The Power of the Internet

 

Nearly two years ago, we invested in an expensive Blendtec blender.  We love it and use it almost every day.  It was pretty expensive, but came with a 7 year warranty, so we thought it would last long enough to offset the high price.

 

A week or so ago while we were making smoothies, it  started to make a funny sound like the motor was struggling.  We took off the pitcher, and noticed the rubber seal was hot with  black rubber flakes under the pitcher.

I went online to Blendtec and found an email address to notify them of warranty issues.  It said someone would get back to me.  I waited several days with no response, so I found an 800 for service.

I called this number many times, but  I kept being put on for long periods of time each time I called.  I was getting worried that our “7 year warranty” wasn’t going to be worth anything.

My next step was to go to Blendtec’s Facebook page.  I made a comment about the problem and not being able to reach anyone at their customer service department.  I found a few other places to leave negative comments on FB regarding the Blendtec blender.

Shortly after I commented on their Facebook page, I got an -mail on a Sunday, stating someone would call me the next day.  I got the call as promised and she determined I needed a new pitcher. It was delivered on Wednesday at no charge to me. 

Apparently, they are aware of the problems they are having on their phone lines.   They apologized for the inconvenience and handled my problem efficiently, once I actually got a live person to speak to.

The power of the internet saved the day again!   One negative comment can cost a company some business and they know it. 

 

So, we’re sitting in Tampa with hot and humid weather.  Our friends Ralph and Terry are at one of our Rv sites in Blairsville, GA and it was 55 degrees yesterday morning!     Oh how jealous we are.   This morning, the when I checked their temperature, it was 52.   Oh how nice that sounds!!

We were so surprised last year at how much cooler it was in Blairsville than here in Florida.   We’re SOOOOO anxious to get back there.

We’re hoping we will be able to leave Florida soon, but Al has been having headaches again for the past several days.  The last  time this happened was after he hit his head and it turned out he had a subdural hematoma.  A CT scan was done and the hematoma appeared to be shrinking, so we thought he was okay.   Now, when he has headaches, we get a little worried.  He has not hit his head again (yet).  Is it just a normal headache or should we be worried.  He doesn’t often get headaches, so it’s a bit of a concern.  I guess we’ll see how it goes this week-end and take him to the doctor Monday if he’s not better.  Thay may just delay our trip north.

We had a pretty laid back Independence Day  here at Quail Run Rv Park.  It was hot and sticky and we got occasional short lived rain showers off and on during the day.

The campground had a cookout from 4 –6pm.  Of course late afternoon is normally when we get the afternoon thunderstorms, and yesterday didn’t disappoint.   We had our “picnic” inside.

When we got home we watched the movie, Lone Survivor.  It was a great movie and the perfect one for the 4th of July. Very patriotic.  Often when I see a good movie based on a true story, it makes me want to read the book, and this was no exception, so I ordered the Kindle 3-book this morning.  How nice is it that with one click, and $7.99, I can have it instantaneously delivered to my laptop, Al’s netbook and my phone?   We don’t pay money for many books, but I felt this was worth it.

We decided not to go watch fireworks last night, but as it turned out we had a great view of some nice ones right outside our living room window.

 

Our site has been pretty active with wildlife this morning. 

While drinking coffee this morning, Al happened to notice a baby bluebird that evidently just fledged. He was in the tree right beside the motor home. His parents are feeding him.

 

A little while later 3 Sand hill Cranes were in the yard eating the spilled birdseed from the feeder.  Before I could get out with the camera they had gone down by the water.

Everything is pretty green with all the rain.  This is our back yard view.  For some reason the guys that mow the grass here, have left an unmowed strip the past 2-3 times they have mowed.  It’s starting to look like those wildflower areas you see along the interstates.

 

 

Ms. Cardinal was enjoying the birdfeeder.

And last, but certainly not least.  Baxter enjoying the sun in the front window.

 

We have been getting some responses regarding renting out our Rv lots. The Blairsville lots are paying for themselves, so that’s good.

Now if we could get the Keys lot to pay for itself in the summer and fall months, we’d be happy.  We got an inquiry of someone wanting it from December through possibly April.  We would sure love to have rented it for that period as it would have more than covered our annual HOA fees and taxes, however, we also want to be there at least from February on.  We figure we would rent it through January and stay here in Tampa until February.   We would like to stay there longer next year because the water started getting nice and warm in May.  We were hoping to rent it this summer for lobster season, but so far no luck there. 

An “Oh Crap” Moment and Panic Mode

 

We’ve been breaking records lately, and not the good ones!

On Monday, the temperature got up to 96 degrees in Tampa, breaking a record set back in 1959.   A few days ago Fort Myers broke their record at97 degrees. When you go outside, it feels like you have stuck your head in an oven, but with humidity. 

We’re getting more and more anxious to head back to north Georgia for some some cooler weather.   Soon, we hope.

We’ve been watching the first  hurricane of the season.  It had been sitting still over some very warm waters right near the east coast of Florida.  Warm water is conducive to strengthening and normally this would cause me some concern, however, the weather computers all predicted it to eventually turn north and go up the east coast of the United States.  They are generally pretty accurate on the general direction a storm will go, so we’re not expecting it to hit Florida.  

 

Our “oh crap” moment happened yesterday.  We have been having some trouble with our front (only) door.  Frequently, we have a little trouble getting it to open from the outside. We have to push on it, and give it a few tries before it opens.   Al adjusted and lubricated it, but yesterday he tried something different.

He was outside working on it, and I was inside.  He knocked on the window and told me he couldn’t get the door open.  I went over to the door to see if I could get it open from the inside, but it was jammed shut with a big gap at the bottom of the door.  It was shut solid tight at the top and the lock wouldn’t turn. 

Immediately, after I realized I was locked in, I started to panic.   I never thought myself to be claustrophobic, but as soon as I realized I was locked in, I wanted out and I felt a definite sense of panic.  I knew I could crawl out the window, and Al was there to bring a ladder, so I wasn’t really trapped, but the feeling of panic was still there. 

Al decided he needed to look at the door from the inside, so he gracefully??? crawled in through the window.  That was quite a sight as he was stuck on the windowsill about halfway in.  I had to grab him by the pants and help him in.

Once he regained his dignity, he took off the top lock, fiddled with a few things and ended up getting the door to open.  Thank goodness!  I sure breathed a sigh of relief.  Unfortunately a piece of the lock fell down into the door frame, but he thinks he can get it and replace the lock.  For now, the lock is not screwed into the door so it’s not working.  Fortunately, we have another deadbolt lock, so we’re safe.

Yesterday was another doctor appointment for Mom.  She has another one on Monday and then I think I’m turning the rest of them over to my brother.

Every time we take her to a doctor, they schedule her for follow up visit or a visit to another doctor.  It’s a never ending cycle.

Right now, I think she’s doing as well as can be expected for someone her age.  If I can just keep her from falling again. 

I hope everyone has a nice Independence Day.   We’re staying close to home.  It’s too hot to do much else.

Dreaming of the mountains.