Saturday, May 17

Some things that make me happy.






I seem to have had plenty to gripe about lately, so I thought I would try to redress the balance somewhat.


This is a picture of my Dear 80 year old Aunt's Crazy wallhanging that she made. I love it. I wish I lived closer to share all her secrets about her quilting & sewing adventures.
This Aunt is a treasure in our family. She was an only child, & when she married my Uncle, she was introduced to a very close knit, large family. She always says she was thrilled to become a part of such a close, & loving family, & I am sure she means it. We, as children, loved her warm, & welcoming ways, & she has always been a legend in our family, with her wonderful cooking, & her never failing good humour, & welcome to all comers.
Here she is with my Beloved Brother, & her husband, our Dear Uncle G.





We know she has made our Uncle the 'happiest man alive' to quote him. How else would he have lived to be 91!

Here is a photo of Best Friend J & her two children. Adults now, of course. The years fly away when I think of how we were two young mothers, & our children were babies. It was so lovely to have the chance to see them both now, as adults.


This is a photo of Princess No 1. My Best Friend J's eldest Granddaughter. What a lovely girl she is. How else could she be otherwise with such lovely Grandparents, & such a lovely Mother!
And here is Princess Two, equally as lovely. Their personalities are so different, but they are such lovely girls.

Here is Jessie, their wonderful intelligent bright & happy Kelpie/Border Collie pup. She is so bright & eager to please. She was my 'Doggie Fix' on my trip. I was seriously missing my dogs while I was away, & Jessie was the dog contact I really needed!

Here are cousins at play. Sisters, with their younger boy cousin. How nicely they played, & how well they got along together. My Great nieces & a nephew, who now has a new brother, who I have not met.





An African Violet, which reminds me of my mother, who could grow them like no one I have met. She always had them flowering upon her windowsill, & she could poke a leaf into soil, & next thing we knew, a new plant was flowering!





This, a gorgeous Birthday thought, for a lovely Grand Aunt. How gorgeous is this photo, & the thought behind it! This dear little girl, who is almost 1, wishing her Great Aunt Happy Birthday.

*******************
Then there is the less than delightful C*R*A*P! that sneaks into every life!!Haha.
As you may know, we have recently had cause to purchase a new Electric Blanket.
Initially, we put the said blanket on the bed the wrong way 'up', or 'down''.
When I purchased the blanket, the harrassed sales assistant had hastily tried to tell me the controls has a 'long cord'. I naturally did not think too much about this piece of information.
Until we discovered the blanket was upside down. The controls seemed to be at the correct level, but the heating zones were not. The foot levels wiring was all under the pillows.
So, we reversed the blanket. Which resulted in the control plug now being at knee level.
(I tried to do a stick figure man illustration of this oddity, but it proved far more difficult than it would appear. My pitiful diagram was hideously inadequate, & so I have spared you the twisted result. I take my hat off to Mike, with his SFM illustrations. I could achieve nothing like his proffessional results.)
The plug connection to the blanket is now at knee level. It intrudes quite markedly into the bed area. Gom had complained bitterly about this freak occurrence. He is adamant the blanket is upside down.
When I explained to him the fact that the foot area, of the wiring, needs to be at the bottom of the bed, he could not understand the fact that some Cretin, has placed the control plug at knee level. He does not have arthritis of the knees, as I do. He is not currently on the waiting list to have a knee replacement, as I am. But he does have sensitive knees. They protest at banging themselves on some f%$#ing plug in the middle of his bed! He claims to wake at every contact with this ill-placed control plug.
To say nothing of the fact that the control barely reaches the bedside table. The electric plug barely reaches the site of the electrical outlet plugs.
The instruction booklet gives no idication that the placement of the control plug is ludicrous. I have tried, with no success to contact the marketers of this product. They have chosen, it would seem, not to answer my complaint of the serious design flaw of the placement of the control fitting.
I note we were given a Return Policy card when we purchased this appliance. I am not sure whether we have grounds to return our purchase or not. As with most of these policies, the wording is very confusing, & obscure. I think we may be making a trip of return on the grounds of ludicrous placement of connection plugs. I suspect that they have had numerous returns for this very reason, & this is why the sales person stressed this fact. Who knows what the eventual outcome will be.
I note that the marketing brand does not seem to carry any Electric Blankets, as current stock.
I will keep you posted on this ludicrous little drama.
Meanwhile Gom is claiming wounded & maimed knee caps - & sleepless nights!





America, Ventura Highway.



19 comments:

Elaine Adair said...

Return the darned thing! No one should have to put up with such silliness. I had a similar, stupid, experience with an electric (no, they are called WARMING) blanket, that was not warm after 4 hours! I think 'something' happened with the Rules, because of accidents at Nursing Homes, but the whole industry seems to have lost it's marbles! Luckily I found a USED one (used once) at our church Rummage Sale, that was OLD (before guidelines/rules) but still in original package.

Rosie said...

yeah ...go on... take it back... and give them an earful!

Christine Thresh said...

African Violets brought back memories of my mother. She grew them on the kitchen windowsill and they thrived.
Princess #2 looks so English (just the way I picture young English girls).

Jess said...

Beautiful girls!

We had electric mattress pads when I was growing up - the heat came up and warmed everything very nicely - might be something to think about!

jovaliquilts said...

We have an electric mattress pad, too, that my husband loves and I don't -- fortunately there are controls for each side. Good luck with your blanket problem.

And what a wonderful family you seem to have!

Mike said...

For you it is electric blankets. For me it is coffee pots and toasters. Appliance makers don't seem to like to respond to customer complaints.

Anonymous said...

Take the blanket back, explain to the sales assistant and ask for another make or your money back. If you don't get satisfaction contact consumer affairs. I haven't had an electric blanket for many years. They made me ache all over and I would get out of bed in the morning like a crippled old lady (I was in my 30's then and living in England). Someone told me that it's not good to get into a warm bed. I took it off the bed and within in a week my aches and pains had gone and I was bouncing out of bed in the morning.
If my feet are warm, I'm warm all over. If my feet are cold then I use a wheat bag on them and I'm asleep in no time.

ancient one said...

Sorry you are still having trouble with the electric blankets. They never make new things as well as the firts ones. (the first ones probably lasted too long..ha!)

Loved the pictures of the children and your Aunt, and your best friend! Good memories there.

I spent this day watching my oldest grandson getting married! It was a beautiful wedding! We love his choice of a bride! Good memories here!!

riseoutofme said...

Meggie, I was sorry to read of your health problems. I do hope you can get them sorted out. Whoever said our health is our wealth got it bang on the button. As for the electric blanket ... bring it back and raise hell, quietly, threaten them with Health and Safety Inspectors etc. ... that should quieten them and get you a refund hopefully! Good luck!

Tanya said...

your Aunt's crazy quilt is so lovely! All that hand embroidery! It really is a treasure.
I hope you can get the electric blanket problem solved. Tell GOM that cats warm up the bed and you do have to worry about switches and cords. (I know he doesn't like cats!)
I wish I had an african violet again. They are so furry and Grandmotherly. My Grandmother was great with them too and it won't be long until I'm her age!

Kitty said...

African Violets remind me of my grandmother - she grew them - every colour you could get. Glad you have some things keeping you happy. x

Leslie: said...

The plug thingy is supposed to be at the foot of the bed and the cord long enough to come up under the bed and over to an outlet. Did you try turning the blanket sideways so the plug thingy is at the foot? If so, and the blanket doesn't fit the bed properly, then there's been a big mistake making the blanket. I'd take it back but check another blanket to see where the plug in installed. Good luck. :D

The Sagittarian said...

Lovely kids, you must be very proud!
African violets, my mum can grow them too. I'm not so good at them as they seem to hate me with a passion.

Elect blankets? Hm, perhaps a good old fashioned "snuggle" might be mroe reliable!

Tanya Brown said...

That wallhanging is remarkable. Embellished to within an inch of its life!

I enjoyed seeing your family and friends. Waiting to hear the next edition of the Adventure of the Electric Blanket.

Unknown said...

and possibly a short temper as a direct result?

Ragged Roses said...

Hope you sort the blanket problem out Meggie and hope too that you are feeling a little brighter. I find keeping African violets really hard which is such a shame as I love them!
Take care
Kimx

smilnsigh said...

I love your Aunt's Wallhanging, and from the look of it, I'd have loved your Aunt too. If the wallhanging is any indication, she and I shared a love of the same 'color family'!

What a wonderful use of fabric swatches, which use/show this beloved 'color family'!

Mari-Nanci
Smilnsigh
Photos-City-Mine

Peggy said...

I hope you can return it and find one that works the right way for you. I have my mothers electric blanket that has duel controls and love it. I can keep my side nice and toasty while William can keep his nice and cool. the cords are at the right place too, thank goodness! Good luck with yours!

Anonymous said...

Princess 1 has a twin who lives across the road from us! Incredable likeness! I truely hate crappy purchases such as your blanket. I love to spend money ... but I hate wasting it like this. Things like this 'burn holes' in my brain everytime I am reminded of them and their poor design.