Best laid plans of Christmas and cookies...

I have been baking.  Lots of baking.  I have a friend,  her husband is terminal.  We both belong to a group, and she wanted a Christmas exchange.  I told her I'd help, and so I was going to make cookie plates, and some gifts, so there would be extras, in case anyone didn't bring something.

And then a note, from another member. She was not going to be at the event, and could everyone bring toys, which will be donated to a charity?

I write back to the gent that sent out the note.  He said he'd ask, so right now, I am not sure which way it will go.

I will give her a cookie plate, either way, she will probably have people over.  I will get a toy for the donation... 

But, man, oh, man, do I have a lot of cookies!  To wit: I have 5 or so gallon jars full of cookies in the freezer...

That being said, since I had one of the deputies come up and hopefully ask if I had brought any when I came in... (I hadn't, because I have been concentrating on getting the ones for the group finished...  Oops.)  And my Husband has been enjoying being the Test Eater, as I can't have chocolate anymore, snif... 

But, they are all approved by the various Cookie Monsters in my life, so...

They shouldn't go to waste.  Waist, perhaps, but not waste...

Surprise! And confused!!

When I come into town on my day at the Sub, I check our mail.

I opened the PO box, and there was a key.  Huh.  Looks like I have something, but, what?  I didn't order anything, and Husband never mentioned something showing up...

So, I trot over to the storage area with the key.  Box 45.  Hmm.

Ok, Box 1 through 39... Box 51 through 65...  Um.  Box 45 should be... Where?  I wandered back and forth, trying to figure out where the silly section with the 40's were.  Turns out, for some unfathomable reason, the 40's are stuck in a completely different area.

But, I found them.  So, I find box 45, put in the key, and open to... Peet's Coffee?  HUH?!??

I do not drink coffee, Husband doesn't, and my family drinks mostly the regular stuff, no specialty brands.  While musing on this, and smelling the lovely aroma, (while I don't drink coffee, I think it's a lovely smell, Eau de Coffee would be something I could really enjoy as a perfume!), I finally registered that it was for 3 boxs away from mine.  I buzzed the mail folk, and let them know, mentioning that I wouldn't want anyone to miss their morning coffee!  She agreed, and they quickly unlocked the key, and ran it to the correct PO box.

I have this image of someone just holding the box and sniffing... Aaaaaaahhhhh....

Oh, no? They are?!???

Husband and I have found texting to be a terrific way to send notes.  If I am outside, I can either tell him if I need something, or he does, and what we are doing, if we can't find one another.  This has helped a lot, because you'd think it would be hard to find one another, but we have had a few of those old movies, where she goes to A, he goes to B, she leaves A to go to C, while he runs to A, and on and on...  The texting allows me to ask him to stay put, dangit wait where he is, so I can get to him...

BUT.  Texting can have a downside.  I was going to do a bit of planting for spring.  I received a bunch of daffodil bulbs, and wanted to get them in the ground... Where I wanted to put them, I had to walk by the chicken house.  The chickens were all sort of gathered around the waterer, looking dejected.

Uh, oh. 

Sure enough, I walked over, and the waterer was empty.  Sigh.  So, I text a quick note to Husband, that the chickens were out of water, and I would be filling the tank.*

Or, that's what I thought I'd written... 

I  finally filled the tank, started the water for them, got Mon Ami and Gypsy to get back in with the group, (they have figured out how to get out, and I am going to have to invest in some new fence, or close off the group to the front, they are walking down the darn road, like that other rooster did!)

So, anywho, I finish up, walk in the house, and Husband is looking at his phone, grinning from ear to ear, and says, "Warranty?  Didn't know they needed one.  Do we need an extension?  How many miles per chicken?"

I was truly wondering what the blazes he was talking about.  He then pointed to my text...

The chickens are out of warranty, and I need to fill the barrel for them.

Uh, yeah, no...

But, it gave us a good laugh, after my confusion cleared up... I know I can cancel autocorrect, but I find it useful when I am not sure how to spell a word. Must say, however, it does lead to some... Unique conversations...



*I do this, as we have the outside water turned off, and I would have to enter and exit the house several times.

Phone service. Or not.

We have a relatively new phone system I am using at work.  It was presented as being much easier to contact people in other buildings (including the ones in the main office, which is in another city!), and that we could do nearly everything but make coffee with it.

Uh, I don't like coffee that well, and don't really think the IT guys remembered they were talking to people who are NOT techs...

For example.  I have to transfer calls to dispatch.  Now this should be easy.  You just ask the tech guys, and they give me a several step process. 

Uh, huh...

And when I need to do that, if you don't do it in a very short time, it will hang up on you, and more urgently, the one you were transferring.  NOT good.  I started telling them the phone number for dispatch (non emergency), if I was transferring them, or telling them to hang up and call 911 if it WAS an emergency, so I wouldn't keep dropping them.  Very poor way of getting the job done.

I finally sat down and read the booklet (paper, even) we had for the phone.

Well, it wasn't MUCH of an improvement, but I found out, from that, and one of the gents who is in the office, that if you know the extension, you type that in, then wait for it to ring, then hang up the phone.

That's all.  Not several steps.  Just 2, basically.  And I've only lost one since, and that was because of a power blink.  Much improvement there. 

So, now, I need to learn how to transfer calls IN THE BUILDING.  This shouldn't be hard, right?  Dial the number of the phone the person is near, they pick it up, all is rainbows and unicorns. 

Well, except, no one seems to know what the extension numbers are for the six phones in here, except for the main phone, i.e., mine.  That would be great if I call myself for some goofball reason, but doesn't do me a bit of good if I have to call one of the guys up to my phone.  I have needed to do this very thing more than once, which leads to me handing them paper and pen, and leaving my desk, so they can get the info...

So, I need to go get one of the tech guys, and a tech to confused person translator, and see if we can straighten this out. 

On the bright side, I do know how to 'park' calls, and can send them wither and when they need to go, now... If I know the extension.