5.18.25
It is a little after four in the morning. I lit a fire in the woodstove since there is a damp chill to the air that only the warmth of a fire can dispel. Darrell is still dozing; the kettle is on for my first cup of tea of the day and Bonnie is contentedly curled up on her rug beside me in the living room. The gentle sound of rain woke me up this morning although as we start into the latter part of May, dawn’s earlier arrival finds my circadian rhythm likewise adjusting. Once awake, there is little chance of my falling back asleep, so here I am, sitting in my easy chair, writing away.
This has been a rather interesting week. After a hectic week that saw us spending more time in the truck on road trips than here at home, this one has been less traveling but still a busy one. When our first rain in a while gently dampened the dust, Darrell popped on the tractor and tilled up the garden again. This was perfectly timed as the next and subsequent days have brought good soaking rains that the soil desperately needed. Now the urge to get plants in the ground is stronger than ever but we know from past experience that Mother Nature can still throw a few blasts of arctic air our way, so we will be patient a while longer.
Taking advantage of the rainy weather, as well as catering to a heart that has been behaving like a troublesome toddler, I spent a couple of days indoors working on the newest additions to my soapy line up, shampoo and conditioner bars. After finally finding a recipe I like for solid shampoo bars – something friends have been pestering me to make for years – I took the leap, made some and am happy with the results. Of course, a conditioner bar had to come next and although a bit more fiddly to make, will soon be added to my collection.
Since we have our first market of the year coming up the end of this week, I took advantage of my time in the house to get the soap room a bit more organized. Along with this pleasant chore I decided it was time to bring myself more into the technological age by offering customers the option of paying electronically for my wares. Over the past few years, I noticed an increasing number of visitors to our area who stop by our little craft fairs and markets to browse and shop, seldom carry any cash or heaven forbid, a cheque book!
Now to more quickly and conveniently offer the service of accepting plastic payments, I realized I would have to upgrade my old cellular phone. Yes folks, I do actually have one albeit it is quite old and as I have discovered, not up to par to do the job I need it to do at markets. Since we do not have a cell phone tower in our area, hence no cell service or local network provider, I wanted a phone that would work at home via our satellite internet Wi-Fi. After all, when family come to visit, they have no trouble making and receiving calls on their fancy phones while at our house. So, I called up Tracfone and ordered an upgraded cell phone that had this Wi-Fi calling capability. To my surprise, the phone arrived the following day and that is where this story begins!
Now I am sure those of you techy folks out there may have had little trouble getting this new phone activated and working. Alas, as much as I can take something mechanical apart and put it back together again, electronic technology is not really my thing although given time, I can usually figure it out. Feeling baffled, I called the Tracfone tech department and over the next 45 minutes or so, had the frustrating time of dealing with someone who ended up not being able to solve the problem at all! First it started out they had to send me a code, wanting to do so by text message. After repeatedly stating we have no cell service where we live, hence cannot receive a text message on a cell phone or landline, she finally sent me a code via email. Fine. However, that still did not work in allowing me to make a call out on this new phone!
Repeatedly asking me, “Who is your network provider?” and my subsequent answer of “We do not have any network providers here! There are no cell phone towers or cell phone service where we live!” brought nothing but silence on the line. Then she asked, “Can you go to your front door with your phone to see if you get a better signal, please?” to my reply of “There is no signal! We do not have cell phone service here!” Once again, dead silence on the line. “Do you have any bars showing?” Aargh!!! By this time, I was near to pulling my hair out. Trying not to raise my voice too much, I once again tried to make the lady understand, “We do not have ANY cellphone service at our home, THAT is why I bought this dratted phone from you folks that was supposed to work on the wireless system from our satellite internet!” The reply? “Can you hold please” Click! Shortly thereafter she came back on the line, “I have a technician on the line who will help you, let me transfer you.” Then after another few clicks, a recording came on that stated “Due to an increase in call volume, your wait time will be more than 15 minutes. If you would like a call back, press one.” Aargh!!!
Needless to say, the silly phone is still not working. The call back never came. I know it will eventually get sorted out although I may have to be somewhere in cell phone service range to get that accomplished. Sitting here this morning thinking back over the frustration I felt during that long seemingly unproductive conversation yesterday, it emphasizes just how much we tend to rely on technology these days. Just as I was getting awfully frustrated with the young lady who was sitting in a room a few thousand miles away, I am sure she in turn was getting just as frustrated with me. To her it seemed inconceivable that someone would not have cell phone service. To me it was inconceivable someone would not understand there are still places in this world without cell phone service!
Technology is a great thing. The incredible things technology allows us to do are truly mind blowing. Technology allows me to share my Sunday morning musings with friends thousands of miles away with just a click of a button. Technology will soon help a surgeon fix my dicky heart. Technology is wonderful, yet at times I feel we rely too much on technology. How many of us still do sums in our head? Gone are the days of picking up a dictionary to check if a word is spelled correctly. How many people reach for a heavy tome of Encyclopedia Britannica to look something up? Instead, it is all there at a touch of a button on our computers and fancy phones. You do not even have to type in your request! I have witnessed Darrell’s son, Andy, sit in our front room and when he wants to look something up, he just “asks” his fancy phone and voila! It gives him the answer!
Glancing out the window the rain clouds have long gone. The trees are gently waving in the strengthening breeze. White clouds scud across a sky that is now a lovely blue. The early morning sun shines on the tree trunks and makes the dew on the leaves sparkle. Somewhere a Tom turkey gobbles, and the cockerels are crowing. It is time for me to end this story, close the computer and finish my cup of tea before heading out to milk Heidi. Yes, technology is quite wonderful, but Mother Nature still cannot be beat.
