Tissue Tiffs and Frogger Dog
It was an interesting weekend. Mr. Bee and I went to Belleville on Sat. a.m. to some yard sales. My best find was a huge box of old “Crafts” magazines…FOR FREE! Also found a cool tea strainer and some great toys for friend’s kids who came to visit Sat. night. We had a friend P& B and E over for pizza and games. They have three kids between them; 12, 6 and 3. Sunday was E’s birthday so we had a cake and some of those ice cream ‘Dibs’ which the three year old though was manna sent from Heaven directly to him! Way easier than scooping too!
We played Scattergories which was fun. The very first question on the very first list was to write down something that started with the letter G that you’d find in a dessert. So I wrote grapenuts (since my Mum makes grapenut pudding). I’m so proud of myself. I think I have a unique answer because I’ve never seen grapenut pudding out here in the Midwest so when we check the answers I am the first to yell out, “Grapenuts”. Did you know that the word ‘dessert’ and ‘desert’ look very similar in the heat of the battle that is Scattergories? While others had ‘giant cactus’ and ‘Gila monster’, I had grapenuts. In a bold twist of strategy I tried to concoct a story about the annual grapenut harvest in the Mohave Desert, but it didn’t fly. (Note to self: learn to read.)
I finished Mr. Bee’s boot socks. They came out well. I won’t do another picture because the second one looks a lot like the first one! The yarn is Fortissima wool/bamboo.
I had a knock down drag out with the manager of Shopko West Madison (the store we should all boycott from now on!) on Sunday. Puffs Plus were on sale 3/$3.99. I went to the tissue shelf. There were a lot of single boxes and a lot of three packs banded together with cellophane. The sign was under each shelf of tissues so I just picked up a three pack. I check out and of course they ring up at $5.79. So Mr. Bee takes the loot to the car and I take the slip to the Courtesy Desk. I use this term only because there was a sign over it marked “Courtesy” not due to any actual courtesy I received there. I was told that the Puffs were only 3/$3.99 if you bought three individual boxes not the three pack. I argued that there was no difference (other than the cellophane wrap binding them together) and that the sign had been under all of the tissues with no disclaimer. No go. Division specialists were called. Theories were debated. But in the end, no one knew why but that was the way it was. By this time, Mr. Bee has come back in the store and I explain what happened. He says something like, “You’ve gotta be kidding me” and stalks to the back of the store to check, only to discover that the signs that were there two minutes ago have now been removed. I was ready to just forget it and leave never to return since this was just the final straw in a long line of incidents where sale things are miss-marked or not in the computer system. People, who expect to get the sale price but, don’t check the receipt, never know they are being taken.
Mr. Bee however was not ready to let it go. He made me go down and get three boxes of individual tissues and he went back to the car for the three- pack. When it was our turn we asked the ‘Courtesy Specialist’ to call a manager. I swear to God, Guy Smiley from the Muppets showed up. I calmly told him the situation and told him that $1.80 wasn’t a big deal but that this was a ridiculous situation in a long line of ridiculous situations and that we had had enough and thought we at least owed him an explanation as to why he was losing two faithful customers. He totally didn’t get it and wouldn’t admit that the store was wrong or that the signs had been removed. With a bright plastic smile and all of the enthusiasm of a bad game show host, he did refund our $ and give us the tissues for free but he acted like it was no big deal and never acknowledged that he was losing a customer, just that he was refunding some money. So goodbye forever Shopko West. God knows that there are enough other big box stores around without wrangling with you every week!
Oh, and to top it off, Ben ate a wee frog. I saw him pouncing on something on the deck at bedtime last night. He picked it up in his mouth. I told him to drop it and out comes this little quarter-sized frog that frantically tried to scramble away. I say, ‘Oh no no! We don’t eat frogs’ and move towards him to pull him away when he hoovers it up, looks right at me and swallows hard. And I swear he smiled! Poor froggie. At least it was quick.
We played Scattergories which was fun. The very first question on the very first list was to write down something that started with the letter G that you’d find in a dessert. So I wrote grapenuts (since my Mum makes grapenut pudding). I’m so proud of myself. I think I have a unique answer because I’ve never seen grapenut pudding out here in the Midwest so when we check the answers I am the first to yell out, “Grapenuts”. Did you know that the word ‘dessert’ and ‘desert’ look very similar in the heat of the battle that is Scattergories? While others had ‘giant cactus’ and ‘Gila monster’, I had grapenuts. In a bold twist of strategy I tried to concoct a story about the annual grapenut harvest in the Mohave Desert, but it didn’t fly. (Note to self: learn to read.)
I finished Mr. Bee’s boot socks. They came out well. I won’t do another picture because the second one looks a lot like the first one! The yarn is Fortissima wool/bamboo.
I had a knock down drag out with the manager of Shopko West Madison (the store we should all boycott from now on!) on Sunday. Puffs Plus were on sale 3/$3.99. I went to the tissue shelf. There were a lot of single boxes and a lot of three packs banded together with cellophane. The sign was under each shelf of tissues so I just picked up a three pack. I check out and of course they ring up at $5.79. So Mr. Bee takes the loot to the car and I take the slip to the Courtesy Desk. I use this term only because there was a sign over it marked “Courtesy” not due to any actual courtesy I received there. I was told that the Puffs were only 3/$3.99 if you bought three individual boxes not the three pack. I argued that there was no difference (other than the cellophane wrap binding them together) and that the sign had been under all of the tissues with no disclaimer. No go. Division specialists were called. Theories were debated. But in the end, no one knew why but that was the way it was. By this time, Mr. Bee has come back in the store and I explain what happened. He says something like, “You’ve gotta be kidding me” and stalks to the back of the store to check, only to discover that the signs that were there two minutes ago have now been removed. I was ready to just forget it and leave never to return since this was just the final straw in a long line of incidents where sale things are miss-marked or not in the computer system. People, who expect to get the sale price but, don’t check the receipt, never know they are being taken.
Mr. Bee however was not ready to let it go. He made me go down and get three boxes of individual tissues and he went back to the car for the three- pack. When it was our turn we asked the ‘Courtesy Specialist’ to call a manager. I swear to God, Guy Smiley from the Muppets showed up. I calmly told him the situation and told him that $1.80 wasn’t a big deal but that this was a ridiculous situation in a long line of ridiculous situations and that we had had enough and thought we at least owed him an explanation as to why he was losing two faithful customers. He totally didn’t get it and wouldn’t admit that the store was wrong or that the signs had been removed. With a bright plastic smile and all of the enthusiasm of a bad game show host, he did refund our $ and give us the tissues for free but he acted like it was no big deal and never acknowledged that he was losing a customer, just that he was refunding some money. So goodbye forever Shopko West. God knows that there are enough other big box stores around without wrangling with you every week!
Oh, and to top it off, Ben ate a wee frog. I saw him pouncing on something on the deck at bedtime last night. He picked it up in his mouth. I told him to drop it and out comes this little quarter-sized frog that frantically tried to scramble away. I say, ‘Oh no no! We don’t eat frogs’ and move towards him to pull him away when he hoovers it up, looks right at me and swallows hard. And I swear he smiled! Poor froggie. At least it was quick.
Comments
poor froggie indeed. My dog has had a similar harrowing experience, only to live to do it again...:)
It was bad enough when my Mom worked there and had to go to part time when she and Dad went to the hospital three times a week to learn how to dialyze my Dad's blood, and when they started dialyzing in the evenings at home ShopKo wouldn't give her the hours back, even though she'd been there eight years. Green-Bay-based or not, I can't give my money to a company whose values are so out of whack.
Good thing your doggie didn't do what our family dog did - eat a mini Barbie doll. At least you won't recognize the poor froggie on its way out.
Molly Bee, you darling woman! I never thanked you properly for the wonderful purple bag you left for me at the Sow's Ear. I know you made your Mom drive all over the east coast looking for it. That bag has a "special purpose". I use it to hold all the accoutrements I need for my "Learn to Knit class". It has my samples, needles & wool for beginners, the master of the handout. Just the most perfect bag, made even prefecter because it came from a loving knitter such as you!
And just so you know, if I hear you tell that story about the purple felted bag with felted flowers that you got at a yard sale for 75 cents ever again, I'm stealing it. I mean it this time! No kidding.