Random 5 for April 26, 2026 – Customer service, trees, cars, ants, old friends

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This was weird! – I ordered some bedsheets. My husband had gotten a coupon which I used. It was expired but it worked. However, that triggered the order to have my husband’s email address instead of mine (which I didn’t realize at first). I never received a confirmation email. I looked at my credit card account, and it went through. After a couple days of nothingness, I called. Yep, they could see it. They don’t know why my husband didn’t get an email. (Maybe he did and thought it was junk!) They fixed everything. I received a notice that I would receive it in two days. I checked FedEx and they HAD the package. They gave me a delivery date. Then I received an email from the company saying there was a problem that will be resolved by June 15th. ??? I received the package just like FedEx said I would. I wonder what will happen in June.

Source: clipartpanda

Argh! – We had a hard frost this week. It happened just as my young locust trees were pushing out new growth. Within a day the new stuff was limp and black. I was heartbroken. I had planted both several years ago. They are large, beautiful trees. I’m getting old. I don’t have time to wait until new ones grow. Within a few days new growth has started to peep through. They may be stunted for a bit but I’m hopeful they will make it. Those were the only trees that got nipped.

A happy reunion – I picked up my car after 10 days at the body shop. It was a delightful reunion. We celebrated with a Starbucks run (for me — the car does not drink coffee! It drinks something far more expensive). I’m not a car person but I like the old and comfortable. Perhaps absence does make the heart grow fonder.

Beating them down yet again – This week we had our third ant invasion of the year. I haven’t called the exterminator yet. I did what he did using the same products. It seems to work better when you pay a couple of hundred dollars but I’m managing it. If it happens one more time, maybe I’ll call for a treatment.

Down the rabbit hole again – I did another deep dive into researching old friends, mostly through obits. I found another old boyfriend who passed away 10 years ago. There was a picture and he looked the same with a full head of hair that was probably gray instead of the blonde it used to be. He was a friend from 50 years ago and I haven’t seen him in 30. He was married with four (adult) kids. That was a shocker. He never expressed interest in kids when I knew him, but he was just starting his career. He quit a well-paying stable job to become an entrepreneur and did very well. You need a certain type of personality for that and he had it. I also found information on an old friend who is still alive. She was (maybe still is) mercurial and exhausting but fun. I’m debating on whether at this point I want to reach out to her. We’ll see. I may be past the stage where I like crazy friends.

So how was your week?

57 thoughts on “Random 5 for April 26, 2026 – Customer service, trees, cars, ants, old friends”

  1. I’m happy to hear you and your car have reunited. Did you tell her about the keys? I’m still laughing at that one.

    Spring ants are relentless. They work so hard, but as I’ve said many times, “get a job somewhere else!” Hope that ends soon.

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    • As for ants, I once took a vacation to a more remote Bahama island. It was just lovely except for the bugs. It was not unusual to see roach like critters doing the samba on the dessert table. At least ants are small and hopefully cleaner than flies that like to land on you know what!

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  3. Interesting…the bedsheet saga. It’s stories like yours that make me think AI is not all that it’s cracked up to be but I’m biased against it.

    Congratulations on being reunited with your car! That old Peaches & Herb song (Reunited) is now playing in my head. May you spend many years together enjoying each other’s company.

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  4. Congrats on getting your car back and being around familiar buttons and levers. I hope your trees make it. Late frost certainly can hit hard. I had to chuckle at your obit search for old friends because I’ve done the same thing. Happy Monday and enjoy your Starbucks trip in ‘your’ car.

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  7. Maybe you will get another delivery of sheets in June. LOL!

    Yay on being reunited with your car and treating yourself to Starbucks. I wish my car drank coffee. Would definitely be cheaper! 😊

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  9. That’s a shame about your locust trees, but that’s good they are showing promise and have new growth again. I am reminded of the expression that “the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing” sometimes with mail order stuff. Unfortunately, that is why Amazon makes the big bucks since it is always easy and breezy. Did you know Amazon sells cars? I had no idea about that, but on this morning’s business report they mentioned Amazon was not happy with the slow sales of their cars. Who knew? But they sell everything else, so why not cars? I took my car in at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday to determine the source of the leak, do a thorough check-up and then they would take it to the body shop to fix the big scratch. On Friday at 5:00 p.m., since I had not heard, I called for a status check – they said it would take “about a week” for everything … the service manager was off for a funeral for two days, the owner didn’t know anything although we chatted Wednesday morning and it was still sitting there. I am more than irked about it. Supposedly they will start tomorrow, but I’m not holding my breath.

    We have a local Facebook forum for Lincoln Park High School Deaths for all time. The site administrator also maintains a database of graduating year-by-year deaths/causes. They often use their high school graduation photo to post their death, sometimes side-by-side with current photos. We had a graduating class of 613 and often I don’t even recognize the graduation picture let alone the current photo.

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    • That is nice. My husband’s class keeps a listing of deaths but my class (it was small — around 110 at graduation) does not (at least as far as I know). My bestie in high school died a long time ago. She was in her early 60s. I absolutely hate when they tell you to bring your car in on a day and then let it sit for several until they start work. Just let me use it until you are ready!

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      • Yes, this is an extensive database and goes back many decades. There were six of us that palled around and were close and my bestie of the six moved to Texas and died in 2007, six months after her husband, both from cancer. I was devastated to learn this from neighbors in her childhood home. They called this morning at 11:00 and are now moving it to a body shop to have the scrape/scratch repaired – probably all week he said. Three hours this morning versus three business days just sitting in the lot.

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        • I’ve lost a lot of classmates but not ones I was close too except for that bestie. At least that I know of. Maybe I should do a deep dive of classmates! Car repairs! When I picked it up they said I can’t wax it for 3 months. I told the guy I haven’t waxed a car in 50 years!

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  10. Good luck with you locust trees.

    I like the idea of an EV or a hybrid– for someone else. I don’t drive many miles, and my car still works just fine. Besides, I’m used to it.

    One guy from my high-school class keeps track of everyone and emails the news to us, so I don’t have to search for old boyfriends. I just wait to hear from John.

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    • We don’t have anyone from our school who does that. Most of the searches I do are for friends from my working days rather than high school. I did not retain any high school friends after graduation. We all scattered different ways.

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  12. I am glad you and your red car were reunited! Starbucks was a good celebratory thing to do. You are more brave than I am looking for old friends. After my best friend from grade school and high school passed away before the holidays I didn’t want to ever know again. I think pretty much what I don’t know is best. I think your fun friend might be worth reaching out to though.

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    • Sometimes I go into a dark mood and want to see what happened to people. Some I can’t track at all (unless they have an obit which everyone doesn’t do these days) and for some I can see happy times with grandkids.

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  14. My week was not as good as yours! While I finished a final review/edit of my book manuscript, my Indiana allergies have been on fire! Yikes . . . . .

    I hope your kitties are not allergy-prone! Gotta’ love those Kitties!

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  15. We used to have ant issues. Someone suggested putting cinnamon on the counters and floors by doors. It worked! I’m not sure how cats are with cinnamon but it seems better than chemicals.

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  16. Ants are a pain. We have had a few sneak in and they have not left the building to tell their mates. Since having the new flooring, we can see them better and pounce, making sure there are no crumbs or food particles of interest to them. We have sprayed and puffed the usual stuff and will be using grated lemon rind and chrysanthemum petals as a next plan of attack if needed. After they really invaded (the bedroom, lounge, bathroom and kitchen) two years ago and I lost it in the kitchen, I am almost, but not quite, paranoid about the blighters.

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  18. Here’s my take on the ant dilemma. There are multiple colonies living near your house. Every so often, a colony decides to come inside and look for goodies! When the scouts find something promising, they immediately report back and the endless stream begins.
    This is my method of dealing with the situation. I buy a large container of boric acid powder at the drug store, and prepare dinner for them. I mix a spoonful (no specific measurement) with some sugar (also no exact measurement) in a little water, and leave little pools of it here and there where they seem to be hanging out. They lap it up, take it back to the nest and within three days there is not an ant to be seen.
    NOTE: This will have to be repeated every so often as other colonies check out your kitchen.

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  19. Well now you’ve had an interesting week! I often wonder about my friends from long ago but as a “service brat” we never lived in any one place long enough to have made really GOOD friends. As soon as you’d get close you’d have to move. BUT as a Senior in high school I did make one friend who I am still in touch with. She’s lost her husband in the interim and gained a lot of weight but she “sounds” in email just the same as she did way back in ’65. We have had cold weather AGAIN. Eighty five one day then 48 the next. Plants are confused – so are we!

    Hugs, Pam

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    • I was fortunate. Only the locust trees were nipped. I don’t have annual flowers out yet but it didn’t bother the creeping flax out front. The extremes are really annoying. I don’t know how to dress from one day to the next but the next week will be cool so back into wool socks!

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  21. I hate not having my own car. I don’t like driving anyway, but driving a car other than my own, no thank you. An acquaintance of mine, a pet sitting pal, died a few days ago…saw her obit in the paper. She’s only 5 years older than I am…,makes you think (or worry).

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  22. Thinking of sending your locust trees candy and flowers. This weather is too nutty, so nutty Mother nMature is working against herself as I sit here in two sweaters. Let’s hope April showers bring May flowers is not just another rumor. sigh

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