Patio Furniture, Sure I ordered Patio Furniture...

Since our last time together, I have furniture updates, Rodz's Moms health update, and most importantly Fred is another year older update.

       Debbie hosted a birthday party for Fred a couple of weeks back. I was invited to attend Fred's birthday BBQ. Everyone else in attendance works or is wedded to someone at the Episcopalian church that Fred is the Associate Business Director (probably not his real title, but you get the gist). I had a basic mission, attend the celebration without angering Fred's bride Debbie, and without embarrassing myself or Fred  in front of his work colleagues (I think there were four Episcopalian Priests present). Well, I can say that I didn't make Debbie mad at least... Somehow, Fred's boss - the Chief Priest (Grand Poobah?) and I ended up in a conversation about Rodz being a Catholic gal and hopefully soon to be living here with me. I shared Fred's and my belief that Rodz and I would probably try a Episcopalian church since it is the protestant church that is closest to Catholicism which would hopefully make my Catholic gal happy, and yet be comfortable for this protestant blogger. Priest Jim showed interest and asked questions, well I fell into the trap of saying I didn't think I would be comfortable attending Catholic Mass, but I did respect the Catholic church. I have always admired a church that hasn't bended their core beliefs to make the masses happy, but pretty much struck to their doctrine. Well, I guess I did the equivalent of spitting in his wine chalice. After hearing about child molesting Priests and no birth control I quietly accepted my flogging and kept quiet the remainder of the evening. I just don't seem to do well at parties...The good news is Fred still has his job, and we will see if I bring Rodz to service at their church...

         Speaking of Rodz, her mother came through her surgery in Paris and she tells Rodz that she is doing well. Rodz is still struggling with everyday life in Satwa (Dubai neighborhood). She went a couple of days this week without running water. They bought bottled water to wash with. I of course couldn't resist teasing her about being a little pampered Princess washing in Perrier. Yes, I will never learn (see above paragraph and numerous blog stories in past blogs). We both just try and be patient and wait for her November 9th interview with the American Embassy in Abu Dhabi and then hopefully her immigration to America before Thanksgiving. Legal Immigration is not an easy thing to be patient about, especially with our current administrations polices regarding illegal immigrants.

           My mother is the most loyal blog reader out there. She faithfully prints my blogs and has a big binder on her living room table full of my ramblings. When I meet her friends in Lebanon, I often feel the need to apologize, knowing that the have been subjected to the "binder" of her son that they don't know and probably know too much about. Well, I know my mother is reading this today looking forward to seeing pictures of my new patio furniture. Well, as you can see or not see, there are no pictures - because there is no furniture. The "lost" furniture that I reported so faithfully Target had found in a New Jersey warehouse, they managed to un-find it. They called and said they would reorder it and "hope" that a new set would be delivered to me. I was told by my specialist (Amy) that she could make no guarantees and was really sorry for the length of time I had waited for a resolution that was still forthcoming. Well, last week I got a "robotic" auto call saying my new furniture will be delivered on August 19th. Yesterday, I decided to go to Targets web page and track the progress of my furniture. I see that it left a warehouse in California and will be delivered on August 30th...Sigh. Then today I get an email saying that this was my last confirmation of my furniture delivery on August 15. Well to say this hasn't gone smoothly would be like saying "is the Pope Catholic?" - oops sorry Fred. 

        I look forward to seeing you back here in a couple of weeks where you can see a nice picture of my new patio furniture, read about my interaction with the Obamacare website, and hear about my mini vacation that I have scheduled for September. Hope the remaining weeks of your summer find you happy and healthy. God Bless, and thank you for sharing this time with me...

       

The Weekend is upon us....

     There are times when this is little blog is tough to write. Sometimes, because of personal issues, sometimes when I am not feeling particularly insightful. then there are those rare times that both reasons apply. There are still an average of 200 visits to the "Great Adventure" blog each month, and we are nearing 14,000 views of this blog. There are fewer readers now, then there were except for the first few weeks of my drivel. At one time, the readership was pretty equal between Americans and non Americans, now it is pretty overwhelmingly Americans reading this....

United States	7717
United Arab Emirates	2006
Germany	789
Russia	277
United Kingdom	243
Singapore	210
France	139
Malaysia	114
India	94
Canada                                               88  It still puzzles me as to who these readers in Singapore are...       I just returned from a 3 day trip to Idaho. Hopefully I have solved some of my product sourcing issues. The things that I learned about potatoes on this trip....lol.     Rodz is struggling with tough news from her mother. She is battling cancer and has surgery scheduled this coming week. Linda lives and works in Paris and it is difficult for Rodz that she can't be there in her mothers time of need, and of course I feel awful that I can't be there for Rodz. Maybe President Obama "with a stroke of the pen" will allow Philippina's to immigrate...lol - fat chance.      Speaking of amnesty, my missing patio furniture has been located. As of last Friday, It was "located" in a distribution center in New Jersey. The company that I have so far shielded (TARGET), says it will be delivered soon. They promised an update by this past Tuesday, yes I have not heard from them and yes for the 4th time in this 7 week ordeal, I will call them tomorrow. Let's hope next blog includes a picture of patio furniture....      Fred and Debbie are hosting a bbq to celebrate Fred's 51st birthday this weekend. As my hair is thinning, Fred's hair is greying....it is hell to grow old...but as many wise people have said, growing old is tough, but it beats the alternative. OK, I tried this week, if you want a refund for costs incurred while reading this blog, I am with you...let's hope for a better blog next time....