What’s up in the ‘hood

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The dang smoke detector went all crazy last week. It was in the afternoon but it scared us all. I was with the cats under the bed! Changing the battery didn’t help. It’s a new unit installed less than a year ago. The good news is that it didn’t happen when the beloved husband was gone or at 3 a.m. I would have said bad words. He, however, was flummoxed. He was imploring the deities to do something. They didn’t. We’re still trying to figure out what to do with it. You may see it on the front lawn!

The new gym is not as interesting as the old gym. It’s mostly men and I’m finding them boring except for the occasional wonky ones. There is one guy that I diagnosed with Tourette syndrome (which I did for free!). His comments never made sense to me but I only caught dribs and drabs of them. This week he was working across from me. He may be on the phone. There is nothing visible on the ear but he seemed to be carrying on a logical conversation with someone. Maybe he sees dead people. After I wrote this I saw him have a conversation with the TV newscaster. I stand by my diagnosis.

There is something worse than shopping for swimsuits. It’s shopping for bras. I went looking for one of those comfy leisure bras. They had discontinued the style I had which meant I had to hunt for a new favorite. The price had doubled and the sizing changed. After visiting two different places, including a lingerie specialty store, I had tried on over 20 different styles and sizes. I bought two different ones. One went back after wearing for two days. Doggone thing wasn’t comfy at all. They convinced me to buy a “sister size” which means they didn’t have it in my size but they wanted to make a sale. Obviously this sister has different boobs then I do. They took it back and worked with me to find another which will come in the mail this week. The other one seems ok. The price is right but I will need to wear it a few days to see if I really like it. When I lock in on a favorite, I’ll buy a case of them! Got to keep the girls happy!

59 thoughts on “What’s up in the ‘hood”

  1. We found out that smoke alarms have a shelf life and must be completely replaced after a number of years…and ours it that bench mark year last year. AAARRRGH. Hammer time. So we’ve replaced the entire lot….with “special” ones – ones that will let you through internet/phone if they go off ( so you can check your cameras to see if the dog has bailed through the window yet…we worry about that)…And you’re supposed to be able to cut them off by remote if necessary…and they are now refusing to cooperate on the same internet modem as the “special” video doorbell – one of the other is always taking themselves off line…I’m about ready to get out the baseball bat with both of them….
    (breathing calmly, slowly…breathing….muttering “like we needed something else to take up time and coasting far too much time on the phone with the manufacturer….”)
    Nothing worse than the panic over discontinued…when you find one, check Amazon and load up…so much easier than the stores ( and I hate those “fitters” who just want to make a sale no matter what ….)

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  4. I can’t really help with the Bra subject, but the smoke alarm falls in my field or expertise. Try the Red-Neck fire alarm. It doesn’t have false events. If it gets hot enough for this one, there is definitely a fire!

    Hang a Jiffy-Pop over main doorways. It comes with a handle for easy mounting, lightweight, no batteries, and won’t make a sound till it reaches popping temperature! If you get snowed in, you can pull one down for emergency food.

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  5. Bra shopping is the worst thing ever! Especially when they discontinue the one you like. My last smoke detector drama was when they all started going off while Dave and I were having a weekend away. The cat sitter called to let us know. So it was a short weekend 😛

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  7. I have a smoke detector sitting on my bedroom dresser, where it has been for 6 months now. LOL! Seriously! We had a similar malfunction and just haven’t prioritized the problem solving! I hate shopping for bras, too. I think you’re right, however. Once you find what you like, purchase multiples. Good plan!

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  8. Bras for me are a pain the neck to find. I can’t stand ones that are bulky, and have underwire. (that really digs!) As for smoke, well, here in Vancouver, BC the smoke has been so thick, you can suck it through a straw, I swear! 550 fires burning in our province! Scorching hot weather, and pollution from ground ozone topping it off with weeks of endless wildfire smoke drifting down to the coast, even as far as Washington State. The people there want to buy large fans to put on their rooftops to blow the smoke back into BC 😛 (um, don’t think that will work, neighbors!) Even my own smoke detectors in my home have gone off just from leaving the windows open. My poor cats gag, so had to close them off the entire week while the warning was up. Couldn’t turn on the air conditioners either because it sucks in the smoke from the outdoors, so its literally been hell on earth here. We’re supposed to get a break from it for awhile, can’t come soon enough! I have asthma, so its been pretty rough going, sore throat, sore lungs, and gagging from all that particulate matter, and the ground ozone. Can’t wait til fall! Cooler air, and rain!

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    • I am so sorry. The western fires have been really bad this year. There is smoke as far east as Denver. I always feel badly for the wildlife. Hoping you get some rain and cool weather. We are still getting intermittent showers but it has cooled off. We will be lovely (so they say) for the next 5 days and then there will be another heat wave. The good news is that it’s cooling off at night. Makes it all bearable. There is nothing worst than waking up to 80 degrees and 80% humidity.

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  9. I don’t like shopping… period. Smoke detectors, so far so good… knock on wood. But do know the heart stopping irritation of them. Hope you get it worked out. With my super duper sense of smell and hearing I think I could out perform a smoke detector and now we are only talking about 1500 sq feet. I think I can handle the fire patrol but I don’t want to test it!

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  10. I love that picture of the bra. Acceptable bras are getting harder and harder to find. I fear it’s the changes in my body. They need the equivalent of little cranes to hold them up.

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  11. If you find a good bra, let us know the brand and style. I finally found one after trying a dozen, then I lost weight and I’m back to square one. I measure but the size I am supposed to wear doesn’t fit. I’m using double sided tape on the straps now to keep them from showing. Crazy.

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    • They are better than the old bras of the 60s. Fabric is softer and stretchier and they don’t have those stupid cotton cups that you had to iron (maybe you are too young for that!). However, comfort can still be elusive. Double-sided tape? Wow!

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  12. I can relate to all these … when there is a power outage the smoke alarm goes off. It is decades old, looks like yours, but I bought a new model and didn’t like it and hung this one back on the wall. But it doesn’t chirp like when the battery is low, it makes a loud noise.
    When the CO2 alarm went off in the middle of the night, I came running down the hall and into the cellarway to where the smoke alarm was – I was half asleep and couldn’t figure out why the noise wasn’t coming from the smoke alarm, but in my sleep-stupor I removed the battery from it anyway. The noise continued – I then realized it was the C02 alarm and I went racing downstairs (awake by now) and the battery alarm low was buzzing. I reset it and good as new but it was already old and they said 6 years and replace it so I did – it is on his second 6 years and I will replace it before that happens again.

    We have a guy who walks at the Park and he talks to himself all the time. He was behind me the first time and chattering away and let out a yell and said “why not?” at the top of his lungs. I, of course, thought he had a Bluetooth and was on the phone. He passed me up, no Bluetooth, no wire, and no phone because he stripped off his shirt, threw it on the bench (not a pretty sight either) and his pants were hanging past his crack. Nope, no phone – just a little out there. He does it all the time and I’ll be walking along and he’s behind me and I jump out of my skin.

    The bra thing – I have the “good bras” left from my work days – in those days, I had underwire to help boost those 34Bs up so my dress fit better. I’m not going back to those wiry old things, though they are nice and still in good shape. For walking, I’ve worn out all the comfy, non-binding bras and have gone three separate times to buy something that is comfortable … each time, I’ve washed it/them, worn it/them and get a rash – it must be the elastic on the bottom. Back I go to the ratty-old bras that are comfortable … my mother always said “never leave the house with dirty underwear or holes in your stockings” … does a ratty bra fit in this category too?

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      • I agree and I had my favorites and always made sure I didn’t run out of them. Nowadays, I feel like I have dealt with the underwire bras, the heavy-duty-beauty control top pantyhose, high-heeled pumps and all those types of things long enough when I worked on site, so now that I work from home, all I can say is that comfort rules. It is just me here and except for contractors/handyman, etc., no one comes into the house. That’s not always a good thing though.

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          • I had that problem with Hanes pantyhose several years ago – the control top style that extends down the legs and I wore them for years and bought them at the J.C. Penney store. They discontinued selling a lot of items in their store to make room for Sephora makeup and so they said to order from the catalog – they arrived and I had ordered a dozen and they must have been in a warehouse of some type as they had a horrible musty smell. I returned them, no problem with J.C.P., but I Googled and discovered other people around the country had the same issue with Hanes pantyhose – must have been a warehouse that sustained water damage.

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  13. Our smoke alarms usually go off late at night… or when I’m cooking dinner 🙂 My husband used to sleep with ear protectors and a small ladder close to his side of the bed since we were having random early a.m. false alarms. We couldn’t figure out what was wrong so we just bought new ones. Our fingers remain crossed.

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    • Soma has a “like it or return it” policy so you can return (there is probably a time frame). I like to try them out soon just in case I want to buy more. Just to demonstrate how frustrating this is, the newest one I bought is comfortable. I went on line yesterday to order a few and they don’t have a neutral color. I buy a nude or tan shade so they aren’t so noticeable under clothes. Newest one came in an “antique rose” which was fleshy enough but they are sold out. Now my choices are black, white, gray or burgundy. Seriously? Who doesn’t make a tan bra?

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    • If they work it’s a good deal. Right now I’m working on single purchases to see what I like best. I have a narrow rib cage and don’t like when they creep up or the strap falls off. I really hate buying underwear!

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  16. Well, all three of these things I can relate to, but I will address the second one.

    Once when the hubs and I were on the train from the burbs into the city, there was a man sitting by himself, talking. I thought he had on Bluetooth at first, but it looked like he was talking to the empty spot on the bench next to him. He was telling some imaginary person there all about the city of Chicago.

    How’s the smoke detector coming along? We had something similar happen once, and then it just stopped happening on its own. Weird.

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  17. Recently, one of our smoke alarms went off in the wee hours of the morning. It didn’t do the normal beep that indicates a new battery is needed…it went off full force. Needless to say, I practically had a heart attack and never did go back to sleep. It was a long day at the day job. Bra shopping is easy when you don’t have much to put inside! 🙂

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    • Most of the time we have had the full flown siren instead of nice chirps. We have had a lot of issues with them in the past two years and there is a part of my husband that would like to get rid of them (I know, I know). Code dictates that ours are interconnected so when one goes bad they all go off. Yes, definite heart attack time! As for bras, the older I get the more annoying they are. I have never been huge so I can’t imagine what that’s like.

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  19. my mom had such an alarm at night, she climbed on a chair to eliminate the screaming banshee on the ceiling, but she is sadly more hobbit than human… so she used a broomstick then and the detector was silent for ever… my dad was not amused because silence is always golden and eggs-pensive ;O)))

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    • Ah yes. There is more to this story. After my husband replaced it (because new batteries didn’t silence it), it still went off. A call to the factory and they told him he put the batteries in wrong. *bangs head on table* I’d like an alarm that doesn’t scare the wits out of me. I can’t even think when that thing goes off.

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  20. Ah, the dreaded bra shop! I’ve been measured by the professionals, especially since my op, and purchased sports bras on their recommendation. I had to buy two more, and whilst the price was still the same, they didn’t have my size and I decided to order a larger size anyway because I’d put on weight.

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