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Cities & Towns > Weather > No Jury Duty, Just Online Shopping
 

No Jury Duty, Just Online Shopping

The winter storm dumped around a foot of snow in a little over 24 hours, so I am quite tired. Normally I’d take a little more time to shovel myself out, but I was scheduled for jury duty for Thursday morning, so from Wednesday morning I was trying hard to get my driveway clear, until I finally gave up for the day. It was falling faster than I could keep up, and I wasn’t going to get downtown no matter what.

They canceled my jury group and we didn’t have to report. Good thing, probably at least half the people wouldn’t have shown up. I’m not sure why but every time I’m called up for it, it’s always in winter and often during a snowstorm.

Lately I’ve been ordering kids’ books, things for about 3rd grade, for my friend’s son. I worry that kids just aren’t going to be educated this year, due to the nonexistence of continuous schooling. I don’t know many recent books that are really good, so I’m looking for the ones I loved when I was somewhere around that age. Thanks to used book services, I can find all the ones I remember.

However, I’m really mad at a couple of these used book dealers. When an old classic has been newly printed, they’re often selling the cheapest prints of them and you can’t always tell. When I opened up one box and took a look at some of the books, I see they’re saving money by printing the book so small that not only I can’t read it, but it would be an instant turn-off to a young kid too. And a book with stories and illustrations should be on pages wide enough to open the book far enough to see the illustrations!

Because of the easy returns you can do with Amazon (you don’t even have to rewrap it, just take the book with your return code to UPS) — I find I’m safer buying used books there on Amazon instead of directly from the used bookstores. There, now I feel like a commercial for a huge corporation when I would like to support a smaller company. But I have to admit Amazon is doing so many intelligent things that solve problems.

All my Christmas presents this year to family are either things I’m sewing, or ordered online. I’ve been very happy with the speed of deliveries and I’ve been spending way too much because it’s so easy. But going outside? Is anyone doing that now?

The smaller gifts are especially fun to look for. I’ve been sending collapsible metal drinking straws for my environmentally-conscious sisters, and small hooks you use in the car to hang things, and Suave hand sanitizer spray.

One of the items I gave in the past, that my sister told me she liked, was a paw-washer for her dog. It’s easy to use, you just put some warm soapy water in it, grab your dog’s paw and jam it into the lidded cup. It has little rubber fingers inside that gently scrub when you push the dog’s paw in a few times. She says it really works, and the dog is clean before he gets impatient with it.

posted on Dec 17, 2020 9:48 PM ()

Comments:

Who wears a watch these days???? Phone has the time!! Send money instead---to Goodwill I mean of course!
comment by greatmartin on Dec 22, 2020 9:31 PM ()
We got almost three times as much snow as you did here in the western Catskills and no mail as be brought in for two days. A heater I ordered on Sunday from Amazon has been "lost" in transit. They said it may still arrive but they issued a full refund. Does that mean I might get a free heater? Something like that happened with FedEx a few months and I ended up with two coffee makers for the price of one since they shipped a replacement for the "missing" one that showed up! What a wonderful world!
comment by jjoohhnn on Dec 18, 2020 4:24 PM ()
Yep, those mountains will do it to you. I don't want to imagine shoveling that much at once. I hope your power stays on this winter -- and that free heater shows up. Amazon can be very nice sometimes.
reply by drmaus on Dec 19, 2020 12:13 PM ()
I enjoyed this so much because I have struggled to have any Christmas spirit. You took me back to the days when it was joyful to think about what someone might like as a gift, track it down, and get it to them.
comment by traveltales on Dec 18, 2020 9:23 AM ()
The big problem is delivery with me. Family members here in town will be given gifts directly (meaning, on their porch, since I'm not visiting) but others too far away will get things late, that's all. But it has been fun. I'm not sure which I liked more, finding the children's books or sewing big furry pillows. I also tried making oven mitts but that's not working well.
reply by drmaus on Dec 18, 2020 3:42 PM ()
I need that paw washer. People are always putting bad stuff on their lawns and I wash paws the old fashioned way.
comment by elderjane on Dec 17, 2020 11:55 PM ()
Here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/Dexas-MudBuster-Portable-Cleaner-Medium/dp/B01MYNCHLK/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=portable%2Bdog%2Bpaw%2Bcleaner&qid=1608333944&sr=8-5&th=1
reply by drmaus on Dec 18, 2020 3:28 PM ()
I am surprised that there is still jury duty in person in court!!
You don't have to send me a gift this year!
comment by greatmartin on Dec 17, 2020 9:52 PM ()
No gift? As you wish. The diamond watch is on its way to Goodwill.
reply by drmaus on Dec 18, 2020 3:37 PM ()

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