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Post by Phalon on Oct 22, 2007 20:37:58 GMT -6
What goes around, comes around...or something like that, and sometimes that something hits back like a ton of bricks.
Late last week and throughout the weekend, Hubs was sick with a head-cold. Not just any head-cold, but a MAN's Head-cold, which means it is worse than any head-cold suffered by women, children, or any other living creature capable of suffering from head-colds. I teased him; I rolled my eyes at him while he lay moaning unable to move - his suffering was that great.
I even empathized with him, when yesterday I felt the same illness coming on, but because I suffer from WOMEN's Head-colds - those in which may produce a bit of whining, but otherwise don't affect typical day-to-day activity, I ignored it, stubbornly refusing to let a beautiful autumn day go by while I stayed indoors. I roller-skied; I mowed the lawn; I walked with BP downtown to get ice-cream at the parlor, and talked for quite a while with down-the-street neighbors on the way home. I hauled, with the help of my next door neighbor, a chunk of furniture down to the basement. I am woman; hear me roar.
I am Woman Sick; hear me moan.
Shoot, last time I complain about him being Man Sick. Out loud, anyway. Got a twelve-hour work day ahead of me tomorrow - big event I can not miss - and somewhere, some God of Man Sickness Revenge is getting back at me. I can feel it in my head.
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Post by Siren on Oct 22, 2007 22:31:22 GMT -6
Gams, I have to agree that no one suffers as men do when they're sick. No one. There is no doubt about that. Aren't they pitiful? Sorry you're feeling bad. If you'd like, I'll send what's left of my box of tissues from my last head cold. Don't worry, I'll spray the box with Lysol, first. I'll include some Vicks Vapor Rub, too. I don't think it has any medicinal affect. But when someone rubs it on your throat and chest, you feel better just from being pampered.
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Post by Phalon on Oct 25, 2007 21:33:00 GMT -6
Oooooo, I love the Vic's Vapor Rub, Siren. Thanks.
And, Pfft - I have crossed the gender gap, and am now officially Man Sick. Hear me moan and groan.
The worst thing is, I have not even received my sexy Kathleen Turner voice yet, insteading sounding like a croaking frog under water. Double Pfft.
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Post by Siren on Oct 26, 2007 22:52:59 GMT -6
"Man Sick" - LOL! Poor you! I think this calls for stronger medicine: a batch of my mom's chicken & dumplings. If only she was there to cook 'em for you! And maybe some homemade banana pudding for dessert. Slides down that scratchy throat with ease.
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Post by Phalon on Oct 28, 2007 21:26:10 GMT -6
Oooo, I think I'd love that stronger medicine! I've been getting by on "chicken water" - what LX and I have always called chicken broth, or actually, fake chicken broth made with hot water and boullion cubes. Not much for taste, but it does the open nasal passages trick.
Can you believe I've never had chicken and dumplings?
Even hard for me to believe, especially because it seems I've eaten everything but the kitchen sink since the start of my vacation weeks ago. I need to dig up that 'stuck in your teeth' thread and dig out all that's stuck in my teeth.
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Post by Siren on Oct 29, 2007 6:49:23 GMT -6
You've never had chicken and dumplings? Well, your illness is probably some kind of dumpling deficiency, then. My mom makes them completely from scratch, pressure-cooking the chicken, and rolling out the dumplings. They are soooooo wonderful. My youngest niece used to request them so often, we were afraid she'd turn into one big dumpling.
If it helps any, I have a scratchy throat and stuffy head, too. Allergies. P-yoo! (and aaaaahchooo!)
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Oct 29, 2007 9:48:49 GMT -6
Hey Siren....just out of curiosity.....
What kind of dumplings do you prefer? The southern kind or the midwest kind?
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Post by Siren on Oct 29, 2007 22:10:52 GMT -6
Scrappy, I'm only familiar w/ my mama's Okie dumplings, which are rolled out about a 1/4 inch thick, sliced into strips about 2 inches wide and about 3 inches long, then dropped into the boiling soup. What are the midwest type like? katina, I came across this photo and description while reading a list of "worst cars". Have you ever owned a little "beauty" like this? The use of the word "terrifyingly" cracked me up in the description of the Australian model options. "Morris Marina 1971 - 1980 British Leyland's attempt to take on the Cortina. Doomed by the utterly stupid idea of using the suspension from the 1948 Morris Minor for a car 20 years later and two sizes larger. The irony was that it did not even save money, as the obsolete components were very expensive to make. Terrifyingly, Australian versions were available with a 2.6 litre engine - almost three times the size of the engine the suspension had originally been designed for." www.verdictoncars.com/jsp/vocmain.jsp?lnk=401&featureid=684
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Post by katina2nd on Nov 1, 2007 0:32:52 GMT -6
katina, I came across this photo and description while reading a list of "worst cars". Have you ever owned a little "beauty" like this? The use of the word "terrifyingly" cracked me up in the description of the Australian model options. "Morris Marina 1971 - 1980 British Leyland's attempt to take on the Cortina. Doomed by the utterly stupid idea of using the suspension from the 1948 Morris Minor for a car 20 years later and two sizes larger. The irony was that it did not even save money, as the obsolete components were very expensive to make. Terrifyingly, Australian versions were available with a 2.6 litre engine - almost three times the size of the engine the suspension had originally been designed for." www.verdictoncars.com/jsp/vocmain.jsp?lnk=401&featureid=684Better late then never as the saying goes, sorry I didn't see this earlier Siren. Yep I've owned a "clunker" or two in my time, never one quite as bad as that though thank goodness, I think British Leyland made a few bad decisions with various models, and from the sound of it that one just about took the prize. Remember the old Cortina well, very popular car here for a number of years.
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Nov 4, 2007 23:19:05 GMT -6
Scrappy, I'm only familiar w/ my mama's Okie dumplings, which are rolled out about a 1/4 inch thick, sliced into strips about 2 inches wide and about 3 inches long, then dropped into the boiling soup. What are the midwest type like? Sorry for the late reply.... The dumplings I grew up with were more like drop biscuits floating on top of the soup. Made a kinda crust of yummy flakiness on the best chicken soup ever....
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Post by Phalon on Nov 21, 2007 9:44:30 GMT -6
Just a quick stop in this morning; lots to do today. I've already been to the grocery store for a few last minute dinner fixin's, (I was there 7am, and still had to wait in the check-out line!).
We're staying home for Thanksgiving this year, as we did last. Hubs and both brothers have to work the day after, so making the 5 hour one-way trip home would allow not nearly enough time eat, visit, and eat again, before we had to turn around and spend another 5 hours driving home the same day.
I just wanted to wish everyone celebrating, a Happy Thanksgiving filled with friends, family, and food, and to those traveling, a safe journey.
To our friends here not celebrating Thanksgiving....there's still a feast. The buffet table's set with a Turkey and all the trimmings, and the Whooshigerator is stocked to the brim.
Enjoy Everyone....and everyone, enjoy too.
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Post by moonglum on Nov 21, 2007 14:17:54 GMT -6
I just wanted to wish everyone celebrating, a Happy Thanksgiving filled with friends, family, and food, and to those traveling, a safe journey. To our friends here not celebrating Thanksgiving....there's still a feast. The buffet table's set with a Turkey and all the trimmings, and the Whooshigerator is stocked to the brim. Enjoy Everyone....and everyone, enjoy too. Vox and I would like to wish you all a Very Happy Thanksgiving. It's not a celebration we get to enjoy this side of the pond, and frankly I'm jealous. Two roast turkeys in one season, not fair. MG & Vox
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Post by katina2nd on Nov 22, 2007 7:23:04 GMT -6
Same here, not a celebration we experience "down under" which doesn't mean I can't enjoy it vicariously through those here that do.
Have an especially Happy Thanksgiving all.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 22, 2007 22:29:44 GMT -6
Thanks guys!
Every country should have a thanksgiving. We all have things to be thankful for. Maybe you each should make a suggestion and get a petition going and try and make it a holiday in your own countries. Kat, you'll want to change the date to autumn though, can't have a Thanksgiving dinner without sweet potatoes.
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Post by Siren on Nov 22, 2007 23:19:45 GMT -6
Thank you, guys, for the warm holiday wishes! But it's a cold holiday here - bitter, bitter winds, and a ring around the moon, which according to the old-timers means wintry weather is on the way. We shall see.
You'll never believe our luck. Unexpected oven troubles left us with underdone turkey and underdone ham - from separate households! Both my mom and my sis had oven troubles at the same time. The ham wasn't so bad. It was smoked, so was edible. Not as savory and fabulous as when my mom's glazed is baked in. But it was edible, nonetheless. But as you know - rare turkey is a no-go. You just cannot eat it, for fear of sickness. So, I've had no roast turkey yet, Vox. I'm so disappointed! I have looked forward to that turkey, and the leftover turkey sandwich, for weeks. *sigh* Ah well, there's always Christmas. I hope our oven troubles are solved by then! But it was lovely spending the day with my family. We ate all the great side dishes, and plenty of desserts, and watched one of our favorite teams, the Green Bay Packers, whip up on Detroit. So it was a good day. I hope it was for all of you, too.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 23, 2007 7:50:07 GMT -6
I'll add my thanks for the warm Thanksgiving wishes to Siren's. Hope you all did plenty of vicariously eating the virtual feast.
Moonglum, I agree....two turkeys in one season is something to drool over. We always have turkey for Christmas dinner, and I've often wondered why we don't roast one more often throughout the year?
Siren, sorry for your family's Oven Troubles! It's a shame....no Thanksgiving Turkey...no cold turkey sandwiches...no left-over turkey pot pies, turkey and gravy over pasta, turkey souffle, Turkey Surprise, turkey pizza, turkey loaf, or any other dish people make up to use up all that left-over poultry in....sometimes it seems finding ways to use it is no poultry task! We've got enough left-overs for three more days of feasting.
Sorry for your bitter weather too....."as bitter as an old maid's memoirs" - I just love the way that sounds. Do you mind, or think your departed Leon would mind if I "borrowed" it? A few weeks ago, I went to a creative writing workshop at the library, and the group of us had so much fun, we decided to meet a few more times after the holidays. Our "assignment" for the next meeting is to bring a few phrases we over-heard, or ran across that struck us as being memorable. "As bitter as an old maid's memoirs" is definitely a memorable one.
And yes, the Detroit Lions received a whipping.....another Thanksgiving tradition; it seems to happen every year. My youngest brother has had Lions' season tickets for as long as I can remember, and for as long as I can remember, the Lions have lost, (though I really don't pay much attention to pro football at all). And no matter how poorly the team does during the season, he diligently goes every Thanksgiving day....no so much for the game, but for the food! They roast turkey right on the spot, believe it or not, over a grill. Everyone brings dishes to pass, and they have their Thanksgiving feast right there in the parking lot. Now, that's a tailgate party! Then, of course, after the Lions lose, he comes home to have another dinner with the family....not two roast turkeys in one season, but two in one day!
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Post by Siren on Nov 23, 2007 9:34:45 GMT -6
Leon would be very pleased for you to quote him, Gams. What a great guy he was! Glad you enjoyed his wit, too.
Your brother must have the patience of Job, buying Lions season tix for all these years, bless his heart. But I love the thought of Thanksgiving tailgating in the parking lot. Love that! In 2000, we traveled to Chicago to watch my beloved Bears play at Soldier Field. I had never seen tailgating on such a grand scale. Among the spectacle was a couple being married in the parking lot - the bride in traditional white dress and veil, the groom in his Bears jersey. Several fans had made signs, painted on bedsheets, which we saw hung on the chain-link fence facing the walkway to the field. One sign featured a huge, savage bear, standing fiercely on its hind feet, a hapless Green Bay Packer, bloodied and terrified, hanging from its jaws. (And this was at a Chicago vs Detroit game, mind you.) My mom, a Packers fan, and huge Brett Favre fan, exclaimed, "Look at what that Bear is doing to that Packer!" I noted the #4 on the victims' jersey, and commented, helpfully, "Look again. It's Brett Favre." My mom's mouth dropped open, and she seethed. On our way out of the game (which the lousy Bears finally won, thank god), we saw the sign again. It had been taken down, added to, and re-hung. It now had a spray-painted caption, in addition to the bear/Brett painting: "Brett Favre is a f*g!". My mom was even more outraged.
You know, the Lions actually aren't bad this year. Last I heard, they were 6-4, and were headed to the playoffs. This is near-miraculous for Detroit. They have been lousy for as long as I can remember. Even when they had running back Barry Sanders, one of the greatest ever at that position (and an Oklahoma State grad, I might add), they were still lousy, and wasted his wondrous, unique talents. They've been bad for so long, it's a family joke for us. (So sorry if I've told this story before, but it's a favorite.) One evening we were sitting at Sunday dinner at my folks' house, and the subject was sports, as usual. My brother-in-law's favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys, had lost that day, and I was giving him crap about it. I said, "They lost to the Lions. And the Lions STINK!", my voice going up in pitch on that last work. My little niece, Rachel, was probably 6 or 7 at the time, and this expression stuck in her mind. From that moment on, and even now, years later, when I note that the Lions actually won, or better yet, beat a team we like, my niece will pipe up, "And the Lions STINK!" Lol! I can hear her now, in my mind.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 24, 2007 22:21:12 GMT -6
Isn't it funny the way phrases, or even just words attach themselves to families, like your niece's "And the Lions STINK!" I'd bet every family has something that's repeated for years; I know we've got a million of them, it seems.
What's bad though, is when you take it out of the family, and repeat it in public.
Take "clematis" for example. Clematis is a flowering vine; every gardener is at least familiar with them. What's unfamiliar to some though, is its pronunciation. "Clem-a-tis", or "Cle-mat-tis"; it depends where you're from. "Clem-a-tis" is the English pronunciation, and is the most accepted. "Cle-mat-tis" is Americanized, and is perfectly okay to say also, though there seems to be a heated debate between the "Clem-a-tis"s, and the "Cle-mat-is"s of the gardening world. Pfft. Botanical Latin is a made up language; it was never spoken anywhere, in any country, and is a mixture of Latin words, with sometimes Greek dressing tossed in to add flavor to the salad.
Enter Hubs, who knows nearly nothing about plants, except not to touch mine after, thinking it was a weed, he repeatedly pulled up the clematis I planted from root-starts given to me by a friend. The last time he pulled it he realized his mistake, brought it into the house, and said, holding it up by its roots, "Is this that climbitis thing I wasn't supposed to touch?"
It is a vine, therefore it climbs.
"Climbitis" sounds like a disease, and I'm sure that's exactly how Hubs felt about it - nothing he did; no matter how many times he yanked it out of the ground, it kept coming back like an incurable illness.
That was years ago, and the offending "climbitis" has nicely spread along the back-yard fence. The embarassing part came this fall, when a customer asked me to show her our "clem-a-tis". "Are you interested in spring-blooming climbitis, or Sweet Autumn Climbitis?" ARGH!
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Nov 24, 2007 22:45:36 GMT -6
What's bad though, is when you take it out of the family, and repeat it in public. Too funny Phalon. Just had to share..... "Right after I eat this watermelon." Trust me when I tell you this sounds worse than it is when it comes out of the mouth of my 4 year old nephew. On top of which he never even knew my dad who apparently invented the family phrase.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 25, 2007 21:48:03 GMT -6
I can only imagine the story behind that one, Scrappy. It reminds me of something my uncle used to say when we were kids.
Every Sunday we'd go there for dinner. Uncle Fred was a big guy, and us kids - my brother, and I, and his three, used to climb all over him. He'd throw us up in the air, and catch us - never missing; he'd get down on his hands and knees, and give us bucking bronco rides around the living room. He always tired out before we did. "One more time, Uncle Fred, please?"
"Maybe later. I've got a bone in my foot."
The adults would laugh, but I always felt sorry for him then having to suffer some grown-up disease, horrible sounding as it was - having a bone in your foot. And shoot - the darn thing acted up every weekend! I didn't want to grow up if it meant I'd have to endure that kind of stuff.
Years later, after us other kids were too big to be thrown up in the air and ride on his back, my youngest brother, seven years my junior, said after nearly hitting the ceiling for the umpteenth time, "Again, Uncle Fred. Do it again!"
"Maybe later. I've got a bone in my foot."
I finally got it then! It seems the bone was in my head all that time.
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Nov 25, 2007 23:02:11 GMT -6
The watermelon phrase was reserved for moments of extreem sarcasm....I can still hear him now.
"Daddy! PLEASE take us to get ice cream BEFORE dinner!"
"Sure. Right after I eat this watermelon."
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Post by Siren on Nov 25, 2007 23:40:13 GMT -6
Gams, we are of the cle-MAT-is camp. But who knows? Lovely vine, though. The blossoms on my mom's are lavender, and about the size of a saucer.
One of my dad's pet quotes is a paraphrase of dialogue from "Vera Cruz", starring one of his favorites, Burt Lancaster. If my dad's been pestering us, and we threaten him with violence, he'll say, "Better make it a good one, Pedro." In the movie, Burt's been captured, and is to be hung or shot (can't remember) when "Pedro" finishes playing a tune. Burt says something like, "Better make it a good one, Pedro, because it's the last one you'll ever play."
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Post by Siren on Nov 27, 2007 9:29:25 GMT -6
I made a pumpkin pie for our family Thanksgiving dinner, and I'm still inordinately proud of myself for making the pie crust. People are quite impressed *Siren preens* when they learn that I made it.
Any pastry chefs here? What method do you use for making pie crust? There are myriad methods, it seems: warm water or cold...in-the-pie-dish or in a bowl...roll it out or press with a fork...butter, lard, or shortening. I made mine in the bowl, with shortening and just a little water. Rolled it out and placed it in the pan.
It is a very easy thing to do, making a pie. And people are so pleased by it. I think I will do this more often, through the year. I read about a woman who makes a cake, from scratch, every week for her co-workers. I don't know if I'm that ambitious!
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Post by Phalon on Nov 27, 2007 22:29:02 GMT -6
Oh, Siren! I am proud of you. Making pie crust seems like such a daunting task, and one not to be tried for the first time single-handedly....at least by me.
Mom makes the pumpkin pie. My sister-in-law always makes apple pie - it's a tradition that she brings it to every family function. "Beans, rolls, and pie", said in thicker-than-it-is-now-after-being-a-northerner-for-ten-years Southern accent. That is another of those weird family sayings....whenever anyone is asked what they're bringing to dinner, it's "beans, rolls, and pie". (eye-roll....you had to be there).
She normally makes it from scratch out of I-don't-know-what, but a couple of Thanksgivings ago she taught me a trick that I've used. It was the year we had Thanksgiving two days late, because of a snowstorm that forced us to turn around an hour into the drive, and come home. When we finally did arrive the following evening, my brother had devoured most of the pie. No time to do all that work, and she used the Pillsbury roll-out kind from the can for a quick fix.
I never made apple pie; I leave that up to the berry farm when I have the craving. But I have used the Pillsbury crust for chicken pot pie....or this left-over time of year, turkey pot pie.
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Nov 27, 2007 22:58:31 GMT -6
But I have used the Pillsbury crust for chicken pot pie....or this left-over time of year, turkey pot pie. OH OH OH.....for the both of you....Siren and Phalon....I would happily taste test your pies! For quality control of course!
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Post by Phalon on Dec 3, 2007 23:15:36 GMT -6
I've never made my age a secret. They say a real lady never tells her age; I'm 43.....by only a few months - felt I had to add that in, (eye-roll and boll at myself). But just because it's not a secret, it doesn't mean I want it plastered as front page news.
Ok...so it's not a headline in the New York Times, or the Washington Post. Heck, it didn't even make our town newspaper. But there it is on the cover of the school newsletter, in the "Let's learn more about...." section, where they interview a few children each week. BP's quote: "My favorite number is 43 because that's how old both my mommy and daddy are."
At least Hubs and I are in this together.
Oh, and my Mom......she was the oldest Mom in my first grade. I remember this because every time I see her, she tells me that that is what I told everyone in my class.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 31, 2007 10:19:39 GMT -6
It's 97.8 here this morning. No, no...wait - that's a luke-warm radio station here. 98.6? Is that a normal temperature; I can never remember. I put my lips to a child's cheek, if it feels hot, then out comes the thermometer, and I figure anything over 99.5 requires a dose of Tylenol.
My temperature is up there at the moment - my blood is boiling. Television Cable Guy was up on the telephone pole across the street Friday morning when I left to take the girls to the dentist. We had cable when we left. We didn't have cable, or any of the local channels when we returned an hour later. I called to report the problem, but got the we-don't-want-to-deal-with-it "Our call volume is heavier than usual; please try again later" response. Off to visit Mom for the weekend, and I assumed when we returned home three days later, the problem would be corrected.
Pfft. Still no cable...and no Internet connection. I got the latter fixed, (obviously), with the patient help of Nice Internet Provider Guy, who said we must have had a power surge, and walked me through resetting the DSL box thingy. (I wonder if Cable Guy got zapped up on the pole?)
Meanwhile Not-So-Nice Cable Woman Sitting In An Office Probably Hundreds of Miles From Here told me the cable problem was my problem, could not have possibly been caused by the their guy up on the pole however coincidental it might be that before he got up there everything worked, and when he was done nothing worked. A service man is scheduled to come out and take a look at our connection inside the house, although it seems to me the problem started outside the house, but what the hell do I know? He is scheduled to come Friday afternoon.
FRIDAY! Ack! Kids still home from school on Christmas break this week, and I will be insane by Friday afternoon.
I am now off to the local office of the cable company to plead for my sanity. Or demand it back. Can you get back something you never had to begin with?
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 31, 2007 17:10:23 GMT -6
Phalon: Does your cable box have a reset button? Perhaps the cable guy caused some type of power surge and it took out both the cable box and the DSL router at the same time. Worth a look, and hopefully pushing a reset button is all that is needed to do. Or try unplugging the box for 10 minutes or more. If it has a card like my DirecTV does, take it out before unplugging the box. Those are the instructions I get when my satellite box freezes up after a thunder storm. The last time it acted up she had me turn the box on, pull out the card, wait 5 seconds and then unplug the box, wait 11 seconds and then plug the box back in, wait 5 seconds and put the card in. It usually works. Sometimes I have to go less than the 11 minutes, but I like that better than the 10 minutes to an hour I used to be told to do. My sister's box is newer, and it has a reset button. So she doesn't have to play this little game every time her box acts up.
Also, do you have both plugged into a power surge protector? If not, go out and get you a few. They come in handy for the energy spikes, but I wouldn't trust them to protect against lightning though.
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Post by Phalon on Jan 1, 2008 7:54:05 GMT -6
Thanks for the tips, Joxie. We've got surge protectors, and apparently it was not a power surge that caused my DSL box to require resetting. My neighbor had the same problem; the power flickered off and on a few times during the storm after we'd left on our trip Friday, and he had to reset his box also.
I found yesterday, when I went to the cable office, that it is now permanently closed; they've consolidated and moved all their small local offices into one main location quite a distance from here. I called the company's service center again, and talked to a much more helpful woman than I talked to the day before. She agreed that it was just too coincidental that we lost the connection right after the cable guy was up on the pole, and worked her tail off trying to get us reconnected as soon as possible, (I told her of my pending sure-to-be-insane concern with the girls off school for the week, in addition to Hubs' biggest day in college football bowl game watching agenda today). She has kids; she has a football watching husband, and her soon-as-possible was much earlier than the first woman's soon-as-possible Friday appointment. She kept me posted throughout the day as to where things stood by calling me back with updates.
Service was restored by 6pm yesterday. This up-on-the-pole cable guy said that the other up-on-the-pole cable guy disconnected the wrong household; it was my neighbor who wanted his service discontinued.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jan 1, 2008 16:38:42 GMT -6
Cool. Glad things got worked out.
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