Friday, August 11, 2023

Friday night odds & ends & updates

It's been a busy week!  
  • Monday, we marked 25 years since Katie's stillbirth.  :(   We drove out to the cemetery with a bouquet of pink roses and some other fresh decorations, took some photos, and then did something we haven't done in quite a while -- strolled over to the Garden of Angels section nearby, where the children of some of the people we met through our support group are buried. Not all of them have permanent markers, and the temporary markers that were there years ago are long gone, and we don't remember all their names anymore -- but we know they're there. Unfortunately, that section of the cemetery is a lot more full than it was, 25 years ago...  :(  
    • On the way home, we stopped at Dairy Queen for ice cream (a cone for dh, a mini Skor Blizzard for me). And then ordered Chinese food for takeout for dinner -- both long-established traditions. :)  
  • It was slightly bizarre making the trip to the cemetery with a toddler seat in the back of the car (as I wrote last week) -- 25 years after we expected to have one there, both of us now in our 60s (!). We used it on Tuesday, when we went to a nearby community centre to pick up Little Great-Nephew from "school" (playschool/daycamp for 2.5 to 5 year olds) -- a new experience for us!  SIL had given our names to those in charge, and dh had to present some identification before we were allowed to leave with LGN (and rightly so), even though he clearly knew us and was ecstatic to see us.  :)  We went through the drive-through at the nearest Tim Hortons to pick up some lunch, and brought it back to BIL & SIL's house to wait for their return. (We removed the seat & returned it to BIL & SIL before we left that day.)  
  • Wednesday, we took BIL & SIL for lunch at the home of one of dh & BIL's aunts. Another cousin was also there for lunch, and we were joined later for coffee by several other relatives who lived nearby. It was lovely to see everyone and spend time together, and BIL was revelling in all the attention.  ;)  
  • Thursday afternoon, it was back to BIL & SIL's house to have coffee with some (other) visiting cousins.  
  • We'll be up early tomorrow (Saturday) morning and heading back to our old community for haircuts. :)  
  • On top of all this, Dh took BIL for bloodwork twice this past week at a nearby blood lab. He'll also be making two trips downtown on two different days next week, taking Older Nephew and then BIL for checkups at the hospital transplant clinic. Both are doing well!  -- although BIL is not allowed to drive for 2-3 months because of some of the medications he's taking -- hence the need for dh's chauffeuring services, particularly while SIL is still busy with LGN.  Once LGN starts school in mid-September, we expect we won't be quite so busy (and will hopefully be able to take some time to head west to -- FINALLY! -- visit my parents & sister!).   
  • Update on the scam situation: 
    • Although the bank/credit card provider reversed my Amazon transaction, it turns out things aren't that simple. (Are they ever?)  The reversal, it seems, was only "temporary" -- although I was assured that it's 90% likely I will not have to ultimately pay up. The transaction has now been sent to the "Disputes" department, while the bank negotiates with Amazon over who gets to pay whom. :p  (Hopefully, it won't ultimately be me!) 
    • Meanwhile, Amazon has suspended my account until I (or presumably the bank, or perhaps their insurance company?) pay up. 
      • Not only am I unable to order anything on Amazon until the matter is settled, or add anything to my wishlists there, I'm also unable to access any of the books on the Kindle app on my cellphone -- books that I've already PAID for and downloaded.  Grrrr..... (I mostly read e-books on my Kobo e-reader, but there are some -- including many by D.E. Stevenson, one of my most frequently read authors -- that are only available in Kindle format.  I've only ever read them on my phone app -- perhaps I should think about buying an actual Kindle and downloading all my Kindle-format books to that?)(Once I can access them again, of course...!)   
      • (One of the hardest things about not having access to a credit card for more than a week was not being able to buy new e-books for my Kobo, especially when they launched a summer sale!  Dh had a $50 gift card that I'd given him that he generously offered back to me, and luckily, I had a whackload of points stockpiled that I was able to dip into, in order to get the bargain books I wanted!) 
      • Luckily, dh has a separate credit card that we could have used if necessary. This has made me realize that perhaps I need to get a second credit card for emergencies/situations like this one, even if I never/rarely use it. (Or at least I should probably get myself a second card on dh's account?)  
    • The news on this front is not all bad:  thankfully, my replacement credit card arrived on Tuesday. It was easy to activate, and I spent some time that afternoon updating the billing information for (most of) my regular subscriptions, etc. 
  • The Lighthouse Women online community is changing its name again, a little over a year after Katy Seppi assumed hosting duties of the Gateway Women online community from its founder, Jody Day. Jody retained the name "Gateway Women" for her own ongoing work in the childless community, and community members chose the new name shortly after the change in leadership was announced. (I wrote about these change at the time, here.)   
    • As of Monday (Aug. 14th), the community will be known as the Childless Collective, which is the name Katy will be using for all her work in the CNBC community going forward. This will (hopefully!) make it easier for childless-not-by-choice women to find support when they need it, and for Katy to carry out her various activities within the CNBC community more efficiently under a consolidated brand identity. 
      • It will also (hopefully) distance the community from a UK-based cult (! -- yikes!!) called Lighthouse Global which was in the news recently, and whose URL is very similar.  
    • I was still using the tag/label "GW book club" for my book reviews here, related to the community's book club. Not sure how, whether or when I will change that??  
  • Canadians recently learned (via social media) that our prime minister and his wife of 18 years have separated. Said one commentator:  "As a mother, my thoughts go to their kids."  Ummm, hello, I'm not a mother, and my first thoughts were for their three kids too!   

2 comments:

  1. Mmmmm, Skor Blizzard... Mmmmmm. I bet that was discordant to go to the cemetery with LGN. Oh jeez, I'm glad the credit card came, but I do not understand why you were blocked from your library of Kindle titles! I'm sorry some scammy jerk made things so inconvenient. Grrr.

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    Replies
    1. He wasn't with us when we went to the cemetery, but the car seat was in the car. Truly bizarre!

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