Sounds Like Spring, Feels Like Spring

It’s 34 degrees and sunny outside.  The birds (blue jays mostly) are creating enormous havoc.  See?  I told you, “if we listen close enough, we can hear spring before we see it.”  

My grandson is 4 and he said, “it must be spring, it’s SO WARM!” (40 degrees)

We celebrated with a map of Tyringham Cobble (complete, of course, with ninjas, Moby Dick, and castle…)

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What’s for Supper?

I bought chicken legs and thighs today.  I was thinking about my Sweet-Sour Chicken recipe that we made YEARS ago, when newly married, a new baby, a tight budget, and a yearning for Chinese food.  My Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook had the recipe, and for a number of years we relied on this for our Chinese New Year celebration.   Looking at the Poultry section of my BH&G Cookbook, however, I see it is filled with a delight of other recipes, including Orange Chicken, Island Broiled Chicken, Barbequed Chicken, Chicken Cacciatore, and Chicken Parisienne, to name just a few,  How can one decide?  I have enough chicken for two meals, so I think I will try two different recipes.    

Sweet Sour Chicken

Barbeque Sauce

Barbeque Chicken (oven baked)

The Valentine Party

I remember growing up and the mystery behind Valentines Day.  Carefully selected penny Valentines were addressed, boxes in the classroom hung on the desks, and each one dug through amid candy hearts that said “Be Mine” and cupcakes with pink frosting.  And that boy I had a crush on, did he do the same?  The romantic mind of the 9 year old realizes today that no, he probably did not, but I always liked to think that maybe he did.  But that’s not the Valentine party that is in my mind…

I remember my Mom and Auntie Peckham developing the Valentine’s Day Party.  Chocolate cake with that sticky frosting that (if I remember right) you had to boil first.  Penny Valentines (again) exchanged, for the adults it was an excuse to get together during the week, for us kids though, it was a memory in the making.

 

Valentines Day with Little Miss

“Grandma, you made me so happy!  I love my Valentine card!” exclaimed Little Miss.  We were having our little overnight in combination with an early Valentines Day party, just the two of us.  I love this child, she is so easy to be happy. I’m saving this in my Book of Memories, for at some point she will be interested in other things, other people, and will remember me later, after her wedding day.

 

 

Who do YOU call?

-4 Fahrenheit out there.  Here in upstate New York we are a bit “frozen” in time and space.  But the buses are running, the children are expected to attend.  

Yesterday I noticed a cable hanging on my garage door, sort of sandwiched in between the door and the track, and weaving in and out.  This was not a good sign, and an even less than happy sign as I tried it.  So I unhooked the automatic opener and tried.  Hah!  There went every plan known to man (or to Kathleen, actually).  My resumes, hot off the press, just waiting to be managed, the eye doctor appointment that needed to be rescheduled, etc.  Despite my minor frustration, I did realize the synchronicity of the day, and went with it.

So, who do you call? Garage Door Man!  Yes, Jack Hayes of Hayes Garage Doors (Guilford, NY).  Jack called me back about 3:30 p.m., and made sure he got here before dark (actually arrived within the hour) and did a quick fix on the spring that was broken and will need to be replaced (ordering part necessary).

Jack Hayes.  Hero of my day.

 

Quiet Morning

My enlightenment doesn’t have to start on the lofty mountaintop, but to my available world. Sacred, peaceful, calming.

Telephone Girl

Reminiscing about the telephone antics of Lily Tomlin’s operator, who never got the messages right,, we laughed as she garbled, played with her blouse, and squished up her nose in a prim and proper manner.  Funny, and we all got the message.

Recently a telephone call resulted in what could have been disaster, had the patient been less than of an intelligent caliber.  Patient calls the doctor.  Who gets a real person these days?  He left a detailed message on the answering machine.  He stops by the office, waits 45 minutes.  “Mr. C, here is your prescription. Thank you for waiting.”  The prescription was for a sleeping medication, not for blood pressure.  Apparently the Spanish translator couldn’t translate the English message correctly, so she guessed.  

This is a good example of EOE.  I am absolutely livid over this, and this isn’t even about me, it’s about someone else.  Hold me back, brother, hold me back!  I love “foreign” language just as much as the linguist, but when you make a mistake like this, it can cost someone their life.  Not only their life, but the physician’s life, because he relies on his staff, he is not a one man show (believe it or not).  Lives are ruined.  This person needs to be back on the unemployment line for an error like this.  

You want someone who takes a good telephone message?  Hire me!  I can’t do Excel, I’m not good at Microsoft Live, but hire me to answer your telephone.  This is what you will get:

“Good morning, this is Kate Sparrow of Furs’ Unlimited, to whom am I speaking?” (write it down)

“What company are you representing?” (write it down)

“A number where you can be reached?” (write it down)

“Message please?” (write it down)

Then you write down the time of day it was recorded.

This whole incident reminds me of a story.

Back in my twenties, I was the back up secretary to Mr. Smith, who had several corporations, all run from one building, for some of the companies (in another state), operation was from this “remote” location.  Mr. Smith was a very hard man to work for, he ran a tight ship and had expectations of all of us, and if you screwed up, you had to face Mr. Smith.  I was trained to answer the telephone in this manner, take down all of the above information, hand it personally to Mr. Smith (he didn’t use the intercom), and explain the best you could, and he would take the telephone call (or not).  The gentleman calling stated he was from “the XYZ Company.” (Really? I couldn’t believe there was such a company, but I wrote it down.)  It was regarding furs his wife had ordered.  I took the information to Mr. Smith, he looked at the message and took the call.  Now, everyone reading this knows by now that this was a bogus call.  Next, I heard Mr. Smith ranting at this man, “I cannot believe you would call me with this message!  Just to talk to ME personally!  I will not deal with you or your company EVER!”  The telephone message was stamped BULLSHIT and filed (we filed EVERYTHING).  

But, dear friends and collegues, this is how you take a telephone message.  You want information?  Hire me.  I won’t do you wrong.  I will take care of you, your business, and be careful with your money.

There are many more stories about Mr. Smith and his tight ship. Stay tuned.