When a Service Call Isn't Really A Service Call

Ok, so those that have read my blog in the past, may remember my post when I bought my new washer and dryer. They were real beauties as HH Gregg upgrade the drab white ones I had purchased due to the shipping container falling off the ship and into the water further delaying my purchase. In any case, washer and dryer arrived. I had my first issue with the dryer about 3 months in. It was making this ungodly loud noise. Called for service since I had bought the 5 year extended warranty. First guy came out, told me I had to "live with" the noise. I said I don't think so, as when I purchased them they weren't making that noise. Call and had another tech come out. The gas valve was breaking. Ok, so they fix that. Then after another two years, the dryer is making noise again, so call once again for repairs. This time it's the dryer drum is cracking at the seam. Get a new drum and it's installed. Another year goes by and the dryer is making noise again, so once again a tech comes out. He checks the whole thing over and can't find a thing wrong, so he cleans it up and lubricates things. The dryer works just fine.

So the past month or so the washer has been giving me trouble. First the hubby said he was washing a load and it made this awful sound. Ok, get yourself back up off the floor, you read that right, the hubby was doing laundry. Then the dreaded ND code flashed, Not Draining. So he turned it off, turned it back on, the washer picked up in the cycle where it had left off and everything went down the drain so to speak. So the past few weeks I've been getting the ND code quite often. Since we still have the extended service plan, I call for repairs.

I was given an appointment for the service tech 8 days later, which would have been today. The time was from 8am-5pm for me to be available. OK, not what I wanted to do on a nice sunny day, but clean clothes are kinda a necessity. At 5:20 pm I call to confirm that I was indeed suppose to have an repair appointment today. I was told yes, but it was a preferred appointment and not a confirmed appointment. WTF? I mean I am calling the company that schedules the repairs for the extended warranties and they give me the time and date but somehow it's not confirmed. So after blasting the low level customer service rep, I ask to speak with a supervisor. She then informs me again that while my appointment was "a preferred" appointment it isn't a confirmed appointment and that I should have called the repair company that they contracted with to "confirm" my appointment.....well wasn't that what I did when I called the phone number listed on my extended service contract? The supervisor also told me that they don't know what my schedule is, so that's why I needed to confirm it with the service company. Hello! I was the one clearing my schedule so I could get the damn washer fixed!

I then demanded that she make another "preferred" appointment. She said she couldn't do that as she had to check on some billing issues. When I called her on that, as I stated they had my name, they knew I had a extended service contract on my washer and dryer....what billing was she actually checking on? Ready for this one....that they weren't billed for the "preferred" appointment, that wasn't confirmed that no one showed up for. So when I called her on that, she tried to bs her way out of it again. I mean if an appointment isn't an appointment until it's confirmed, then why worry about being billed? I actually hung up and called HH Gregg to speak with the store manager. Unfortunately, the store manager wasn't there and won't be in til Monday but I did speak with the Electronics dept manager. He stated that the while his understanding of when you call for service, that the appointment given should be "confirmed". Anyway, he is having the store manager call me on Monday.

So I sit here without a working washer. The dirty clothes are piling up and I feel like I am wallowing in BS. Come Monday morning I would hate to be the repair company and HH Gregg. Until next time....

Just A Lil' Cookin'

I found these cut little glass cutting boards and thought they would make the perfect little hostess or thank you gift so I brought them home and added a graphic to them. They are a little hard to photograph though.

The vinyl has been added to the underneath so they are food safe. They are hand wash only.

After I made them, I thought that pairing them with a little cheese spreader would be the perfect finishing detail. They are available on our website for purchase.

Beautiful Winter Blooms

Thought I would share our beautiful blooms that we have on another snowy days....

No More Bunny Kisses

I am writing this blog post with a very heavy heart. Our sweet lopped ear bunny Toonies passed away tonight. We found him when he was just a few months old back in 2007. I did a blog post about him back in 2009 which you can find here. He was just hopping around in a neighbors yard and instead of letting him fend for himself or meet a worse fate, we adopted him. He had an enclosed bunny hutch outside that we had a heat source in the winter and a fan for cool breezes in the summer.
Last week when the temps were so bone chilling we brought Toonies inside as we knew it was so bitter cold and being an older bunny he would be more comfortable inside than outside. We had hoped to be able to return him to his outside hutch when the temps warmed up. But alas, Toonies went to that great big garden in the sky.
In his early days, when boys would take him out of his hutch and let him explore the backyard always under a watchful eye to ensure he didn't endanger himself, he would run here and there and boy was he fast. Ian had a harness for him and would take him for walks. One of his favorite things to do was to hide behind one of my sedum plants in the flower bed and dig. Last summer he was especially delighted to be in the strawberry patch and carrot bed. Needless to say it was like a bunny paradise. He was a sweet bunny. We will miss him dearly. Rest well, my Toonies.
Until next time....

Life Is Better At

I love this series of life is better at signs that I just completed. I think there is something for everyone.

Whether you're at the cabin....

Or at the Lake....

Or at the Beach....

Or on the river there is someplace for everyone. So what's your favorite getaway spot? All are available on our website. Until next time....

My Dumpster Find Refinish

A few years ago I went dumpster diving and found this beauty tossed in the trash. I posted about the find on my blog in this post. Really there wasn't any dumpster, but someone had put this desk out for the trash. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. So I hightailed it back to my house from my walk and got our pickup to haul it home.

I had it under a tarp for awhile and finally took the time to finish it. That is of course after the hubby took it apart and glued the slats back together using clamps and wood glue. I repainted the wrought iron frame black and used danish oil on desk surface. I love how it turned out. It now sits in my bedroom and is home to my raggedy collection which I will share with you in another post. So keep an eye out as you never know when you will find a gem tossed aside heading for the dump.

Happy Valentines Day

Hope everyone has a wonderful day of love. Happy Valentine's Day!
I love the simplicity of this "I love you" sign. Sometimes there is no need for anymore than those 3 words. Sign is available on our website. Until next time....

A Winter Visitor

The other day this little winter visitor showed up in our front yard. I was able to get the camera and snap a few pictures of him as he flit from tree to tree. He's visited before but mostly in the warmer months when the contrast of his bright red against the green leaves is not so apparent. The winter time landscape of white and grey just make his colors pop.

Die Winter and I Ate The Groundhog

This is so how I feel today. It's bright and sunny outside today but it's cold! I sure wish spring would hurry up and get here. Here's a few more pictures of how I feel. Someone shared them on facebook and I thought they were hysterical!

And this one....I mean whoever listens to a groundhog to forecast the weather? Isn't the whole "Groundhog's Day" thing a set up anyway? Wouldn't the groundhog always see his shadow with all the tv lights and cameras. And if as legend has it, he ducks back into his burrow due to seeing his shadow, how about the darn thing is just plain scared at all the people staring at it when he finally makes his appearance? Glad the wolf ate him! And PETA peeps, it's the circle of life thing, so no comments please! All I can say is hurry spring!

Only 337 Days Til Christmas!

Longing for Spring

Being an avid gardener, in the middle of winter, it's very frustrating. It seems like we receive temptation in the mail everyday. This past month we received at least 20 seed catalogs. Why we need 20 is beyond me, as we really only ever order from a handful of companies every year. I secretly think the hubby requests the masses to just frustrate me. Revenge is sweet. right? We've perused through them planning out what varieties of seeds we want to plant this year. Some will be repeats from past years, some will be new additions. I mean what's a girl to do in the middle of winter? Sigh! I am impatiently waiting for spring to arrive so I can get out there and get to work.

Arrrrrrr! A Pirates Life For Me Matey!

I purchased these little pirate annies a few months back and thought I would share them with you all. Aren't they just the cutest? Ok, ok, I know you want to know who made them. Well Cyndy Weeks from Crafty Stitchers did. Cyndy is very talented. She makes the cutest raggedies. Look at the attention to details with this pair. From the gold earrings, the gold coins that adorn the clothing to the buried treasure map, Cyndy has created some piratelicious annies. Cyndy has a facebook page and also sells through etsy.

Life Is Better At The Beach

I'm thinking this is going to be my mantra this week. It's only Monday and we have woke up to this....

A Kiss A Day

I'm thinking I may have been bitten by the love bug recently! LOL! I made this cute kiss deployment countdown jar recently. Just fill it with kisses and each night have the kids remove a "kiss" from Daddy from the jar. Hopefully this will help the little ones keep their Daddy close to their heart even when they are apart.

I'm offering them for sale on my website. As always til next time

A Lil' Valentine Love

It's been forever since I've posted and I figured I'd dive back in and show you what I've been working on lately. My friend Cookie, does daycare and I made these little buckets for her day care kiddos. Aren't they the cutest?

When it's nice out, the kiddos usually take a walk and come visit me every once in awhile. I added the kiddos names to the front of these little buckets in vinyl, along with a heart and arrow on the back. I'll fill them with chocolate kisses and also some chocolate dipped pretzels.