Webigail

Every weekend my husband, a good friend of ours and I work really hard on projects around the house. For the past several weeks, we have been working to build a fenced in vegetable garden. We’re not done, but all of the posts are in the ground, including those for my concord grapes.

On Saturday, I had been feeling excited, and anxious, as it seems although we make progress, it’s just not done. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled to have the guys work so hard, but I just feel like a child on the way to get an ice cream cone. The best part is the ride there.

As the day was winding down, the fellas were putting in the very last post, while the rascal and I pulled weeds. The boys hurried us to get into the house as lightening was striking rather closely.

Just as I walked onto the porch, I smelled gas. “Does anyone else smell gas?” I yelled out to the boys.

My husband had not noticed the smell, but out friend had and said that he had smelled it the week prior, but thought that perhaps it was nothing, as the odor was extremely faint. I decided to call the gas company. They said they were on the way and instructed that no one “light up any cigarettes.”

That’s when it occurred to me just how potentially serious this situation was. As I hung up the phone, I recalled several times I walked on or off my porch and noticed a faint whiff of gas. However, I suffer from such extreme seasonal allergies, I cannot rely on my sense of smell.

When the technician arrived, he immediately confirmed that we had a gas leak coming from the connector to the house. He quickly looked for the service shut-off. As he poked the ground the gas odor became stronger and more pungent.  “Don’t ever, ever wait to call us again,” he insisted.  “Even if you are not certain that it’s gas, call. It’s our job to ensure your safety,” he continued.

When he pointed out that city houses received 7 ounces of gas, while we received 7 POUNDS of gas pressure, I nearly passed out!!!

There have been a few houses and families that were lost recently due to gas explosions. It sends chills up my back just thinking about what could have happened to all of us, including our helpful friend, had I not called to have someone check the gas. To make matters worse, I cannot count the number of times our buddy would step out on the porch to smoke a cigarette…Saturday night would have been no different, except for perhaps, the ending.

I’m kicking myself, because I vaguely remember the smell of gas in my basement, but doubted it, due to my horrible allergies. My fence posts now have added meaning. They are each a blessing. Had the boys not been out working to put them in, perhaps I wouldn’t even have noticed the odor and only God knows how things would have turned out.

I will never hesitate to say something next time I even think I smell gas.

Last week, my mum and I were chit-chatting when she mentioned a collection letter that my brother received. She went on to state that the letter contained my brother’s previous address, his social security number, but the wrong date of birth.

I thought perhaps it was a typo, but as the conversation continued, she revealed that the collection agency was calling on behalf of Verizon. The debt was supposedly for a land-line. That’s when things started to become interesting. My brother has never owned a land-line. He’s a natural-born-geek, was into technology and cell phones well before I relented and has always been a mobile type of fellow.

I was curious, so I asked my mother to get the phone number of the company trying to collect the debt and googled it. My brother, granted he is definitely above average, with regards to technology, is still a guy, when it comes to following through on important issues. He would probably never get around to investigating this matter and I was concerned that if they had information on him, that perhaps someone had “borrowed” his identity.

Hey, don’t laugh! It’s happened to me already and I had to work feverishly to get things back in order.

No sooner than I type in the phone number of the company, does the name AFNI appear and the link is to http://www.ripoffreport.com. Boy, did I open a can of worms! There were countless reports involving AFNI. I reported this to my mum and brother and nearly considered the issue done, on my part anyway, but decided to keep reading. I’m glad that I did.

One consumer reported an almost identical story, save for the fact that AFNI insisted that they had opened an account with Verizon when they were 8-years-old. Yep! You read correctly. Eight. Years. Old. Well naturally, anyone with half a brain knows that a child could not possibly open that account, right? It should be a done deal. Um…no! AFNI informed this individual that they still had to pay, suggesting that perhaps his parents would assist.

And the plot thickens…

This person did what I would have done; they contacted Verizon, thinking that surely they would see the absurdity of paying a bill that one doesn’t owe. Surprisingly, Verizon added insult to injury by passing the poor kid from department to department, before finally blurting out that there was nothing they could do. The bill had gone to collections and all negotiations had to take place with AFNI.

Someone else, who had fallen victim of the same “scam” offered a suggestion.

Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.

I am waiting to hear the outcome, will update this post when I find out.

I suspect that Verizon and AFNI are in the same bed and also suspect that unless a consumer becomes their own advocate, a supersleuth of sorts, then the pocketbook will always be at risk for being a littler lighter.

****************
6/12/2008 - UPDATE

My mum notified me that she dropped a letter to AFNI in the mail last Friday. He received a response 4 days later, stating that after “an extensive investigation” they have decided that he did not owe anything. Imagine that? He didn’t owe anything?

I was not in the least bit shocked. The entire thing smelled of a scam from the first minute.

I hope that anyone reading this post will be diligent, as there are a number of companies that tack on questionable fees and rip consumers off, but nothing is done if YOU don’t protect yourself.

Knitting, I have recently discovered, is much like cooking.

For instance, there are those of us who can make a mean pepper steak and the family thinks we’re ready to rival Emeril. Then there are those who make steak au poivre and say, “I just whipped up a little something.” There are distinct differences between being a pretty good cook and being a culinary genius. Needless to say, my name will never be uttered in the same sentence as the Wolfgang Pucks of knitting, however I strive to be a little better than chef-boy-ardee.

I learned to knit last November and credit an incredible instructor with giving me the ability to tackle any project. Her style in teaching is effortless, but more importantly, she’s adaptable. If there’s more than one way to accomplish something, you can believe that Carla K, knows how to do it and If she doesn’t, she knows which direction to point the young grasshopper.

Alas, I decided, that after a long hiatus from knitting classes, that I wanted to take a private lesson. Although, I own countless books from the masters: Barbara Walker, EZ (Elizabeth Zimmerman), et al, I could not figure out how to match a pattern stitch in my sweaters, particularly raglans.

One woman’s name stuck out in my head, but I couldn’t recall why. I decided to schedule a private lesson with her, as the LYS is close and her name kept swishing around my head like fine wine in a crystal glass.

Anxious and excited, I broke a few speed limits to ensure that I would make it to my lesson on time. I did not want to miss a moment. I was kicking myself because:

1. In my haste, I forgot to bring my stitch pattern, and
2. I was so busy over the past week or so, that I failed to knit a swatch.

I consider myself a quick learner, so I’d make lemonade of the situation. In all actuality, I didn’t want to know how to knit, but rather how to keep the pattern aligned. Nonetheless, I picked out a stitch pattern from the book on hand and commenced to knit a swatch. In the back of my head, I thought, “Well, why exactly do I need a swatch? I had already told her several times that the size and pattern were immaterial.”

I simply wanted to know HOW to maintain the pattern across the increases/decreases of the raglan. *sigh*

Ok, so the swatch was done; we determined the gauge and we were ready…for what, I wasn’t sure, but we were - ready. At this point, we discuss graph paper *insert perplexed emoticon here*. This is where the journey became bumpy.

I knit from the top. Carla taught me to knit sweaters from the top. Barbara Walker knits from the top. I wanted to knit my sweater FROM THE TOP! *Breath. Relax. Release.* Did I mention that Barbara Walker knits from the top?

So, why was this woman discouraging me from starting from the top? Oh wait! If I wanted to make a drop-shoulder sweater, that would be a piece of cake, but rather than knitting a cardigan, I “should steek it,” because “that’s the Norwegian way.”

It occurred to me at that very moment.. that I was not going to get what I sought from this woman. There’s no pliability. She’s not flexible and although she studied with Elizabeth Zimmerman, she fell very short of my expectations, with regards to the ability teaching.

Remember, there are Todd Englishes and then there are the short order cooks.

Ironically after my knitting infidelity, I found the answer to the question I was looking for the very same evening. On pages 110-114 of Knitting from the Top by none other than Barbara G. Walker, she explains how you keep a pattern matched as your working your garment from the top.

The best thing about my lesson was walking away with 2 gorgeous skeins of Noro at 30% off. I guess the visit wasn’t a total bust, huh?

Quiting my job a little over two years ago was, indeed, a blessing but there have also been some curve balls.

At some point, I began to miss work. Imagine THAT! I missed the stress comes along with having to meet deadlines, or attempting to explain complicated concepts in layman’s terms. The smell of stagnant coffee permeating from coffee burners, that had been on all night, was swapped out for that new crayola aroma and technical documents were replaced with Huevos Verdes con Jamón! (Green Eggs and Ham!)

I am fortunate to be able to see my son develop. While his physical development is obvious, I get to see all of the mental milestones but then there are days when I think that I am juggling too many bowling pins, in this circus I like to call life.

Can I give equal attention to my rascal, to that half sanded dresser that is taking forever to refinish, to all of the projects that I have started in my home? No. I cannot.

I lug my rascal from event-to-event, with pups in tow and wonder why I feel worn, torn, tattered.

But today…I will sip slowly from my latte-of-the-day and remember that I am human. I am durable and sound, but I am NOT indestructible.

*Sigh*
Where do I begin?

The store is officially open tomorrow, Friday, November 16th. However, I had the good fortune of being invited to a private screening. This is not going to be good. Not good at all.

From the moment you walk in, there’s a sense of “let me take a load off.” I do not take kindly to the yarn snobs, who rather than share the art of knitting, want to make it an exclusive, elite little club. Knitting is something that can be enjoyed alone and definitely is best alone, if working on a complicated pattern, but the bonding that takes place when knitters sit around, helping each other, admiring each other’s work…well, that is not limited to a select few. Any and everyone, who enjoys knitting, should feel welcomed, particularly when they enter a YARN SHOP! But, I’ve digressed.

So, back to the store…well, after you get over the inviting ambiance, you are engulfed in color. Hues seem to leap out at you from the four walls. Reds, greens and greens (soy, organic, etc.), blues, variegated, lace weights, worsted weights, sock weights, you name it.

The store is incredibly organized, down to the books - Which I could not resist. Since I stocked up on my “practice” stash from a local craft store, I decided to use up most of what I have, but I purchased three books: Knit One, Felt Too, One-Skein Wonders, and Felted Knits. I also purchased some delicious lace-weight Malabrigo, which is my current favorite yarn indulgence. I selected a hank in a red, spicy color - Vermillion, to make knitted flowers to decorate my first lace project.

Natural Stitches had every color of Cascade 220 you can ask for…and I mean that literally. They have, what is being called the “Rainbow Wall” lined with every, single, luscious color that Cascade makes. WARNING - Bring a non knitter with you when you visit that section, as it’s easy to succumb to the intrinsic magic that permeates from that area. In fact, had my rascal not been with me, screaming in the background, I fear that I may have been sucked up by that Rainbow Wall, never to be seen again.

Oh, did I mention that the prices are GREAT?!!! If I didn’t…the prices are GREAT!!!

Natural Stitches is a knitter’s heaven. You have needles, including the beloved Denise Interchangeables available for purchase, along with many other needles, such as Addi Turbo and I also saw some needles that I doubt I would ever be able to handle in size #32!! And, men are welcomed. There will be a knitting group for the fellas.

Natural Stitches is destined to become a hub for knitters in Pittsburgh.
If you stop in, tell them Webigail sent ya!

The Village of East Side
6401 Penn Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
Phone: (412) 441-4410

Ok, it’s not my birthday, birthday, but rather my knitting birthday.

I took my first knitting class with Carla K, on Sunday, November 19th, 2006.
It was the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

Ironically, I initially registered for a crochet class, but taught myself in the week prior to the class.
So, on the day of the class, I asked if would be possible to learn to knit instead. As luck would have it,
I was the only student scheduled and Carla had no problem teaching me to knit.

It’s been love, ever since. I haven’t stopped knitting since then.

Within the first week of taking the class I had already knitted two hats (in the round).
By the beginning of the second week, I purchased my first set of interchangeables (Denise).
I am now a die-hard Knit Picks Options fan, cannot use resin, but I have fond memories
of my first needle set.

I soon found myself registered for several additional classes with Carla:

• Sweater
• Socks
• Pinwheel

I had tackled the most challenging projects (for me) within the first 3 months of learning to knit and I find that each new project builds my confidence and shows improvement.

I’ve even tackled lace *sigh*

I don’t know why, but for some reason, I was seriously daunted by lace.

And my library, my how it’s grown!

I own the first two editions of Barbara Walker’s A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, Knitting on the Edge, Knitting Flowers, and more.

I have knitted with, lace weight, sock weight, fingering weight, worsted weight, chunky weight and novelty yarns. I’ve even knitted with two colors simultaneously.

Do I love knitting as much as I did from day one? Absolutely!
What haven’t I tried yet? I haven’t knitted mittens or gloves yet, but they’re coming soon.
What do I like most about knitting? I have always enjoyed working with my hands, and revel in giving hand-made gifts. This is the first Christmas that I can give gifts to friends and family that have a very personal touch. I pick patterns for each person that I think reflect their personality. For instance, one of my son’s teachers has a bubbly personality. For her scarf, I picked a bobble pattern. For another person, I picked a lacey, leaf pattern, because they remind me of all things beautiful and natural.

Learning to knit…what a great gift to me!

What exciting holiday news. Natural Stitches will be opening very soon, perhaps in the next week or so.
I’ll be going to the private “yarn party.”
I’m going to try NOT to buy anything else, as I am overloaded on yarns already, but I doubt I’ll be able to resist LOL.

I’m so excited *pant-pant*.

One of favorite people has decided to open a local yarn shop. The mentor of the person, who taught me to knit is opening up a store.

What will be in the store…well, can you say, “EVERY-THING!”
What will NOT be in the store is yarn-snobbery. I cannot wait until the store is open for business.
I don’t want to jinx them, so I’ll keep the name and details under wraps until the store is official.

However, I wish this knitting diva the best of luck.

Summer is winding down and I didn’t do many of the things I planned on doing, including visiting with my mum and family in Manhattan. So, while my new vehicle was being worked on, I decided to rent a car and drive to NYC for a week or so.

My husband reminded me that he had a 50% off coupon for Enterprise Rent-A-Car that would be perfect to use. The coupon was awarded to him as result of a class action law suit against Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Although my time with my family, despite the constant rain, was incredible, the rental portion turned into a NIGHTMARE!

I made my reservation online, so I had no clue that I was going to a Toyota dealership to pickup my rental. Not only is it a dealership, but it’s the repair center. Then when they finally get to me, my reservation is in the computer for the wrong day AND there’s not vehicle available at this time. But it was my lucky day (can you smell my sarcasm?). Not only did they find a vehicle for me, but it’s a brand new, 2007 Toyota Hybrid; I was going to get an upgrade for the same price, PLUS my 50% off. Oh Joy. However, I must mention that I declined the additional insurance, as it would have taken my total from $150 to over $350!! Are they NUTS?!

So, I made it to Manhattan, over the bridge, down the busy ave, to mum’s house without incident. Once parked, we hardly even touched the car, because the subway is so close by. Why fuss with trying to park again? Also, it rained so much, we just stayed in and enjoyed catching up.

Fast forward to yesterday, August 23, 2007. I am thrilled that not only am I on schedule for picking up my own vehicle, but I’m actually 3 hours early for dropping off the rental. I filled up the gas tank, despite being told that the tank was full when I got it. It was not. I then expected to walk out with the attendant to inspect the vehicle TOGETHER, but after disappearing for 10-15 minutes, he returned and told me about some damage he “wanted to show me.”

WHAT?! DAMAGE?!

I had to remind myself to breath, and not let the NY’er in me loose it. One more deep breath and I was able to follow this guy outside, with my toddler and one of my rat terriers in tow. The car was dirty, but all I see are hand prints in the dust enveloping this HUGE DENT (I think I almost passed out at this point) on the rear, passenger quarter-panel. The dent was in a strange place; up pretty high and there was no transfer of paint, nor were there any scratches.

Being a little dazed, confused and even second guessing myself, I didn’t say too much, because I really did not know what could have happened. However, I my mother mentioned that the same attendant had been out by the vehicle prior to coming to get me. She couldn’t see everything he was doing, but who is to say that he was not out putting a nice hand sized dent in the car? After all, this was a repair center and body shops know ALL of the tricks.

To add salt to the wound, Isaiah M. Embry, the Assistant Manager, the same person, who did a walk-around without my knowledge, had the audacity to tell me that they were going to charge $500 to my card. He said that they had to charge my entire deductible (I’m calm on the outside, but I’m seething on the inside). I then said, “Look, I’m here 3 hours earlier than I need to be. Let me take the vehicle to my brother’s shop to have the dent removed. You cannot tell me that it’s going to cost more than $500.”

He said that he couldn’t release the vehicle, yet no one could give me an estimate. I left Enterprise befuddled, stunned and questioning my own actions. I did not know that Enterprise was notorious for running so many scams. Getting back to the insurance…since I decided to opt out of using their ridiculous insurance, they pinned existing damage or the attendant manually put a dent in the quarter-panel.

I’m not taking this lightly. I’ve already filed a consumer complaint, contacted my insurance company, as well as my credit card company.

Tune in later to see how this plays out. If you have similar happen to you, please share it…others need to be made aware.

I ordered a few lupine products from KV Vet Supply (via Amazon.com).

There was a mistake with my order. I received a H-harness, instead of a Roman-harness.

Much to my surprise, not only did KV Vet Supply have no problem with shipping out the new product, but when I asked if they wanted me to send the incorrect product back, they told me to just donate it to a shelter or someone else.

I will be giving this harness to one lucky person, who NEEDS it. This is a small 1/2″ H-harness. It fits 9″ - 12″ chests.

Rules:
1. You must submit a photo of your kitty or puppy.
2. You must write an essay about your pet and tell why your pet needs this harness.
3. You must give permission to post picture of your pet and essay.

I am not making a profit from this and will pay for shipping, but this harness will go only to someone I feel genuinely needs it. Otherwise, I will donate the harness to a shelter. Period.

UPDATE 08-25-07: Those bastards really did charge my credit card and when I called to dispute the charges, I was told that car rental charges cannot be disputed!! Even after explaining that the charge for the use of the vehicle and the charge for “estimated” repairs were two, separate charges, they still refused to remove it. I ended up having to write a letter and faxed it in to CC company.

Mind you, Enterprise Rent-A-Car was able to charge my card, but they never called in the claim and I have still not heard from their Loss Control department. Those flipping BASTARDS!!