BALLARD DESIGNS......UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL.

How many of you ladies get this catalog in the mail on a regular basis....???
I always assumed they were based here in Atlanta but I was wrong....They are from West Chester Ohio...
Only familiar with their two outlet stores here in town I have never
been a fan.
I used to look through every catalog that came but was never thrilled with the.....(I'm going to say it)....cheapness....of it's
appearance....bad photographs....too much print....thin paper.
always reminds me of those cheap clothing catalogs that show up just as often....
Even at their outlets the prices are high but at least in person the stores are nicely laid out.
I have noticed that the furniture.... that is usually in the back in the clearance area.... more then likely is returned merchandise...
looks like it is cheaply made....so now those catalogs just get thrown in the trash.
Until the other day on Facebook when I saw an ad for their new....as of July.....retail store in the warehouse district of Atlanta....
Planning a day with crazy friend Joyce and not wanting to go to
IKEA.... where we cause chaos....
I suggested we check out the new Ballard Designs Retail Store..

One Word.....Fabulous.....

being a lover of blue that was the first thing we saw when we walked into this huge beautiful retail establishment...

I fell in love with with wrought iron chandelier
right in the front window....
A salesperson seeing me oohing and aahing....
quickly came over and offered to check stock....
Not ready to buy...but a great price at $499.

thinking of our friend Rose....she will probably be hand painting
her own pumpkins this year as she is also the
Queen of all thing Blue...
And she can paint!!
Our only complaint was most of the merchandise had price tags
if you could find them but they were very hard to read...
Joyce spent the whole time taking cell phone pics of the
bottom of the items to then check the price...

I was very impressed with this particular sofa...
Beautiful heavy duty tweed fabric...
I think it was around $2400. with 25% off...
And it was super comfy...

If it's red I love it!!
How cute are these dishes...

something even for the Flamingo Lovers....

little salt and pepper thingies....
I don't know what the one hanging from his mouth is for
But very cute...

pig salt and pepper shakers...

many many beautiful chandeliers.....

bringing back "spool" furniture....

a nice large cow print....

we both loved these hanging baskets.....
there were many baskets of various sizes and styles...

this was very cool for $100.00
a very long memory foam floor mat for your kitchen....
I have one I bought at Williams Sonoma but it's small
so I'm constantly tripping over it when I'm moving
about cooking...
I loved that this was so large....
they also had them with a laundry room theme.

Red Desk! Love Red! 

eye candy for women who love decorating....

How cute is this for the working women....
I could use one that says....
"Out of the Kitchen"....

Two Words....How adorable.

Ditto....

wood bowl of twine!

pretty bed but look closer.....

A Wooden Bird perched on the headboard...

a "spool" bed in black...

a very large copper tray with Napoleon's Bee...

Now your talking my language....
Animal prints....

I knew I was ahead of the trend....

And people made fun and thought I was crazy when
for my birthday this year....
the Boss bought me.....

The real thing.....
I love taxidermy.....
I did not kill anything.....I adore animals of all kinds...
Have taxidermy all over the house....
including 2 Deer.....a Buffalo....and an Antelope....

the Zebra and Antelope came from the collection of an
elderly man who was a big game hunter in Africa....
purchased from a very legitimate business in town...
They are fabulous....

Back to Ballard....they sell all sorts of things that can be
Monogrammed....

loved this mirror....it was on a big stand....

Almost through walking around the store....
I noticed this beautiful tablescape.

I also saw this beautiful leather recliner....I could use two of those!
It was priced at $1399.00....the leather looked like a nice
quality....

A nice touch as we wandered around....
We were offered a cold drink by one of the employees...
This is the South and everybody believes in
Hospitality.....
Plus it was like 100 degrees outside .... 

Before leaving Joyce took my picture in the Zebra chair.....
I texted it to the Boss who promptly said....
"If you want it go ahead and get it"....
He does that....which is how I ended up with the
Antelope and the Zebra in the first place.....
By now we were ready for lunch and since it
was Joyce's treat and my choice I opted for the best
Pizza in Atlanta....

ANTICO!

So the moral of the day at
Ballard Designs is......
"Don't judge a catalog by its cover"
Or it's pictures...
or it's print...
or the quality of the paper
it's printed on...
I came I saw I loved....
I recommend...
The pizza on the other hand
is highly recommended
But unless you live in the ATL
your out of luck....
HAPPY
CATALOG
SHOPPING.

SUE'S OWN "ME TOO" MOVEMENT......

I'M STARTING A NEW "ME TOO" MOVEMENT  IN PROTEST OF
ALL WORKMEN..... SERVICE TECHNICIANS....
APPLIANCE REPAIR MEN....MECHANICS AND
IN TODAYS CASE....
THE POOL REPAIR GUY.....
I KNOW THIS IS LONG BUT FOR MY REALTOR ANET....SHE KNOWS TO READ ALL THE WAY TO THE END FOR THE PUNCH LINE...
AND TODAY THIS ONE IS A REAL DOOZY....

NOW THIS MIGHT NOT APPLY TO MANY READING THIS BUT I'M SURE YOU HAVE ALL BEEN THERE....IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER...
THIS COULD HAVE BEEN JUST A SIMPLE FACEBOOK POST
BUT WHAT HAPPENED WAS SO RIDICULOUS IN THE
MEN VS. WOMEN CATEGORY
THAT IT DESERVES IT'S OWN BLOG POST...

WE HAD A BAD WINTER THIS YEAR AND WE DO HAVE THE FOUR SEASONS
HERE IN GEORGIA....BUT WE STILL ARE ABLE TO KEEP THE POOL
OPEN ALL YEAR...WHICH ONLY MEANS IT DOESN'T GET COVERED.
IT'S SALT WATER SO COME SPRING WE JUST CRANK UP THE HEAT AND IT'S GOOD
TO GO....
BUT IT GETS A LITTLE BATHTUB LOOKING RING AROUND THE TILES
 SO EVERY FEW YEARS WE NEED TO GET THEM CLEANED....

OUR USUAL COMPANY NO LONGER OFFERS THIS SERVICE SO I CALLED TO GET
A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE FOLKS WHO PUT THE POOL IN.......
I CALLED "POOL GUY #1" AND LEFT A MESSAGE BUT MADE THE MISTAKE
OF SAYING...."IT'S NOT A BIG JOB THE POOL IS ONLY 4 FEET DEEP"....
OF COURSE I NEVER HEARD FROM THE GUY....

WHICH LED ME TO "POOL GUY #2".....
I LEAVE A MESSAGE FOR "HENRY" AND SURE ENOUGH HE CALLS BACK...
OF COURSE HE DID....BECAUSE HENRY PROBABLY HASN'T HAD WORK
IN YEARS....
WHEN I RETURN HIS CALL HE ANSWERS THE PHONE WITH A DIFFERENT NAME...
HE CALLS HIMSELF "CHRIS" BUT WHEN I ASK FOR HENRY HE SAYS IT'S HIM...
IT SEEMS
 CHRIS IS HIS NICKNAME.....OKAY...BUT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A CLUE...

HE TELLS ME HE WILL CALL ME SUNDAY NIGHT AND COME OUT THIS WEEK EITHER TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY....I TELL HIM IN DETAIL....LET ME REPEAT THAT....
I TELL HIM IN DETAIL WHAT I NEED DONE...
TILE CLEANED IN BOTH POOL AND SPA AND IT'S REALLY A ONE MAN JOB
BECUASE IT'S ONLY 4 FEET DEEP (I'M AFRAID OF WATER, IT'S A THERAPY POOL)
I ADDED IT SHOULD NOT TAKE ONE MAN MORE THEN A COUPLE OF HOURS TO DO...
HE TELLS ME IT WILL BE HIM AND HIS ASSISTANT...HE SHOULD HAVE LEFT OFF THE
"ISTANT" PART OF THAT WORD....IN ANY CASE...HE NEVER CALLS SUNDAY...
I CALL HIM TUESDAY AND HE TELLS ME HIS SISTER IS DYING....HE'S SORRY HE DIDN'T CALL.....
CLUE #2.....
I ONCE AGAIN REPEAT MYSELF ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE POOL EVEN INCLUDING THAT IT'S ONLY 10,000 GALLONS AND 4 FEET DEEP...I NEED THE TILES CLEANED.
HE QUOTES ME BETWEEN $150 AND $250 TO BE DETERMINED WHEN HE
GETS TO THE HOUSE...IT IS A SMALL JOB SO THE PRICE DID NOT ALERT ME...

HE IS SUPPOSE TO SHOW TODAY BETWEEN ONE AND THREE...
I GO OFF TO ART CLASS LEAVING THE BOSS TO PAY HIM BUT I TELL THE BOSS
I HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS GUY...
THE BOSS TELLS ME....
"THEN WHY AREN'T YOU STAYING HOME TO DEAL WITH HIM".....
WELL.....GOOD POINT...BUT I HAVE ART CLASS...
NOW I HAVE BEEN WANTING TO TELL OFF A MAN FOR MONTHS NOW...
I HAVE JUST REACHED THE POINT WHERE I HAVE HAD IT....
YOU HAVE ALL BEEN THERE...

THE CAR DEALER WHO TELLS YOU HE DOESN'T HEAR ANY NOISE....
THE WASHING MACHINE REPAIR GUY WHO TELLS YOU...
"I DON'T SEE ANYTHING WRONG"....
HOW ABOUT THAT CABLE GUY...YOU KNOW THE ONE WITH THE BUTT CRACK
THAT TELLS YOU.....
"IT'S WORKING FINE FOR ME....MAYBE IT'S SOMETHING "YOUR" DOING WRONG"....
HOW ABOUT AT CHRISTMAS WHEN THE SEWER BACKED UP IN OUR LAUNDRY ROOM AND THE GUY HAD TO COME BACK THREE TIMES IN TWO DAYS BECAUSE HE DIDN'T BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAID I STILL HEARD GURGLING....

WELL TODAY WAS THE DAY I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR FOR MONTHS...
THE DAY THE BOSS WALKED AWAY LEAVING ME TO MY OWN DEVICES....
TO INSULT....
BE RUDE... AND SAY EVERYTHING SHORT OF CALLING
"THE POOL GUY"
AN A$$....HOLE
HE SHOWS UP WITH HIS ASSISTANT AND A DOG THAT HE LEAVES IN THE TRUCK...
THE DOG...NOT THE ASSISTANT....NOW IT WAS PROBABLY IN THE 80'S HERE TODAY
AND THIS POOR LITTLE DOG WAS NOT HAPPY....
HE TELLS THE BOSS HE CAN DO THE JOB FOR $150.00 THEN PROCEEDS TO GET INTO THE POOL AND START THROWING ACID ON THE STONE UNDER THE WATERFALL...
HE CLAIMS TO HIS ASSISTANT (WHO WAS SITTING ON A LOUNGE CHAIR)
THAT HE GOT SOME IN HIS EYES AND ON HIS SKIN....
OKAY.....IT'S ACID...
HE MAKES A LOT OF NOISE SPLASHING WATER ON HIMSELF AS I KEEP AN EYE OUT THE KITCHEN WINDOW WHILE I'M COOKING....
15 MINUTES LATER THE ASSISTANT COMES TO THE BACK DOOR TO
SAY THEY WERE DONE AND WOULD LIKE TO BE PAID...
HOW DID I KNOW WHAT WAS COMING....

I GO OUT AND THIS BIG FAT SLOB WITH TWO PIRATE EARRINGS IS GETTING OUT
OF THE POOL.....I ASK "WHAT ABOUT THE TILE????"
TO WHICH I GET THIS....

"WHAT TILE? I WAS HERE TO CLEAN OFF THE WHITE RESIDUE ON JUST WHAT YOU TOLD ME ON THE. PHONE....YOU SAID YOU HAD A 3FT X 4FT AREA THAT NEEDED TO BE CLEANED....THAT'S WHAT I DID".....PLUS THAT TILE CAN'T BE CLEANED...THE WHOLE POOL NEEDS TO BE DRAINED"
"YOU ALSO TOLD ME THE POOL WAS ABOUT TEN YEARS OLD AND I TOLD YOU
I COULD DO IT BUT NOT TODAY"....

THAT DID IT.....AT THAT POINT THE BOSS WHO WAS LISTENING FROM THE SIDELINES EXITS THE PATIO AND GOES IN TO THE HOUSE....
I WENT NUTS...AND SUE NEVER GOES NUTS...
I LOOKED AT THAT GUY AND SAID
"WHAT ARE YOU NUTS...I NEVER SAID ANY OF THOSE THINGS"...
"I TOLD YOU MULTIPLE TIMES THE SIZE OF THE POOL...THE GALLONS....THE TILES...YOUR NOT SERIOUS".....
HE LOOKED AT ME WITH THIS HURT SHOCKED LOOK AND SAID...
"ARE YOU UPSET ABOUT SOMETHING???? I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE UPSET"

TO WHICH I REPLIED A SIMPLE...
"DO YOU THINK".....
WELL...I DIDN'T SEE SUE'S FACE BUT THE BOSS SAID I WAS HOLDING MY OWN IN THIS MAN VS. WOMEN
WAR OF WORDS AND HE THOUGHT I WAS DOING JUST FINE ON MY OWN...
THE GUY WAS SO "SHOCKED" THAT I WOULD QUESTION HIS INTEGRITY AND THE THOUSANDS OF POOLS HE HAS CLEANED THAT HE SAID HE WOULD NOT
CHARGE ME....AS LONG AS I GAVE HIM ANOTHER CHANCE....
I OFFERED TO PAY HIM SOMETHING BUT HE REFUSED....
FINE BY ME....
LEAVING ME HIS CARD AND A QUOTE TO DRAIN AND CLEAN THE POOL FOR
A MERE $1300.00 PARTS INCLUDED...
HE LEFT AND WE PROMPTLY SHUT THE GATE BEHIND HIM...
FIRST THING I DID BACK IN THE HOUSE WAS GOOGLE HIM....
I FOUND HIS FACEBOOK PAGE FOR THE COMPANY
WHICH HE HAD "REVIEWS" OF HIS SERVICE....
FUNNY THING ONE OF THE REVIEWS WAS WRITTEN BY A MAN
NAME "HENRY" WITH THE SAME LAST NAME AS HIS...
SO HE'S WRITING AND POSTING HIS OWN REVIEWS AND IS TOO STUPID
TO CHANGE HIS NAME....BUT IT EXPLAINS THE NICKNAME CHRIS.
SUCH A MORON......

I FINALLY CALM DOWN WITH A GLASS OF TEA....I SIT DOWN NEXT TO THE
BOSS ON THE SOFA....AND WE DISCUSS HOW HORRIBLE THIS GUY WAS.....
WHEN THE BOSS SAYS....
"I THINK HE WAS DRUNK....."
ME....."DID YOU SMELL ANYTHING ON HIS BREATH".....
THE BOSS....
"NO BUT YOU DO REALIZE WHEN HE CAME OUT OF THE POOL AND YOU WERE
YELLING AT HIM HE WAS IN HIS UNDERPANTS"......

AND ANET....THERE'S YOUR PUNCHLINE!

I WOULD LOSE MY ASS IF IT WASN'T ATTACHED.....

So I was having lunch with my friend Helen today and she mentioned how much she enjoys reading this blog...
She said she finds the things that happen to me or the Fam
not always a good thing.... but it's How I tell the story...
I appreciated that very much...but explained that I never
Embellish.....never.
What happens here... has happened here....
So this is the latest in my un-usual circumstances...and this one is a Real Doozy.....
See that lovely card above...
That was given to me on October 8th, 2017
By H. Daughter and Family for my birthday....
Which most of you know is Daughter's birthday as well...

She is the most generous person I know behind her father and in front of my dear friend Joyce AKA: Betty Crocker...
She gave me gifts as well because she always thinks on any occasion...
You have to have something to unwrap....
 Remember....she had just given birth to Mr. Jack on
September 25th...
But she still managed to get out there and make sure I had
a Great Birthday....
I love that kid....

Inside the card was an extremely generous $500.00
American Express Gift Card....
How nice is that....
 I took it back to Georgia and put it "safely" inside my little blue
"Bliss" spa bag where I keep all my gift cards....Of which most are
from either Daughter or Joyce....
I planned on saving it to buy an airline ticket to go back up to
New York after the first of the year....
Or to go visit Joyce in Florida...

I decide I am going to go to New York in March.....
I get the card out of the above cardboard gift envelope...
And amongst all the crap I have on my kitchen table when I
am paying bills and doing taxes...I started looking at Delta
Fares....
In the meantime....and there is always
"In the meantime"
  I became distracted in one way or another....
My new American Express card had come in the mail....
When I opened it I thought...
"Well gee I should just buy my ticket with the Delta Amex card and get my Sky Miles...the $500 gift card I will take to NYC
for Fun money.....
 I buy my ticket.....I charge it.... I move on to other things...
More then likely to cook the Boss his third or fourth
Meal of the Day.....

A few days later that Bell went off in my head...
Now that Bell is pretty darn loud because it seems not
too much else is taking up space up there....

I start looking for the Gift Card....
Nothing....nowhere.....what do I do....after panicking...
I e-mail Joyce...who is the voice of reason whenever I
Do something dumb and she told me not to worry.... it has to be
somewhere in the house....
 My first thought was...."Oh crap I threw it in the garbage...."
I look everywhere....every purse...every pocket...
Every drawer...You know how you look in stupid places when you lose something...Nothing....I look for two days....

Finally I decide I had better call their "Lost or Stolen"
number and report it Lost....
I mention (which with my big mouth I should not have)
that "It's probably somewhere in the house but I can not find it"...
Never utter those words to American Express...
Hearing that... they immediately don't want to do a thing.
So I quickly change it to I was sure it had been Lost...
They give me a big long list of things I have to provide to see if
they will re-instate a new card...
The main thing here is..."IF they will re-instate it"

I do not wait to get the official letter in the mail....I faxed to them
#1...picture government I.D.
#2....a utility Bill with my name and address
#3 the cardboard envelope the card came in...
#4....I sent the birthday card...
#5....Daughter wrote a letter to them confirming she indeed gave
me the card, when and where she bought it....
She also explained that in NYC When buying a gift card of that size.... You can only pay with cash...
She did not know what happened to the receipt, or even if they gave her one.....who's going to think about receipts and what you have done with one....

But Amex already knew how much the card was for...they knew it had not been used...and they knew where and when it was bought...
I expected the FBI to show up at the house any day to
Fingerprint me....
Or give me a Polygraph test....
I wait a day then I called them to confirm they got the fax....
Oh yes they had....and they already made their decision....
"DECLINED"
Reason given....no receipt proving that Daughter actually bought it...Now I know a lot of people don't believe lawyers....
But come on....She is not a lawyer doing "personal injury"
with a Billboard on the side of the
FDR Drive....
At this point I am on the phone with a lovely women in India...
Now say what you will....they may not be very helpful people
But you have to admit they are the most Polite people on Earth...
BUT....in this case I got a helpful one also!!
I basically was hysterical....so hysterical...and not in a
HaHa funny way....she told me to hold on...
10 minutes or so go by and she gets back on to tell me
she spoke with the resolution team and she felt so bad for me
that she got them to change their decision...

God Bless this women...
One more hurdle to go....
They were mailing me a form that needed to be notarized....
I get the form the Saturday before President's Day..
First thing Monday I run up to Suntrust because they
Always have Notaries working...
Bank closed for the holiday....
I discover that our County offices are open...
I go in to the tax office and I'm told Yes this is something
they do but only for County Business....
So go away...I'm not interested in your problem...
Not one to accept the word "No" I go across the hall to the
Voter registration office who happily stamp and sign my form...  

Back home and faxed to Amex....they call me within ten minutes to let me know they received it....
I would be getting a new card in seven to ten days business days......Too late to take to New York..
I explained I was leaving for NYC and how could I get it sooner then 10 business days...
They are nice enough to 2-Day air it to me by U.P.S.
I figure they were sick of hearing me on the phone...
This would be a fast way of getting rid of me...

It came yesterday delivered bright and early by our
cute little UPS guy that Monty adores...

I had to laugh when I saw what was printed on the envelope....
A Cattle Prod might have been better served then just a written
Warning....

Then today I realized I needed to contact Delta and have them put on record when I leave on Wednesday... I will need assistance to get out to the gate in Atlanta and assistance when
I get to New York....
I grab my SkyMiles card out of my wallet....
I usually can remember their 404# but my mind was a blank...
I Grab the phone and proceed to turn the card over to get their phone number....
And in true Sue fashion....what do I find....
Stuck on the back of the SkyMiles card like glue....

I mean it was stuck on there that I never would have found it...unless I needed to get that phone number....
Can you say
"BOOB"....
At least as daughter pointed out I didn't throw it in the garbage...
I mean what are those odds...

I would also like to repeat my gratitude to the women in
India that knew I was devastated to lose that card and
took the time on my behalf to get them to change their
Decision...
Next time I will glue any gift cards....
To My Ass...
I think that's what they make "Gorilla Glue" for...