Thursday Ramble

The air and the earth interpenetrated in the warm gusts of spring;
the soil was full of sunlight, and the sunlight full of red dust.
The air one breathed was saturated with earthy smells,
and the grass under foot had a reflection of blue sky in it.

Willa Cather  

Good morning, everyone.  Spring fever has hit.  The temperature is warm and comfortable. Ordered my spring candles, and now I cannot wait to light them.  They smell so good.

I tried to order them from Yankee Candles, but for some reason they kept giving me a problem with my Pay Pal account, Yankee Candle that is.  For two days I tried and couldn't get it to work so I called them and informed them if an order should come through, cancel it.   Then, something told me to look on EBay.  I have never shopped there....and lo and behold, I found the above set of spring scented candles, two more than I was getting directly from Yankee Candle and $8 cheaper.  See?  Everything happens for a reason.

This is the little fairy garden I ordered in honor of Miss Minga.  It's actually quite small.  The little plant is an air plant.  Never had one of these, but it looks fairly easy to care for. 

Why is it that it is so easy for people to vehemently deny that they made a mistake before they even before they hear you out?  Last Wednesday I went to Pathmark to pick up my prescription and while there I went to the service desk to purchase a $50 Amazon gift card.  (I always keep some money in my Amazon account for gifts and books I might want to purchase.)

Well, the $50 gift cards were up high and just below them were the $25 cards.  The woman working behind the counter was short so I told her to give me two $25's so she didn't have to struggle to reach them.  

So, to make a long store short she grabbed three cards instead of two.  She validates two of the cards before she realizes she has three,  so she puts one aside.  I get home and try to add them onto my account and discover one doesn't work.  Sure enough, I check my receipt and find she has given me the unvalidated card.  I immediately called the store and spoke to the manager, who found the card I should have received, explaining that I couldn't get back there until Monday.  He assured me that was okay.  He would hang the card off to the side for me.

Monday comes around, and I return to Pathmark.  Before I can even get the words out she grabs the card and says "I wouldn't do something like that.  This isn't the card I gave you."  In my book, she is calling me dishonest. I kept trying to explain what had happened but she just kept repeating herself and then said, "I have to talk to my boss" (not the manager I spoke to) and walked off into the back room, closing the door behind her.  

It was then that I saw it, one Amazon card hanging off to the side, and I knew that was the one the manager had put there.  So, when she came out of the room and went to hand me that bad card, "I'm sorry.  We can't do anything about this.  This wasn't the card I gave you," I pointed and said, "Yes, this IS the card you gave me.  The one you were SUPPOSED to give me is hanging right over there."  She took the card down, and with my receipt in hand, took it back to her boss.

Not even two minutes later they both came out all apologies and handed me the correct card.  I accepted their apology but it was really too little, too late.  Will not utilize their store for gift cards again.

Thanks for listening.