Hanging in

Okay, first I got a call, not from the claims adjuster, but from someone named Brenda telling me that my claims adjuster will be getting in contact with me sometime within the next 72 hours, which I translate to mean the day after Christmas.

Then she tells me to have someone cover up the chimney and save the receipts so I can be reimbursed. Well, since (a) I have no clue who to call about something like this and (b) I have no money to pay someone to do such a thing, that's a useless piece of advice.

Then I thought I would try to get my new cell phone on line. The little $10 one I have is fine, but it's so little it just about covers my ear and I'm never sure the person I'm talking to can hear me. So they had a sale at K-Mart for a flip-open model Tracfone (the company I buy minutes from) for like $35, so I got one. It's way more complicated than my little one--I can't even figure out how to get menus, or scroll through them when I do (like, there's no arrow keys. I've found Clear and Okay, but I don't know how to get where I'm going to do get things to Okay)..

I did manage to find the serial number, so I got online to activate it and found I could transfer the number from my old phone to my new one. That's good, I thought. Only you have to call their customer service. I get someone with an extremely thick accent of some sort and finally work out that I need to have my new phone AND my old phone to transfer the number.At the moment I'm not exactly sure where the old one is, so I said Thanks (for nothing) and hung up.

Then I found my little phone and, not feeling like hassling with someone on the phone again to transfer the number, I just called Brenda to give her the little phone number. It was 12:30 and the message I got was that she'd packed up and gone home for the day. Well--good for Allstate; their employees deserve half the day before Christmas off, I guess. So I left my name, claim number, and cell phone number. We'll see what happens Wednesday.

I was feelingpretty sorry for myself this afternoon. Major pity party. I'm not feeling all independent and competent, I want someone to come hold my hand and help me out. This would be a good time for my sister and her family and their little dog Lady to descend on the house and fill it up with family-ness.

But I washed dishes and worked on the teddy bear I'm knitting for Leo, took the Ts out for a little while (it's COLD out), and went to feed the cat. Knitting is a great soother. And I got two gardening catalogs in the mail today to look at before bed tonight.

So--one more day managed. May visions of sugarplums dance in your heads!