Opps, too long

Been way too long since my last post but we have been struggling with some health care issues here at home, including a broken tooth I suffered last Friday night at 10:00 pm, while eating popcorn.  I have scheduled periodontal surgery June 1st to correct a problem. THAT'll be fun.

When I told my daughter that I'll have to quit eating popcorn, she compared my popcorn addiction to a crack head needing a fix, and joked that I'll have trouble keeping my pledge.  Oh well, I hate the dentist more than I love my popcorn.  Actually, I like my dentist, because Dr. Joe is great.  But, I hate what he has to do for me when I have problems.  So, Dr. Alfred will do the prep work for a new crown that Dr. Joe will finish.  I am pleased to have such a great team to fix me.

Sorry to have been absent from here for so long, but life happens.

Plans for the changes around here have not progressed very much.  We are still planning to remove the back deck in preparation of working towards the tiny house. And, we'll be replacing all of the fencing around our fields this fall as well as an automatic waterer.  Lot's to do...

Family Blog?

I'm still waiting for the last panel to the shower enclosure that I broke last week and it should arrive any minute/day.  I double checked all the caulk lines and everything else is ready for installation of the final panel.  Hey, it's not like I'm standing at the front door, wrapped in a towel, waiting for the UPS man!

My sister texted me yesterday with a great idea.  She was thinking about starting a family blog that would enable each of us to post news about our lives, post stories from our youth-growing up together, and maybe share recipes and other fun stuff.  I'm pretty psyched about this because this would be a perfect use of blogging, in my opinion.  It is unclear if she would make this a public blog or "by invitation-private" blog.  This will be fun.

Tempered explosion

On Saturday last, as I put the last screw into the frame of the shower stall, I twisted the screw hoping to drive it flush to the metal frame.  Instead, I succeeded in driving the last screw into the corner of the tempered glass panel behind the metal frame and that was when the glass panel exploded into a million bits.

In that last frozen minute, while the sparkly diamonds of glass were still suspended in the air, all I could think about was, "I didn't just do that!?"  Glass in my hair, glass in my shoes, and all over the floor-shower-hallway...what a mess.  After sweeping up the mess and vacuuming everything to be sure I had every piece of glass, I found the phone number for customer service.

I called them today and was informed that the replacement panel will be shipped from mid-Ohio in seven to ten days.  So we wait,...I had already pressure tested the plumbing and everything is set.  As soon as the panel arrives, the bathroom will be complete.  Boy, do I feel like a big fat dope.  Just one little turn of a screw and everything changed...

Last pieces of the puzzle

I have procured the remaining hardware and fasteners for completing the installation of the new shower as the remaining parts of our remodeled bathroom.  These little shopping trips can add up fast, even with a list of materials, for just a few screws, etc.  It was educational to visit Lowe's to actually see the shower enclosure assembled, since it's been almost three months since we selected and ordered the fixture.  Seeing the final product makes it easier to complete the installation when you know what the final product is supposed to look like.  I should be able to have the base installed this evening and set the shower walls tomorrow evening.   That leaves the shower doors to hang.  That will take the remainder of this week because it's a little touchy to get them straight and true.

made a bathroom

I have almost completed the remodeling job on the second bathroom in our current home.  This project has been the toughest yet, considering that we have installed all new windows, laminate flooring, and completed the remodeling of the master-bathroom.  The second bathroom included moving the toilet and adding a shower-only, instead of a bath shower combination, to the room.  I have to stud in a short wall for the new shower and completely change all the plumbing.  It has been a fantastic education in construction and is preparing me for building our Tiny House, planned for this summer.  I still have another project to complete because we want to convert our existing sun room into a bar.  That should be easy compared to the bathroom redo's.  The big part of the bar should be replacing the carpeting with vinyl flooring and then building the bar itself.

Lost my bid for the 518

Well, I've lost my auction bid for a Sony Ericsson W518A on eBay so I'll be sticking with my W580i for a while.  That's ok with me.  After 48 hours of use, I still have 4/5s of the battery power available.  Although texting is a little tough with the tiny multi-key keyboard, I did find myself able to respond to three different text messages.  And, the volume of my calls is far superior to my smart phone.  I am encouraged, after one day without my smart phone, in rebellion to the monster AT&T sur-charges for tethering, I'm holding onto my decision.  NO SMARTPHONE FOR ME!

Disgusted with AT&T and smart phones

Two years ago I bought a smart phone with plans of using the advanced technology to enable me to log onto the Internet using my Chromebook or laptop from anywhere that I wanted because I could employ tethering while creating a mobile WiFi hot spot.  Well, I have used this feature for almost two years with great satisfaction. On one occasion I managed to save the day, while at work, because AT&T lost a DSL transmitter in our area that severed service to portions of a five state area.  However, I could still provide a wireless connection point to many of my co-workers and we were able to complete our business transactions when many of the other businesses in our town were off line waiting for AT&T to repair the problem.

I have become very unhappy with AT&T while using my smart phone.  I have received an email from AT&T stating that they can tell that my data rates are in the top 5% of their client usage.  Therefore, as stated in my contract, they are requiring that I subscribe to a DataPro tethering plan for $50/month, or cease use of the tethering feature of my phone/computer.

This type of strong arm business tactics infuriates me and I've checked around for the rates of competitive wireless service providers.  My research shows that the rates are the same or nearly the same and don't warrant a switch of service.  Therefore, I have terminated my "unlimited" data plan with AT&T and turned my smart phone off.  I have activated my phone number on a handset that is two generations old version of wireless telephones that we have saved as backup equipment.  My old reliable Sony Ericsson W580i phone includes an FM radio receiver that will replace my IheartRadio app from my smart phone and I will be reduced to carrying a regular book if I want to read anything.  My W580i phone still holds all of my music, transferred from iTunes, and I can listen to my personal music collection from my phone.

I plan to upgrade my old Sony Ericsson from the W580i candy bar configuration to the W518i flip phone because I like the clam shell design of a flip phone better.  It's pretty tough to find a flip phone these days.  I guess it's because the equipment manufacturers have decided to reduce this configuration in their product lines. Funny thing is that both of the phones that are my "favorite" or first choice have already been discontinued.  Seems that there is some harmony to the fact that I've decided to quit using a smart phone, to be replaced by a discontinued phone.  Makes me smile.  No more data charges for me...thanks AT&T.  Anyone care to join me?