Rip Offs & Bargains February 5, 2010

Warning: This post is going to probably turn into a rant….

Okay, Network Solutions.  The very first domain registrar there was…gotta give ‘em credit for plowing the road.  But jeepers!  THIRTY FIVE DOLLARS to renew a domain for 1 year?  You’ve gotta be kidding me!!!  Add a $10 service fee of some kind…that would put me out of business in a heartbeat.

Can’t really call it a scam, because they are providing the service as advertised.  Just for a TON more money than is necessary.  There are lots of registrars out there who will happily register and renew domains for less than $15 per year.  There is absolutely no reason I can imagine why anyone would use Network Solutions unless they’re just totally out of it or have money to burn.

I didn’t even bother to look at the hosting fees.  YIKES!!

A word to the wise: RESEARCH YOUR OPTIONS BEFORE BUYING!!

Of course, that applies to everything.  Not just domains.

Oh, but we can’t forget Domain Registry of America.  No siree!  Now they really ARE a scam.  Not even an American company.  Maybe they’re not in business anymore.  I haven’t gotten a letter from them in a while.  THEY send out “letters” that look like invoices.  Trick folks into “renewing” their domains – when it’s really a transfer from your current registrar to them.  For – you guessed it – THIRTY FIVE DOLLARS.  Honestly, I got the first few fake invoices from them and couldn’t for the life of me figure out how they expected some dufus to fall for the trick.  Until I discovered someone I knew did.  ARGH!

Soooo….if you have a website, you have a registrar.  This is the company that registers your domain in your name. It’s like the Post Office saying “Regena lives at Box 1357.”  Any mail sent to Regena is dropped into Box 1357.  Any visitors looking for Pardner will be dropped at www.pardnerinc.com. Very simple.  Should cost $10 or $15 per year.  No more.  And KNOW YOUR REGISTRAR.  If the registry service is provided with your hosting service, KNOW IT!  Don’t pay an invoice just because it LOOKS legitimate.  MAKE SURE IT IS LEGITIMATE!!!

Better yet, why not save yourself a ton of headaches and let Pardner manage your website? ha ha

Rant over.

On the bright side.  Mom and I went to a couple yard sales this morning…as is our habit when they’re happening on a lovely Friday morning.  Anyway, at one of them I spied a gorgeous cast-iron white ceramic kitchen sink the same brand and similar make as the one we have.  For FIVE DOLLARS!  Methinks we spent over one hundred on our current sink.  I couldn’t pass that up.  No chips, no cracks….used, yes, but nearly perfect.  See, the thing will store just fine for years, even despite our lack of storage or barn (covered) space, and it’s going in the main house when we build it next decade.  (Hopefully sooner.)  What a deal!!!  A really nice kitchen sink for nothing more than pocket change.  Lovin’ it.

Gotta get the bro to help me unload it, tho.  A nice gentleman helped me load it up (fortunately) since it’s about 80lbs.  That would have been a trick by myself.   Gee, can’t wait until we build the house around it!  ha ha  :)

Frozen Internet February 4, 2010

You know, I really don’t think the weather should have anything to do with the internet speed…but cold and rainy weather really seems to slow it down.  We were CREEPING today.  I was about to tear my hair our.  Yikes!

I tried every trick I know to speed things up…and they worked for maybe 20 minutes and then I was back down to dial-up speed.  Oh, the memories of those days!  Ugh.

Despite the internet, I did manage to get a lot done.  :)

Oh, some belated photos from planting trees:

SuperWoman

One More...I think I can, I think I can...

Oh, the frost this morning was simply amazing!

Frosty windshield

Silver's frosty head

Waaaayyyy too cool!

Thot those were worth sharing.  :)

More Rain February 3, 2010

Believe it or not, it rained again last night.  That makes about 2.5 inches so far this year.  Amazing! We never get that much this time of year.  It’s wonderful for the pastures!

The only bad thing about rain, is that our driveway still isn’t properly made.  We did raise it some, with low-grade caliche from our back pasture.  Problem is, the caliche is mixed with a very clay-ish type soil.  Which is not good for wet driveways.  Despite being flat, our driveway is 4X4 territory after it rains. Oh-well.

This afternoon, I had a meeting with a business in town for a new website.  Wonderful people!  I am really looking forward to working with them.

Forever Homes II February 2, 2010

The weather forecast predicted rain this afternoon, so I decided to put the baby trees on the “front burner” and get them all planted.  So we did.  Took almost all day, but it was well worth it.  5 trees are now living happily in their forever homes.  I had the holes dug already, so it would be easier come planting time…..but these little trees have bizarre roots that go off all which directions and require specialized hole digging.  Story of my life.  I had to adjust every hole to perfection….and with Mom’s help lined up each little trunk into the grid we’d measured.  An old cow pie in the bottom of the hole, then sprinkle the dirt over the wee little roots and tamp (the directions said to tamp out the air pockets), then form a berm.  Next came two t-posts spaced properly so that a 16′ long hog panel could be wrapped around the baby tree to protect it from the deer.  I pounded in 10 posts today.  I know that doesn’t sound like much, but I haven’t done ANY fencing in so long I’m a marshmallow.  ’Bout made my arms fall off, I think.  Whew!

Two of the trees we planted were given to us nearly 3 years ago, and we’d had them in pots all this time.  You know, those gigantic buckets for livestock molasses?  They work great for gigantic planters.  The two trees had been inside our garden area (fenced for protection) almost since we moved here…and they’d decided that was good enough…so they spread their little toes out the drainage holes and into the ground.  BIG roots.  It was NOT fun chopping them off, but we didn’t really have a choice.  I hope those two will be okay.

The rain never came this afternoon, but a Blue Norther did.  It was really pleasant all day, but then we caught a whiff of Blue Norther smell about 3:30 this afternoon.  It’s a particular smell…hard to describe but it smells like the oil rigs around Odessa.  Which is North-ish from here.  An hour later, the temperature dropped and the clouds rolled in.  Not nice, fluffy clouds but the low, freezing kind.  Oh-well.  We managed to get the last t-posts in and the protective fences up before it got too bad.  Bet it freezes again tonight.

Weird winter for us.  :)

Forever Homes February 1, 2010

Today dawned bright and warm and lovely.  The outdoors beckoned so it was difficult to stay inside and get some work done.  But Mondays are usually the days when I have a lot of little things to finish – little updates, little designs, little tweaks and little fixes.  So I was a good girl and got them done.

I even designed a preliminary poster for the Star of Texas Miniature Hereford Auction.  I think it’s going to turn out pretty well.  A day or two in the final tweaking stage and it will be published on MHBA’s website so members can download and print it to advertise all over the nation.  How cool is that?  Then I’ll start to work in earnest on the catalog for the sale.  That will be a lot of fun.

Come 3 o’clock I decided I’d been good enough and busted outside.  The time is right for planting baby trees, so that’s what we did.  We got three in the ground before I decided I was too tired…gotta realize, Paul is sick today so he wasn’t a lot of help! But the baby trees are finally in their “forever homes.”

In 10 years, I'll be eating a HOMEGROWN apple! (Brown Turkey Fig Tree)

Wee Little Tree (Montmorency Cherry)

Paul Supervising (Arkansas Black Apple)

Pounding Them T-Posts (Arkansas Black again)

I couldn’t bring myself to go back inside though, what with the gorgeous day…so I painted side two of the chicken coop posts.  The first side got a good first coat, and it’s going to be really nice.  I love the slick finish the oil-base gives.  Should keep that wood in good shape for a long time.  It’s scrap wood, and sat out in the elements for over a year, so it needs some help if it’s going to last well.  Not to mention, it’s untreated to begin with.  But the paint ought to do the trick splendidly.

The chickens are really wishing I’d hurry up and get that coop built, but I keep telling them I’m hurrying as fast as I can!

Closing Chapters January 31, 2010

Today is a sad day.  Well, not exactly sad, I suppose…since I really prefer to NOT be sad.  But a definite feeling of closing chapters and moving on.

Alpine City Limits is closing its doors.

It was the best steakhouse in town.  Good quality, enormous helpings (actually filled me up, and I can eat like a horse – though you wouldn’t know that to look at me) and great prices.  I worked there for about 6 months before my web business took off.  The customers were great, and tipped well.  :)

City Limits kept us alive when we first moved here.  Oh, those were the days.  No kitchen.  No walls.  Our house was a roof with Tyvek home wrap underneath.  No electricity and we hauled water.  We ate at the Bread & Breakfast every morning, and went to City Limits every lunch and dinner.  I knew that menu by heart before I even started working there.

I wonder what will happen to the place now.  We’ve had so many new restaurants open up in the last couple months, I suspect that’s what did City Limits in.  We’re looking at three Chinese eateries soon…we’ve only ever had one since I can remember.  A couple steakhouses and one bakery, a couple Tex-Mex spots and a couple cafes.  Not to mention the standbys: McD’s, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen.  Note the instances of “couple.”  In a town this size, one of each would be plenty sufficient.  But THREE Chinese restaurants? We don’t even have that many stoplights.  Come to think of it, we don’t have ANY stoplights and I hope it stays that way.

I will miss City Limits.  And the people who worked there – what a great bunch!

It seems the only constant in life is change.  And it’s funny, how often we have to deal with change, yet how scared of it we still are.  Makes me think of Star Wars: ..”but you can’t stop the change.  Any more than you can stop the suns from setting.”  So true.  Would that I could face change as easily as I watch a beautiful sunset.

SPRING IS HERE!!! January 30, 2010

Well, maybe not REALLY.  But I heard a Meadowlark singing this morning.  Twice.

If that isn’t a sign of Spring, I don’t know what is.

On the other hand, the snow from yesterday was still sticking to the North side of my hay bale for the cattle.  Not much.  About a tablespoon or so.  But it was hanging on for dear life.

Mom and I had our usual morning of rummage sales.  There aren’t too many this time of year…only had about 3 to go see, but it’s good for her to get out a little.  She doesn’t get much of a chance otherwise since Paul and I are just too busy.  She found a couple mugs to add to her collection (a sunflower design, and a texas flag design).  Nothing leaped out at me to say “BUY ME” which was fortunate.  I don’t know where I’d store any more STUFF.  Gotta build our REAL house first.  Like that’s going to happen in the next year.  :)  Someday.

Mom even felt good enough to brave the grocery store today.  She’d been lamenting how long it had been since she’d gotten to see a produce section (fresh fruits and vegetables really warm her heart – in case you couldn’t tell).  Usually, she makes a list and Paul or I run the errands.  But today she wanted to do the picking.  Which was fine by me.  I drove the cart.  And the car (truck).  Brought back memories of following her around the grocery store when I was a tyke.  So fun!

Once we got back home, I resumed my outdoor projects since the weather was so nice again.  I got one side of each of the 17 posts for the chicken coop painted with the “oops” paint.  Unfortunately, it soaked in so much it took a full quarter of the gallon, so I expect I’m going to have to find some more paint to finish the project.  But at least the “oops” paint is a good color for primer.  Thirsty wood, that is.  But it will look good painted.  And it will last well, I think.

I staked out the spots where the posts belong in the coop, and got one dug.  We’re only digging them 2 feet deep, but the soil is so muddy it’s really hard to dig today.  It’s got enough clay in it that it WILL NOT let go of the diggers.  *sigh* I’ll try again tomorrow.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

SNOW January 29, 2010

Yay!  We got snow again!

Only a half inch.  Which really isn’t much compared to most of the country.  But it’s a lot for us.  Especially this time of year.

Also, realize, I was working in a t-shirt outside the day before yesterday.  Must have been 70 degrees at least.

This is hard on my system somewhere.  But good for the soul.  A warm day or two to play outside, a cold day or two to work inside, what more could I ask?

A cup of Ghiradelli Hot Chocolate that my friend Diane sent me…. oh, now THAT’s perfect!

On to more important matters: I finally bit the bullet and invested in QuickBooks a little while ago.  I was really skeptical as to whether or not it would save enough time to be worth the cost.  Especially considering they make you upgrade every 2 years whether you like it or not (functions stop working, or so I hear).  Well, I think I may be impressed.  I printed invoices with about three clicks.  All of them.  For the whole month.

Of course, as usual, I’m fixing things that aren’t really broken….so I redesigned my statement to include the Pardner logo.  And then, of course, I had to trick QuickBooks into printing envelopes for me. Gotta mail those statements!  I used up all my “window” envelopes, and have probably 1000 regular envelopes in storage.  I really should use them up.  And now I can.  Since QuickBooks doesn’t print envelopes per se, I had to create a new template for statements.  Some serious layout changes, extraneous info removed (like, how much the client owes…who wants that printed on the outside of the envelope?) and some tricks to make QuickBooks and Printer agree on how to print and WHERE to print (envelopes are NOT eight-and-a-half-by-eleven, you know) and presto!  Custom envelopes.  Now, I can click three times (or so) and print statements, and another three times will print corresponding envelopes.

Maybe invoicing every month won’t be such a drag anymore!  YAY!

And best of all: I milked Tink today.  Okay, well, it wasn’t really milking.  We were out of milk for my morning coffee (okay, some of the city-ness rubbed off from my dancing days…I don’t do black coffee like a cowgirl ought to) so I decided to see if I could swipe some from Tink.  She’s my little half-Jersey half-Miniature Hereford and has her first calf, Jack, at side.  She’s also feeding Joy, and all three are doing splendidly on the new alfalfa hay I’ve been getting them.  So, I thought I might could grab a couple squirts for my coffee.  Well, that’s about all she had – the babies must have had breakfast just before I got down to the barn-seed.  Oh-well.  It was enough.  And it was fun.  I’ve never milked her, but have worked with her so that she won’t be too shocked if I ever do try.  She took the whole thing in stride.  Of course, fresh hay and lots of scratches helped considerably.  Maybe soon I can milk a cow again…let’s see….that would only require a barn, with a milking stall, and my straining equipment and jars out of storage, plus a kitchen where I can pour up the milk and another fridge to store it…….nope.  That’s not happening any time soon, either!

Xtreme Ranch Rodeo January 28, 2010

Today the weather was winterish again.  Not that I mind.  I really had a lot of work piling up in my office, and needed to get after it.  So, I spent all day on the computer upgrading a website for Tuff Team Xtreme Ranch Rodeo.  I’ve had this site for some time, and it was high time to fix it up a little.  Those of you who know me know that I tend to fix things even if they’re not really broken.  I spend a lot of time doing that.  I figure it’s good for my clients to have better design, better code…better website, really.  So long as it’s not a complete restructuring.  Which sometimes it is, but I try to avoid doing that very often (unless it’s really needed).

Xtreme Ranch Rodeo

Essentially, it is the same design as previously.  Code-wise, it’s much cleaner which means faster loading and better for search engines.

What can I say?  Some days my work is entirely virtual.  :)

Rainbows January 27, 2010

The most noteworthy aspect of my day today.  Must share a couple of the many photos I took in an attempt to capture the biggest, squattest rainbow I’ve ever seen.  Hardly did it justice, but it was worth a try!

Rainbow

Rainbow

Rainbow

Rainbow

Extraordinary beauties aside, I spent most of the day working on the chicken coop again.  The wooden racks are now back to regular old 2X4  boards in various lengths…and soon to be reassembled in a more useful manner.  I have managed to piece together 17 posts, 4X4’s (two 2X4’s) which is enough for a 30′ X 50′ chicken coop at 10′ spacing including one extra to make a gate.  We’ll see if this thing actually turns out!