amtolle

Why Read Blogs?

Today I was thinking about my blog. Deciding what interesting activity would I write about doing today. During my thoughts I asked, Why do I read blogs? Why does anyone read a blog or blogs?

I started reading blogs by other sheep farmers seven years ago. I was wanting knowledge on raising sheep. I also was wanting ideas on how to arrange the buildings on my farm, to work best for what I was going to be doing in the future. To learn how others operate their sheep farm. Hoping to learn from others’ experience, in order to make my experience better and with fewer mistakes, at least I hoped so.

I have done well with being a sheep farmer, and wanted to share with others some of the pitfalls I had, to those beginning their sheep farm. Hoping to help them out and promote my own sheep, I started a sheep farming blog.

WordPress hosted Bloganuary in January and I decided to participate. I enjoyed reading others people’s blogs on various subjects. Blogs of encouragement, poems, cooking, traveling and many other different writings. Through others’ blogs I was able to learn of different cultures and way of thinking. I enjoyed participating in bloganuary for the experience of reading other people’s blogs.

I enjoy sharing with others my creative adventures, farm life, and words that have encouraged me to be the best that I can be. I also want others to know, I am not perfect, I have my faults and my battles. My life has not been easy, but I overcame, and there is a way they can overcome as well.

I have a vast array of interests and hobbies. I love doing creative things. I enjoy sharing my ideas with others. Some are experiments, and other things I have done for many years and are proven. Most of my projects do not take much finances to have fun. Anyone can be creative, there are simple ways to be creative.

I enjoy sharing my interests, hobbies, creative experiments, cooking recipes, etc. with others. I hope those who read my blog, will be encourage to step out and try new things. Life is fun, lots of things to do and try.

I also write, so my grandchildren can read and learn more of their grandmother they do not get to see very often. For them to hear the stories, and learn of my life experiences.

I have lived many moons, seen many different seasons, and I still look to learn something new each day. That is a reason I read blogs. Reading some blogs gives my encouragement to keep trying when times are hard. This past year I have seen pictures of other places that are not seen in tourist advertisements or common places.

Have you thought why do read blogs?

Thank you for taking time to stop by and read.

amtolle

Mental Pressure

I raise sheep as a business. I have help when I handle the sheep, my best hands, my border collie dogs. The border collie was bred to herd sheep. Generations of selective breeding has created a dog which works very hard to please their person.

Border collies choose their person, as much as the person chooses the dog. We have five border collies. Two of them I use daily in handling and feeding the sheep. Three of the dogs are in training learning to do the job of sheep herder.

A dog whose training is “complete” or finished is a beauty to watch work. The dogs are not finished in a matter of months, but in a term of years, at least one but more like two years. Two years of working side by side with the handler and the sheep, to learn how to perform their job with grace and beauty.

I have one dog that is finished, my top hand Hank. When we work together, my dog reads the sheep and situation, there are very few commands. My other working dog, Annie, is not finished, although she tries very hard to please and a strong drive to herd, she will not be finished as she can not handle the mental pressure of commands and herding.

When training a dog, even for obedience, the handler must watch the mental pressure being put on the dog. The really good handlers/trainers can gauge the amount of mental pressure on the dog, and keep the mental pressure low and not break the dog with training.

I was not the first person to start Annie in training to do herding. The other trainers “broke” her mentally. When we received Annie, it was to take care of her and her pups for my husband’s son, who owned her at the time. He had decided she would never herd anything, but her bloodlines would produce good puppies to use and sell. It took a couple of months for Annie to develop a bond with us. After a second litter of puppies, my husband’s son decided to sell her to us, since she would come when we called her, and he had no use for her, even to raise puppies. We gladly took Annie.

We started her by letting her work with Hank. When two dogs work together, the dogs will often fall into a dominant herder and balance herder. Meaning one dog will do the actual herding, the other dog is support and responds to what the dominant dog is doing. Letting Annie work with the sheep, with the mental pressure coming from the other dog and not us, helped Annie to learn to handle the mental pressure of herding. With patience and a lot of time, Annie can work the sheep alone. When the mental pressure gets too much, Annie will find a water trough to jump into and sit for a spell, relieving the mental pressure she feels. Annie does her job well, but she is not going to ever be a finished dog, or top hand. Annie is limited in using her full ability and talent as a herding dog, due to not being able to handle mental pressure.

There have been times in my life, I was hinder in how far I could go in a job because of mental pressure. The mental pressure I put on myself. Like Annie, I would let mental pressure I put on myself, freeze my actions and decisions. Learning to gauge the mental pressure we put on ourselves take experience and years to learn. Mental pressure left without a release will break us.

When the mental pressure starts to get to me, I find a release, I look for my “water trough” to release the pressure, then I am able to return to the task. My “water trough” is sometimes breathing, or prayer, or a short break from the task.

Taking care of ourselves is our job. We can not depend on others to take care of us, as we are the only ones who feel what we feel. Others can see symptoms of when things are not right with us, but they do not know all the thoughts or feelings we are dealing with at the time. Since we are the only ones who know all the is going on with us, we have to take care of us. Part of taking care of ourselves is to gauge and release mental pressure in our lives.

I know I have a much higher expectations for myself than I do for others. These higher expectations, put mental pressure on myself when I am not meeting those expectations. When the job I am not doing is not perfect, then I put the mental pressure on myself to make it perfect, although it was not capable of being a perfect job.

An illustration of high expectations, and the job not capable of being perfect is the work I am doing refinishing an old dresser for my daughter. The old dresser is made from red oak wood, but it is old. There are dings, that I am not going to be able to get out by sanding to remove the ding. To remove the ding would require the board to be sanded to depth that is too thin to use. I can only sand so much of the wood, before I start damaging the wood, and the dresser. I have to talk to myself and accept the imperfections that will be in the dresser. I am not using new wood and materials, I am repairing and refinishing an old treasured dresser. It will look great, but it will not be perfect. It will be unique.

amtolle

The Busy Corner

In my yard is a spot I call my “happy place”. I am free to experiment and do what I want. It is not associated with raising the sheep or any other activity on the farm. It is my space free from sheep, business and other thoughts. Every morning I drink my first cup of coffee and gaze at my corner, watching the activity before the day gets too hot.

My happy place is a spot on the farm that my husband and I laugh at my mistakes, as I made some mistakes while creating this happy spot. One is the “red cabbage”. I like the cabbage plant, as well as the cabbage. This year I thought I had purchased four red cabbage plants on a visit to the nursery. Upon placing the last red cabbage plant in its pot, I saw a label. The label did not identify the plant as red cabbage, the plant is red brussel sprouts.

We laughed, we did not know there was red brussel sprouts. We both eat brussel sprouts, so the fruit these plants produce will not go to waste. I have never grown brussel sprouts, this year will be the first. I enjoy the different color of the plant, purple stems and sage green leaves. The plant gives the spot a variation in color and structure with the strong upright growth. The plant does not bloom colorful flowers, but the fruit or brussel sprout, grows along the stalk of the plant. My husband keeps looking for the fruit, and we laugh as he does not see where it is producing. He has learned to look in the correct place on the plant, and there are lots of fruits forming. The red brussel sprout has been a welcomed surprise to my happy spot, and a plant I will continue to grow.

This year I added some pink roses that are solar lights. In the evening I enjoy looking at my happy spot, and wanted some light and diversity for evening viewing. They add bright color during the day and have attracted hummingbirds. In the early mornings I spotted hummingbirds trying to gather nectar from these artificial blooms. So I added a hummingbird feeder to my happy spot.

The early morning is busy with bees gathering nectar from the squash and pumpkin blooms. The hummingbirds coming in for food. The small birds eating bugs from the trees and plants. And the lone woodpecker, red headed flicker, picking bugs off the trees. These are pleasant to observe as I start my day of busy work.

Currently some of my containers are empty. I plant radishes and onions in them. We have harvested the radishes and onions. I will plant some more seed once the temperatures begin to drop. Our current heat of over 100 degrees fahrenheit makes starting seedlings difficult as the young plants perish in the heat. The tomato plants are not setting fruit for the same reason, too hot.

We harvest summer squash from the one plant in this spot about every three days, adding some fresh vegetables to our meals. The butternut squash plant is several dozen fruits growing along its long trentale stems, but they are green and will not be ready to harvest until fall. Another lesson my husband had to learn after he brought three green butternut squash into the kitchen one evening.

The pumpkin plant is becoming large, covering the beets that finally decided to sprout. I had planted beets in the early spring, only they did not seem to sprout. So I place a pumpkin seed in the center of the small area, as the pumpkin plant could expand onto the grass lawn area. The pumpkin came up, and while adjusting the running stems to go onto the grass area, I discovered beets underneath. How well these beets will grow and develop I will watch as they are heavily shaded by the pumpkin plant. Beside the beets is sweet basil, having been seeded the previous year from the sweet basil I had in a pot. When disturbed the small plants release a sweet pleasant smell. I am also able to use this herb for cooking, and goes well with summer squash.

I have to have one pumpkin plant to produce pumpkins for carving with my granddaughter in October. The size the pumpkin plant obtains, makes for a very invading plant partner as it crowds the plants near it with its every reaching stems, blooms and fruit. I was able to place the few rocks I had gathered around this planting area before the squash plant starting getting too big.

My little happy spot sparks joy at the beginning and during the day. I learned to help with the depression I face daily, it is good to surround my area with things that spark joy, make me feel good about myself and my life.

Do you have a “happy spot”, a place to get away from the daily grind, and just relax? or a place the you feel joy in when you enter? Have you thought about creating your own little “happy spot”?

amtolle

Book Relaxation

In the evenings, after dinner and chores are completed, my husband and I watch a television series. We find a series we enjoy watching, we watch all the seasons and episodes, and have to find another series. It is frustrating as we are not into the reality shows, our lives have enough reality. We do not care for drama, horror or blood and guts, as this is a time to relax and share relaxing conversation. There is always the dread at the end of a series to find another series to watch.

Our series ended yesterday, the series we started watching tonight was not so great. I think he likes the noise of the television to relax. Where I like to take my mind off my daily job, yet keep the mind active in a different direction.

My husband goes to be much earlier than I do. He gets up earlier. Also I can only lay down for a limited number of hours due to back pain. So there are hours of time when he is in bed, and I am awake. House work is not an option as I make too much noise cleaning, or so I have been told. I find some way to quietly relax.

During the first year of Covid-19, a group of women I rode horses with, decided since we could not meet in person for dinner and other activities, we would read a book and then discuss the book through texting. It was an interesting concept, I had not read for pleasure for several years. The activity was a way to do something together, yet not be together.

I rediscovered my love for reading. The first book I read was “Fire Blossom” by Sarah Lark. “Fire Blossom” is a the first book of a trilogy, so the next two books were the continuation of the trilogy. The trilogy is historical novels of New Zealand, the historical events are true, but the names of the people are different, and some family histories have been combined into one family. I found the trilogy to be interesting and relaxing. I even did further research on a few of the historical events that had occured, especially the events concerning the Pink and White Terraces, the eighth wonder of the world.

As a child, I read books constantly. I enjoyed reading. The book took me on adventures and away from the happenings at home. In high school reading books brought knowledge of subjects I enjoyed. As a young adult and mother, books helped me traverse the pathway of single motherhood and being a parent. Then I stopped reading. I became too busy working and raising children, I did not have time for the adventure of someone’s words.

Two years ago, I rediscovered the enjoyment and relaxation of reading. Today, I have a reading list, something I have not had before. A reading list is exciting, something to look forward to when one book is finished, another adventure can start. Currently, I am reading a self help book. Next is a book of poetry. Then on to another novel.

Along with rediscovering reading, I have learned I can have conversation with my family members. My children and their spouses read or listen to audio books. What started out as an activity to do during Covid-19 has turned into an enjoyable family adventure.

amtolle

An Old Dresser

Currently I am refinishing a fifty plus year old dresser for my daughter. I have spent hours hand sanding the old paint varnish off, and removing splintering wood fragments from all surfaces. The wood is old. The dresser has not been used for nine years, and been in a storage building. The need of some minor repairs to the drawers is required. Most of the repairs are glueing the dovetail joints.

One of the drawers required repair of the dovetail joint, the corner where the front of the drawer and side connect. The joint had become loose, and the board forming the side a little warped. Using clamps, glue, and care I made the repairs.

I have some knowledge of furniture since I worked in a very exclusive furniture/cabinet shop. I had the privilege of working with different types of woods, some very exotic. I worked on pieces for very wealthy persons, such as Oprah. The owner of this shop was short with their employees, but they took a little time with me, explaining wood because I loved the wood.

Strange to many, I love sanding wood. The gradual exposure of the unique wood grain to each piece of wood is pure beauty. Different woods have their own characteristic color and grain formation. The wood grain is the way the tree forms tree rings during the growth of the tree.

Not every piece of old furniture can be refinished. Some pieces are wood boards with laminated wood paneling, very hard to refinish as it is easy to sand through the laminated wood paneling. This dresser was solid wood, no laminated wood paneling.

You can not refinish particle board. Most of modern furniture is made with particle board. Particle board simply described is sawdust and glue pressed together. Wood laminate is sometimes glued to the particle board to give the appearance of “all wood” furniture. Most of the furniture is particle board with wallpaper glued on.

If you do happen to find new real solid wood furniture, expect to pay a hefty price. Solid wood furniture will last generations, a good investment, unless you like to change the furniture in your home often.

This old dresser will be completed with new drawer slides to prevent the drawers from coming out of the dresser. I will add a few current safety measures as this dresser will be used for my grandchildren. Once completed, the dresser will serve them many years and future generations.

I am thankful I had the opportunity to learn some about working with wood in order to bless my grandchildren with a piece of furniture I grew up around. The old dresser used to belong to my adoptive parents.

amtolle

Freedom

Today is July 4th, a day the United States celebrates freedom from British rule. A tradition is this celebration is getting together with family and friends, eating good food, and when the sun goes down, watching firework displays. We celebrated with a Bar BQ dinner, watermelon and watching the fireworks from our patio. Our home is in a location to observe the aerial firework celebrations from five different area town.

Watching, and thinking of this celebration of freedom, I question what is freedom? Freedom from what? In the beginning it was freedom from British rule, taxation without representation, religious freedoms, and poverty.

At what price would we pay for this freedom today?

There is a large influx of illegal or undocumented people traveling to and into the United States through Texas. These people want freedom, freedom to raise a family, to build their dreams. The countries they come from are Mexico and Central American countries. Somehow, they obtain money to pay “coyotes” or the drug cartels to transport them across miles of Mexico and into the United States. Once here, they can not obtain work as they are not legal to work in the United States, but they work for money that is not documented, and sometimes they end up working for free, as the person putting them to work does not pay them. What are these illegal immigrants going to do? Tell the police that they worked and were not paid? No, they go somewhere else to work.

Recently in the news was a discovery of a semi trailer used to haul warehouse goods to stores, abandoned with people yelling for help. Locked in a large metal trailer were people searching for and risking their lives for freedom. When the emergency responders opened the locked doors of the trailer, they found stacks of dead people, and many others very ill from heat exhaustion and dehydration. The number of those dead in the trailer 46. Forty-six people died to have the freedom we celebrate today.

Why do they come? Is the United States a so much better place to live that it is worth dying for?

The Mexican president stated “poverty and violence” as the reason for those coming and dying in the trailer.

Yet, I hear on the news of the violence in my country, murders, mass shootings including schools. How do these people coming to the United States illegally think that their children will not be involved in a mass shooting or murder? Is the United States really “safer” than where they are coming from? We have bad crime. Even the small town I live in has crime. Are they coming expecting there to be no crime, no murder? In Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, people are shot daily, robbed, mugged and raped. I live an hour away for this metroplex.

Poverty is a popular topic on current news for the United States. I hear constantly about child poverty, children not having enough food to eat. A major problem when school is out, thousands of children, born in the United States, do not get meals, food daily. The small town I live in knows it is a serious problem in our community. There is a Blessing Box, where people who need food can go to at anytime, to get food. It is a large cabinet, open at all hours to receive donations and to be a blessing to someone who needs food.

Poverty in the United States is very real. Many families live below the poverty level. In our area, adult children with their own children, live with their parents unable to afford a home of their own. With the Covid-19, some children with families moved back in with parents due to loss of job and home. Inflation is beginning to affect everyone. My grocery costs has doubled since three months ago. We are not eating different, our grocery list stays the same, the prices have risen. With the cost of fuel, and utilities rising, my budget is seriously stressed.

How do those coming here from other countries because of poverty, expect to do better when they can not legally work in the United States?

There was a time in my life I lived in a tent, not able to afford a house to live in although I had a job. I have lived in poverty. I have lived in income based apartments. The United States is not paradise, there is poverty, crime and many other horrors.

Why risk your life to come to this place? What makes people want to risk everything to live in a country that does not want them?

Questions I have no answer for, and I do not think many people do, except those who are coming.

One thing is certain, they believe with everything they have and their own lives, they are traveling to a better place to live. Those 46 people thought it was worth the risk of life to have our freedom and opportunities.

amtolle

Setbacks and Frustration

A few days ago, I was stung by a wasp and had a local allergic reaction that took me to a visit at an Urgent Care Center. I was clear to do my regular activities. Recently I have been working on refinishing an old dresser for my daughter who expecting triplets in three months.

I have been sanding all the old stain and varnish off, gluing joints and making the dresser beautiful and strong for its future home. With the wasp sting, I have not felt like working on the dresser. My arm was very swollen and ached. The medication has the tendency of upsetting the stomach.

All things associated with the wasp sting, caused me to not work on the dresser. I was planning on taking it to her tomorrow, but it is not ready. I have fallen behind in the work schedule, and still do not feel well enough to work on the number of hours needed to finish, causing frustration.

I needed the dresser to be done for delivery tomorrow, as Monday I was needing to start getting the house ready for my oldest daughter and the grandchildren to visit, arriving on the thirteenth. The dresser takes up a large part of the living room. I also need to get two bedrooms ready for guests, and one of those rooms has to be totally cleaned out of boxes and projects. My schedule is way off track, frustrating me even more.

Frustration does not help us accomplish our goals. Frustration only complicates the situation more.

I have to realize, things happen, out of our control. We have to change the plans and realize we can only do what we can do. My daughter is not going to be upset if the house is not in perfect shape when she gets here. She will understand. I need to relax in the fact she will understand. Relaxing will help me to be more productive.

Breathe, relax, adjust, and the work will get done. One day at a time, One step at a time. And the job will get done. Much easier said than followed.

Frustration steals our energy and our clear thinking mind. We confused and try to different directions at the same time, at least I do. So, I have to stop, breathe, relax and see what step I need to do first and concentrate on that step until done, then start step two, until the job is complete.

I need to not be afraid to ask for help. My husband is here to help me. Monday, he will help me move boxes and things to the storage sheds. He is never sure what to do to assist me, but if I ask, he will do his best to help me.

Frustration can make us tense and snappy with those trying to help us. I work very hard to keep my tension down, but breathing and relaxing my mind. Tension and snappy words do not help the work to go faster, actually it slows down the progress and creates hurt feelings with those around you.

When I get a setback, and frustration tries to step in, I stop, breathe, relax the mind, develop an alternative plan, and move forward one step at a time.

Hope your weekend is going well.

amtolle

Dreams and Goals

My opinion is dreams and goals are interconnected. We have dreams of what we would like to do, places to visit, travel to other places, have a certain income or occupation, family, and others. We may have started dreaming about these types of subjects while we were small. We add to our dreams. As we get older we add more dreams and refine the ones we carry with us, and sometimes decide the dream is not what we want.

In order for dreams to be fulfilled, we have to make plans. If our dream is to travel to France we need a plan. First, we need to decide where we want to visit in France and how long our trip will be. Then we need to search what is the cost of this trip. Once we have a monetary figure we can examine our finances to see if we have what is required. Most people have to earn the money and save for the trip. They set a goal for saving. When they reach the required amount they have reached the goal, then can proceed with the plans.

They get a passport and travel papers if necessary, book an airline ticket, reserve housing arrangement, plan their day to day trip. The day before leaving on this fabulous trip, they pack and schedule a ride to the airport. Board the plane, land in France – Goal accomplished, and the Dream is being realized.

Dreams can be big or small. Dream of having a beautiful flower garden in the yard, redecorating a room in a home, remodel a bathroom. These dreams require a similar planning process and goals to bring the dream to realization and experience.

” When you stop dreaming your soul begins to dry up.”

I can not remember the person who said this to me, but I always thought it was important. When I was younger I did not give much thought to the quote as I was busy with dreaming and planning.

Now that I am in the golden years of my life, finances are tight, my body does not respond as when I was twenty, I realize the need to keep the quote in mind.

People who retire and do not keep busy, die earlier than those who are busy and still pursuing dreams and goals.

Keeping the mind busy, learning how to make a beautiful flower garden in the yard, one you dreamed of having, but did not have the time when working. The process of learning to do a new skill, keeps the mind from slowing down and being forgetful. Keeping the body moving helps the muscles to stay active and the bones strong.

Doing an activity, especially new learned activity help fight off depression. When Covid-19 hit, and everyone was put in lockdown, not able to socialize or do activities, depression soared and suicides increases dramatically. Mental health was a much a concern as someone being infected with Covid-19.

Not everyone lives in a home with a yard or a balcony. Some have to share a home with others. What is available for them to learn and do in a confined area. Sewing, I have two friends who are older and not able to get outside to do things in their yards, but they sew lap quilts for a nursing home. Perhaps a new hobby never tried, always wanted to learn to paint. There are plenty of painting tutorials on youtube.

Go back to school. During Covid a friend in her late twenties who worked as a waitress, was forced to go home, the restaurant closed. She was getting unemployment, did not have to pay daycare as the children were home. Used the stimulus money to go to college online, work towards a college degree and a better job. I still have the dream of finishing my college education to a bachelor’s degree. I currently do not have the time or money, I will not do student loans again as I finally got mine paid off last fall. But it is still a dream. Will I teach school with my bachelor’s, probably not, but I will have completed a goal and feel the accomplish, pride and satisfaction from having done so.

Keep dreaming. Keep setting goals.

amtolle

Unexpected Reaction

I work outside daily. I have worked outside the majority of my life. There are small hazards with working outside, in the yard, in the garden, or talking a walk. Through the years I have been stung by bees, wasps, hornets, scorpions and bit by spiders. Not a major medical experience, treat with baking soda and water paste, use an ice pack and the pain stops shortly.

Yesterday, I was working in the barn setting up a pen to put the Livestock Guard Dog puppies that need to be weaned. A wasp started flying around my face, I swiped to get it away….. it stung me on the arm. I stopped what I was doing, went to the house and applied the treatments that had previously worked. Only the pain did not decrease. Then area of the sting kept swelling.

Within twenty minutes, the area of swelling, redness and heat was over six inches. The same time my husband came home. I talked with my oldest daughter, who is an MA and studying to be an RN, and she said go to a doctor.

We tried to get in to see a doctor who my husband and I really like, but she was out until Tuesday. Their MA said I needed to get professional medical treatment. So we drove to the Urgent Care Center. I am a patient there as they have regular appointments as well as emergencies. I have not been since Covid-19 started, I did not like the hassle of going in with the restrictions, and I limited where I went, plus I really do not like doctors or doctor offices. But, this was a necessity, I had to do this. So in we went.

I was waited a short time before going in. The MA that came in to take my vitals and access the situation was very professional, through and attentive. Not an experience I have had there at times.

When she had placed me in the room (approximately 5 PM), the swelling was past my elbow and my forearm almost twice the size compared to the other forearm. She looked at my arm and appreciated the fact that I had drawn outlines and placed times on the swelling, called mapping. She asked me where I had learned to do that, I said training for Mounted Search and Rescue with the Montezuma Sheriff’s Posse in Colorado. She diagnosed my arm as “very angry”. Good description.

The doctor came in said a definite local allergic reaction. I was advised to get a steroid shot, and take some oral steroids for six days, keep putting on the ice packs. I asked about side effects, my body is ultra sensitive to medications, so I always want to know what the side effects are. I told him I had been stung by a wasp three weeks ago and no strange reaction. He also informed me that we develop allergies as we get older, the medical field does not know why. We discussed the probability of the allergic reactions continuing to increase if I were stung in the future, and if he thought I needed an Epipen. I work outside and the risk of another wasp sting is high.

I received my steroid shot, went to the pharmacy to get the steroid pills. At home I followed the doctor’s directions. The reaction to the steroid shot, instead of making me jittery and raise my anxiety, I became very sluggish and sleepy. Typical, opposite reaction from how medication response with others. About midnight, the pain, swelling had stopped, and the heat was going away. This morning most of the swelling is gone. I will continue to take the steroid pills as directed. I will also me a little more cautious around wasps, bees and hornets.

Unexpected things happen. I have to deal with a calm and clear mind. I deal with medical situations with the sheep and horses several times a year. When it is myself or a person, I have to keep the same mind frame, remain calm and think out a plan. Becoming panicked and over excited only causes the adrenaline to increase making the body react to the situation worse, and the mind not thinking of a plan.

Hope everyone is having a good, safe day.

amtolle

Solicitations

You ever get tired of those random calls from solicitors wanting to sign you up for satellite television, extended car warranties, medical insurance or mortgage loans? I get tired of them.

I do not answer any phone calls with an unknown number. If there is not a name, I do not answer. But all these unwanted calls leave a message.

The best one is political surveys. I have a Colorado cell phone number, I live in Texas. Every election year, I get phone calls wanting to know my opinions on Colorado political candidates. If by accident I answer the phone call, I tell them I do not live in Colorado and have not for years. I had one person tell me I needed to change my phone number.

I do not change my cell phone number as I have people and family that sometimes get in contact with me. I do not want to go through the trouble of informing everyone in my contact list or who may have a business card, I changed my number. Who cares what state my cell phone number is in, no one pays for calling an out of state number anymore. I would also have to remember a new number.

Or, Direct TV telling me I can get a discount on my account if I sign up for a certain plan. I have never had a Direct TV plan, my husband did twelve years ago.

My least favorite is extended warranties. I accidentally answered one of those calls. I asked about restrictions on getting an extended warranty, like miles on the vehicle and year of the vehicle. They do not apply to vehicles with over 200,000 miles. Both our vehicles are over or at 200,000 miles. One person was rather pushy about wanting to sell me an extended warranty, told me I needed to buy a newer vehicle, “no one drives a vehicle with over 200,000 miles”. I think he thought I was lying to him.

I have asked where do you get my phone number from. They say a list.

Where do you get the list? We buy the lists from companies that compile the lists.

What companies compile the lists? We would rather not say.

Medical facilities, grocery stores, cell phone companies, insurance companies and others sell your name and number to companies that compile those lists. They can not give out your date of birth-but can give your age group, can give the state you reside in-but not the street address.

They sell just enough of your information so solicitors will pay for a list to harass the general population with.

Used to be, ages ago when I was a wee lass, you could get a private telephone line. No one was allowed to know your phone number or information, unless you gave it to them directly. We changed cell phone carriers a couple of years ago. I asked the sales person for a private number. Her reply, “What is a private number?” I described to her what a private number was. “I have never heard of that. And no the company does not provide private numbers,” she replied.

We can put our numbers on a no call list, but that only last for a year or two. You have to remember to call each year to keep your number on the no call list.

Yes things have changed.

Thank you for stopping by.

Who is your least favorite soliciting phone call?

amtolle