Our story did not end with the second person who claimed to want the piano and it will not end with the third, but I will lead through the rest of our piano giveaway adventure.
The third people in line were a family with seven children whom they wished to instruct in the art of playing the piano. They had emailed us, so I happily emailed them and informed them that it was their lucky day, the piano was now indeed theirs if they chose to come and pick it up. Then I waited for their reply. And waited and waited some more. Then I got the reply. Remember the loose leg on the piano? The one that probably just needed a dowel to be able to use the screw again or a good dose of glue?? The one we had described in our ad? Well, it seems that the father of this family had written to us, but the mother was afraid the piano would fall on one of her precious offspring (keep in mind that it hadn't even wobbled once in the 2 years we had this piano, the leg was only an issue when moving the piano...like relocating it to a new house). So this family no longer wanted this piano. I did compose an email to them after piano taker number 4 fell through, although I never sent it. The main idea of the email said something like this, "the piano is very stable once in place in your home, so unless your seven children plan to drag the piano around the house every day, I don't see the leg as being a problem for you." I deleted that email, but it sure felt good to write it, even if they never saw it.
Piano taker # 4. A woman named Tina who lived about 50 minutes away and again was someone who was going to rely on a friend with a pickup to help her get our piano. We set up a time that her friend had agreed to the next day after contacting her. The next day arrived and she said she was coming and then at the last minute she says her friend can't make it that day, could we make it the next day? We said, fine and said to let us know what time would work. The next day we get an email saying she will be coming around 6 in the evening, she confirmed it with her friend, they are getting ready to leave. 6 o'clock comes and she's not here and she hasn't called. Colin checks the email and sure enough, we have an email from her saying she would have called, but she doesn't have long distance and her calling card was all used up, her friend had bailed on at the last second. She was very nice and apologized, telling us we had been very patient and that if we still had the piano on June 12th, she would rent a U-Haul truck and come get the piano. June 12th??? We certainly hoped it would be gone by then!
So we moved on to taker # 5. A man in Puyallup (huh, the spell check hates that one...you say it Pew-Al-lup, it's a town out here). This man promised to call at 4:30 the next day when he got off work and then head out to get the piano. 4:30 the next day, he didn't call, so Colin called him and got nothing. I called and I believe he answered, but then he hung up. I called back and left a voice mail saying you can call us or we're moving on down the list. That wasn't entirely true. We wanted to move on down the list, but didn't have any more names.
When Colin got home that night I asked him to please list the piano on 2 good 2 toss, which is a little more local than Craigslist, which is where we got all but one of the lovely people we had dealt with so far. I had wanted him to list it on there in the first place, but he had listed it on Craigslist and one other local site and figured it was good enough, which it usually is, but it wasn't this time. So Colin posted it to the site and then we went to the table for dinner. That night at dinner, I not only prayed a blessing over the food, I prayed about giving away that silly piano. I prayed that God would send the right people for this piano, someone who had a real need for it. I told him how frustrated we were with the whole process and that we just wanted to be done and know that the piano was somewhere being put to use. We ate our dinner and after dinner, Colin checked our email. We had an email from a woman in our OWN town wanting to know if her family could take a look at it the next night. So we made the arrangements and gave them directions and waited with baited breath to see if this was it. The next evening arrived and so did the dad and grandpa from this family with a boat trailer and lots of straps for tying down a piano. It turned out to be the girls softball coach from the local high school whose daughter was taking piano lessons from one of the music teachers, but only had a tiny keyboard to practice on. And that loose leg?? Not a problem according to the grandpa, he'd just use some gorilla glue and it wouldn't be going anywhere. And so we watched them strap the piano in and then we stood back and watched it drive off into the sunset, knowing that God had just answered prayers for both parties involved with the giving and receiving of this piano.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
To Continue the Story...
So, after a long delay, back to the story. Piano taker #2. We called him right away after the first people didn't come for the piano. He seemed very excited to get the piano and he was coming quite a way to get it. He told us he could pick it up the next day, which was Memorial Day.
Memorial Day came and we didn't hear from Shane (that was his name) so we called him. He said he still wanted the piano, but he had forgotten it was Memorial Day and his buddy was doing some things in honor of the day and wouldn't be able to bring Shane to get the piano (I haven't mentioned this, but Shane didn't drive, so a buddy had a truck and was going to bring him to get the piano). He wondered if it would be okay to come the next day around 10 am. Colin wanted to be home whenever the person came to get the piano so we told Shane that it would be better if he could come in the evening around 6:45pm. He agreed, so we were all set, or so we thought.
The next day 6:45 pm rolls around and no Shane, no phone call, nothing. So we called the number we had for him which was his cellphone. A man answered the cellphone (who sounded a lot like Shane, but claimed to be his brother). He told us Shane had already left, but had forgotten his cellphone. He promised to try to get a hold of his brother and call us back. He didn't call us back and Shane didn't show up. We decided we would call the number again the next day.
The next day I called and got the same man. The "brother". He said "He never arrived? I thought he was staying with some friends in a town near where you live. I know he's kind of crazy, er, uh, not crazy, um different. I guess I'd better start calling around to the jails. I'll call you back and let you know what's going on."
Well, that conversation sure made me feel good about having this strange guy coming to my house! I don't know about you, but when I can't find someone, the jail is NOT the first place I start looking! Of course, the "brother" never called back, not that I really wanted him too!
So...he was either really one person messing with us, a nice split personality person, or one very strange person who went missing on the way to pick up our piano! I didn't know the Bermuda triangle was in Washington state!
Unfortunately, this was not the end of our quest to give away a piano (although probably the strangest experience). I will conclude the story another day soon!
Memorial Day came and we didn't hear from Shane (that was his name) so we called him. He said he still wanted the piano, but he had forgotten it was Memorial Day and his buddy was doing some things in honor of the day and wouldn't be able to bring Shane to get the piano (I haven't mentioned this, but Shane didn't drive, so a buddy had a truck and was going to bring him to get the piano). He wondered if it would be okay to come the next day around 10 am. Colin wanted to be home whenever the person came to get the piano so we told Shane that it would be better if he could come in the evening around 6:45pm. He agreed, so we were all set, or so we thought.
The next day 6:45 pm rolls around and no Shane, no phone call, nothing. So we called the number we had for him which was his cellphone. A man answered the cellphone (who sounded a lot like Shane, but claimed to be his brother). He told us Shane had already left, but had forgotten his cellphone. He promised to try to get a hold of his brother and call us back. He didn't call us back and Shane didn't show up. We decided we would call the number again the next day.
The next day I called and got the same man. The "brother". He said "He never arrived? I thought he was staying with some friends in a town near where you live. I know he's kind of crazy, er, uh, not crazy, um different. I guess I'd better start calling around to the jails. I'll call you back and let you know what's going on."
Well, that conversation sure made me feel good about having this strange guy coming to my house! I don't know about you, but when I can't find someone, the jail is NOT the first place I start looking! Of course, the "brother" never called back, not that I really wanted him too!
So...he was either really one person messing with us, a nice split personality person, or one very strange person who went missing on the way to pick up our piano! I didn't know the Bermuda triangle was in Washington state!
Unfortunately, this was not the end of our quest to give away a piano (although probably the strangest experience). I will conclude the story another day soon!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Great Piano Giveaway
I see that I entirely missed the whole month of May with this blog. It makes sense, the calendar at our house for the month of May was, as Colin puts it "covered in blue ink". I think there were only a couple of days where we didn't have something going or somewhere to be, sometimes multiple places in the same day. I am thankful June is here and the schedule isn't quite as booked anymore.
So, the piano. I'm sure you were just starting to wonder when I was going to get around to the topic of this post. The answer is, right now. And our story begins.
Early in May I saw a posting on my email from my homeschool group from one of my friends saying she was giving away her spinet piano. I quickly emailed and called and left a message for her, but I figured it was probably already spoken for since it had been posted to the loop a couple of hours prior to my discovery. It wasn't and she called me and told me it was mine if I wanted it (which we've already established that I did).
Now, we already had a piano that we had gotten free two years ago that was in fair condition, not great, but most of the work it could use was cosmetic and it needed tuning and probably a little work on the keys. I hadn't had it tuned because I was scared the tuner would tell me it needed more repairs than I could afford.
So now we were the owners of two pianos. One needed to go. Our schedule and my friend's schedule weren't matching up for about 3 weeks, so we had plenty of time to post it and give it away, right? Wrong. We put it off until the day we were supposed to pick up the new piano. Colin posted it on Freecycle and Craigslist. He asked responders to call (I prefer email, it's easier to sort). This is when the craziness started.
Our first caller was eager to pick up the piano the next day, so we told them they could have the piano. We forgot to ask what time they planned to arrive but, we figured we'd just call and ask the next day. A good plan, but it didn't work. They had used a neighbor's cell phone so when we called we got the neighbor. We asked him to contact them. We tried twice, but they never called back. So we moved on to the next person on the list who turned out to be an even more interesting experience than the first person on the list.
I will continue our saga tomorrow.
So, the piano. I'm sure you were just starting to wonder when I was going to get around to the topic of this post. The answer is, right now. And our story begins.
Early in May I saw a posting on my email from my homeschool group from one of my friends saying she was giving away her spinet piano. I quickly emailed and called and left a message for her, but I figured it was probably already spoken for since it had been posted to the loop a couple of hours prior to my discovery. It wasn't and she called me and told me it was mine if I wanted it (which we've already established that I did).
Now, we already had a piano that we had gotten free two years ago that was in fair condition, not great, but most of the work it could use was cosmetic and it needed tuning and probably a little work on the keys. I hadn't had it tuned because I was scared the tuner would tell me it needed more repairs than I could afford.
So now we were the owners of two pianos. One needed to go. Our schedule and my friend's schedule weren't matching up for about 3 weeks, so we had plenty of time to post it and give it away, right? Wrong. We put it off until the day we were supposed to pick up the new piano. Colin posted it on Freecycle and Craigslist. He asked responders to call (I prefer email, it's easier to sort). This is when the craziness started.
Our first caller was eager to pick up the piano the next day, so we told them they could have the piano. We forgot to ask what time they planned to arrive but, we figured we'd just call and ask the next day. A good plan, but it didn't work. They had used a neighbor's cell phone so when we called we got the neighbor. We asked him to contact them. We tried twice, but they never called back. So we moved on to the next person on the list who turned out to be an even more interesting experience than the first person on the list.
I will continue our saga tomorrow.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
The Guinea Pig
Well, it looks like I've been slacking in the blogging department (notice I said "looks like", just wanted to clarify that). I have thought of many different things to blog about, but either didn't sit down and blog or got interrupted when I was trying and by the time I returned, the thoughts were gone. Maybe it's just that my brain is starting to function better now that my thyroid medication has been increased. Even though I'm fighting a sinus infection and I've only had the new dose for two days, I have noticed a little improvement.
Of course, you are probably sitting there, reading this and thinking "what does that have to do with a guinea pig?". Nothing. Absolutely nothing, but it's about me, so I put it in to get you caught up with me. Now on to our topic.
We had a sort of reoccurring mentioning of guinea pigs around here for the past year or two. First, we found these cute books about a classroom guinea pig named Fluffy. Ian adores these books. Fluffy, of course so no ordinary guinea pig, he has wild adventures! Then we recently watched Bedtime Stories, which has a guinea pig in it. I had a guinea pig in high school thanks to a friend who bought one for herself and ended up buying a pregnant female.
Fast forward to present day. I had been thinking it would be fun for our family to have a guinea pig (in addition to two dogs). Then a friend posted on our homeschool group email that she was giving away two guinea pigs. I decided that we should get one. I thought I should hurry and contact her before someone else claimed them. I needn't have worried. I spoke to my friend and after talking to her decided that we would like to have her female guinea pig. As far as I know, she's still trying to give away the male. We got our guinea pig Friday afternoon after we had shopped for a cage and other things for her. I'm not quite sure what her name is...we've had several so far. I think we started with Calliope (Callie for short). We've also called her Snuggles, Jenny, Miss Guinea, Miss Piggy and Bunny Rabbit. I'm sure something will stick at some point!
What cracks me up is how much Colin is enjoying the guinea pig. The idea was to get something that Ian could help with a little more than the dogs. He's still working on being able to pick up the guinea pig carefully. Colin, however, gets the guinea pig out and cuddles with her...it's very cute!
Of course, the guinea pig is already super spoiled! In her out house she lived in a large box. At our house she lives in a very nice cage with an edible "log" (it looks like a log but it's made of stuff she can eat, not that she does). She also has a stack of wooden blocks to chew on with a bell attached and if she's tired of her cage, we have a kiddie pool she can run around in. She seems to like the kiddie pool better than running around on the floor. She's a lot more fun than my first guinea pig. I think that's because I'm not the only one interested in what she's doing and taking care of her. It's more fun because we're taking care of her as a family.
I'll let you know if we finally decide on a name!
Of course, you are probably sitting there, reading this and thinking "what does that have to do with a guinea pig?". Nothing. Absolutely nothing, but it's about me, so I put it in to get you caught up with me. Now on to our topic.
We had a sort of reoccurring mentioning of guinea pigs around here for the past year or two. First, we found these cute books about a classroom guinea pig named Fluffy. Ian adores these books. Fluffy, of course so no ordinary guinea pig, he has wild adventures! Then we recently watched Bedtime Stories, which has a guinea pig in it. I had a guinea pig in high school thanks to a friend who bought one for herself and ended up buying a pregnant female.
Fast forward to present day. I had been thinking it would be fun for our family to have a guinea pig (in addition to two dogs). Then a friend posted on our homeschool group email that she was giving away two guinea pigs. I decided that we should get one. I thought I should hurry and contact her before someone else claimed them. I needn't have worried. I spoke to my friend and after talking to her decided that we would like to have her female guinea pig. As far as I know, she's still trying to give away the male. We got our guinea pig Friday afternoon after we had shopped for a cage and other things for her. I'm not quite sure what her name is...we've had several so far. I think we started with Calliope (Callie for short). We've also called her Snuggles, Jenny, Miss Guinea, Miss Piggy and Bunny Rabbit. I'm sure something will stick at some point!
What cracks me up is how much Colin is enjoying the guinea pig. The idea was to get something that Ian could help with a little more than the dogs. He's still working on being able to pick up the guinea pig carefully. Colin, however, gets the guinea pig out and cuddles with her...it's very cute!
Of course, the guinea pig is already super spoiled! In her out house she lived in a large box. At our house she lives in a very nice cage with an edible "log" (it looks like a log but it's made of stuff she can eat, not that she does). She also has a stack of wooden blocks to chew on with a bell attached and if she's tired of her cage, we have a kiddie pool she can run around in. She seems to like the kiddie pool better than running around on the floor. She's a lot more fun than my first guinea pig. I think that's because I'm not the only one interested in what she's doing and taking care of her. It's more fun because we're taking care of her as a family.
I'll let you know if we finally decide on a name!
Monday, April 6, 2009
A Taste of Spring
Life in my area has been winter-like for quite some time now. Even the arrival of spring did little to change that. Last week on Ian's birthday we had rain mixed with snow.
Today, however, was a taste of something new. Spring! Over the weekend the sun had come out and the temperatures climbed into the 60's. People came out of their homes after what seemed a long hibernation. Today was the climax of the nice days. 70 degrees, sunshine, birds singing and the hummingbirds zipping through my yard. We put out the hummingbird feeder last night and it didn't take long for them to find it. I did research to find the best sugar solution and found that a solution of 60/40 sugar/water will attract them quicker because it has more nutrients for them. Now I need to buy another feeder. I did more research and found that once the male hummingbirds decide they like your feeder and your yard, they will chase off other hummingbirds. They were already doing that today. Ian and I sat on our front porch and watched them. Fascinating.
Appropriately enough, Ian and I are on spring break this week. So Ian enjoyed a day of playing with his Legos, watching some Veggie Tales, playing on his fort and being read to from the book Ellen Tebbits by Beverly Cleary (she's the author, I was the one reading to him).
I didn't know we really needed this break until we were already on spring break, but we needed it. A break paired with a sunny day is pure joy to my soul. I feel renewed, ready to tackle new projects and maybe finish some old ones!
We even cooked out for dinner. I think today was one of those days that if you could bottle it and bring it out again and again, I would. I will take it for what it is...a gift from God. Thanks, God! I needed a day like today!
Today, however, was a taste of something new. Spring! Over the weekend the sun had come out and the temperatures climbed into the 60's. People came out of their homes after what seemed a long hibernation. Today was the climax of the nice days. 70 degrees, sunshine, birds singing and the hummingbirds zipping through my yard. We put out the hummingbird feeder last night and it didn't take long for them to find it. I did research to find the best sugar solution and found that a solution of 60/40 sugar/water will attract them quicker because it has more nutrients for them. Now I need to buy another feeder. I did more research and found that once the male hummingbirds decide they like your feeder and your yard, they will chase off other hummingbirds. They were already doing that today. Ian and I sat on our front porch and watched them. Fascinating.
Appropriately enough, Ian and I are on spring break this week. So Ian enjoyed a day of playing with his Legos, watching some Veggie Tales, playing on his fort and being read to from the book Ellen Tebbits by Beverly Cleary (she's the author, I was the one reading to him).
I didn't know we really needed this break until we were already on spring break, but we needed it. A break paired with a sunny day is pure joy to my soul. I feel renewed, ready to tackle new projects and maybe finish some old ones!
We even cooked out for dinner. I think today was one of those days that if you could bottle it and bring it out again and again, I would. I will take it for what it is...a gift from God. Thanks, God! I needed a day like today!
Monday, March 16, 2009
In Case You Were Wondering...
Just in case you were wondering how my last story gave glory to God or delighted in him, I'll remind you that I did say that I would still share stories. That being said, I find much delight in my last story.
God provided that big goofy dog for our family (she was born on the same day that Ian accepted Jesus as his savior, when we didn't even know we would be looking for a dog). I know that God has a sense of humor or he never would have made Dilly. She is huge, but afraid of things like laundry baskets and big objects being carried through the house. Don't pick up and move a chair in our house unless you want to see a 60 lb. dog run like a chicken! She's also afraid of the vacuum cleaner!
She has provided our family with much laughter and an unconditional love that's so sweet. It's nice to have something love you just because you are you and that's what she does for our whole family. So when I share a funny story about Dilly or Buster or anyone in my family, I am giving glory to God because without him, they wouldn't be here!
God provided that big goofy dog for our family (she was born on the same day that Ian accepted Jesus as his savior, when we didn't even know we would be looking for a dog). I know that God has a sense of humor or he never would have made Dilly. She is huge, but afraid of things like laundry baskets and big objects being carried through the house. Don't pick up and move a chair in our house unless you want to see a 60 lb. dog run like a chicken! She's also afraid of the vacuum cleaner!
She has provided our family with much laughter and an unconditional love that's so sweet. It's nice to have something love you just because you are you and that's what she does for our whole family. So when I share a funny story about Dilly or Buster or anyone in my family, I am giving glory to God because without him, they wouldn't be here!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
A Well Buttered Dog
Last night I finally had enough energy to attempt to make dinner. After a few days of the stomach flu it was no wonder that meals hadn't seemed very appealing to me, especially not cooking them. So I made some very easy porcupine meatballs and buttered noodles and broccoli. We ate dinner, which everyone seemed to enjoy very well and then headed off to various pursuits in our home. I sat on the couch to try to find something on TV to watch as Colin helped Ian with the new Lego he had purchased the previous evening (he had earned by finishing his new Awana workbook in two weeks).
After a little work on the Lego project it was time for Ian to go to bed, so we read him his devotion and tucked him in. Colin got his computer and I returned to the couch to rest as I still wasn't feeling very energetic after the flu. As I sat I listened to Dilly drinking water, which seemed to be taking a long time. I realized that the sound of the dog drinking water sounded funny. So I called her. "Here Dilly". To which I received no response, which made me all the more suspicious so I said in a stern voice (the one that says...I know what you are doing and YOU are in trouble) "Dilly!" She came running out of the kitchen and went straight into her crate. Now I knew she had been up to something and went into the kitchen to investigate. At first, nothing seemed out of place. Then I saw it, a butter wrapper with a tiny sliver of butter on it in the corner by the stove and the garage door. The truth was revealed to me and I called to Colin to share this great tragedy with him. He walked into the kitchen and I said "Do you know what that dog did?" He gave me a look which clearly stated that no, he did not have the foggiest idea what had happened. "She ate butter!" I told him. In fact, even without having seen her take the butter with my own eyes, I knew exactly what had happened.
When I made the noodles for dinner they were done before the meatballs and so I had taken a new stick of butter and set it on the counter and used about a third of the stick to butter the noodles and I had left the butter on the counter. Dilly has tried in the past without much success to swipe butter from the table (as long as it's still sitting in the wrapper). She's so tall that she acts like a giraffe and uses her tongue to try to get it. Never mind the fact that if she would stand on her hind legs she would be taller than me, she reaches with her tongue until she can get something or we catch her in the act. She had used her tongue to slide that butter right off the counter and onto the floor for her own butter feast. The sound I had heard was Dilly licking that butter. She licked it all the way across our kitchen until she reached a corner where it couldn't move anymore and that's when I caught her.
Now the whole time I was explaining this to Colin, Ian kept popping up out of bed and we kept sending him back. He would pop up again and open his door and say "Finish the story!" He wanted to hear all the details of Dilly crime.
Well, Dilly and her crate were banished to the garage for the rest of the evening and into the next morning because I wasn't willing to find out what two thirds of a stick of butter do to a dog. Well, at least not in my living room!
And do you know what Colin said when I was muttering about Dilly being a giraffe? He told me "She's your dog. You're the one who wanted her!" He's right, too. She is my dog and she's great, but she certainly makes life interesting around here!
After a little work on the Lego project it was time for Ian to go to bed, so we read him his devotion and tucked him in. Colin got his computer and I returned to the couch to rest as I still wasn't feeling very energetic after the flu. As I sat I listened to Dilly drinking water, which seemed to be taking a long time. I realized that the sound of the dog drinking water sounded funny. So I called her. "Here Dilly". To which I received no response, which made me all the more suspicious so I said in a stern voice (the one that says...I know what you are doing and YOU are in trouble) "Dilly!" She came running out of the kitchen and went straight into her crate. Now I knew she had been up to something and went into the kitchen to investigate. At first, nothing seemed out of place. Then I saw it, a butter wrapper with a tiny sliver of butter on it in the corner by the stove and the garage door. The truth was revealed to me and I called to Colin to share this great tragedy with him. He walked into the kitchen and I said "Do you know what that dog did?" He gave me a look which clearly stated that no, he did not have the foggiest idea what had happened. "She ate butter!" I told him. In fact, even without having seen her take the butter with my own eyes, I knew exactly what had happened.
When I made the noodles for dinner they were done before the meatballs and so I had taken a new stick of butter and set it on the counter and used about a third of the stick to butter the noodles and I had left the butter on the counter. Dilly has tried in the past without much success to swipe butter from the table (as long as it's still sitting in the wrapper). She's so tall that she acts like a giraffe and uses her tongue to try to get it. Never mind the fact that if she would stand on her hind legs she would be taller than me, she reaches with her tongue until she can get something or we catch her in the act. She had used her tongue to slide that butter right off the counter and onto the floor for her own butter feast. The sound I had heard was Dilly licking that butter. She licked it all the way across our kitchen until she reached a corner where it couldn't move anymore and that's when I caught her.
Now the whole time I was explaining this to Colin, Ian kept popping up out of bed and we kept sending him back. He would pop up again and open his door and say "Finish the story!" He wanted to hear all the details of Dilly crime.
Well, Dilly and her crate were banished to the garage for the rest of the evening and into the next morning because I wasn't willing to find out what two thirds of a stick of butter do to a dog. Well, at least not in my living room!
And do you know what Colin said when I was muttering about Dilly being a giraffe? He told me "She's your dog. You're the one who wanted her!" He's right, too. She is my dog and she's great, but she certainly makes life interesting around here!
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