Amazon exiles discussion
Don't Kill Snails with Salt ... Creme Eggs & Toasted Teacakes ... Biscuits & Bench Stories, Life, the Universe, & Everything!
It has taken me several whole nights of endless queuing just to get into any of the Supermarket Shopping Sites but thankfully I've now managed to edit all of my Accounts to have them registered in my Dad's name instead and not mine. I don't know if this will actually make any difference? - but you never know until you try, do you? - and so we'll see ;o>
Well, it's another beautiful day here ... the Sun is out, the Sky is blue, everything is nicely coming into Bud, and the Birds are all busy, busy, busy around the Garden and cheerily singing away to each other ;o>Nothing is standing in the way of Mother Nature still springing into Summer ;o>
Beautiful, Suzy. I just wish it were possible to buy seeds anywhere to make my tubs & baskets look a bit like that. Suttons Seeds has a queue of over 7,000 people just to get in to the web site for a limited time. Nowhere else I can find is accepting new orders. eBay & Amazon sellers advertising seeds are giving 22 May as the earliest date for delivery. I guess there will be a lot of beautiful gardens later in the spring, but mine won't be one of them.
Awww, Gordon ;o<I'm currently getting Emails from several Garden Centre Websites asking me if I want to buy all sorts of things at the moment as, with all of the Hotels and Restaurants being shut down, they now have large numbers of almost full-grown Plants such as Chilli Plants that will all only be going to waste if they can't manage to shift them.
I didn't think much of the prices that they are asking though? - as they still seem to be pitching them a little too high for Stock that they SO desperately want to shift rather than compost.
EDIT ... actually I must take this back as I've just had a rummage through my Deleted Emails and found one of these Emails and, coincidentally, it is from Suttons and it is offering ...
"an opportunity to give a home to a collection of 6 chillies of varied flavours and fieriness for just £20 ... or 3 for £12!"
... which sounds quite reasonable to me and so I think that I must have misread it previously as saying 3 for £20 because I remember not being very impressed by this Offer yet it actually sounds like rather a good deal to me now ;o>
I've got Flowers on the Brain at the moment ;o>I got such a massive thrill when I saw a Facebook Post by my all-time favourite Florist yesterday excitedly proclaiming ... "! WE HAVE GOT SOME FLOWERS !" ... as it just wouldn't be the same for us here at Easter without our usual delivery of one of their huge and outstandingly beautiful Bouquets and having it taking it's rightful pride of place in Mum's favourite Crystal Vase on our Dining Room Table.
My Mum is soon to be 80 (early May) and I SO want to still try my very best to make this year as special as possible for her despite everything else that is going on. Life, as we know it, just feels all the more fleeting, and fragile, and precious right now - and I want to continue to make the most of feeling blessed and being grateful, and in wanting to celebrate and to make as many special memories with my M&D while we all still can.
I rang the Florists up first thing this Morning (as directed by their Post) but just couldn't, in all conscience, bring myself to ask for anything more than a small to medium-sized Bouquet - in case any selfishness of my part might deprive someone else of the pleasure of being able to order in Flowers for Easter.
However the Florist was rather surprised by the size of my Order and has insisted that, if I still want my usual, then he will make sure that I get it - and says that they are ... fingers crossed X ... already scheduled for and expecting another Delivery of Flowers to come in on Wednesday.
I've tentatively ended up in ordering a Delivery of a large Bouquet for any time between now and Thursday - but have told him that, if they find they are taking far more Orders than they have Flowers for, to just make ours a much smaller one instead.
In times like these, anything that we might get will still be so greatly appreciated. I've absolutely no idea as to what's coming as it will be whatever it will be, if and when it arrives, but it's really given my spirits a lift and cheered me up no end to know that we will hopefully be getting something floral for Easter in the next day or two ;o>
Gordon wrote: "Beautiful, Suzy. I just wish it were possible to buy seeds anywhere to make my tubs & baskets look a bit like that. Suttons Seeds has a queue of over 7,000 people just to get in to the web site for..."Hmmm? - Jersey Plants Direct only has Vegetable Seeds for sale at the moment ...
https://www.jerseyplantsdirect.com/ve...
Oooh Gordon?! ... I've just checked the Garden Centre that I get Dad's Tomtato Plants from every year ... 'Victoriana Nursery Gardens' ... put 'Seeds' into their Search Box and it's pulled up a long listing of them - Fruit Seeds including Tender & Exotic, Vegetable, Edible Flower, Wildflower, Herb Seeds ... ;o>
https://www.victoriananursery.co.uk/
They say ... "Currently we are experiencing a very high level of orders - and dispatching these as quickly as we can. Seed only orders are being dispatched faster (generally in a few days) than orders that include plants, so feel free to place separate orders - or choose a split delivery at checkout. For plant orders we are aiming to dispatch within the time scales (Availability) shown"
Ohhh buggeration!!! ... I checked and double-checked then I refreshed the Victoriana Nursery Gardens Page after posting on here and it now reads ... "Due to unprecedented demand we have had to take the decision to stop taking all orders for the next few days. We will be re-opening our online ordering just as soon as we can"
! ! ! ... Ohhh well, I guess it's one to keep an Eye on over the next week then?
I also found this highly reviewed Website online too? - but am a bit shocked by the Delivery cost for Seeds-only Shipments ... it says £8.80?!! ;oOhttps://gardenseedsmarket.com/
Gordon wrote: "Beautiful, Suzy. I just wish it were possible to buy seeds anywhere to make my tubs & baskets look a bit like that. Suttons Seeds has a queue of over 7,000 people just to get in to the web site for..."Su managed to order some seeds from Thompson & Morgan this morning. Have you tried them Gordon.
Thanks Derek. Still a 14-day wait for delivery but at least I have some ordered now.
YAYYY!!! ... we will all be wanting to see Pictures on your Profile now of everything that you have successfully managed to grow ;o>
Received a refund from NDO Milk - out of stock. Just Milk haven’t any Long Life and only large packs of ordinary milk. You’ve done too good a job, Suzy! Disappointed.
Ohhh no, Lez?!! ... I don't understand it? - because according to both NDO and the Just Milk Websites they have still got Stock available?!! ;o<I'm wondering if their Websites are being updated correctly or if they have had some kind of Courier issues with delivering to Scotland? I'll message you about this and see if I can sort it out for you from this end, Poppet ... x x x
I'm having issues with my Inbox and so I've just messaged you through Goodreads, Lez ... x x x
Okay, well, I'm guessing you posted just before logging off, Lez, and I'm off to Bed now too so hopefully I'll catch up with you tomorrow instead as I really want to get you this Milk! ... xI've been sat here trying to work this all out from my end for you, Lez, but I'm a bit confused as to what you mean when you say ... "Just Milk haven’t any Long Life and only large packs of ordinary milk" ... ? ... because 'Just Milk' don't sell anything else but 'Just Milk Candia UHT Longlife Milk' on their Website and it is still saying here when I look on their Website and trying out putting it in my Basket that they still have all of the types of Milk that they process and bottle in Stock?
I'm just wondering if you have been trying to order another brand of UHT Milk off NDO Supplies, one in a Cardboard Carton one perhaps, and have unfortunately discovered that they are now out of Stock on that one?
Anyways, Bedtime for me, as it's been a very long day here.
I've just found out that we've lost a very dear Neighbour of over 40 years to this bloody awful Virus - and I got to somehow find a way now to gently break the terrible news to M&D tomorrow before someone else does. My Mum is going to be devastated as they shared in the same first name and birth month and, only this very Morning, she was showing me the beautiful Birthday Card that she was planning on sending her ;o<
Another beautiful day here ... the Sun is out and the Sky is blue ... and I've just come back outside onto the Patio to find one of our many local Squirrels enjoying helping him/herself to a couple of Almonds out of my half-eaten bowl of Muesli while I was being kept busy indoors sorting out putting some new Batteries into the TV Remote for my Dad ... ! ;o>
Ohhh what strange times in the Supermarkets are these?!! ;o> ...
Is this a try before you buy from the middle aisle of Lidl?
It's an ingenious idea but I can't help but laugh out loud when I try to imagine just what future generations will be thinking when they look back on these extraordinary times and the Pictures that were taken?!! I wonder if they will be saying ... "WoW?!! - the 1960's looked wild, the 1970's looked crazy, but I can't believe what folk thought were the height of Fashion during the 2020's?!! - all wearing Masks, or even Paper Bags over their Heads, some in Superhero outfits when out in the Streets, and full Scuba Gear during any quick trips to their nearest Supermarket" ... ! ! ! ;o>
suzysunshine7 wrote: "Ohhh what strange times in the Supermarkets are these?!! ;o> ..."
I did see someone in the supermarket wearing a welder's mask today. And I don't think she was a welder, given the lack of other protective gear.
This popped up in my emails the other day and I thought that it
should be shared;
"Just seen a news report about the stresses and strains of self isolation.
It reported that people are going starting to go crazy from being in lockdown!
It was strange actually because I had just been talking about this with the microwave and toaster and all of us had agreed that things are getting bad. I didn't mention anything to the washing machine as she always has to put a different spin on everything - and certainly not to the fridge freezer as he is acting all cold and distant as usual.
In the end it was the iron who calmed me down. She said that everything will be fine, which surprised me somewhat because she’s usually the first one to apply unnecessary pressure and get all steamed up over nothing! ... just between you, and me, and the kettle though, I'm starting to think that she might possibly be sneaking off to the medicine cabinet as I've just discovered that I'm rather rapidly running out of Valium"
should be shared;
"Just seen a news report about the stresses and strains of self isolation.
It reported that people are going starting to go crazy from being in lockdown!
It was strange actually because I had just been talking about this with the microwave and toaster and all of us had agreed that things are getting bad. I didn't mention anything to the washing machine as she always has to put a different spin on everything - and certainly not to the fridge freezer as he is acting all cold and distant as usual.
In the end it was the iron who calmed me down. She said that everything will be fine, which surprised me somewhat because she’s usually the first one to apply unnecessary pressure and get all steamed up over nothing! ... just between you, and me, and the kettle though, I'm starting to think that she might possibly be sneaking off to the medicine cabinet as I've just discovered that I'm rather rapidly running out of Valium"
So sorry about your loss Suzy.We lost a lovely lady in Platt,my village.So many of my friends have lost someone .Terrible times.
Grizzlygrump wrote: "This popped up in my emails the other day and I thought that itshould be shared;
"Just seen a news report about the stresses and strains of self isolation.
It reported that people are going start..."
LOL!!! ... ;o> ... ;o> ... ;o>
I loved the cat.We had a cat Hannibal Lector,this looks like something he'd wear on a day out😀
Anita wrote: "So sorry about your loss Suzy.We lost a lovely lady in Platt,my village.So many of my friends have lost someone .Terrible times."They really are, aren't they, Anita ... x x x ;o<
I haven't had the Heart to tell M&D yet so I'm having to carry the Phone around with me just in case a Neighbour rings them to see if they have heard the news.
There is no hurry to do so anyway as, sadly, she will probably have already been rushed through a quick makeshift Funeral by now - one in which only just a couple of her Kids but no Grandchildren, no extended family and friends, or any other Neighbours will have been allowed to attend to pay their respects ;o<
The Neighbour who told me said he'd heard through a friend of a friend and that our local Hospital had very kindly permitted her eldest Daughter only to go in and spend half an hour with her just a few hours before she died.
It's no way at all to die, is it? - apparently one of the Nurses used a Phone so that her two Sons could get to say Goodbye and tell her that they loved her one last time. And, to be honest, I don't know what hurts more right now? - to know that she has died or that she had to go and die like this.
We don't know her Daughter's Surname or seem to have a current Address for her so we can't even get to pass on our very deepest sympathies to her at a time when she will no doubt be so badly wanting and needing to have all of her family and friends around her - yet will be now grieving for the terrible loss of her Mum whilst still stuck on Lock-down and in self-isolation ;o<
Anita wrote: "I loved the cat.We had a cat Hannibal Lector,this looks like something he'd wear on a day out😀"It gave me quite a laugh! - I can't imagine our old Cat ever tolerating having a Mask put on him like that?!! ;o>
I struggle to get a new collar on Phoebe, let alone a mask!
I'd also like my fingers to still be attached to my hands :)
I'd also like my fingers to still be attached to my hands :)
Oooh? - we might possibly be getting the Freezer that I ordered from Currys (back on the 16th of March) after all?!! ;oOI've been having my doubts that it was ever going to be coming as, despite saying they still had them in Stock and immediately taking my Payment online, they never gave me a Delivery Date.
I've had 3 standard "it won't be long now and we're working on it" Texts since then and then another one a couple of days ago saying they would know more and be in touch again within 3 days ... and just a few minutes ago I finally got a Text saying that it is coming on Saturday?!! - YAYYY!!! ;o>
I'm trying to not get TOO excited though over this desperately needed extra Freezer coming - as I checked out Currys Facebook Page last week to see what the situation might be with other folk's Orders and was absolutely horrified by what I was reading! ;oO
Convinced that I had made a really terrible mistake in buying from Currys, even though they were not only the cheapest but also the only place left in the whole of the UK that were still selling the Beko one that we were after) I tried to work out how to cancel my Order only to find out that it would involve spending many hours in being put on hold on the Phone - so I decided to get brave, stay positive and wait it out instead. I'm just hoping that I made the right decision?!!
The Beko Freezers are just starting to come back into limited Stock again now but the prices suddenly seem to have all gone up across the range by £50 to £100 ... so, if it arrives in the brand new and perfect working condition that it should be doing, I may have got us a great deal on keeping on waiting it out for it after all?
Again, I'll not be telling M&D - as just about anything could happen to change things between now and Saturday so I don't want to be getting their hopes up just yet! ;o>
Someone has been feeding Treacle pudding ,our cat she was putting on so much weight and I bought a collar do not feed this cat.It does seem to have worked ,she was so fat although not able to have her weighed at the vet,she looks slimmer.They ordered a new fridge freezer at work weeks ago and that still hasn't come.
Ohhh poor Treacle?!! ... just wait until she realises what you have done, Anita, and then works how to put her Paw over her new Collar in such a way that it says ..."Do --- feed this Cat"
... LOL!!! ;o>
WOO-HOO!!! ... Just look at me now!!! ... LOL!!! ;o>
Hmmm? - well?- it's worth a try!!! ;o> ...
Is everything alright chez tech? Haven't seen him here for nearly a week and I'm missing him.
I've been thinking about how out vocabulary has changed in the last four weeks.self isolation
social distancing
flattening the curve
zero contact
the new normal
Any others you've noticed?
Val wrote: "I've been thinking about how out vocabulary has changed in the last four weeks.
self isolation
social distancing
flattening the curve
zero contact
the new normal
Any others you've noticed?"
"Sold Out!!"
self isolation
social distancing
flattening the curve
zero contact
the new normal
Any others you've noticed?"
"Sold Out!!"
"due to unprecedented demand""not taking on any new Customers"
"Online Shop temporarily suspended"
... I'm sensing a theme here!!! ;o>
Oooh how about? ..."You are currently 29788574 in a virtual queue and your estimated time of arrival on our website is 17 hours. Please do not click to refresh your Page as you may lose your place in the queue"
... ! ! ! AAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH ! ! ! ... ;oO
It took me 9 hours to get into Boots Website last week ... just to discover that no, they didn't have my Dad's Rosehip Capsules in Stock!... it then took me around 10 minutes to track them down via Google, compare prices, and then buy them off eBay for 20p less than Boots sell them at anyway! ;o>
And I'm sure that everybody knows just how far 2 metres is by now :)
Well, I've just been having far too much fun here already! ;o>I've just had to arm-wrestle the Phone from off my Dad before someone alerts the authorities to send the Army in with Emergency Food Parcels for us all! - LOL!!! ;o>
GP Surgery (on Speakerphone): "So we've sorted out your Repeat Prescription for you now, Mr B, passed it on to the Chemist, and the Chemist will drop it off inside of your Porch sometime this afternoon"
Dad: "Ohhh that's great news - thank you ... one less thing to worry about"
GP Surgery: "It is a very worrying time for everyone, isn't it? ... Are you okay there? Managing to look after yourselves? Getting help with getting Groceries?"
Dad: "Ohhh it's been absolutely awful here. Suzy is on the Internet all day and all night just trying to find Food for us but she keeps on saying that we're doing okay and will be fine. We're getting very low on Cream Crackers but Suzy says she might be able to get us some more in a few days time and so I've been allowed to have two with my Multi-Vit for my Breakfast this Morning ..."
WHAT THE? ... O.M.G.!!! ... I've had to reassure a very concerned Receptionist that two Cream Crackers were just something to take along with his 6am Tablets and NOT his Breakfast! - and that he has just had a HUGE bowl of Porridge with some tinned Apricots ... that he is being given plenty to eat and we most definitely aren't going to be starving here any time soon!!!
! ! ! ... ;oO
An Email has just turned up in my Inbox from Pet Drugs Online entitled ... "Will your home become infested with fleas this Spring, Suzy?"
Ye Gods!!! - as if we haven't got more than enough to deal with already with the Covid pandemic! ... whatever next?!! ... is there a plague of Locusts about to descend on our Gardens and Greenspaces any day now too?!! ;o>
EDIT ADDITION: If there is? ... PLEASE DON'T TELL ME! ... I don't wanna know!!!
BLAH! - BLAH!! - BLAH!!! ... I'm not listening!!! ;o>
Talking of not listening;
I got to my second store yesterday and backed up to the bay. As there is no bell to ring to alert the warehouse staff that I've arrived, I climbed up the short ladder onto the dock and vigorously applied steel toecapped boot to the metal roller shutter, making enough noise to wake the dead. Nothing, not a peep, or even someone yelling "I heard you" so I added a few more dents for good measure.
With still no answer ten minutes later, I decided to go in search of another door to dent. Just as I start walking away, I heard the screech of the roller shutter being opened so I climbed back up the ladder and entered the warehouse and was about to ask if they hadn't heard me knocking. There, with his back towards me while he used the control panel to put the ramp in the back of the trailer, stood the warehouseman. On the back of his hi-viz was the phrase "I Am Deaf"
I got to my second store yesterday and backed up to the bay. As there is no bell to ring to alert the warehouse staff that I've arrived, I climbed up the short ladder onto the dock and vigorously applied steel toecapped boot to the metal roller shutter, making enough noise to wake the dead. Nothing, not a peep, or even someone yelling "I heard you" so I added a few more dents for good measure.
With still no answer ten minutes later, I decided to go in search of another door to dent. Just as I start walking away, I heard the screech of the roller shutter being opened so I climbed back up the ladder and entered the warehouse and was about to ask if they hadn't heard me knocking. There, with his back towards me while he used the control panel to put the ramp in the back of the trailer, stood the warehouseman. On the back of his hi-viz was the phrase "I Am Deaf"
Ohhh that's very not fair, is it?! ;o<The very least that they could do to enable Warehouse folk to do their Jobs is to connect any Doors up to Doorbells - and connect any Doorbells up to Light Switches so that the Lights will flash on and off to let Staff who are Deaf know that a Delivery has arrived and is waiting.
Then again, everyone is trying to pull together on coping with this Crisis, and many Supermarkets have been busy in taking on so many extra Staff at such short notice. Maybe they haven't had the time and resources to better think things through when taking on Staff who might need more help with working such Shifts?
He's worked for the company longer than I have though I've never met him before as I rarely go to this particular store and then not normally during 'daytime' hours.
As for knowing when trucks arrive, when he turned round he pointed, with a grin, to the monitor connected to the CCTV and said that he saw me arrive and assault the door but likes to play his little joke on all drivers he doesn't recognise - he normally waits until a driver asks if he's deaf before turning round to reveal what's on his hi-viz and pointing to his hearing aid :)
As for extra staff - every large store I've been to recently has massively expanded its' Dotcom delivery areas in an attempt to try and keep up with the increased demand. One store had staff waiting to pick orders from the stock as we deliver it.
At the depot, an extra 45 drivers have just been taken on and also, the tanker drivers are now taking out food trailers as there is barely any call for the tankers at the moment.
As for knowing when trucks arrive, when he turned round he pointed, with a grin, to the monitor connected to the CCTV and said that he saw me arrive and assault the door but likes to play his little joke on all drivers he doesn't recognise - he normally waits until a driver asks if he's deaf before turning round to reveal what's on his hi-viz and pointing to his hearing aid :)
As for extra staff - every large store I've been to recently has massively expanded its' Dotcom delivery areas in an attempt to try and keep up with the increased demand. One store had staff waiting to pick orders from the stock as we deliver it.
At the depot, an extra 45 drivers have just been taken on and also, the tanker drivers are now taking out food trailers as there is barely any call for the tankers at the moment.
Amazon exiles
Books mentioned in this topic
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Christina Rossetti (other topics)John Keats (other topics)
Joan Aiken (other topics)
The only annoyance I have is that they ask you to spend a minimum of £32 which is difficult when you’re limited to a maximum of 2 of anything. However I believe supplies are getting back to normal so it might not be a problem much longer.