Customer Service By Phone Verses Online

I made a call this week to a company where I purchase my vitamins. I had some issues with some vitamins I purchased recently.

I called the customer service number and was on hold for a LONG time. It was SO long, that I decided to try to contact them online as the phone kept giving a message that you could contact the customer service by text or chat online. 

So, I started up my computer and went to the website and had a hard time getting a chat to go as I was trying to find a customer service chat. I opened one and typed in the number for customer service chat, but it didn't tell you that anywhere until you click into the chat. I then typed in the number and hit enter and after about a minute waiting, the chat said, "No chat information, chat is closing." So, I tried again! 

It closed again. Finally, on the third try, I was about to get a human to chat with about my issues. I went back and forth and was a bit frustrated that the man wasn't able to look up my history based on my email. I had to give him the order numbers which didn't help and then finally had to give him the actual name and item number of the products, so I actually think the chat did take longer than if I had a person on the phone, HOWEVER, I had been on hold on the phone the entire time I was chatting! 

I never did hear a human voice while I was on hold! I was on hold almost an hour. It only took me a few minutes to get a chat going online once I figured out that I just had to hit a chat box on the order page. 

I got my situation taken care of by chat in half the time! It was just under a half hour that I chatted verses the hour on hold and not getting to speak with a human. 

I would suggest that next time you have a customer service issue, you see if going online to chat is an option! 

Have a blessed day!

Using Sharkbite or Aqualock to Repair Pipe / Fittings on Trailer

I was working on replacing a bi-pass valve on my trailer water heater and kinked the tube while trying to put the new valve on. 

I was worried that if I tried to repair it the same as what it was before I started, I would kink the tubing again and have to replace even more of the piping. 

I went to the trailer supply store in town and told them of my dilemma and they told me of a product they sell that is a push in and lock fitting to fix the problem in straight fittings or elbows and in several different diameters! 

I used it in my trailer and it saved me so much work!!! It was amazing! I was able to fix the pipe with a push and pull out lock fitting. 

I was at a party a few days later, and my brothers were talking about a water problem on my fathers waterline in his motor home. I mentioned the part I bought called Aqualock, and my brother-in-law said, "Oh like Sharkbites!" I had never heard of any of these products, but he said he used them all the time in his trailer. My dad bought the straight sharkbite repair part and it worked great. 

The part I used was a swivel elbow 1/2 inch thread down to 3/8 inch push repair. 

I then share in the video how to replace the hot water heater drain valve. I used a dremel the first time to drill out the brass drain and had to be careful to not damage the threads on the drain itself. 

I also share how I buy used or clearance black out blinds and take them to be cut to size. 

 I am grateful to the workers at the trailer part store who made my life so much easier by sharing about the push fix parts.

Have a blessed day!

I Finally Found My Love Language - It's NOT one of the Five Known Languages

I have always wondered what my primary love language is as none of them seem to be greater than any other and I am always giving or doing things for others from all the love languages, and enjoy receiving from the five love languages, but have always been kind of indifferent about them. I love foot rubs but it is more about foot pain for me. If I want something, I usually buy it so gifts are not my main language. I enjoy time with my family, and enjoy notes and cards, but none of them stand out more than another for me. 

I had a realization this week after writing a guy back and forth on a dating site. I asked the guy what his favorite gift in his whole life had been. 

I don’t remember what he said his was, as I was writing a few different people, but he asked me the same question and it took me a long time to figure out what my favorite gift was. 

I told him that being a middle child from a family of 8 and being middle class, we didn’t get many name brand items, yet our cousins were wealthy and would always get name brand items. 

We would always take our favorite Christmas gifts to my Grandmothers who would give my parents money for the holidays to buy us presents. We would take the gifts to show her what her money bought. I was insecure about always getting used or non-name brand items. 

One year, my parents got me exactly what I asked for, a new Sony boombox and a new Mother Karen ski jacket. It wasn’t the gift I got that meant so much, it was that I felt heard. They listened to what I wanted. There weren't many times that I felt heard growing up.

I told the guy online that situation and had the realization that my love language is "being heard or listened to" as being the middle child of 8, I rarely had people listen to me. 

I then realized that three of my closest and dearest friends for the past few years are all people who just listen and love me. They never try to tell me what I should do, or how to do it, or try to fix it or tell me how I did something wrong in how I reacted or dealt with situations. They don’t judge me but just listen and show sympathy about what I am sharing. Living alone, I don't have someone to visit with at home, so I should have figured this out sooner, but I am just grateful I now know.

I feel happy to figure out what my love language is as it explains so much about my life. In researching, there is a "7" love language out there that has communication as one of the love languages which would cover my language in some ways, but it really isn't about communicating back and forth, it is just being validated by someone listening to my thoughts and feelings and there really doesn't have to be much back and forth, it is them just intently listening to me.

A therapist or uninvolved person wouldn't work as they don't genuinely care about me, so there is some component to the person really caring as well, so it is being listened to and cared about, not that they have to do anything other than listen, but I know they care.

Pondering on this for the past few days, I have realized that my mothers love language was also being heard. She spent years sharing her stories being a motivational speaker and recording tapes telling stories and sharing her feelings on things. I have listened and digitized hundreds of tapes of many types, and still have 190 cassette tapes to listen and see if anything on them is worth recording digitally. 

On one of these tapes, she shares that she tapes things because she is worried that no one will know the stories of her life as her kids aren't interested in listening and she and my father were going through a divorce about that time and hadn't communicated well for years. We didn't listen to her as we were raised in a home where communication wasn't honored or expressed well.

I realized that she just didn't feel heard as well. It really explains so much. I wish I had known that information before she passed away so I could show her I loved her in her own love language. I had tried for years to figure out her love language but she, like me, were a bit indifferent to most of them. We would do acts of service, give gifts, write notes, spend time, etc but nothing ever seemed to get through. I understand her now figuring this out!

Anyway, I am forever grateful to the guy online for helping me figure out my love language. It will help me in the future. I am grateful to know myself better! 

Have a blessed day!

Great Furniture Finds at Thrift Stores

I found a great buy at a thrift store this week. As I arrived, they were bringing out a wooden shaker / farmhouse table and six solid wood chairs for $100! 

I texted these photos to my sister whose daughters both moved recently. I paid $100 for my front dining room table and chairs but had to refinished and paint them. 

This table and chairs is SOLID and heavy. They don't need any work and that is less than $15 a piece. I love when you can find deals like that. The chair seats need new covers but that could be done in an hour or  two. 

When you need new furniture, check your local thrift stores, classifieds, or yard-sale sites. There are good deals to be found! 

Have a Blessed Day!

Toxic Air - Oxygen Sensor and a Brilliant Brother

I have shared recently that I realized that I probably have methane gas coming up through plumbing in the basement that never gets used. 

I have a Genius level brother who figured out a way to check the air in my home. He borrowed an oxygen sensor and wrote a program with a data logger to go off and sense the air in my home every minute or two. 

He sent it to me as we don't live close, and then spent time to help me set it up downloading apps on my phone and computer so I could look at the changes in the oxygen levels in my home. 

I set it up on the floor in the basement, and then the ceiling to determine if their was more or less oxygen in either area. Without fail, the oxygen on the ground level was higher than at ceiling level. 

RADON gas is heavier than oxygen which would have made the oxygen level on the ground LOWER than at the ceiling area. However METHANE gas is lighter than oxygen and so the methane gathers near the ceiling. 

Moving the sensor around the basement let me know that methane was coming into the house along with oxygen through the pipes as my house is so air tight. 

After I could tell there was methane in the house, I put water in all those unused drains and then put the oxygen sensor around the basement again, and now, plugging up those drains, the oxygen level near the ground went down, and the levels near the ceiling were higher!

I moved the sensor upstairs, and it was interesting to see that when the furnace went on, the oxygen levels went down quickly, and when the furnace went off, the levels increased just as dramatically! Because the Radon is heavier than Oxygen, when the intake for the furnace goes off, it pulls radon directly from the basement floor as that is where the main big intake for the furnace is, the hallway in the basement. 

So, when you look at the sensor toward the end of the graph, you can see lots of up and down as the radon makes it go up and then it drops when the furnace goes off. 

If things hadn't changed when I put water in the drains, I could say that the problem could have not been a gas, however, when things changed after putting water in the drains, it showed that it had to be some type of lighter gas. If there was just methane and not Radon, the levels should have balanced to stay the same. However, it isn't the same, this gas is heavier than air. 

So, I now need to work on finding someone to put in a heat recovery system vent in my home. It would be so nice to feel better and feel like I had the energy to get things done! 

I am so blessed to have a brilliant brother who can put together these type of things to make figuring out what my problems are so much easier! 

Have a blessed day!

Princess T-Shirt Quilt out of Disney Shirts Is All Cut

I have made lots of T shirt Quilts over the years and am currently working on a Disney Princess blanket for my oldest grand-daughter. 

She will be turning 8 soon and in our church, kids get baptized at age 8, so I wanted to do something special for her. I took a bunch of Disney T-Shirts and am cutting them down and making a quilt out of them. 

Having five daughters, some of the shirts were ones they wore, and the rest I collected from thrift stores. The most I paid for any of the shirts was $5, but most of the shirts were only $1 or $2. 

I spend time moving the shirts around to get them in an order I like with no two squares touching having the same color. I also try to put similar sizes near each other. 

I have many other videos showing how I do this, so here is a link to the channel playlist for my t-shirt quilts.  

I am excited to see it taking shape. I have finally finished cutting all the squares and it is time to start sewing!

Have a blessed day~

How To Tell REAL Lincoln LOGS From Fake

I had a huge tote of Playskool Lincoln Logs. I wanted to trim down what I had as I only have my grandchildren a few times a year. I don't need a huge tote of them, so I spent hours sorting them into bags by color and type. 

The oldest Lincoln Logs were sold in wooden boxes and were square in shape. Since then, they are all made the same. They are FLAT on one side. They are rounded but still have that flat extra lip on both sides. This allows them to start flat on the ground and you don't need an extra flat on one side piece like you do on the round knock off or copy-cat type logs. 

I had five or six different bags of cheap knock off logs. I still have a tote full of real Lincoln logs that I can hardly close, but it was interesting to see that there are so many different colors of Lincoln Logs. 

The smallest amount color I have is grey. I have enough of these for one kit. Then there are lighter colors of maple or light oak, but by FAR the red cherry or Mahogany color are the oldest colored logs and the most common. I probably have half a large tote full of the red colored logs and the oldest square logs are also the red cherry or redwood color. 

The older logs do show their wear and the stain is chipped a bit. If I cared, I would re-stain the wood, but I don't think they will be any less fun for the grandchildren. I share in the video I made how I have collected these logs over ten years or so by buying them at thrift stores whenever I see a bag. I never paid much attention to the shape, I would just purchase the bags so I could get a good collection of them. I paid between $1.50 and $10 but the average bag was about $5.

When I was cleaning out and realized how many I had, I decided to just keep the ones that are legitimate. I looked online to see how much they are selling for, and unless it is an original kit in the wooden box, it isn't selling for tons. Part of that is shipping costs, but I decided to go ahead and sell the six bags of extra's I had. Just to let you know, I offered them for $10 a large bag and $5 small online local sites, and I had a TON of people wanting them. 

However, dealing with people wanting to "pick" bags and holding them for people became and issue so I skipped many people who wanted just a bag, and I sold them to the first person that offered to purchase them all. I did have several people that wanted them all. I ended up getting $45 for all the bags and that was fair. 

Also, I share this information with you so that if you decide to sell yours, DON'T spend the time to sort them! There are enough people wanting all of them together that I wouldn't take the time to sort them again. It was OK as I wanted to sort out the non-Lincoln logs. However, if you are going to sell any, I wouldn't sort them again.

One other thing I have done is to collect fences and farm animals as the old kits had metal people and animals. I have some animals, fences, and a farmer doll that I keep with the sets. 

This is a fun toy I remember as a child and think it will be fun to make a Lincoln log city with the grandchildren, hopefully sometime soon!  

Have a blessed day!

Book Journals - Fun Idea Part 2

I shared a few days ago about how I was making some book journals for my kids and grandchildren. I want to share how I finished making them. 

I put the blank pages and the books in order of how I wanted them set up, and then I took them back to the printer and he said his employees were all exposed to covid so he didn't have workers to help cut the binding holes into the pages and covers, so I ended up spending the entire day there cutting all the pages and covers. 

I realized that some of the cheaper bindings on certain books didn't have thicker cardboard so there was nothing to hold the binding on the covers. I ended up having to tape cardboard on the inside and sometimes outside of the cover before punching holes in the covers. 

With the cardboard on the covers of the books, some wouldn't fit into the hold cutter for the binders, so I had to use a hole punch electronic machine that punched the holes one at a time. My arm was super sore the next days having to punch front and back covers one hole at a time and sometimes had to punch each hole twice. 

I had to go to two different places to buy the spiral binding and the smaller two sizes I needed were $20. I paid the other company $30. The books were probably $15 or so. So in total, I spent under $100 for all 13 books I made which is much cheaper than the $30 each to purchase books. 

Both places I purchased the ring binding from told me they were really difficult to put on. I came home and started putting the bindings on and they were super hard to put on. In fact a few of them were chewed up so much with me trying to get them through that I went back the next day to cut new holes in them.

I learned later than sooner that when you are winding the wires through, the covers are longer than the paper so when you are trying to wind the spiral bindings through, the paper is hanging down causing weight on the ring so I found that by lifting the covers up and letting the papers inside touch the counter and that took the weigh off the paper and made the wire go through so much quicker and did less damage to the covers. 

It did take a long time to get the binding rings through, but it was worth it. I spent some time on Christmas Eve sharing why I picked the book I did for each person and why I made them as the journals. 

It was actually a really neat experience that allowed me to share with my kids what I love about each of them.

When I asked my son-in-law later what his favorite gift he received for Christmas, he said the journal. It made all the work worth it. Everyone, even my grandchildren really seemed to enjoy the journals. They asked if they could take pictures with me and the journals and put them in the front of the journals and also asked me to write something in the front of each, so I spent a few hours writing messages to each of them in their books. 

I made a video of how I made the books so that if anyone wanted to make them, their process may go a bit faster and easier. 

I loved that I was able to find a gift that everyone appreciated. Have a blessed day!