Random 5 for December 24 – Traditions, bad luck, good luck, deliveries, cryptic messages

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This has nothing to do with my post but it’s so beautiful. I didn’t take it and I don’t know who did to give proper credit.

An easier way to go — Earlier this week I had lunch with an old friend (as in long-tenured not age-old!). She had sent an email to her friends saying there would be no formal cards or decorating or parties for her this year. She wished everyone a happy holiday season with a Christmas emoji. Don’t feel sad. Her days will be filled doing the stuff she wants to do instead of old tired traditions she doesn’t. I thought it was brilliant. When I got home I send her a Christmas emoji greeting by email!

It’s the holidays so what will go wrong? – Something always happens at any holiday. This year I feel lucky. One of my teeth popped a veneer two days before a scheduled appointment (woo hoo!). Perfect timing! I won’t be looking like a hillbilly for the holiday. We found a spot on the upstairs ceiling. Looks like a water leak but nothing is wet and there is no sign of a roof leak. We don’t have to cart buckets around for Christmas.

Speaking of luck – I am not lucky. Ever. I can count on one hand the number of times I have won anything and it’s always the smallest prize or one I don’t want. I once won a raffle gift that I had donated. Seriously, how bad is that? This week a local store was giving out gift cards from $5 to $500. The odds are high that everyone will get a $5 card. I got $10. (Ok, it’s not much but I’m taking it as a win!)

Overdrive – The FedEx, UPS and USPS delivery guys have been going crazy on our street this week. It’s always sad when they pass our house without dropping off gifts. It’s as if they were Santa. Then again, every delivery is a charge on the credit card so maybe we made out. Hats off to all delivery workers for what was a record-breaking season.

Speaking of deliveries – It’s wonderful that you can track your package. I have one on the way. Sort of. Maybe. The tracking said it was in Philadelphia (nearby city). The next message was “carrier delay” from Kentucky. Then it was out for delivery followed by another carrier delay. Now it’s back at the local facility. I don’t need the package for Christmas and I know those workers are working hard to keep up.

So how was your week?

59 thoughts on “Random 5 for December 24 – Traditions, bad luck, good luck, deliveries, cryptic messages”

  1. Sick grandkids, sick son-in-law, and entirely too much of everything…but it’s all good. I have nothing to complain about, except that 40 years ago I could have planned better than to have given birth to my daughter on Christmas Eve. 🙂 I throw a birthday party for her every year…it isn’t her fault! LOL! There’s been a lot of chaos, but only the kind I seem to invite in. All is good! And your $10 gift card is surely a sign that 2018 is going to be a good year, don’t you think? 🙂

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  2. With Christmas now behind us, I feel we can all take a really deep breath of relief and relax a little.

    Who knows? Maybe with your big $10 win, you can parlay into a bigger win. I’m thinking wine 😉
    I’m like you … never the winner, unless it’s something ridiculously useless, and even then I’m thrilled!

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  3. Merry Christmas Kate!
    I would have been screaming from the rooftops over the $10 gift card!!!
    Thank goodness all teeth and water is intact for the holidays.
    At this point, I think I will be claiming the UPS guy as a dependent on my taxes because I’m pretty sure he lives here at this point. (young people live here so EVERYTHING is online)

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  8. First off, I love the snow on your site, and cardinals are my most favorite birds aside from owls. That said. I didn’t get many packages. Three to be exact and they were great, especially the teeny tiny frog someone sent me in a yoga pose I’ve named Phil. He’s a keeper alright. He’ll remind me, spring will come again, sooner than we know.
    I’m glad you don’t have a leak and you won’t look like a hillbilly for the holidays. It’s the little things that get us through.
    I have visions of Mollie, Hazel, Morgan and Gracie caroling around the neighborhood in red vests and mufflers while you sip endless cups of Starbucks hot coco. Deck those halls Kate.
    🙂

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  9. I am still laughing about you winning the gift that you had donated! I really think we have the same amount of luck! Are you sure things don’t jump out at your car too? 🙂
    Yay on the $10, I would count that as a win!
    Love the picture of the cardinal, it is lovely!
    Wishing you and your husband and of course the cats a wonderful Christmas!!

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  10. I’ve given up sending cards and lots of other stuff that costs a lot of money, and for most folks, doesn’t mean all that much. I agree…spend our days doing things we value. Then again, there are the clients who left me with their dog in bad shape that they weren’t too worried about, but with whom I spent most of the morning at the emergency vet. Grrrrrrr. Getting too old for this stuff.

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    • I can’t believe any caring owner leaves a sick pet. They must trust you. I would worry too much. When Jake was ill and I was away overnight, I boarded him at the vet as a precautionary measure. I have a great pet sitter but I wouldn’t leave her with that worry.

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      • It isn’t that they trust me, though they do. They just think his serious health problems aren’t serious. Sigh. But breathing…as in being able to do it…comes pretty high on my list of health necessities.

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  11. I used to be very lucky… now, not so much. I once won the grand prize of a downtown hotel stay, a carriage ride, and dinner for two. Maybe I used up all my luck on that one.

    I had a wayward package like that recently. We figured it had gotten lost along the way then needed to be resent.

    Have a wonderful non-hillbilly Christmas!

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  12. Hi, Kate, I’m so glad you won’t look like a hillbilly, but in any case, I’ll be you’d have been a cute hillbilly! And for the record, I have never won anything in my life, except for perhaps a $2.00 scratch off lottery ticket! Merry Christmas to you! ~ Lynn

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  13. I have seen a picture on facebook of people who leave water bottles and snacks on their porch for the delivery drivers to grab and go when they leave packages. I think that’s a brilliant idea. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

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  14. I would take that as a win. Twice as much as you expected! 😉
    I had a very cheery FedEx delivery guy yesterday. Could have been because the little box was so light it felt empty–LOL! (Set of metallic brush pens–gift to myself.) Up here they are also dealing with below zero weather and wind chill warnings of -40 degrees–but he said it wasn’t that bad out–LOL! They breed them hardy up north. 😉 Merry Christmas!

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  16. Merry Christmas, Kate. I do seriously wonder about some delivery ‘tracking systems’. Last week I received a message from Amazon saying that unfortunately my delivery would be delayed. I had already received said delivery two days before the message was sent. I crossed my fingers and hoped that I was getting two packages for the price of one…but sadly it was not the case.

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      • Kate, I had that in late November. I finally on-line chatted with a customer service rep (FedEx) which was faster than getting a call through. He put a tracker on it from his end, and it showed up 2 days later…only 14 days after expected ( from a nov 29 expected delivery date) My guess is it was mid-shelved at the warehouse! You might want to try that, if your is FedEx or UPS. Good luck.

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  17. Ooo, a 10 dollar win, yay!

    Ugh, sorry to hear about Colinandray’s Visa cancellation. What a PITA. (Pain in the. . . . )

    I’ve been delivering neighbor gifts, nothing extravagant, just little somethings like a handmade ornament or a chocolate treat. I’ve got 2 more to hand out. It’s lovely chatting with folks this time of year when everyone’s in a cheerful mood!

    Merry Christmas, Kate! I’m so glad to have found your blog this year!

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  20. I absolutely adore your sense of humor. My week was too crazy busy, since I DID send out xmas cards and then when I get cards from others, I feel like I have to e-mail them and tell them how much I like their card. Ack. Double the work. Brought home two different grandkids twice to make Christmas cookies. Our house is now permanently sprinkled with green and red little do-dads. But the cookies taste good! 🙂 Merry Merry Christmas to you and yours. Oh, and yes, our package once got stuck in Kentucky also (after it was within 15 miles of our home). Tracking, schmacking. We never did get whatever it was…. :-0 🙂

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  21. I had my VISA card cancelled by VISA on this past Tuesday! It was because there was an issue which could have been a bank error, or a set up for potential fraud. Given the proximity to Christmas, and I have quite a few organizations that automatically draw on my VISA every month… I requested that they get someone to check the files and determine if it was a careless error or in fact a potential fraud situation. They declined to do that and cancelled my card. Merry Christmas VISA. I get my new Mastercard next week. Will they be any better? They cannot be worse!

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  22. I’m not usually lucky either……………… 6 bingo cards for me and 5 friends, five prizes, none for me.
    It’s sort of been a good week. Got everything done and the cold was going. Now it’s back so I’m still on the cold remedies. Hubby’s sleeping in the spare room so that we can both get some sleep. Maggie’s with………………… me, the bed’s bigger! Happy Holidays!!

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