Mollie and Hazel catching rays!
What’s the point? — I frequent a local department store because it’s convenient. It’s not big but there is enough of a selection and I often find what I’m looking for. They also do specials, coupons and all sorts of sales and discounts. That’s the problem. It’s not that I don’t like a good bargain but each coupon or sale or special has “exclusions” and they are not all the same. This past week I went on a special “senior” day plus I had at least 6 other coupons. I bought shoes and a candle. Neither purchase qualified for any of the coupons nor could I get the “senior” discount. They classified the candle as cosmetics which hardly ever has discounts. Really? I’d be hard pressed to figure out how to use a candle on my face!
Regrets, I have a few – This week as I was whipping around the Starbucks parking lot to get into the drive-through line, there was a car sitting in the way. She wasn’t in back of the last car in the drive-through but she wasn’t in a parking space either. I had no idea what she was doing so I swung around her to get in line. Then she pulled in back of me. Now I felt a little guilty. Did I somehow cut her off? Or was she on her cell? As I came up to the window, I thought I’d buy her coffee. That is until they told me her bill was $16. I wasn’t that guilty! She was most likely getting orders from friends.
The de-ponding of my neighborhood – When I moved here, several homes had small ponds in the yard. There were three on my very short street. After a few years, we put one in and I love it. It’s peaceful and soothing. This year two of my neighbors are getting rid of their ponds. One is already out and the other is slated to get removed in a few weeks. I am saddened. They were my inspiration. There is some work to a pond but if you plan and build it right, it’s not much. It’s not as much work as a pool. I guess that means there will be more frogs for me!
The first real sign – The beloved husband just loves corn on the cob. We have it five times a week from June to October. Sometimes we are lucky and some good stuff comes in early. We track it. The first crop comes from Columbia imported along with drugs by the cartel. The next crop is from Florida and it moves up the coast until finally around the very end of June, it’s local. This past week I found some at the grocery store. I don’t know where it comes from but it wasn’t bad. Not like June or July corn but much better than frozen (and that’s a direct quote from the beloved husband.)
The first ding! – My car is three weeks old. It has less than 500 miles on it but it has the first door scratch. I don’t know why or how people scrape cars when they get out of their car. I don’t park in tight spots nor do I park next to older cars that are dinged up. I don’t take up two parking spaces either because I know people deliberately scratch or kick those cars. Guess I will just get over it and consider it christened!
So how was your week?
Jake: Hey Yo Cupcake! I need a drink! I’m here on the chair! Put an ice cube in it too!
Views and Mews by Coffee Kat 
Of course candles are cosmetics. In their soft lighting, your features are enhanced.
Sorry about your car. Love your pond. Problem here would be the big birds would treat any koi or goldfish in it as their personal buffet.
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I must remember to carry candles with me so when people look at me I pop one out and light it! We have herons here. They seem to prefer the bigger fish. I lost 3 this winter. One was definitely not to a heron but I don’t know what happened to the other two. The bodies weren’t left behind.
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As Rod Stewart famously sang: The first ding is the hardest. Or something like that! My car is now 12 years old and has more dings than paint… but I still remember the first one!
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He really said that? I’m sure it wasn’t about a car….
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Why would you get rid of a pond? That really strikes me as odd. They’re so lovely, and you’re right…peaceful. I love this 5 random business…also, that you were smart enough not to get roped in to that 16 bucks at Starbucks…had a similar incident…offered to buy a young kid a coffee…rather than a simple cup, he got a designer special. I almost died….I mean…ya know…funny and insightful, as always.
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They got rid of the pond because of the work. I find it peaceful work and unless you have an acre pond, it’s not that much work. Who doesn’t mind feeding fish and if you don’t get to it, there’s enough food in the pond for them to survive. Fortunately for Starbucks I was in the drive-through (and they know me) so I asked first without her hearing. Had I been inside it would have been tougher to offer and then rescind.
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I like when you talk about the fish n your pond…I would think everyone would feel the way that you do. Beauty is so at large these days…when you find it even if you create it yourself, it should be held onto. Wish I had a drive-through….
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THE POINT…I rarely clip coupons…watch for something I KNOW I will redeem them for…hate carting them around. Some people are addicted to coupons and carry notebooks around ~ full of them! Aargh…whatever!
REGRETS…We have four daughter-in-laws. We were invited to attend a Sedar meal; tragically we were ten minutes late due to a mistake on our GPS. Not a problem to anyone else but above mentioned person…I regret one of her very hurtful remarks. There wasn’t a ‘set’ time for anyone to arrive…sadly, we were the felons who failed to arrive at her appointed time! Boo!
DE-PONDING…We had a beautiful pond at our ranch but it was sold when we moved to China…wish we had another. I love ponds…also frogs!
CORN COBS…Plentiful around here…best we ever had were in Wisconsin. Green Giant grew fields of corn and we were graciously allowed to come pick some for ourselves…ooh, juicy and ‘licious!
DINGS…I’m the culprit who put the only ding we have on our Toyota. All was forgiven since I did it directly after my love called me from the doctor’s office with his news of being diagnosed with Amyloidosis. Totally zapped, I dinged the car and ran my first ever stop sign…whew!
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We also attended a seder at some friend’s home. They told us to get there by a certain time which we did. No one was there. I thought we got the day wrong. Everyone came a half hour later. Her invitation said to come at 4:30 because the seder would start promptly at 5. Obviously everyone else picked up on the 5. As it turns out, she started at 5:45! Ten minutes isn’t worth a scolding. My friend just rolled with the change in plans.
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Ugh…exclusions! There is a department store in our area that begins with the letter “B” and their coupons are worthless. I can’t figure out why they waste money on printing when the coupons NEVER work.
Have a great week, Kate!
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Hmmm….our store starts with a B too!
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Sometimes I feel a little guilty that I almost never bother with coupons. Then I save some, and they clog up my purse or I bring them to the store and forget to use them or I hand one to the clerk and she says it doesn’t apply. “What’s the point?” Life’s complicated enough as it is.
My five-year-old grandson wanted to help on a snowy day in March and scratched the hood of my daughter’s car with the windshield scraper. Her car, unlike yours, is already old.
We used to have a big pond. The frog chirping was very nice.
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I have the same conflict about coupons. I think I should use them but when I try it rarely works. I am doing a BIG grocery trip tomorrow with coupons. I will need a Starbucks afterward to soothe me!
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All I know is that regardless of what else is happening in your life, you have a cat who calls you Cupcake. And that, my friend, makes it all worthwhile.
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You are so right!
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coupons – I tend to carry them around in my purse, and forget to use them, and then, every so often, I clean out my purse and throw them all away. An exercise in redundancy. But it truly doesn’t seem logical that a candle is considered a cosmetic item. Really?
regrets – we’ve all unintentionally cut someone off or stepped in front of someone in line. These days, I tend to do the opposite, in that I often let folks go ahead of me. Since becoming disabled, and leaving the work force (it’s sad to even say that out loud), my time is the one commodity that I can freely give away to others, so if I’m not up against some deadline or another, I tend to let folks go ahead, and have even been known to let several people move up in the grocery line. I get a lot of happy smiles that way, and sometimes, some rather interesting conversation.
de-ponding – this just makes my heart sad. I think having a pond is a lovely indulgence, and even though it surely takes work and dedication and an investment of time and money, it would seem the enjoyment factor would outweigh the cost. I’ve loved your posts about your pond, and look forward to more of the same. Frogs and all.
corn cobs – here in the south, they are on every corner, nearly year round. Having ready access to something tends to lessen your ability to appreciate that item, so maybe it’s time for me to rediscover the juicy bite of corn on the cob. Or tamales. Both available in abundance.
ding – oh, what a bummer! My car is already seven years old, and I still agonize a bit over every fresh ding or scratch. In my case, the first one was all on me. I accidentally hit the garage door opener when I shouldn’t have, and put a rather hefty mark on my trunk. Ouch. Which has me remembering the old days, when every mark or scratch was rushed off to the dealer to be repaired. Not so much these days. Now they have simply become part of the package, and I’ve just learned to sigh a little bit and shrug my shoulders. Still, I’m sorry to hear your new ride has been marked by someone’s carelessness. Bummer.
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Thanks for stopping by and reflecting! I don’t get dings fixed unless someone smashes my door (yes, that happened once $2K to fix!) The car gets traded in eventually with scratches and dings hopefully obscured by dust!
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That first scratch on a new car is agony! You have my sympathy!!!
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Yes and I’m not even a car person.
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Maybe they think the candle will be handy for waxing eyebrows ~ a definite cosmetic procedure. ❓
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I nice smelly hyacinth candle for the kitchen? Waxing eyebrows? I’d probably rip my eyeballs out.
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I’m with you on the coupons. I never have the right one with me and, if I do, it’s expired. Gah! I’m fussy and hate shopping so if I find clothing that fits my shape and looks decent I just buy it.
No haggling, no guilt just done. Then I go buy a coffee and celebrate 🙂
MJ
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Sometimes it’s just not worth the trouble and you have all this paper in your pocketbook!
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Loved all your random five. Took grandson to Kohl’s on Friday after school to buy some spring-summer clothes. He has grown since last summer. Go figure. I love Kohl’s because I always feel like I’ve won the lottery with the surprise savings they find for me. So I took him shopping on Friday and my husband took him to a crawfish festival near us on Saturday. They came home with a goldfish, that needed a bowl, that needed supplies, that needed food…you get the idea. Daughter will be surprised when she picks him up today. Have a lovely next week, too.
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