Saturday, July 21, 2018

Addendum to our last entry

When I wrote the other day, I left off three things I wanted to share.  I didn't want to wait too long before writing about them so I'm adding them now.

First is the happy news story.  We had not seen our dear friends Diane & Jim Hubert since they came out to Quartzsite, AZ for a week in January, so it was great news when she said they wanted to come visit us in Hemet last week.  They came out for lunch on Tuesday, the day before we came back to Wilderness Lakes.  It turned out that it was also their 43rd wedding anniversary, so it was a grand day to get together!  We had a yummy lunch of pasta salad, fruited jello, French bread, deviled eggs and for dessert I made Oreo Ice Cream Pie.  We played Mexican Train and RummyKube that afternoon.  After we played Train, the guys went to wash Jim & Diane's car.  While they were gone the wind started whipping the awning around so she & I TRIED to roll the awning up.  I've helped Jim to do that, but never done it without him.  We got it part way down and it stuck.  Finally Diane spotted what we had not done, but we couldn't get it to open up enough to release what needed to be opened.  Diane called the guys and they were almost back to the park.  I held onto the strap until they got back and they got it to release and roll back up!  What an adventure that had been.  Finally they had to leave to go back to Silent Valley, but not before they agreed to come back and visit us this NEXT Tuesday here at Wilderness Lakes.  Yippee again.  I do hope they will bring their two adorable dogs, Lucy and Daisy when they come this next time.  Our dogs will become over-excited at first, but then it will be great.

The second thing I wanted to share is a warning.  This week for about three days Jim and I were getting phone calls (after the first on each phone we stopped answering them) that claimed to be from the IRS.  In the recorded message they were trying to tell us that the IRS had been trying to reach us (not true) and this was our last warning to settle our debt with the IRS (we don't have such a debt) before the IRS would file a lawsuit against us.  This is just a scam and if you get such a call, hang up.  Do not do as they ask.  Do not agree to call them back or to pay any kind of payment.  I called the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to report this scam caller.  The recording I got said that they are aware of this scam and unless I had made the mistake of paying money to the scammers (we did NOT) then we didn't have to report it as they are already working to stop these people.  It is sad that hackers and scammers do things like this to rip people off this way.  Another scam is going on now in Los Angeles county where people are being called, supposedly by the Dept. of Water and Power and told they have not paid a bill and their service will be turned off if they don't give banking information to make a payment immediately.  Both the public utilities and the IRS say they will not contact you by phone unless they have already tried to reach you by mail.  Please everyone, be very wary of anyone trying to make you pay money by phone for claims of debts you supposedly have not paid.  If you think you might owe the payment, call the creditor directly.  Do not give banking information over the phone to anyone who has called you to demand money.  If you should be called like this, you should notify your public utility company and tell them what the person said and the phone number that they called you on.  Be careful and be wise.  Most of can NOT afford to be ripped off like this.  

And last but not least, have a nice weekend, but if you are in the part of the country that is under excessive heat warnings, please do whatever you need to do to keep cool and properly hydrated.  Keep your pets cool and well hydrated too.  Don't take any chances.  I read in the Hints to Heloise column today a very good reminder that I had known but forgot to mention a couple weeks ago.  Remember that pavement or gravel can get very, very hot and can burn the pads of your dog's feet.   Whenever possible, walk them on the grass.  If you can, get them light booties or socks to protect their feet.  Do NOT wet their feet before going outside as that can increase the risk of burns.  As much as possible, avoid taking your pets out for prolonged periods during the hottest part of the day.  Long walks or outdoor play time is best in the cooler, early morning or evening hours.

Bye for now and God bless you all.

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