BIG SKIN

I have to admit it can be enormous fun overhearing conversations.  Believe me though, I do not make a point of ear-wigging, but, as we all know, there are times when it is just impossible not to hear.

I was in a local pharmacy. There were good displays of decorative nick-knacks, cosmetics stands, perfumery, hair products and all the sundry first-aid items you would expect. Near the service counter there were two or three baskets with reduced stock, (close to date) just right for pocket-money birthday gift buying for granny. Mum was doing grown-up shopping while her two youngsters were making their selections.  After lots of exploration and excited chatter they showed mum their choices.

G-l-y-c-e-r-i-n-e, and .... what's that mum?

 She peered at the label and read the rest of it.

What does it do?


It hydrates the skin, said mum.  

Oh..... ? 

It will make granny's skin big, mum said.

        Just like mumps!

MOTHER'S DAY IS COLOURED CYAN

Courtesy of Tesco supermarket, I unexpectedly received a Mother's Day gift today, Friday 4th April. (In the UK the  celebration was Sunday 30th March).

A nice plant picture

The plant was sitting on a shelf in a white pot tied with a pink velvet ribbon. It was on its own and without any identifiers.  The plant was stunning. Without name or care instructions it was a beautiful mystery.  The lack of labelling or bar code was a problem for the store.  There was a bit of to-ing and fro-ing... 'no, there was no way to check it out on stock sheets. The man said it appeared to be left over from Mother's Day sales.

You take it ... the man said ... as a gift from Tesco. I was delightfully flustered. I carefully placed it into my shopping trolley.

 
Notwithstanding I was willing to pay for it, there was no way it could go through the system, I was told, as there was nothing to link it to. I was instructed to take it to the checkout with my shopping and yes,  I was assured it would be okay.  The cashiers would be told it was to be let through. 

At a Checkout:  I have been given this as a gift there's nothing to pay - I told the cashier - she grinned at me, looked at the unidentifiable plant - and she was mystified as to what to do. 

I was to tell you it is a gift, I re-asserted, and I explained  the story.  

........Oh, you really mean it ....yes, I said.

Tonight I had a fascinating time researching:

I looked at succulents......it was not one of those.
It's a Palm I was told........  it was not one of those.

Scouring various internet sites, I came across a botanical tropical plants identifier site.  It's amazing what can be found when you accidentally hit upon the right search terms.  Peering at page after page of interesting  plant thumbnail pictures, one species eventually jumped out  at me.

This is what I found and it is what I have!

The Tillandsia (Tilly) Cyanea, a Bromeliad native of the Ecuadorian rainforest.

'UNQUIRKING' COMPUTER QUIRKS

Not quite up with the lark, but not far off it....and this is Sunday. Where we live, Sunday is meant to be a day of rest..... fine if you can get it.

I HATE COMPUTERS, ESPECIALLY P.C's. Why on earth did I spend so much time educating myself about them....it can be a real bain. The joy of giving a special present is subsumed into total frustration when configuring the darn things. 

This one has Windows 7 as its platform. It was nice to play around with when the reselling company adverts didn't dart and flash out at you all the time.  The computer companies are determined to stuff the buyer with subliminal and not so subliminal advertising, trial products, and, of course, place theirs and others cookies onto the system. This is one purchaser who can deal with those tricks, though it takes hours, nay, days, to do everything. 

Getting into and using a browser of your choice,was a doddle. The next hurdle was hopping through the maker's presentation internet page with all its advertising and flashing gizmos. The internet settings were hidden deep, probably on purpose, to make it difficult to set a clean blank browser page. I've got one!

Finding the Microsoft email application was like seeking the exit to a maze. Why? (I am used to not having a stand alone email client like Outlook Express, though I could have one if I wanted it). It beats me why finding the email application has to be so circuitous, to the extent that I had to search for advice as to its whereabouts, on the web. Once located it was a matter of setting up the mail connection to the internet service provider.  

 

Fun and games (not!), the damn thing would send email but not receive it. I wasted hours going through the configuration of the email connection.  I checked every dot many times, tried variations of the input details; phoned brother-in-law who covered exactly the same ground I had many times already.

In the quiet of the early morning, sitting on my own, I found the solution to the problem that was stopping us receiving email. It was nothing obvious; all the data inputs were correct. It was a quirk of the pre-loaded operating programme, which had to be manipulated. If there is such a description, the application had to be .....'unquirked'.

 CHRISTMAS WILL SOON BE HERE


Two parcels posted today, and two gifts wrapped in their Christmas paper.  If I wrap up a couple of gifts per day, it will make the wrapping task less of a rushed chore.  I could even enjoy doing it more than I have done in recent years.

I have a few more packages to make ready for posting.  A note to me: I must keep the gifts light to cut down postage costs.

I am now seriously thinking about how I can arrange for third party gift sending services.  There are a number of companies who do it. For example, earlier this year a well known online  retailer was requested to send me a gift-wrapped book.  It was presented very nicely with a card telling me when it should be opened, (nice one!) and the message card was very suitable. The company sells other things that could be posted, I guess, and they offer physical and electronic gift tokens.

 I have seen some interesting items that I think would raise a smile or two with people, where there has been some sadness recently.  One item is rather heavy and breakable. This is exactly the kind of gift that I would rather the retailer mail and take responsibility for. 

There is a chocolatier whose product is divine;  the cost of gifting them elsewhere than the UK is prohibitve.  So,  I may yet send some flowers.

Christmas is will soon be here!

 BIRTHDAY PRESENT DILEMMAS

Another birthday present, one which had to be posted, was not quite complete.  A voucher would add to the gift quite nicely, I thought.  One store, a national chain, only one of two in our town,  provided gift vouchers from the till receipt roll. I could see it getting thrown out with the paper waste. It was just a horrible scrap of paper. No way was I giving something looking like that!

Now you would think my next idea was a good one wouldn't you.  A book token that can be exchanged for a purchase in any bookshop in the land that participates in the scheme. "Oh there's none left.  They're on order.  The organisation is changing from card tokens to a plastic electronic card system.  We should have them in a couple of weeks."  Yeah, tell me another one.  I know this shop's business patter.  You wait and return, to find they still haven't got what you wanted or ordered.

I was frustrated, bordering on annoyance. Over a cup of coffee and a good home made cheese scone, I considered my options.  There weren't very many.  Although there was one more national chain store to try, it was by no means certain that they had gift vouchers in this branch.  I rang sprog 300 miles away.  Yes, a voucher could be purchased and sent direct by sprog, if I emailed the address etc.  What a convoluted way to have to do things!

At the post office counter, I moaned about my experiences.  "I think we sell vouchers", said the counter clerk, disappearing as she spoke into the back office and returning with the information  I bought one of their gift vouchers.  It could be spent in many stores nationwide, the majority of which don't exist where we live, but do trade where the birthday present was going.  I unsealed the parcel and put in the plastic electronic card with its presentation envelope.  The counter clerk offered to tape up my re-opened package.