I’ve Still Got IT!

I’ve kept putting off taking my car in for repairs. My muffler has been howling for several weeks, louder each day. A sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t just the tailpipe stretched out my procrastination.

This morning, I finally grit my teeth, grabbed my Visa card and off I went. Since I bought my Nissan Sentra (11 years ago), I have always taken it to the dealer for everything. All maintenance is done by the book and I followed all the rules. This is the first time I’ve cheated on them. OOOooops. My son-in-law suggested I go to an established mufflers only place. Why? Because it’s cheaper. That’s all they do and they do it well and fast. The cheaper part grabbed my attention.

The waiting room was much nicer than the ones I’ve previously visited at Speedy Muffler. And it was full of men. Old ones, young ones, skinny ones and not so skinny ones. A technician was discussing work needing to be done with the fellow ahead of me. The technician, without looking up from his monitor, barked out that he’d be with me in a minute. I politely said that was fine.

The big male being waited on, slowly and nonchalantly (not in my book, ha ha) turned around to have a look at the chick who just said that. Hmm. Maybe I have an attractive voice. That could be it. As soon as I’d walked in, though, six pair of eyes checked me out like I was the new flavor babe of the month. At least I was for about ten seconds. I haven’t caused such a stir for ages. It made MY day.

When I’m right, I’m right! Turned out the whole exhaust needed replacing. We talked chrome and then aluminum. I had chrome to start with so I went with that. Of course chrome will last longer too and costs more. I don’t know what I am if not a BIG spender. I almost forgot we were talking car parts and not something more interesting like kitchen appliances. Who would have thought getting a new muffler could turn out to be such a shopping experience?

The trick was getting my exhaust fixed before it all fell OFF and the treat was I had to pay $560.42. No, wait. The treat was that they forgave me the .42₵ because I was paying cash. No, I don’t carry that kind of money on me. I had to go to the bank because I’d switched credit cards. My old one had already been cancelled and the new one was at home. That’s my Halloween story for today. What’s yours?

Happy Halloween!

It Was a Blast in the Past, but. . .

I’ve started reminiscing as another birthday quickly approaches.

During my early twenties, I picked up the bad habit of smoking. By the time I moved an hour away from home, I have six years’ work experience under my belt. I struggled to find a new job in unfamiliar territory and to settle in in a strange city. It was a difficult time sorting good influences from bad and keeping on the straight and narrow.

I met the man I would  later marry and went down to 104 pounds. I bought a house. He moved in with me and I thought I knew what I was doing. I had always fallen for the party boy.

In my thirties life was more eventful. I got married, had a baby, had a hysterectomy and got divorced. Not a great decade but I survived. Did it make me wiser? Probably more careful and more selective. But that’s no guarantee, is it? Time would tell.

Once the forties arrived, I was OK. I worked, slept and looked after my daughter. I met an older man (by 19 years) who was totally taken by little ole me. I made it clear I would never marry again before there was a chance for the subject to come up. I bought another house. I even quit smoking. My boyfriend moved in and my daughter made three. Everything was hunky dory for several years.

By my fifties, I decided life was slipping away far too quickly. The face in the mirror wasn’t quite the same. How many good years did I have left, I wondered? My live-in and I finally split up after almost ten years together. Guess I’m not great couple material or once burned…twice shy.

Then, my daughter wanted her boyfriend to move in with us. I was against it so she moved out and had all the hanky panky I never wanted her to have yet. Had I made a terrible mistake? Life could have been sweeter between us but they did get married a few  years later.

All alone in a big house again, but still in the workforce, I became a homestay host for international students, which kept life very lively and interesting. I also became a grandmother and fell helplessly in love with my new granddaughter.

Hitting the sixties brought the relief of retirement and another gorgeous granddaughter. The homestay hosting was becoming unpredictable and the students less respectful. I decided to throw in the towel after nearly ten years of service. I’m glad of the experience as I travelled the world from my armchair and got to know a lot of really nice and interesting people.

Alone in the big house yet again, carrying high maintenance costs and taxes, I came up with the perfect plan—IF it got accepted. I decided by the time I reached sixty-five, it might be a good idea to sell my house but I couldn’t imagine living in an apartment. I asked my daughter if she and her husband would be interested in buying a house together. I only had the one daughter so nobody’s nose could get out of joint. Her husband was harder to convince but he was soon on board. The perks were too hard to resist, I guess. Instead of waiting, once we ‘girls’ started looking at houses, well, you can imagine. We found a great house within seven months instead of three years down the road and it was time to move.

What would I change in my life if I could? Would I want to go back in time to relive a particular time? To be younger again? No and NO!

I couldn’t face being young again especially in this new age. Once is more than enough for me. I’m not greedy. I’m comfortable with myself and am finally doing the things I’ve been waiting so long to do. Without a doubt, there are things I wish I could have done differently or better, but I’m more than grateful for what I have been able to accomplish. I laugh more and occasionally cry more. Age has made me softer.

It was a blast in the past, but I tend to look forward with anticipation. New adventures and discoveries await—I hope. On second thought, I wouldn’t mind not having to age anymore and just staying the same for say another forty years or so? Now THAT would be SOMEthing to look forward to? Wouldn’t it?

Makeup Graveyard

WE all buy it. Tons of it. There are always new promises. New and improved products. There’s magic to be had and darn it, I’m going to get me some! All I have to do is open up my wallet. Go to another presentation. Talk to another female friend who has found the fountain of youth. She swears by it. “It’s a miracle,” she says. “You gotta try it. My face has never felt so smooth or dewy.”

Before my eyes the results are even better than any commercial or promise. For about two weeks.

Over time, I have ended up with baskets full of beauty products which might work for some ONE but not for me. Not anymore.

The last one I’d gone to was a Mary Kay home makeup party in the seventies. It was expensive, was a lot of work but seemed to be working. But not as well as it supposedly had for Mary Kay. Maybe my skin wasn’t old enough yet. I’m sure I must have had the wrong kind of skin. The magic didn’t even last until I finished my whole program of products.

Probably not at a house party but somehow I heard about Clinique. Everything was well and good, but this too fell flat not too long into our cozy liaison. Then there was Estee Lauder and so on.

Recently, I attended an ARBONNE home makeup party. Once again I was mesmerized by promises of the purity of the product: no byproducts, plant based, no mineral oil(s) to clog up your skin etc. The word Switzerland also evoked a kind of alluring promise. I had dared to mention to the consultant that I had, (as did we all most likely), a makeup graveyard underneath my bathroom sink. I wished that manufacturers made smaller sizes for the newly initiated. She told me there is a 45-day money back guarantee with this product. That’s a good start. I think, but I’ll have to wait and see. How many people actually go to the trouble to return products?

http://makeup.lovetoknow.com/Arbonne_Cosmetics

I try to believe that someday I’ll be truly happy with a product that’s doing a reasonable job. Are the manufacturers not keeping up with my skin’s age when it is time? I found products to be more agreeable before the anti-wrinkle formulations as they do not agree with me. My skin thinks it’s wrinkle cream.

What I want to know, as I follow all the different promises to the fountain of youth, is why do they seem to poop out so soon? Usually you’re expected to see results within 30 days. I’ve tried that too but the magic soon fizzles out. I’ve never tried to look impossibly youthful as time marches on. I just want to feel good about myself.

So to sum up. Will I be yet again disappointed? Maybe. Will I stop spending big bucks to look soft and dewy? Not likely. Why is it that I can’t bring myself to throw out all those half-full containers of past due wizardry from underneath my sink? OK, so I’ve taken a stab at it but still tend to hang on to some of it anyway. What will it take to bring in that bulldozer?

Other Reasons for the Graveyard

I have another beef. Over the years, I have fallen in love with certain beauty products that I LIKE. Take lipstick shades, for instance. I’ve also liked after shower sprays by Jean Nate and Calgon. I have been using some products faithfully for years. Suddenly, the colour is changed just enough not to be agreeable anymore. Or it’s been removed altogether. Something I’ve liked has had its formulation changed. A product has been replaced with a new, better invention but doesn’t work as well as the original. I’m still talking about ME.

I’m out in the cold, again, without prior warning. What’s with all that? Didn’t it used to be that the customer mattered? I don’t think I like being told what is good for me.

Money in the Bank

In a recent post (Show Me the Money), I was expecting a minimum of $360. return from the bank because they have a policy that 60-year-old customers no longer need to pay service charges. I just heard about it recently so I spoke up. I estimated they would lowball the average per month service charge I’d been paying. I was RIGHT! No surprise.

They also said they’d contact me when the investigation was finished and they’d made the deposit into my account. They did NOT. I found out by checking recent activities. Actually, I was curious so I kept checking my account. No biggy really because I’m actually richer than I thought I’d be. The “extra money” was just slipped in like I wouldn’t be paying attention. I found $376 plus change that wasn’t in there prior to my appointment with the bank.

I confess I was, however, skeptical—about everything. The fact that the bank would back track five years and give me anything at all astounded me. That they chose to use the lowest denominator didn’t.

This post is just to bring attention to my age-related new-found perk. Hmmm. I wonder if I’ll have to pay taxes on this money. Even though I’ve already paid taxes on this money somehow I feel this whole process was way too easy. Will there be some kind of backlash? As they saying goes:

There is no free lunch. (no matter what you think or what you’ve heard).

 

The Best Thanksgiving

We are all celebrating Thanksgiving in Canada this weekend. The local newspaper said it’s to be the best Thanksgiving in 5o years weatherwise. I recall another one many years ago. The trees had not disposed of all their brilliant leaves by the time the first snow fell. What a muddy mess in the spring for anyone having to rake up wet soggy leaves. That had been a great Thanksgiving too. I was the one doing the raking.

The trees are still not ready for the ball; they’re not all dressed in vibrant finery yet. Some are. Most are not. Will the snow fly before all the leaves are gone? Again? The trees in the north are ready. Here they are not.

Our family Thanksgiving dinner was yesterday. We sat 19 at the table. Had everyone shown up it would have been 26 place settings and another table. Currently, I have the eight-foot diningroom table and another foldup eight-foot, which gets put away when not in use. Looks like we’ll need another one of those and soon.

My son-in-law and I share the cooking for large gatherings as we live in the same house. I have a beautiful open-concept apartment in the basement with my own modern kitchen with lots of room for entertaining. He made turkey, BBQ smoked pork and meatballs (something for everyone), as well as stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes. I was responsible for the vegetables: corn, squash, sweet potato, carrots and turnip (cubed, mixed together), brussel sprouts (sliced thinly, braised, with nutmeg), red cabbage coleslaw with caraway dressing, freshly made cranberry sauce and a tossed salad (with pears, cranberries and feta cheese). Desserts were pumpkin pie (of course), various squares and a delicious apple cake.

The table groaned the last time we tried putting all the platters of food on the table. It was way to crowded too. This time I setup a buffet on my kitchen island. So much more orderly and civilized.

I’ve started a new tradition: eat all you want because everything on our Thanksgiving table has no calories!

Another year and another Thanksgiving. So much to be thankful and grateful for. How quickly the clock races. Faster every year.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Everywhere.

Show Me the Money

What a day I’ve had at the bank today. Recently someone mentioned that at my bank there are no transaction charges on bank accounts belonging to any customer who has reached the age of sixty. The current account is then changed to a senior’s account to flag you as a ‘special’ person.

So it seems, if you speak up, good things happen. If you don’t the bank saves money. I have no idea if all banks have this policy or a similar one, but no-one seems to understand why I’ve been overlooked for so LONG (especially me). However, I believe it can always be said my age has gone unnoticed all this time cause I’m so darn good looking (for my age). Or the tellers don’t do math. Or, possibly it’s true that banks save money so long as everyone stays mum. I KNOW how magnanimous banks are, but  it could be just me. I’ve just gotten suspicious with age. Anyway, I think sixty is too young to be called a senior, isn’t it? Except for the discounts—if you ask.

I’d been in and out of my bank a lot in the past three years because I moved to a new house and then I had renovations done afterwards. To accomplish this, I eventually cleaned out my account in fits and starts. Moving larger sums of money, more than the usual day-to-day amounts, suddenly set off alarms and a bank employee scrutinized this sudden activity. I got a little ticked the first time I got the third degree, but soon realized that if an imposter was trying to clean out my bank account they’d hopefully get the same treatment, so I cooled my jets. Someone was looking out for ME for a change.  A bank. Imagine THAT. But no-one noticed my age.

The unexpected highlight of my day is that I’ll be getting back five years’ worth of transaction charges! I’m sure that won’t be to the penny—with rounding up here and there, averaging and whatnot—but I’ll be getting REAL money back. My charges have been eyeballed at around $8 per month (closer analysis to be done). Let’s count low at $6 per month x 12 months ($72) x 5 years ($360). I wonder if there’s going to be a catch to this somehow.

Another happy outcome of today’s meeting is I’m changing my Visa card to one with no yearly fees ($29) to a cash back Visa card (up to 1%, no cap) and no fees. This amount will be put into my account. I think it’ll be at the end of each year but I could be wrong. There was too much happening, too fast. Thought I was having a hot flash.

There’s a clincher though. I should charge EVERYthing on the card and then pay it off before payment is due to grow my dividend. Sounds to me like a sneaky way to encourage bad habits. Skip paying off the balance now and again and you’re stuck with  bigger payments with more interest in Visa’s pockets. The cash back interests me though so I’ll try it.

Another reward from this card is that I’ll get ‘security and extended warranty insurance’ on my purchases. I will get an additional year instead of just the one offered by the manufacturer (i.e: just as the one-year warranty of an electronic purchase is slipping away, voila, I’ll be protected for another year IF something happens). Sounds crazy but why look a gift horse in the mouth?

Lesson learned:  Now that I’m a senior, I’ll brazenly speak up and ask about what perks might be ARE available to me. Anywhere.

This appointment has been an eye opener. I’d like to hear if anyone else has had a similar experience in the U.S. or Canada or has a worthwhile tip to share.

Shall We Celebrate?

While running errands today and driving from grocery store to mall to Costco, I heard on my car radio that today is Grandparents Day. I’ve been a grandmother for almost eight years but have only realized that means me too!

I vaguely recall hearing about it when this day was officially put on the calendar. Of course, I hadn’t paid it much attention then because I wasn’t a member of the club yet. I believe someone even had greeting cards for this occasion. Hallmark? Carlton cards? Do they sell them still? Odd that I’ve never seen any and have only heard of them back around the beginning. (I’m not really one for spending those appalling amounts of money on greeting cards but they’re nice once in a while.)

I’m not celebrating this year either. Guess I found out too late this year. In any event, my grandchildren are away this weekend with their parents. Before they left this morning, they insisted on giving me sweet hugs and kisses to show they will miss me. That’s celebration enough for me.

Why don’t calendars highlight Grandparents Day like Mothers and Fathers Days? Why is this such a QUIET holiday? On the other hand, why does it really matter? I believe Grandparents Day is every time you get to see your grandkids and react with them.

http://www.canada-city.ca/holiday.php?day=11

http://www.grandparents.com/gp/topics/national-grandparents-day.html?Else

Happy Grandparents Day to YOU too!