Life Perspective: Reviews & More

Have you ever wondered if chewing gum can actually repair damaged household items? A few years ago, a friend told me her mother used chewing gum on various items that needed repair. It took me several years to make up my mind to experiment with it, but I tried it for the first time two years ago and have been surprised by how well it can work as a temporary or even longer-term fix. I used it on a wood frame that had a large chip in it a few years ago. I chewed a stick of gum and when it lost its flavor, I smoothed it into the crack. Then I painted it over with acrylic paint, adjusting the color with each layer to get a perfect match. The final step was to seal it. Last year I repaired an ornamental resin lid that had a sizable hole in it. That one took several sticks of gum and several different colors of acrylic paint. I had to carefully mold it into a shape that matched the lid. Again, I used several coats of paint, but since it had a relatively matte finish, I didn’t seal it.   ...

I have to brag on Apple tonight. After NINE MONTHS of calling Apple Care and going to the Genius Bar, and going through THREE PHONES and experiencing a lot of doubt from Apple that I was having all the problems I was saying I was having, they finally identified the problem as a bug in the first phone that transferred every time I backed up and restored my data. In other words, every time they gave me a new phone and told me to restore from my backup, the bug came along for th e ride. So after losing so much time over this and peace of mind over this, Apple made it right. Tonight Apple replaced my iPhone 6+ Gold with the new iPhone 6S Plus Gold with FOUR TIMES the storage of my original iPhone. This phone is just as thin but weighs more apparently due to sturdier components. I am very thankful and hopeful and optimistic this will be a wonderful solution and blessing. Single women over 60 don't have a lot of power in this world, but single women who use social media...

Today marks the end of my ninth month with my Gold Apple iPhone 6+ and to celebrate, I spent another four hours on the phone with Apple Care. To say this journey has been a disappointment is a vast understatement. Calling it a nightmare would be more accurate. I told Nikthia, the very nice and very helpful rep who helped me tonight (one of FOUR reps I spoke with tonight) that  I could have given birth during the time it is taking me to try to get the issues resolved. Apparently I got a defective iPhone last December. When Apple convinced me it was my carrier and NOT the phone, and persuaded me to leave T-Mobile and go with the pricier Sprint, they gave me a new Sprint compatible phone and had me restore my old data from a backup. Apparently the bug was passed along with the backup making my 2nd phone also defective, but it has taken months to figure this out. I have been calling Sprint every few weeks asking them to help me reset my phone because I would lose my ability to ...

Right before the Nashville flood my water heater went out and was still under warranty but Whirlpool would not replace it, so I went without hot water for a YEAR! It was a short in the thermostat system and the heater just would not heat. I boiled water like a frontier woman for a little over a year, because I knew Whirlpool was supposed to replace a defective heater that was still under warranty, and I didn't have the money to buy a new water heater after all my flood losses.  Finally, after a year, Lowes was able to get Whirlpool to do the right thing. Well, that relatively new hot water heater is now spewing 2 gallons of hot water everywhere every couple of days although I keep releasing all the pressure at the pressure valve which I do every year anyway. Once again Whirlpool does not want to replace it although Lowes says that much water every other day indicates a defective heater, and once again I have turned to Lowe's to help me get results. So far I...

After my ongoing problems with Apple , I finally got an appointment with the Genius Bar set for the past Monday. I had a conflict, so I called and canceled my appointment last Friday and tried to move it to the following Monday. Apple Care said they could not set an appointment more than a week out and arranged a call for me today. Sure enough, an automated call came in at about 3pm, but when the representative picked up, he had no notes and no idea why I was on the line. In addition, he didn't speak English well and I had to repeat myself more than once. At the end of the long call, he said he was sending me an email with the notes and confirmation. When I got the email, it had no info. The case number didn't pull up anything but an error message that said the case number and email did not match, so I had to call Apple back. I spoke to Yilka who said she didn't show any call for today, and I said, "Hold on, I have a case number right here," and I gave he...

Near the end of 2014, I purchased my first iPhone from the Apple Store in Green Hills (Nashville). The man who sold me the phone recommended T-Mobile as having the best-priced service for what I needed, and I left the Apple Store with a T-Mobile-compatible iPhone 6 Plus for a hefty chunk of change. By the next day I was having issues receiving calls when at home, dropped calls when on the road, and connecting to the internet. For a month or so I felt like a volleyball as T-Mobile would assure me I had a defective phone, and Apple would assure me the problems were with T-Mobile. After going through various trouble shooting and resets, the problem would seem to be fixed for a few days, but soon I would lose the signal at home, or experience increasing dropped calls or not be able to connect to the internet. After making numerous calls to Apple I got a case agent who would trouble shoot for me, and he finally convinced me the problems were with T-Mobile. I took my phone back to Ap...

Following both a landslide and a flood on my property, I have been trying to get my home repaired. I have interviewed a ton of contractors, decided to work with several and been terribly disappointed by most. Today I have had a couple of men installing gutter screens and adding gutters to my two bay windows that never had them, trying to get rid of more moisture around the house so it finally has a chance to dry out. I am tired of continually having mold and fungus issues following the Nashville flood. Lowe's: Never Stop Improving! I was able to go through Lowe's to get these contractors and have now used Lowes for home improvement several times. I must say, all the repairmen Lowes has sent out have done a GREAT job. These men arrived on time, did the work professionally, cleaned up, and all payments and scheduling went through Lowe's. If I have a problem, Lowe's backs me up. What could be easier? The only question I have is that both downspots were pla...

I am quite annoyed. Those who were readers of this blog last year may recall my ongoing horrific experience throughout 2013 with Bellevue dentist Dr. Jamie Gross who tried to force a crown on that did not fit before finally taking a new impression and then forced the 2nd crown on although it didn't fit well either. The pain was terrible, and I think I was x-rayed SIX (6) times in ONE (1) sitting one of the times she kept trying to force the first crown on. Following that, I developed consistent pain that she ad dressed by filing and more filing as well as not seeing me on a couple of occasions. 4 months later it turned out I had had a serious infection from around the time she started trying to force that crown on me which finally bored through the tooth, root, bone and tissue and started expelling infection into my mouth. Dr. Gross was not able to do a root canal and told me I needed to go get one.  I owed Dr. Gross somewhere around $1400 at the ...

Don't Get Mom a KitchenAid for Mother's Day! Defective KitchenAid 23.875-Inch Built-In Dishwasher (Color: Black) ENERGY STAR Item #: 333418 | Model #: KUDS30IXBL finally stopped working altogether. Congratulations, Kitchen Aid and Whirlpool! You have planned obsolescence down to a fine art! The KitchenAid Dishwasher (made by Whirlpool) which was installed on Nov. 3, 2012 and used for a light load once every week or so since then has stopped working entirely after never cleaning dishes since it was installed. To recap the list of woes throwing my money away on this flimsy and ineffective piece of junk caused, let's start with how much flimsier this machine was than the old washing machine I had. The plastic was thin and there was much less metal. The flimsy top tray starting coming off the track a couple of weeks after the dishwasher was installed. After washing my first load of dishes and ALL SUBSEQUENT LOADS, I noticed a nasty white film coating all ...

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may have picked up on the fact that between my former insurance company, their recommended "restoration" company (ServiceMaster) and various and sundry dishonest contractors (Smith, Roper, et. al.), I have somewhat lost faith in the way business is done in the 21st century. However, I must compliment LifeStride. I purchased a pair of black vinyl LifeStride high-heeled boots a few years ago, and I never had a chance to wear them until November 27, 2012. The vinyl actually started cracking and peeling a few places the first and only time I wore them, which was to dinner with friends, walking only a few feet from my house to the car, and from the car to the restaurant and back. After corresponding with LifeStride via phone and email, I carefully packed my boots up on Dec. 11, and I sent them back to LifeStride following their return instructions with a note explaining what happened. I wasn't terribly optimistic after the w...

Can you spot the mimosa tree in this photo? If you can, CONGRATULATIONS! You are doing better than one of Nashville's "professional" tree removal companies. I have given the Nashville-based tree preservation and removal company one week to remove the tree they talked me into "removing" and letting them cut down last year. This year they have failed to return calls or keep appointments for two months after I called them and told them the tree had come back. Now this "professional" tree removal company tells me they can't find the tree which just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Today they said their guy came out Friday when we did NOT have an appointment and couldn't find the tree. Now the owner says he is washing his hands of it. If they don't take care it it this week, I will be posting the name of this professional tree preservation and removal company which offers " full service" in Middle Tennessee but who CAN'T ...

My bathroom still has no wallpaper, no fixtures &  a hand mirror thumb-tacked to the wall - since June 2011 The situation with Eric Roper and Landmark Construction of Nashville, TN, just gets odder and odder. A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by a woman whose older parents are pursuing legal action against Eric Roper and Landmark Construction because she says he performed the same kind of sloppy works with the same basic crew (Kenny and Frank) on her parents' house in 2010. I believe her parents suffered water damage during the Nashville flood as I did under my house. In my case it was followed by subsequent massive water damage when my washing machine hose burst in the night a few months later and pumped some 2500 gallons of water into my house. Like he did with me, Eric reportedly informed this family he was a licensed contractor. As he did with me, he allegedly told this family he would bring the documentation "another day" and never did. They were ...

KitchenAid Built-In Dishwasher Model #: KUDS30IXBL Product Review This is a product review of the KitchenAid 23.875-Inch Built-In Dishwasher (Color: Black) ENERGY STAR Item #: 333418 | Model #: KUDS30IXBL purchased from Lowe's in Nov. 2011. Before I purchased my brand-new KitchenAid dishwasher from Lowe's, I read some very bad reviews on Lowe's website . I should have listened to them, because my new dishwasher has been a huge disappointment for the past 4 months. However, in an effort to make my new dishwasher work, I jumped through several hoops: I pre-rinsed. I purchased the more expensive Cascade ActionPaks dishwashing capsules . I bought the Finish rinse by Jet Dry . I turned my water heater up to 140º. I started using a cup of white vinegar in the upper tray to try to remove the film. I tried loading pots and pans in the upper tray to see if they had been blocking the jets on the lower tray You can view a video of the results he...

This is where I lived for 9 months following a burst washing machine hose, then the discovery of damage under the house from the Nashville flood, and waiting for over a year for negligent repairmen to show up and do the jobs they were hired to do while dealing with an insurance company that canceled my policy in the middle of the repairs. Top Ten Things About the Bellevue Microtel Hotel From October 2010 to July 2011, I spent 9 months living in the Microtel motel in Bellevue, TN, following the Nashville flood and additional subsequent water damage from a burst washing machine hose. For this reason I feel uniquely qualified to talk about the pros and cons of the Bellevue Microtel hotel in Nashville, TN. More at: Top Ten Things About the Bellevue Microtel Hotel - Yahoo! Voices Related: Why the Lee Company Has Been in Business Since 1944 Where Is the Landmark Construction (Nashville) Tile Guy? Tile Update Dec. 23: More Problems with Tile Tile Update: Dec. 22 Decking the Hal...

 This is my small mirror thumb-tacked to the wall of the small bathroom that has been without wallpaper and most fixtures for MONTHS which I am waiting for Eric Roper of Landmark Construction (who has been paid in advance) to get out here and finish the job . I am still trying to get Eric Roper of Landmark Construction in Nashville to return phone messages and email, even though I see him on Gmail when I am on (because his chat icon turns green and I email him at those times: Jan. 30, Feb. 5). What do you do when a contractors isn't professional or courteous enough to return calls on a job he hasn't finished and was paid in advance to finish?  Perhaps posting a message on my blog will lend some weight to my attempts to communicate. I find it hard to believe Eric Roper of Landmark Construction in Nashville is still dragging his heels on a job he was hired to do the summer of 2011 and paid a deposit on at the beginning of September 2011. His men showed up randomly an...

I finally heard from Eric Roper at Landmark Construction of Nashville, TN today. In spite of my wishful thinking that a small tile job he was hired to do in July 2011, and paid in advance for much of in Sept. 2011, and which he began on Nov. 3, 2011... he's not coming back until Mon. Jan. 16, 2012! Landmark Construction will have taken MORE THAN ONE HALF OF A YEAR to do a small kitchen tile job. Surely that's some kind of a record. And I think they need to redo the section above the sink that was pieced together so badly.

Top 10 Things About the Lee Company: A Review of the Lee Company Since 1944, the Lee Company in Nashville, TN, has been taking care of Middle Tennessee's refrigeration, heating and air conditioning needs. Three generations of Lees have helmed the Lee Company, ever since L. Leon Lee started the business as Lee Refrigeration Service Company, using his one truck to service refrigeration and heating equipment. Today the Lee Company employs hundreds of people and serves customers nationwide, including homes, businesses and facilities. Continued at: Top 10 Things About the Lee Company: A Review of the Lee Company - Yahoo! Voices Also see: Why the Lee Company Has Been in Business Since 1944

Here is part of an email I sent to two contractors who  have been working on my house and who have taken months to complete tasks: Letter to Contractors about the Lee Company Here is how the Lee Company does things. I called them on Wednesday afternoon after talking to an electrician who had been working in my house prior to my heat going out.  The Lee Company asked me when I wanted them to come and I said "As soon as possible." They said, "How about tomorrow morning?" I said I would be out until after 11:Am and they said, "How about between noon and 2." I said that was fine. They said they always call customers 1/2 hour before they arrive so the customer knows they are coming.  At 12:06 Tommy from the Lee Company called to let me know he was about 1/2 hour away. At 12:34 he walked in my door. He was finished by around 1:30, fixed some burnt wires and a blown fuse, asked me if anything unusual happen before the heat went out.  I said I ha...

KitchenAid 23.875-Inch Built-In Dishwasher (Color: Black) ENERGY STAR Item #: 333418 | Model #: KUDS30IXBL On November 3, my brand-new KitchenAid dishwasher was installed. Before I purchased the dishwasher from Lowes, I had read some very negative reviews about the dishwasher on the Lowes website . However, when I brought those concerns to the attention of my sales person as we discussed the pros and cons of buying the dishwasher, Allison, the very personable salesclerk at my local Lowes, assured me that her store had had no complaints or returns of this model. Since it was inexpensive and I was working with insurance to replace the Kitchen Aid Whisper Quite Superba which was damaged by a contractor Farmers recommended who forgot to hook my old dishwasher up to the water line before it was turned on, I went ahead and got the low-priced KitchenAid model to accommodate and facilitate a quick replacement. My first load of dishes came out with a mess of white crud on the...

Once again I have wasted part of a day waiting for Landmark Construction in Nashville to show up to finish the small kitchen tile job they were hired to do in July of 2011 and started on November 3. It's been one delay after another since then, with one mistake after another added in for good measure. As I mentioned in my last post , when I asked the tile guy on Monday if he thought the 3 bad areas I found after the tile was laid were all the bad places, he said, "Oh yes. Those were the 3 places I found when we were laying the tile, so that was all of them." What? They noticed the three areas with missing and cracked drywall BEFORE they laid the tile and just put the tile up with large bad areas behind them hoping I wouldn't notice? The tile guy was supposed to finish this job on Monday and Tuesday of this week after repairing the drywall on Monday, but didn't have enough tile to finish the job, so he didn't come on Tuesday and had to come back on Wednes...