Sunday, September 17, 2017

Sunday-12:15pm

Remember the cute baby cottontail bunny?
Now it is all grown up.  Well, at least a gangly teenager--LOL! 
I forgot to take pictures when I was over at McFamily's.  Dagan and Leah are helping me to switch banks, so I guess I was thinking about all those details...and just plain enjoying the company too much to remember.  :)  
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Dagan brought me over to Gate City Bank (local bank that McFamily uses) on Thursday to open a checking account.  I'm finally switching from Wells Fargo which I've had since I moved here in 1999 (and been unhappy with since before I moved--long story).  The lady at Gate City even called and switched over my social security check deposit for me while I was there!  I just needed to talk with them to verify who I was.  How nice of them to do that!
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Anyways, I am borrowing enough from Dagan and Leah to cover a month so that I have time to switch everything over and make sure all is coming out of the new account...then I can close out at Wells Fargo and pay back the loan.  Their generous idea.  Plus Leah said she'd help me go through and switch bank accounts on the automatic withdrawal payments...and set it up so the bank can mail checks for me to the companies that don't have automatic withdrawal.  I'd be almost paperless with my bills!  Feels weird.  Half of mine I write checks for and mail...or did.  
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I went back over to their place Friday night--with paperwork and my laptop--and Leah worked on the switching over.  I still have a few to go.  I'm waiting for call back from Federal Housing (correct address for bank to mail rent check), apartment insurance has to be done over the phone (some companies won't allow it done online), and two more I need to double check on whether they have auto pay or get a correct address to mail a check to.  Goodness.  Honestly--I would never have done this on my own.  Leah's been encouraging me to switch banks since I moved and I never would have done it without her help.  Just soooo many details to change.
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It's not like the old days when you physically deposited your check from work and you wrote out and mailed all your checks for bills.  You just switched.  Nobody you paid cared which bank was on the check, you know?  And there was no such thing as automatic withdrawals or automatic deposits...or online shopping, for that matter.  So, I'll be finishing up this coming week.  Whew!  We were working till 11:30pm when Liam was loudly sick and tired of waiting for Mama to feed him (Daddy couldn't distract any longer) and Gramma was too tired to continue--LOL!  I'll be so glad when everything is switched over, I'm basically paperless, and can close my Wells Fargo account!  :)
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Oh, and I sent an email to Petco that included the picture.  They offered to replace or refund the kitty litter, but said if I wanted a replacement that it would be shipped in the same manner.  I opted for a refund.  They were quick to respond, but I still am leery about ordering from them again.  Nice they gave me a refund, though.  And they even included tax!
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I got the pre-ordered drawing book yesterday (Amazon-from last month).  It is a beautiful book.  Can you see the gold embossing on the cover? 
Pretty. 
But there is not as much detail in the step-by-step instructions, as you can see. 
Some of them do have a couple more steps... 
...but she still jumps quickly from no detail to a LOT of detail, as you can see.
There are blank pages for practicing and the paper is thick-- almost glossy.
There aren't as many examples in this book, but they are much more intricate and realistic.  I will certainly be trying these.
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Sorry about the shadows on these pictures.  Has been dark and damp here lately and my camera always makes a shadow.  BUT--I almost forgot to show you what I had done with those last two drawing books. 
 I took a Clairfontaine Triomphe writing tablet and copied a flower or leaf from the books down on the bottom of each page and colored it. 
I only have three sheets left to show you. 
I forgot to take pictures and all the rest of the pages have been written on and mailed away.  Now it's time to get out the drawing books, a new tablet, and do it again.  :)  And, no--I haven't done any decorating in my bullet yet.  Talk about moving slowly lately, eh? 
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I do have to do some Gramma bragging, though.  When I was there on Friday late I got to go up and help Daddy put Ian to bed.  Ian showed me how he brushes his teeth and gets his own pajamas on...and then it was time for a bedtime story.  Well, Dagan had told me how Ian has a book memorized--but I was thinking it was like Red Fish, Blue Fish--something simple like that, right?  
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Ian "read" to me--told me the story--clearly--word for word--Night-Night, Forest Friends!!  Which has pages like:  
"Papa Rabbit whispers, 'Hush,' and tucks his babies into beds of brush."
(Which Gramma had to look up on Amazon because she can't remember, of course--see link above.)
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Leah told me Ian has another longer book memorized, too, but so many of the pages begin similarly (good morning, good afternoon, etc) that he forgets which one starts which page sometimes but he knows the rest by heart.  Can we say Gramma was very, very impressed!!  I believe Gramma's mouth was hanging open for most of the story--ROFL!  ;)
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Anyways, was so stiff and sore yesterday from being out and about two days in a row that I had a total R&R day--caught up on Shameless on Netflix but that was about it.  Today--better.  Am doing laundry.  It's a chilly day, sun is shining, washer is churning, Annie is hiding behind the end table waiting for the birds to come back so she can jump out at them again, feels like fall, and I am off to do some calligraphy drills.  Have a great week.  :)
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"Help me to be less fearful of the measure of time, and more fully alive in the time that simply is.  Help me to live time, not just to simply use it: to breathe it in, and return it in acts of love and presence."
Avis Crowe

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the flowers you painted on your letters!!

My name is Erika. said...

The bunny is a rabbit now. Yup, summer days are waning. I am unhappy with my bank too. One of these days I am going to leave them. But like, you have bills to pay and you need money to open the new account. Hope your weekend is wonderful. Hugs-Erika

Deb J. in Utah said...

We changed to Wells Fargo after being very dissatisfied with Chase, but we don't much like Wells Fargo either. Changing bank accounts is a real pain. So nice that Leah and Dagan are helping you with it. Love your drawing book. Have a great week!

Janie Junebug said...

I'm glad you're done with Wells-Fargo. They're a mess with all those fake accounts. I love my credit union and do almost all of my banking online.

Love,
Janie

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

My original home loan was through Wells Fargo, but when I refinanced my home, it was through Fidelity. I used to bank at Fidelity, too, but didn't like their interest rates. So I went with a local bank and love them. They even know my name, which is strange, since I seldom do business inside the bank. I think you will be glad you moved your banking because Wells Fargo no longer has the prestige it once had. BTW, I've never heard of automatic payment of real checks, instead of electronic checks. You must have a lot of checks. I write maybe two a year.

Loved the rabbit, and enjoyed reading about your drawing book. GOOD FOR YOU on getting a refund from Petco!!!

jinxxxygirl said...

Hi there Rita!!

We pay nearly all our bills online too... Or i should say hubby does... I think the one he can't is the trash bill of all things.. We use Bank of America and for the most part we are happy with them.. I guess we've used them about 6 years now.. before that it was a credit union...

Way to go Ian! Kids can really surprise you.... Maybe you should get him so more books grandma...:) Hugs! deb

DJan said...

So glad to know you are leaving Wells Fargo. They are crooks, through and through. A local bank is better. I haven't written but two checks a year for ages now, and those are only because I subscribe and the company doesn't offer online renewal (that's one check) and the other is signing up for yoga. They give a discount for cash or check, so I use it. I am so impressed to hear that Ian is already reading! What a sweetheart he is. :-)

Divers and Sundry said...

That rabbit grew up fast! Changing banks is a hassle, but sometimes you just can't stay where you are. That way of packaging must work for them most of the time or they'd change it, but I can't blame you for not trusting it. Those flowers are so pretty!

Congratulations to Ian! Learning stories and poems by heart is such a beautiful thing, and it makes the book seem so much more personal.

We're still getting highs in the upper 80s and sunshine, but fall weather will come soon :)

Unknown said...

Wells Fargo are some nasty bastards. Vicious in policy and ruthless in tactics. I did a programming project for them once and saw a form they had to file. It showed they had $62 Billion at a post office box in Grand Caymen, to avoid US taxes.
Changing banks and accounts to online billing! Marylu and I had to change everything to our SD legal address after we uprooted. First time took about a week. Then we had to go back and do it again where it didn't stick. It took months to get to the point where everything was going to the right address and (almost) all contacts were online. Better luck to you.

Carol said...

Bunnies do grow so quickly ♥ The drawing book looks interesting and I love the flowers you drew. Ian is getting so big ! I remember when my son would memorize all of his favorite books too.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Changing banks is a trial in patience. I like the olden days better:) Sounds like you had a busy couple of days! :) I like your drawings:)

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

Chequing accounts are pretty much unheard of here in my part of the world, I have about 8 savings account with three of them being visa debt accounts been banking with the same building society since I was 14.

Lady Fi said...

Cute bunny! And I love your flower drawings - so pretty.

Jon said...

I don't know much about banking, but I do recall that my parents had a lot of trouble with Wells Fargo when they first moved to Texas - and it was ALL the bank's fault. Everything is so complicated nowadays - - I liked things a lot better when life was simple.
(was life ever really simple???)

I love the bunny and those flowers that you drew.

Harvest Moon by Hand said...

The flowers are beautiful. You are so talented and creative! We have lots of rabbits here. It's cute to see them when they are young. As adults, some of them are quite large. Clearly, the grass, clover, and our vegetable gardens have sustained them throughout the summer. They are going into Fall and Winter quite plump and healthy.

Jenny Woolf said...

Changing banks always was such a hassle, and now it seems even harder. Sometimes I think I'm going to go nuts with all the security stuff, even though I have a password program. It is much harder to keep track of stuff you do online too. I've opted to have paper statements etc. and that does help. Although of course you need somewhere to store them .
What a memory! I'm not surprised you're feeling like doing a little granny-bragging about young Ian, he must be very bright.

Serena Lewis said...

So nice to see the Cottontail bunny growing up. I hope it stays safe and well.

It's so lovely that Dagan and Leah are always looking out for your best interests. Cheques are like a thing of the past here. Everything is pretty much done electronically. Even the banks themselves pay directly into people's/company accounts...no cheques involved. I pay all my bills and rent using Bpay or Paypal as I like to still have control rather than let them withdraw from my account automatically. Bpay is still done online, I just do it manually via my online bank account. I LOVE paperless bills! I download them to my computer into a Bills folder but I also keep them stored in Gmail under the Biller's name so always accessible. You will love the ease of the electronic payment system, Rita.

When we lived in the States in 1998, I was surprised to see people there still writing checks for everything, even groceries. They never used cash or their bank/debit cards like we did in Australia. It was so weird to me. haha

It was good that Petco responded promptly and didn't give you the run-around. However, you would think they would learn from their mistakes and package things differently, not the same.

The florals book looks quite nice. A pity she jumps steps but try to draw what you see. I've been enjoying your florals on the letters you send me.

Kids do love memorising their favourite books. They are so quick to pick things up. Mikayla was the same and Maddy was starting to. So sweet that Ian read to you.

I hope the R&R day helped with the aches and pains. I've been dealing with a lot of them myself of late.

Love and hugs xo

Serena Lewis said...

Just a question - Do your banks charges fees over there? Our banks used to but now they don't charge account fees at all, except for charging interest on Credit Cards.

GrandmaG said...

Always amazed at how many projects you have going at one time. Have you ever gotten bored? *LOL* I can't imagine you have. I admire how you love tackling new projects and hobbies. That's amazing how Ian's memorized some books. When our son was three he recited The Night Before Christmas after only hearing it a few times. We, too, were extremely impressed and proud :) Kids are constantly amazing!

sanpiseth40 said...

I'm not surprised you're feeling like doing a little granny-bragging about young Ian, he must be very bright.


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Sherry Ellis said...

Apparently, that's not really a book for beginners. I'd need a lot more steps than that!