Thursday, May 28, 2009

Sometimes there is just too much going on....

Whoot! I have a printer. Not only a printer, but a HP C4400 series photo printer/scanner. I wanted something that could do photocopies since to have photo copies made I have to go a minimum of 15 miles one way... And that is to the forestry service office, and they are allowed only so many copies a month for the public. Whew. With the possibility of not even being able to make copies unless I went into the big city an hour and a half away, I needed to be able to make the copies here at home. Especially with all the photocopies that go into hubby and his SSD application. So I bit the bullet and paid $99.00 for this nifty little printer. It has a lot of bonuses for me as I can scan things into searchable pdf's (pretty easily actually) as well as use it to very, very quickly and easily download my camera to the laptop. It does basic printing too.. But who wants a printer that can do that when it can do everything else besides tap dance? I mean, everything else just kind of makes the printing kind of boring. lol.

I closed my bank account with Chase yesterday. Here's the thing. I have been with Washington Mutual for 7 years. I do not have a checking account (I can't do math to save my life and have had WAY to many problems with them) and no debit card with this savings account I have had. We went in yesterday to cash hubby's disability check and get told that they have to hold our check for 24 hours before they can cash it. What??? how dumb is that? It's an hour and a half to get to the bank, an hour and a half home, and so on and so forth. I can't drive in, deposit the check, drive home... Blah, blah, blah. there aren't too many businesses out here locally that deal in anything besides cash as it's hard to prove a personal check isn't going to bounce when they themselves also have to drive in an hour and a half to the nearest bank to cash the checks. So, we ended up going to a nearby check cashing place, paid them an exporbidant amount from the check we received and they cashed our check without batting an eye. It sucked. We then went back and asked for the bank to reimburse us for the check cashing fee they caused us to be charged (We didn't ask anything for inconvienence, although I'm tempted). They of course said no. hubby has now decided that he is going to take the bank manager to small claims court for the amount the bank caused us to be charged and I am going to talk with him and tack on another $100.00 for inconvienence if he decides to go through with the suit. If we sue the bank manager, maybe she'll see what kind of a crooked bank she's working for. by going through small claims court, then she can't bring in the banks lawyers. We'll have to see how that pans out. Perhaps hubby will decide it's not worth it. in the mean time we are researching other places/ways to cash our disability checks. Why? Because I was fed up and decided to close my account with them and they could kiss my rump as we left. Hubby is writing up an article for the consumerist, so watch for it there. And just in case you are wondering, this check was drawn on a JP Morgan Chase bank. So it's not like they had to verifiy the money from another bank.

And on to animals. Nubis earned his kibble yesterday! Those with squeamish tummy's please skip to the next paragraph! lol. We have our old camp stove in the store room since we have a nice big stove in the kitchen now that I cook on. And Freya and Nubis were going nuts in there pawing at the stove yesterday before we left for town. so, Hubby opened the stove, only to see that some rodent type varmit was in there trying to make a nest. UGH! I can't stand that. We are surrounded by about 5000 acres of forested lands, hay fields, cattle fields and such so rodents are to be expected. I don't mind them... OUTSIDE. They come inside and they deserve whatever they get. Anyway, as hubby opened the stove, a large mouse/small rat went scampering behind the boxes. This caused Nubis and Freya to become rabid, slobbering, drooling messes. want to personally know what it looked like? hang a dripping steak in a room for three days, don't feed your dog for three days, then let them in the room with the steak hung just out of reach... Yup, now you are close to what it was like, because now this steak had just run behind some boxes they couldn't reach behind. Anywho... hubby and I went to work moving boxes. FINALLY, after every single box in the storeroom was moved so the dogs could get behind it except one, the steak.. err... mouse, ran out and Nubis, being the faster, and closer to where the mouse had ran out, snapped it up and killed it. Whoot! I made him take it out and spit it on the ground, and leave it. Ugh! It was huge. at least 4 inches from nose to bottom, and he had eviserated the mousie. At least it died quick. But what was more, it was a pregnant female, with 5 little pinkie meeses inside, that were about a week from birth. yuck. I said a quick prayer for their poor departed souls, and asked them to please let any of their living cousins know to stay out of the trailer and they would live longer.

Today we spent running over to one of the local small towns, filling all our propane tanks (except the big 80 pounder, it's been so warm we probably won't need it for another few months.) and our gas cans, and our water jugs and our bellies. We stopped at our favorite local cafe and had some yummy, yummy food. It'll be one of the 3 or so times this month we will actually eat out. Stopped on the way back at a friends house. And I bought a lilac (white) plant, orange mint plant, peppermint plant, and a "fuzzy" mint plant all for only $10.00. Since our friend has been here for about 7 years and really knows the area, she was also able to tell me where to go to get some elderberry trees/bushes! That has me really, really excited. I want these here on the property so bad. And knowing where they grow naturally, I'll be able to go and pick some when they become ripe too. That's also very exciting, as I'll make up a bunch of jams and jellies for my neighbors for Christmas and such. That leaves me looking for honeyberry plants, I think I'll have to have those shipped in (Anyone have any starts of honeyberry bushes? I'd be happy to send you my address) and some rosa rugosa, AKA Wild Rose (I'll take starts of those too! lol.)

I'll be making bread again sometime in the next few days. I picked up some bagels, english muffins, and some bread in town, but not a lot. I want to try making most of these myself. Maybe not the bagels, but they were on clearance so they were a treat. We just got paid yesterday, and after paying all the bills (WHOOT!) and this round of gas, propane and the like, we have less than what I would like to have (hubby doesn't want me to put the real amount, needless to say, it's small) to last us until the end of the month for more gas, laundry, propane, food, and all that. I'll do what I can to make it stretch though. The gas and propane will be the most expensive part of the whole equation. I still have to pick up some rabbit feed for when the bunnies get here (should be getting the the middle of this month) and some chick feed as the chicks are supposed to get here this week or next as well. Ugh! All the "little" things.

OK, this post is very, very long, so I'll go for now.

TA!

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