I just have to tell you about my day yesterday.
First of all, I finally broke down and placed an order with Walmart. I needed kitty litter and those containers are heavy.
I would have placed the order with Chewy’s, but I didn’t have enough on my order to get free shipping. And I’m all about free shipping and paying no interest. Sometimes to my detriment.
So yesterday Fed Ex delivers part of my order. Three boxes. One was the biggest Walmart box I’ve ever seen. It took up the length of my porch.
I took my scissors out on the porch to open that one because it was so heavy there was no way I could drag it inside as I had the other two. And now I’m glad I didn’t.
Inside were bags of pesticides, and the granules were spilling out.
You know how I avoid pesticides like the plague.
And underneath the bags of pesticides, I kid you not, was a big sack of Purina cat food.
Now who on earth would pack a box with something edible with pesticides, I ask you? It came, I saw on the label, from Waco, Texas.
So I called Walmart.com. They had no idea why my name was on this big box of pesticides on top of cat food that was falsely delivered to me.
I did not want this big sack of cat food to go to any home with a cat because of the pesticides on top of it.
I also told him that the box looked to me to have been re-taped a number of times and it truly didn’t look like it would make another trip anywhere without falling apart.
He told me to just toss the contents of the box. I said I was not going to stick my hand in that box full of pesticides again with granules spilling out. And it was too heavy for me to move at all.
So finally I got one of the maintenance men to drag it off for me.
Then I get an email that the rest of my order had just been delivered. Except it wasn’t. So now they have to resend the rest of my order.
Who knows who that went to. We’re talking toilet paper, detergent, the bulky stuff I’d rather have delivered than carry home from the store.
The maintenance man who I got along with so well and gave so many things to abruptly quit last week and moved back to Texas. I don’t know what happened there.
When I asked the manager what he did about his church, she said “what church?”
“The church he was the pastor of,” I told her. “The one I donated all my stuff to.”
She says “He wasn’t the pastor of any church.”
Why do I take people at face value? I always have. I never think maybe they’re lying to me. I must be very naive.
It doesn’t really matter. I would probably have given that stuff to anyone who would have hauled it off for me because I’m trying to free up room in this apartment. Organize things.
Then I have to see the nurse practitioner at my doctor’s office to get a Diflucan that I forgot to ask for when I had the bladder infection. I had a four o’clock appointment.
She is looking at her computer and going over my medications. She asks why I’m still taking a blood pressure medication I’ve been taking for several years.
“Didn’t you get the letter that said they’d recalled that medication?” she asked me.
Of course I didn’t. If I had, I wouldn’t still be taking it.
Then it’s five o’clock and oh heavenly days I have to drive back home in Tulsa traffic.
And this, my friends, was the very day I had decided I no longer needed the morning dose of an anti anxiety medication I’d been taking since Abi died.
The phone just rang and it was the county of Tulsa asking about my absentee ballot. She wanted to know if she had the correct address. She read my address off. Yes, it was correct.
So why is she calling me? I got it in the mail, marked my votes, and immediately mailed it back to them, I told her. She was confused she said, that it had been returned.
Of course it was returned. You send it back after you vote. Oh well. I don’t even want to try to figure that one out.
I woke up this morning and during the night Ivy had decided to take the phone off the hook.
I got out of bed and nearly stepped on a gourd. Ivy was evidently doing a bit of redecorating while Charlie and I slept. Heaven only knows what Ivy does when we sleep.
I have to hand it to her. She is creative with her exploits.
Charlie has gotten over following her everywhere.
Usually he’s beside me on the couch as we watch her run from one room to another like she’s being chased.
We watch as she suddenly shoots straight up off the floor with her front feet, waving them crazily at some imaginary thing we don’t see.
Ivy runs off with my fingernail file. It’s usually under the bed. As are various bookmarks she’s swiped. This seems to be where she takes her treasures.
Last night I didn’t know where she was until I saw the shape of her in the living room staring at the baseboard and pawing at it.
I turned the light on and didn’t see anything. But Ivy has much better eyes than I do. There must have been a tiny bug.
If there is a bug Ivy is rated number one in pest control. Crickets, bugs, whatever has been successfully hiding from me until Ivy came to live here. Now they’re all pretty much doomed.
What a day you had! I think we’ve all had days like that, where every little thing goes wrong. Good thing the next day is a new day and we can start all over. 🙂
Bless your heart, what a crazy day! I hate days like that…sometimes it isn’t worth getting out of bed…LOL Love the pics of Ivy and Charlie. Don’t you wish you could figure out what goes through a cat’s head sometimes? I laughed at Ivy’s redecorating antics…that is too funny! Walmart delivery is truly a hit/miss affair! Love and hugs!
Hi Brenda. As far as whether the maintenance man was a pastor — maybe he was, and didn’t feel comfortable sharing that information with the office staff for some reason. Maybe he did feel comfortable sharing that information with you. I have noticed that you make a real effort to treat the maintenance people like actual human beings, and not non-human machines there to do something for you. So, maybe he felt like he could be more open with you. I do know it sounds like you helped him by giving him things, and he helped you by hauling them away, so, that was a way you pastored each other, in a sense!
I started buying the ‘Lite-weight” cat litter. Most come in the plastic jugs. It is so much lighter than the regular litter. It costs more but it is worth it to me. Give it a lift the next time you head to a store that has cat litter.
I had been taking Valsartan for years. Last month when I called for my prescription refill, the pharmacy said my doctor wouldn’t refill it for me. I asked the pharmacy person on the phone with me if she had any idea why he wouldn’t ok a refill. She then asked the pharmacist and I was told that some of the brands had been recalled because they are contaminated with a chemical that is carcinogenic to humans. So far the brand that I was taking most recently was not actually on the recall list…yet, but more brands keep being discovered to have the carcinogen in them. I’m concerned because I don’t know if I had always been on this same generic brand, or if I may have been taking one from one of the recalled brands sometime in the past. When I read about it online they didn’t know how long the product had been being manufactured with the carcinogenic ingredient in it.It’s good to try and get the word out about Valsartan because it seems like the news media, pharmacists, and even some doctors have not been notifying people of the problem with this med.
On a lighter note, I am enjoying seeing your Ivy’s antics and reading about the funny things she does. I bet little Charlie gets a lot of fun out of her being there. In one of the pictures of him I couldn’t decide if he was just pondering what she may do next, or if he was frazzled from keeping up with her all day. I’m loving Team Charlie and Ivy.
I would not want a repeat of the day you had! Especially dealing with traffic which makes me quite nervous. I’ll bet you were happy to be back inside your cozy little home with Charlie and Ivy. Love reading about the antics of Ivy and it is so cute to see Charlie watching her from a distance!
I did make it to Trader Joe’s this morning and had such a good time picking out pumpkins and gourds — nice selection and great pricing. AND those ginger snaps are amazing!
Take care and have a wonderful evening.
WOW What an exciting day you had. Wore me out just reading about everything. Even Charlie looks worn out. He is so cute.
I hope you got everything worked out with Walmart?
Wishing you a better tomorrow…..
Marilynn and Hayley
I think it’s figured out. Hopefully the rest of my order will come tomorrow.
I was wondering how you keep Ivy off the blue hutch with all the pretty white dishes? During her antics throughout the night while you and Charlie sleep, I’d be afraid I’d hear a loud crash and lawsy, you don’t need that! Love hearing about her escapades and Charlie seems to just roll with it. Love the little guy!
As far as I can tell, she has not tried to jump up there. I think I’ve got her scared to get on the new table. And I have yet to see her jump up on counters. Probably just a matter of time.
What a day you had, Brenda!! Why would anyone put pesticides in with cat food? That’s just awful!!
Either someone very mean or very stupid.
Wow Brenda you had a rough day. Love how Ivy has fit right in and taken over! She sounds so cute how she takes things and hides them under the bed. Wow about the Rx you were taking that was recalled. I wonder how the pharmacy was allowed to keep filling that. That is totally against the law. I think you should bring that to their attention. Scary to think for months they would continue to give you something that could be harming you. Geez! I tell ya sometimes these kind of things are so scary.
Glad your NP caught it.
Have a good Wednesday.
Kris
I just talked to the pharmacist. She said when they recalled it, they took it all off their shelves. But the particular one I’m on was not recalled.
Brenda, I also trust people on their word. Shame on them if they are lying! I just love your blog and look forward to reading each day. I have never been much of a cat person, my husband and mother-in-law are highly allergic, but Ivy is changing my opinion very quickly…..
I like to think she is playing with her big sister Abi when she is running around and having fun! Hugs
I like to think so too. Cats are quite a bit of fun, but they get into a lot of mischief, at least kittens do. They estimated Ivy’s age to be 19 weeks when I brought her home. So she’d be about 21 weeks now.
I must say between you and Ivy together you are keeping us highly entertained !
Keep up the good work we all needed a laugh today !
Poor Charlie must think he is at a circus !
I would be happy to have a home health care nurse near by I need one every day if not me then my hubby.
Oh the lives we live in this ever changing world .
And I am sorry to hear about the maintanance man !
Peace to you today !
She said the job keeps her very busy. I talked to the new tenant, who hasn’t yet moved in, quite awhile the other day because I was getting my mail on my porch when she was getting things out of her car.
My daughter had a cat that climbed the Christmas tree to only get the same sheep ornament…there were 2. She would cuddle it, like it was her baby! She put it back on the tree, in a different spot, when the cat went outside. The cat would come back in frantically meowing until she found it and retrieved it every time! It was a hilarious thing to see! She should of taped it for “the funniest home videos”. The tree was hooked up with wire on both sides so it couldn’t fall down.
Wow, what a smart cat!
It certainly sounds like you’re very busy person. Priss got busy while I was taking a shower and destroyed a roll of toilet tissue all over the place. This is why I don’t have a kitten. Man it would be confetti everywhere!
Somehow Ivy has not dragged toilet paper all over the floor yet. I try to keep it tucked up where she doesn’t see anything hanging down to attack.
Brenda, your health insurance co. should have sent you an email followed up with a letter letting you know this medication, I assume it was Valsartin, had been recalled. My husband took this and our insurance co. contacted him immediately. We have Humana and they are excellent about things like this and following up with us via email and personal phone calls to refill our prescriptions way before they are due. They will even call the dr’s office for you to get refills. Since you are on the computer all of the time, I am surprised that you didn’t notice that this medication had been recalled because it was all over the Internet, but I know sometimes we just overlook the obvious, it is easy to do. I do agree with the previous comment, why would your pharmacist refill it? That would send up a red flag to me. We just can’t be too careful with the medications we take and researching them ourselves even though a dr. decided we needed them.
So sorry to hear about your experience with Walmart, that is inexcusable. Maybe you could order from Amazon instead. I do not have Prime, but more often than not I still get 2 day delivery from them on orders over $35, including Sunday delivery. And I find their prices are cheaper than Walmart and everything comes very securely packaged and I order a lot from them and have never had a problem.
And seeing and hearing about Ivy has made my day as usual! I love Charlie’s expression! He looks super cute with his haircut.
Sometimes I do order from Amazon. Yes, it is Valsartan. No, I didn’t see it on the internet. I don’t know, but somehow I missed it. She said I should have gotten a letter, but I didn’t.
I just talked to the pharmacist. She said when they recalled it, they took it all off their shelves. But the particular one I’m on was not recalled.
My husband said he was taking that one, too, but the pharmacist told him what was recalled was that medication manufactured in another country. His, the pharmacist told him, was not manufactured elsewhere, but here, and was not recalled. I don’t know if his pharmacist or your doctor is correct. Perhaps this might explain the fact your pharmacy continued to fill your script?
That was some weird day you had. I think I would stay home today too! I am a real stay-home person but I have to go out to work, so I usually run my errands after working so don’t have to make additional trips.
I once had a cat who every night would take pens off the desk in the basement and place them outside the bedroom door in the hallway. Had to pick up 5-6 every day!
Isn’t it strange what they do???
P.S. Just a comment about the former maintenance man at your apartment complex and his church. There was a very nice man who worked in the mail department of the firm I worked for and retired from a few years ago. He had started a youth group on his own in his rather rough neighborhood and later on started a store-front church. He got permission from HR to send out email on our firm “bulletin board” on occasion to request donations to take his “boys” to baseball and basketball games or to buy them basketball equipment, and later on, for his church. You will often find that these store-front churches are run by people who are not “trained and ordained” pastors from an established religious group with a degree from a divinity school, but they are spiritual and helpful souls nonetheless, who seek out and help others who need help and bond people together, for there is strength in numbers and encouragement, too. It could very well be that your maintenance man may have run such a church for awhile, and that many of the things you donated to him for the church did, indeed, get into the hands of people who truly needed and appreciated receiving them. You never know unless you actually go and check things out for yourself, of course, but I never thought for a moment that the mail room clerk at the firm where I worked was lying about what he did when people made donations to his cause.
Well, that makes me feel better. Because I really liked this man. He seemed so caring. I did not realize what you wrote about these people with youth groups, etc. I didn’t even think of that. I really think he had some sort of group he tended.
If Walmart used Fedex to deliver your items, you may be able to check online (if you kept the email with your Fedex tracking number that said your items had been shipped) and check to see what address they say your items were delivered to. Or, better yet, if you have the tracking number call Fedex directly and tell them you had received an email indicating that your items from Walmart had been delivered, but they weren’t delivered to you, and ask them to check the address they were delivered to. I’ve had UPS mix up a couple of times because my same house address is repeated on 73rd Street, 76th Street and 75th Street! Of course I’m on 74th Street, LOL! But packing ANYTHING else inside a box with pesticides, geez louise, wouldn’t you think there’d be regulations against that? Cross-contamination can happen so easily. Even just from the fumes, because pesticides release odors and that means particles are getting into the air. YUCK! I’m lucky that I have a nice younger couple living next store to me. Shortly after they moved in on a Saturday morning I took a cheese, meat and crackers tray over for a welcome to your new home gift and they were so floored – they’ve been my buds ever since. If I need something or if they need something we are able to help each other, we’ve sort of adopted each other. It’s a great quid pro quo. Maybe you will meet a nice younger couple in your complex one day or get a maintenance man who will be happy to help you when you need it, even if it isn’t something related to a repair in you apartment.
I always have paid the maintenance men to do things that aren’t related to the apartment. How nice for you that you have that wonderful couple next door!
You had me laughing out loud today. You just never know about people and sometimes who just have to shake your head and move on. Ivy is so cute and I think Charlie is just content to sit and be entertained. They are both too adorable for words! I do hope your new neighbor is going to become a good person to get to know. Too bad you can’t record Ivy during the night to see what she’s up too; mischief for sure. That was a funny tale about the absentee ballot; I mailed mine in as well a couple of weeks and plan to always vote this way. Enjoy the afternoon!
Carol and Molly
xoxoxo
I still can’t figure out why the woman called me. That was a bit crazy.
That sounds like a day from the Twilight Zone lol. How bizarre. And why would you need pesticides when you have Ivy?
Exactly!
Brenda,
I am laughing so hard at Ivy. She certainly has shaken up your lifestyle….
and the rest of us get to enjoy it, too.
She is just what you needed. Loved the part about all the insects being doomed!????
I don’t need pesticides. I have Ivy!
What a day you had! Walmart is one of my least favorite stores! I do not like to shop there if I can help it. I don’t think they treat their employees very well. Poor Charlie is probably baffled about Ivy’s high jinks! Love the look on his little face!
We’re both baffled…
Ivy’s exploits have me laughing out loud. What a character and how wonderful that she keeps you and Charlie entertained!
I do not think there is anything wrong with taking people at face value, we can’t walk around suspicious of everyone we encounter. I hope that man used your things or gave them to someone who could.
Sorry about the crazy day I hope today is a better one!
I’m not going out today. That cuts down on what could happen I suppose.
What a mess! I like to order cat litter but have had it arrive with a lid off and litter in the box. A mess! I’m using Aldi litter right now, smaller containers that I can handle better and a good price. I go there regularly so I pick one up each time. Cat food (or any food for that matter) packed with pesticides is awful. Some times people just don’t care. Ivy makes me smile just seeing her photos and hearing about her antics. I bet you and Charlie are very entertained and enchanted! Hugs!
Maybe the packers don’t consider pets to be important enough to separate pesticides from pet food.
Wow that was not a fun day. I’ve never used Walmart food delivery but that is just wrong. Sorry you lost another maintenance man. How is your new neighbor working out? I had a cat one time that answered the phone only when I called and left a message on the old message machine. We couldn’t figure out why it was off the hook until I caught him one day when I replayed my message and he came running and swatted at it. Cats are just plain crazy fun.
The new neighbor has yet to move in. She told me sometime this week she’d move in. Seems like a lovely woman. She is 60, about to turn 61. So we’re basically the same age. She works in home health care. A cat answering the phone! Now if Ivy does that I will be truly stunned.
Whew! You poor dear! I’m exhausted just reading about your day – and also angry that some Walmart doofus would think it’s perfectly okay to contaminate cat food in transit to someone who might not know better. What a bizarre string of events!
Love the look on Charlie’s face! : “I give up mom! Let her just do whatever she wants!”
Surely they train employees not to mix pesticides and pet food or any food in the same box, wouldn’t you think?
Some people just don’t care how they do their job.
How nice! Your own pest control, thanks to Ivy. Charlie is still the cutest little boy. I bet he thinks Ivy is better than a television.
I myself think Ivy is better than TV! You never know what she’s going to do next.
That was a day not to be repeated. I have a question about the recalled medication you take, it was indeed recalled, why has your pharmacist been filling that prescription?
Well, that’s an excellent question that I had not thought of! I will ask.