Chimney Sweep

This morning I knew nothing about chimneys except that I have one, it’s made of brick, and Santa squeezes down it annually. Now I know way more than I ever wanted to know. I wish I could go back to chimney-ignorance.
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We’ve lived in our house for 10 years and we’ve never done anything to our chimney. Every so often I look out the window of the 3rd floor and see our neighbor’s chimney cap, reminding me that we should get one before some homeless animal climbs in.
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Last week a telemarketer called to see if I needed my chimney cleaned. She was the worst telemarketer ever, reading from a script with no enthusiasm for what she was selling, but she said that chimneys should be cleaned once a year and I felt like maybe it was an omen. I didn’t want to look back with regret that I didn’t have the chimney cleaned and then something bad happened. I still haven’t decided what’s worse…a telemarketer who won’t give up, or one who has given up before I answer the phone, but I took her up on her offer.
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So two guys showed up today. They were very nice, and were driving a truck with the company name painted on the side. But within 15 minutes of their arrival they were already talking about how we need a chimney liner because we have no flue in the upper part of the chimney. He had quite the pitch going, and said that it would cost me $3,000 elsewhere but he would do it for $1,750 if I paid cash and gave him the go-ahead right then. I put the brakes on and told him I’d call him later.
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Meanwhile I called a bunch of other chimney companies and surprisingly, most of them were willing to chat about prices over the phone, as well as the tactics used by this type of company. I have no doubt that we need the liner, and his price was good. But I didn’t like being pressured, and when I tried to find out more about the company online, I couldn’t really find anything. I left a message for the guy, to say that I was researching his company and needed references. I also called the main number for his company and left a message.
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Surprise, surprise…I haven’t heard back from him or from anyone at the main number. So if you know a good chimney sweep, let me know. I’m in the market for a 40′ liner.
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If You Can’t Find it in Brimfield…

…You Don’t Need It!!!


Our camp (Vermont term for “lake house”) is about 15 minutes from Brimfield, MA, home of the Brimfield Antique Show. In May, July, and September, 6,000 antique dealers and 130,000 visitors swarm into Brimfield for the week-long show. The show is quite an economic boom for the local area – estimated between 40 and 50 million dollars annually. Along with the 23 people who rent out their yards and fields along the 1-mile stretch of Route 20, there are others who sell parking spaces, food and drinks, delivery services, and even access to their showers. It looks like quite the family affair for some of the dealers…like a camping trip where you’re hauling along a truckload of clutter you want to get rid of.

I love to go, preferably without kids, and this weekend I was able to escape for a couple of hours and go wander around. I wasn’t really in the market for anything in particular, so I made it my mission to take pictures of some of the weird stuff I saw for sale.

Along with lots of furniture and rugs, there were the usual booths of vintage clothing, jewelry, linens, and notions (that’s a fancy word for sewing stuff). The second picture shows stacks and stacks of cards full of buttons.

This guy had THE most amazing collection of musical instruments and sports equipment. The top photo is a pile of marching band helmets in the center, with several sets of bagpipes on the card table, and football pads to the right. Click on any photo to enlarge it…it’s like “Where’s Waldo?” except with junque.


There was a headless eagle:

A REALLY old military diving helmet and boots:

I have one of these green bottles (Can you imagine transporting all of this stuff to the show?!):

The window on the bottom was tempting (“Asylum for the Insane – Evaluation Center for Disturbed Men” – I think this belongs on my office door.):

These carved tusks were gorgeous but out of my league at $2,800 (not to mention that it’s against my personal rules to buy wild animal products):

Sometimes it was the juxtaposition of several items that made them interesting, like this multi-armed deity in the snowshoe section:

Bird (flamingo?) lawn ornament made from a propane tank:

My mother had the matching cookie jar to these:

Ugly giraffe, rocking chicken, and GIANT Frankenstein:


The Betty Boop collection:

Glove display forms?

And for my hardware friends, lots and lots of hardware (I met a member of the Antique Doorknob Collectors of America who loves doorknobs even more than I do.):

This giant bag of kettle corn was all I bought:


If you like banjo music, here’s a short video about one of the fields, May’s Antique Market.
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrfmTbtMhBs&hl=en_US&fs=1]

Don’t Blow In My Bag!!!

Last Friday I was at Stop & Shop, when I saw the pharmacist blow into a small bag to open it wider so he could put in a prescription. I thought that was somewhat unsanitary behavior, especially for a pharmacist. It wasn’t my prescription so I went on my merry way.

On Saturday I was at Wendy’s waiting forever for lunch for the fam, and one of the guys behind the counter did the same thing! He blew into the bag and then stuck in an order of fries. I was so grossed out!

Usually I’m not much of a germophobe. I figure we all lived through the days without hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial wipes, so maybe all the hype about the negative effects of killing off all the bacteria is true. But don’t blow in my bag for crying out loud! Gross!

I just went to the Wendy’s website and sent this comment/complaint:

This complaint is not about the extremely long wait time to order and receive our food even though it was mid-afternoon (not lunchtime or dinnertime) and it took at least a half hour. But during my half-hour wait I saw one of the workers behind the counter blow into a bag to open it and then put in an order of fries. I’m not usually much of a germophobe but it really grossed me out to see him blow a bunch of germs into a bag and then stick someone’s open food into it. I didn’t say anything to the manager because I had already seen her react to a complaint about a customer being charged $1.69 for a small order of fries when the sign clearly said that a small order was $1.29 and a medium order was $1.69. She said that the prices had changed that day and she refunded the 40 cents, but she was obviously annoyed. I didn’t think she’d be open to my feedback so I kept my mouth shut, but I did keep a close eye on the worker who blew in the bag. We have enough germs in our household without adding his. I like Wendy’s but I was grossed-out enough to send this complaint. Nice comment/complaint system, by the way.

The next time I go to the Sturbridge Wendy’s I’ll be looking for the “Employees Must Not Blow Into Bags” signs right next to the “Employees Must Wash Hands Before Returning To Work” signs.
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Weinermobile

This is a headline you don’t see every day:

“Oscar Mayer Wienermobile Loses Control, Crashes Into Racine Home”

WITI-TV, RACINE – The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile got itself into quite a pickle when it crashed into a Racine home Friday morning. Neighbors tell FOX 6 the Wienermobile took a wrong turn and ended up on the dead-end street, Kenilworth Avenue in Racine. While trying to get turned around, the woman driving the hot dog on wheels accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake and lodged the Wienermobile under a house. Officials say no one was injured in the crash. The Wienermobile was taken from the scene by tow truck. No word on the extent of damage to either the house or the giant hot dog.

http://www.fox6now.com/news/witi-090717-weinermobile-crashes-into-house,0,6217102.story
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