susandennis @ 10:02 am: The truth is...

We can just go ahead and call this post - Delaying The Gym Trip Post. I wonder if I will ever think 'yippee! I get to go to the gym again today!!' I just don't see it, myself.
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Last yesterday afternoon, Neighbor Ann called and in kind of a frantic voice said she needed a computer favor. I told her to come on down. 'you sure this is an ok time??!' 'perfect time', I assured her.
Turns out, she'd been trying to get rid of Ron (her husband) for three days to get down here for this favor. (She and Ron are retired and enjoy doing stuff together so they always are.) She wanted to see if it was possible to order him a sweatshirt for Christmas from his college fraternity. She even had the URL on a scrap of paper that someone had obviously slipped to her. And she had her credit card. She was ready to buy!
The URL turned out to not have sweatshirts but we found several that did and none that looked right but we finally found a good one and they even offered to add 'alumni' under the greek letters which was perfect and they can get it here before Christmas for a very reasonable shipping rate.
I actually had never seen this before. In the buy process, you were presented with a page that showed about 14 different shipping options - USPS, FedEx and UPS each with several shipping speeds and all with exact pricing. It was REALLY impressive and a model I wish everyone used.
Anyway, she's all set. It was great fun.
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I use a lot of free knitting patterns. And sometimes I knit from my imagination. Sometimes I buy patterns. I have been burned in the buying process - bad pattern, poorly written, tedious instructions, bits that are just not worth futzing with to get the effect, etc.
Like software, when I pay money for a pattern, my expectations are a little higher.
But, I have learned over the years that most pattern writers are not at all interested in replying to any requests for clarification and/or suggestions. I am not the only one who has encountered this so I just assume, when I hit a snag in a pattern, that it's mine to figure out. It just grinds a little sharper when I've paid money. This is why I don't buy a lot of patterns.
But, I bought one yesterday. And hit a problem. So I sent the writer a note - assuming I'd never get a reply. I got one in less than 12 hours! Plus, she's now responded several other times. Her pattern is fine but I use one needle instead of four so there was not enough detail for me to translate correctly. She's even promised a new version with the needed detail.
Very nice and well worth the money and I'm growing a sweet new bear.
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I've gotten kind of LJ jaded over the past year. I use it to chronicle my life for me but also enjoy reading other peoples' journals. Many of my readee's have left LJ and moved onto Facebook and I miss them but every once in a while I still get a hit of LJ delight and this morning was one of those times.
I'm a huge fan of House Hunter and House Hunter International. I love hearing about house hunts. What's important to people, what compromises they are willing to take on, etc. One of my LJ friends,
johnpalmer is in such a hunt and had
a great entry this morning about what he's finding and what he's thinking about those findings. He mentioned several times about wanting stairs. I found this very different. Being the old, fat slug that I am, I spend my days looking for ways to avoid stairs and, really, any inclines. So I asked and
his response was just about magical.
I still love you, LJ. I do.
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Ok, fine. I'll go to the gym but I'm not going to love it.