BAD Haircut Redux

Needless to say, I never heard from First Choice Haircutters after I sent an email. I went to the store in question on the corner of Price & Toledo Blade Blvds. & explained my dilemma. The same person who cut my hair (Shannon--who shouldn't be allowed to hold scissors, never mind run with them) said that since the haircut was on Jan. 6 & it was now the 24th, too bad for me. I patiently explained that I DID respond on the same day to the corporate website & got no reply. She offered to pay me $9 for the haircut ($5 tip not included) out of her own pocket. I refused, saying that I wanted $14 back & walked out of the store. I then called their 800-number & reported the gory details. They said they'd look into it & also said since the tip was "voluntary", I can kiss that refund goodbye. Seems to me that if someone is really dissatisfied with the service, you'd refund EVERYTHING. Shame on you First Choice Haircutters! BTW, she also said they never got my email. When I went to their corporate website again, I got a minimally functional page that is "under construction." The first time I went, I was able to report the incident & also enter a contest for why I should be the "Face of First Choice". HA! I posted a pic of the crappy haircut & said no one should be the face! So it's not about the money, it's about service. If you're in business & you want to be successful, the customer really is always right. Is $14 really worth me badmouthing your salon to anyone who will listen?
I went to my favorite stylist Marguerita at Great Clips & got a much better cut...

Brother Niel in the background.

Florida Home For Sale

I'm selling my Port Charlotte home, my little piece of paradise. I have an architect working on house plans for my Texas land...looking forward to retirement and organic farming an acre of land on Lake Worth.

Tired of winter? Come to sunny southwest Florida! Country living in town. Move-in ready! Close to everything yet secluded in beautiful palm & pine forest. 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2-car garage pool home on 1/4 acre. Central heating & air conditioning. Solar heated pool with large screened enclosure. Large master suite with double vanities & walk-in closet. Loads of storage including outside 10' x 12' storage shed, upper & lower cabinets in garage, kitchen pantry & large closets in spare bedrooms. Tile floors throughout for easy maintenance. Furnished living room, dining room, family room, bedrooms & most dishes/cookware. Inside laundry with washer & dryer. Appliances included. New roof in 2006. Maturing papaya, pineapple, mango & citrus. A short drive to beautiful gulf beaches. Many restaurants, a shopping mall & movie theaters within 2 miles. Port Charlotte Cultural Center, libraries & hospitals near by. $215,000.

Click for images: https://picasaweb.google.com/117590924365453556506/FloridaHomeForSale?authkey=Gv1sRgCIuP0YXYk43r5QE#

BAD Haircut

My graying hair was getting too long for my face. I thought it would be nice to have a natural neck-warmer for the winter but it was too much to take care of so off to First Choice Haircutters for my usual "bob." I was on my way to visit a friend & First Choice is around the corner from her house. I told the stylist that I wanted it undercut so it would naturally curve under without me having to spend too much time with it after shampooing. Also specifically said I wanted it longer in the front, angled along the jaw line. EEEEK! I should have suspected something when she didn't offer me the hand mirror to inspect the back. What a hack job! If the opposite of "undercut" is "overcut", that is exactly what she did. And not even layered evenly! Also cut way too much off the sides--the request for an angled cut following the jaw line fell on deaf ears. The cut is so amateurish! I called my regular stylist at Great Clips & made an appointment for the next morning. Marguerita did the best job possible but there's only so much you can do to save it...like cut it all off & wait for it to grow back. Marguerita has cut my hair perfectly in the past & I'd highly recommend her. I think she'll be taking some time off soon though--she's about 7 months pregnant!

Girls day out to Sanibel/Captiva

Got together with some old friends & drove to Sanibel & Captiva Islands off the coast of Fort Myers in Southwest Florida. We drove almost to the end of Captiva & had lunch at The Bubble Room. Their website has this to say about the place:
"This fascinating American-cuisine restaurant is composed of eye-catching memorabilia from the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's. Toy trains, twinkling colored lights, and more than 2,000 movie stills and glossies of stage and screen legends greet customers curious to see Captiva's famed restaurant.
Servers are aptly titled "Bubble Scouts," and sport zany hats and khaki uniforms covered in crazy buttons. Outside, the colorful decor of the three-story Bubble Room building makes you smile even before you enter. Once inside, you'll find a 7-foot Mickey Mouse from a 1930 Disney float and an old "Santa's Workshop" from a Macy's department store window."

The company was better than the food. The memorabilia was amazing--so much to look at. I'm sure you'd see something new each visit. Very colorful & kitsch-y. After lunch we walked on the beach near the Sanibel-Captiva bridge & picked up some shells. We would have stayed on the beach longer but it was windy & cold. We then stopped at one of the many tourist shopping malls & looked at some very nice merchandise made mostly in China. It was a fun day spent with friends & a great way to start a new year.

Happy New Year!

Drove to Fort Myers on Saturday evening with 2 of my brothers (Niel & Chico) for a little dinner party with our old friends Deb & Rich Corrus and Kathleen & Chip Sanga. Lots of laughs & catching up, reminiscing about times in Putnam, CT. Don't remember much of those days in the 60s & 70s. I left there in '73 & have no desire to ever live there again. Most of my family is still there so I visit for a few days in the summer. Feeling less inclined to go now that my mom died....I hope everyone has a very happy, healthy & prosperous 2012.

Theadora Van Runkle, Costume Designer, Dies at 83

Theadora Van Runkle, a self-taught costume designer who earned an Oscar nomination for her first picture, "Bonnie & Clyde," died of lung cancer on Friday in Los Angeles. She was 83. I worked for Thea in Gualala, CA when she & her then-husband Bruce McBroom were refurbishing The Old Milano Hotel. I haven't seen her since those wonderful days in the late '70s when I painted walls, hung wall paper & cut palings for the garden fence. The above photo is of her & "Dogwoody", a most good-natured pet. It was always so much fun being around her & Bruce--they were so kind, generous & funny. One winter before the hotel was open they let me caretake the place. When it finally opened, it had at least 7 guest rooms plus Bruce's "baby", the refurbished caboose out back that he had hauled to the property to make a private suite on the cliffs over-looking the Pacific ocean. They furnished the hotel with a lot of antique furniture they bought from an MGM auction. One night I was watching "Wuthering Heights" with Merle Oberon on TV, all snuggled up in the 4-poster bed in the master suite on a cold, wet, northern California night. In the scene at the end where Merle is swooning away in bed with Heathcliff at her side, I realized I WAS IN THE SAME BED!!! eeeek! Bruce & Thea were in France doing a Pink Panther movie with Peter Sellers (Bruce is a still photographer). They would call weekly to see if everything was all right & I asked about the bed. They had, in fact, bought it at the MGM auction. How cool is that?! Theadora was quite a lady & I'm sure she will be missed. She had a lot of style & I adored her. I searched the web for photos of The Old Milano & found a post that said it burned down in the early 2000s. How sad...Those two really put their style stamp on it.

Friends, Fired Clay, Poetry & Linking

I've recently started adding to this blog because of my old friend Mike Hiler, writer, musician & potter extrordinaire. If you're interested in various types of clay & glazes, you should check out his blog. There is also a good story about the biggest Mountain Hemlock in the universe that he & his son had nominated in the National Register of Big Trees (Yes, there really is such a thing!) Here is a picture of part of that famous tree: 27 feet 3 inches around!

New Pass-through Shelf to the Lanai

The original Formica shelf outside my kitchen window was ugly & falling apart. The particle board on the underside was crumbling more each day. I thought it was a project I could finish in half a day so off I went to Home Depot for two 2x6x8' boards & a couple of throw-away brushes. The kind gentleman at the store cut the boards to 81-1/2 inches & I headed home. I had to cut the corners off one of the boards which they don't do at HD...I used the chop saw then laid them out on the saw horse for sanding, staining, gluing & clamping.

Next I had to disassemble the old shelf. Removing the window was easy but the old rusty screws holding everything together since 1989 were frozen solid. I blistered my hand tyring to unscrew them. The left side was impossible! I tried a hammer, crowbars, a hack saw blade which I had to take off the saw because it wouldn't fit in the tiny space to work it....it did't even put a dent in that damn screw! I wrecked a wood chisel & slammed my hand on the wall when one of the tools slipped. I called a contractor friend to bitch about it which really helped 'cause I got to vent my frustrations on him for a few minutes. He has an impact drill (& man-strength) but he's in Arizona so I just ended up finally tearing the sucker off the wall & chipping away the remaining particle board. In my last blog I raved about Charlotte County Glass where I went to buy the aluminum track that the window runs on...I couldn't use the old one because the screws were rusted into the Formica shelf. Fortunately, I brought it with me & Bob (who has an impact drill and man-strength!) was able to take it apart for me. I put the first coat of varnish on at 6 p.m. & added 3 small pieces of oak flooring scrap that I got from my friend Charlie Wilson who has a wood shop outside of Hartford, CT. I glued & screwed them perpendicular to the 2 boards for extra strength. So much for a half-day project! I hung a beach towel over the open window for the night..

Got up at 7 & placed the shelf on the existing brackets that I couldn't pry off without dynamite. I put a second coat of varnish on before breakfast then rode my bike 3-1/2 miles to work to complete our mandatory annual nursing skills testing. I guess I passed--I still have a job. I got home around 1 p.m. after stopping at Lowes for a few more throw-away brushes. Third & last coat of varnish was applied & clean-up started. By 4 p.m. everything was back together & put away. It's been really warm so I jumped in the pool to celebrate completion of my half-day project!

Charlotte County Glass Rave

I'm replacing the deteriorating pass-through counter from the kitchen window to the lanai (pictures to follow in the next blog). Lots of old rusty screws holding everything in place--really hard getting it apart. Finally ripped the old counter out & tried to unscrew the aluminum track that the window slides on. No freakin' way could I loosen the rusted  screws so I thought I'd go buy another track. Charlotte County Glass at 1146 Market Circle sells everything for windows & doors plus probably lots of other stuff. I told the woman in the office what I was looking for & said I brought the counter with me so I could get the right brand & size. She sent Bob out to look at it & he said he has an impact driver & will be able to remove the track from the counter. So YAHOO! I tried to pay him for his time but he refused. That's great service. Thank you Charlotte County Glass! I've bought glass from them before & they're always very helpful.

Build/Paint Projects

 I've been building small tables & shelves the past few years, partly out of necessity but now more for the fun of it. Friends always ask why I don't sell them 'cause "they're so cute!" I guess I like them too much. and I could never get enough money for the time that goes into each one. I'm thinking about building something much bigger---like a dining room table or a TV cabinet...