was it!!!  We were going to put in a railing on his front steps for his Christmas present!!!  Very useful and needed!!  He thought it was a great idea too!  Sometimes he balks at people doing things for him.  He seemed much more willing to let us help him with projects around the house this time.  It sounds like a good thing, but it really isn’t.  It means his dad is getting older and less able to do things for himself.   Both, Brian and I saw a definite decline in his physical being from last year.  We really NEED to take the time off to go see him more often!!!  Once a year is NOT ENOUGH!!!  Plus he has a lot more chores around the house!

The railing…………….  We went to Menards (home building store) to look and see what they had.  I wish we had a Menards store where we live!  I love that store!  They had a very large selection, but since I am not the Engineer, like his dad, I didn’t take the two steps into consideration.  I may not have the skills to build it, but I sure can ask for help.  I asked a guy that worked there to help “us”.  He and Brian exchanged a bunch of garble that I didn’t have a clue about, but it looked like there was one that would work!  Yea!  His dad looked at it and he liked it too!  We bought it and headed home.  You know how things always seem much simpler than they turn out to be?  The store clerk made it sound so easy too!  I guess we forgot to tell him we were putting it into concrete steps.  After starting the project we find out there is rebar in the way on the steps.  It seemed like it was one issue after another.  While Brian worked on that project, his sisters followed my lead and we cleaned out the flower bed in the front that was overgrown.  The railing didn’t get finished before dinner time, so we stopped for the day.  Of course it rained all day the next day so we couldn’t do anything on the railing the whole day.  That was Thursday.  We were supposed to leave on Friday as both Brian and I had to work on Saturday.   We got up early on Friday to get started so we could finish and leave.  I had wanted to mow his yard, but couldn’t the day before because of the rain.   While Brian worked on the railing again, I mowed the very tall, wet grass!  YUCK! When I finished mowing, Brian was still having some issues – mostly with the drill.  I became his ‘assistant’ and we finally finished the project.  It was complete!!!  Yea!  I feel so much better knowing his dad has something strong to hold on to while getting in and out of his house.  Such a relief!  By now it was close to 3:00 in the afternoon (we had an 8 hour drive ahead of us) and we had hoped to leave that morning.  You do what you have to do.  So, we got on the road again………

Camping in October……..

Posted on October 13, 2011 by in Sue

One of the lessons learned from last time:

1. Go camping during the middle of the week

Luckily I write down the lessons we should learn from our experiences, otherwise who knows what might happen.  This time we planned to camp Tuesday through Thursday so we would be assured of a vacant campground.  Accomplished!  There are three sections at our favorite campground.  The section that we like was ALL OURS!

Right off the bat we learned new lessons for the future.  We bought an older truck a while back to tow the camper.  We have been very lucky in that it has had no problems except for needing a jump start once.  We have jumper cables that we keep in the truck.  The day before we were going to go Brian decided he better check to see if the windshield wipers worked and what condition they were in.  We hadn’t even thought of the wipers before because it had been so dry all summer with no rain.  Well, rain was predicted for this camping trip so he decided to check.  The truck wouldn’t start!  Brian figured it just needed a jump again.  No, that didn’t work.  He looked through the manual and checked online for all the things ‘it could be’.   I just figured we weren’t going camping – no big deal.  Brian was determined to get this truck started so we could go.  Neither of us is very mechanically inclined when it comes to cars.  I asked Brian if he knew anyone who worked on cars.  His friend, Don, was the only one he knew that tinkered with cars.  I told him to ask him.  That evening Don responded to the call.  He said Isuzu Rodeos are known for their battery cables getting yucky.  I don’t think he quite said it like that.  As soon as daylight came the next morning Brian was out there cleaning off the cables.  After that and a jump our baby started right up!!!  We were going camping after all.

I really didn’t think we were going so I had already made other plans (in my head, but hadn’t told Brian) and hadn’t begun to get ready.  We did have our menu because that is the first thing we always do when deciding to go camping.  Food is a big deal to me!  I had done the grocery shopping to accommodate our menu but if we didn’t go camping we could still have the same menu at home.  No smores on the menu this time.  I had a full day of work that I needed to fit into the morning so we would be able to take off that afternoon.  I left early that morning to get started.  When I finished up everything I had to do and came back EVERYTHING was packed!!!  At least that is what Brian said.  I am such a control freak that I always put everything we need (food wise) on the island and keep one section of the fridge with just our cold camping food.  I didn’t have time to do either.  I through some clothes in a backpack and we were on the road.  Brian always packs all of the camping gear so I wasn’t worried about any of that.  But, like I said, food is very important to me and I was a bit concerned.  Aren’t you supposed to ‘trust the ones you love’?  I guess I was going to have to.  I would survive either way.   I am happy to report that Brian did not miss one thing!!!  I should trust him more.  Maybe this will be a good learning experience to realize that I can trust him with details!!!  It is a very comforting thought and I actually let go of some control and I’m still alive!  Thanks, honey!

We knew the weatherman said rain chances for the days we would be gone.  That didn’t bother us.  We don’t mind camping in the rain.  Setting up in the rain wouldn’t be fun but Brian had it figured out to a science if we had to.  Of course, when we pulled into the campground and got out to register it started POURING!!!  Oh, well, at least we were taking some time off and camping.  It is a very hard thing to do when you are self employed and we are BOTH self employed.  We know that if we don’t schedule these trips ahead of time they will never happen.  Of course when we scheduled this we both had the days open.  Who would have guessed that Brian would have THREE deals on the table and a couple more in the works when the time came?   We are very thankful for cell phones.  We figure eventually most campgrounds will also have wi-fi so we will be fully ‘connected’ if need be.   I’ve been very impressed with how easily Brian conducts his real estate transactions from our little get away in the woods.

By the time we got the trailer backed in place at the campsite it had all but stopped raining.  I even took a picture to show how pretty it turned out to be.

After the rain.............

FOOD – I mentioned it being important to me.  Dinner the first night was fish cooked over the fire and roasted butternut squash.  It was delicious!!!   I think I’ve mentioned before that our roles are reversed.  Brian does all of the cooking at home.  Well, when we are camping he still does all the cooking but I get to do the fire.  I love fire!  Since it had been raining for about 24 hours before hand it was nearly impossible to find anything dry to burn.  Being the Girl Scout that I was, I can build a fire.  I had to take a picture to show you just how good of a fire I can build even with wet wood!

Sue, the Girl Scout makes fire with wet wood

RAIN – Any of you that live in Northwest Arkansas would know that it rained and rained.  Thunder, lightening and LOTS of rain!  It didn’t bother us as we were nice and dry inside our camper.  The scary part was the big balls from the black walnut trees falling on the camper sounded like brief explosions when they hit the roof!!!

Sounded like bombs when they hit the roof of the camper!

Needless to say, we did not get a lot of sleep the first night because of the loud noises outside.  That’s ok, we are camping so there are no rules as to how long you sleep in the morning!    It thundered and rained again for most of the morning but it wasn’t near as noisy as the night storm had been.  Now it is 2:30 in the afternoon and we are sitting outside enjoying the sunshine and cool weather.  This is my favorite place to write my blog.  Brian enjoys reading, so he is reading and I am writing.  Such a lovely afternoon in October in the Ozarks!

FOOD – We decided to have chili for dinner.  It seemed like a great fall weather meal.   We used the Dutch oven and home grown tomatoes (thank you, Malcolm!).  Once again, Brian did all the cooking prep while I conquered making the fire with really wet wood!  Success on both parts!  YUMMY chili!

After dinner it started thundering again.  We thought it was going to rain, so we took the usual precautions.  It never did rain, but the lightening continued.  We stayed outside and enjoyed the lightening show, watched the clouds dissipate, and watched the full moon rise!  I also got an in depth lesson on astronomy beginning in 300 BC.  We slept with the full moon shining in our open window.

I awoke early to the pre sunrise glow of bright orange on the lake.  It was gorgeous!  I was all snug in bed and wasn’t going to get up to take a picture just to share it with you – sorry!   Take my word, it was lovely.  Then about 30 minutes later the sun rose.

After a wonderful camp breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast it is time to get Back to Life……………Back to Reality….

Lesson learned:

1. Don’t use the truck only to tow the camper or at least drive it every so often to keep it going.

2. Always try to camp during a full moon

3. October during the week is a great time to camp!

← Older posts

Switch to our mobile site