(borrowed from here)

There is NOTHING worse than a thief.

*EDIT*  The item arrived today, 6/21, nearly six months after ordering.  Update has been posted here.

Particularly when that thief keeps carrying on like she's done nothing wrong.

There's this girl.  Her name is Jenny Heid, and she sells adorable prints.  Except, I'm not sure she ever actually follows through with those sales.  You see, back in January, I purchased one of these prints from her.

And it never arrived.  In March I emailed her through her Etsy.com account (which was shut down by Etsy for her unlawful behavior), and got no response.  April 1 I resent the message and spoke with her boyfriend, Aaron Nieradka.  He claimed she was dealing with a family emergency (which I already knew, thanks to the feedback she'd been getting on Etsy), and shipping had been delayed.  He claimed he would send my item out "within the next two days," and I felt that fair.  I was also promised a second item for my troubles.  That sounded acceptable to me.

SO, I waited.  And waited.  And waited.  I finally sent another message near the end of April, asking for a tracking number.  Somehow, "Aaron" (I'm not sure if it WAS Aaron or if it was Jenny) sent another email, saying he had the item marked as shipped but couldn't find the tracking information.  I also read more of her Etsy feedback, and knew she was going to screw me over.  At this point, I was annoyed, and contacted Etsy for a Notification of Non-Delivery.  By now I was well past Paypal's limit for refunds, which angered me further.

I heard from Aaron twice that day.  I haven't heard back since.  I've sent messages to her email (jennyeveryday@aol.com), her Facebook account, and her Blogspot account with no response.  I contacted Etsy for a follow-up, and they shut her site down.  I was moderately satisfied, but I knew she was still selling through Blogspot.  I was simmering on that for awhile, until a friend found her new account on artfire.com, and I'm back to being furious.

She even claims she left Etsy due to their fees, which I know is bunk.  When Etsy staffers tell you they've shut down a site due to unlawful activity, they're generally not lying.

Now, I'm angry.  The item I purchased should be in my hands, OR I should have a full refund.  Stealing is bad, Jenny...Stealing is very, very bad.  You're significantly older than me, and shouldn't be pulling this crap.

While I'm on an engraved gun kick...

*lust*

Wouldn't this be nice?

If only I could afford it.

Thaaaaaanks, Breda.

I must be babbly today.

C and I have only begun talking about Bug-out Bags, mostly to the extent of sticking extra canned goods in a box.  I'm starting to think about them more...merely for the practicality of it.  I don't think any major disasters are going to happen where I live, but political unrest is always a possibility, and I live way too close to our nation's capital to write it off as something I shouldn't worry about.

I've read about stuff before...comprehensive lists, things to avoid carrying, that sort of thing.  Somehow, they always manage to contradict each other.  Then I started reading this blog and while I'm only into HYST-Documents, everything he says makes sense.  Not only that, but most of the things he lists are common sense type things.  I think, out of every discussion I've read, I'm going to use his as the most comprehensive and realistic.  In fact, so far, I think the only thing I disagree with is leaving pets behind...but I know my cats CANNOT survive on their own.  They'd have to come with me.

What's your opinion?  Do you already have a BOB set up somewhere in your home?  What's in yours?

Well I'll be...

The governor of Maryland just signed SB411, the civil immunity bill, into law.

I'm floored.

Huh.

Apparently the Coast Guard now works for BP.  Is this more proof the oil companies pretty much own the US?


Watch CBS News Videos Online

To those of you headed to the NRA convention...

Have a safe trip, and may your car ride be less than miserable/may the TSA be gentle on your bits and bobs.

A legend will be fading away.

I've just discovered that Marlin Firearms will be closing next year.  The 140-year-old company was a favorite of Annie Oakley and lever gun enthusiasts.  While it's to my understanding their quality control has been lacking recently, it'll still be sad to see them go.

Yeahhh...

I'm deliberately avoiding discussions about the current political crap.

Not that I'm supporting what's going on; I'm unable to articulate exactly what I think.  Blame it on spending too much time out in the yard, prepping for the food I'll be growing this year.  Got too much on my mind with planning the year's harvest, no room left for political commentary.

SO, instead of babbling about that, here's my garden babble.  Right now we've got carrots (Danvers and Thumbelina varities) and radishes in, as well as tulips/crocus/other bulb flowers.  My daffodils have popped, the lilies are coming up next, and I added to the roses in the corner of the yard.  I'm going to move a whole mess of stuff outside this week - we have 10 trees from the Arbor Day Foundation as well as a couple of surprise plants for someone (I know he reads this, so I can't elaborate on them).  It'll be nice to get the gnats out of the bedroom...

This weekend, I'll be starting my tomatoes, peppers, and various circubits in containers in the basement under grow lamps.  The first weekend in May is the last frost date, and the rest of my goodies (corn, beans, herbs, leeks, greens) will go in either that week or the following weekend.  We're also hitting a relatively local topiary garden for their season opener and plant sale.  Hoping to pick up some strange stuff this year, either for planting in the garden or keeping in the house as an ornamental.  I think we might move the "annuals" outside, as well - I managed to overwinter begonias and a few flowers traditionally sold as annual flowers in hanging pots.

While I love winter and snow, this year really killed it for me...I've had the planting itch since about day 2 of the Snowpocalypse.  The Facebook game "Farmville" has really been my only outlet, save for the small things I planted or cared for over the winter.  I never expected to fall head-first into gardening as a hobby, but it turned out to be something I love.

What are your plans for spring and early summer?