Tough Weekend

Well now, sometimes you just can't win!

For weeks we have been deluged with wet, miserable weather. Suddenly, we have an absolutely fabulous weekend, albeit more like fall than summer. Officially the coldest June on record. Is it me, or do others recall when "summer" meant temperatures ABOVE 70, and you could actually get through July without your furnace coming on?

But at least it was dry and sunny (which ain't gonna last).

So, you'd think I would be rejoicing.

But a coupla things:

1) There were no car shows in the area, to take advantage of the weather, and
2) The internet's largest payment gateway - AuthorizeNet - went down

At first glance, you might say "So what!" But not me.

It was not the simple fact that over 30 million dollars worth of sales were lost over the weekend - do we really need that in this economy? But the real slam is that my own business relies on AuthorizeNet - when they are down, my business is closed, and no income comes in. And that hurts.

And I suspect that is true for many of the 270,000 merchants that use AuthorizeNet.

I have spent over 36 hours trying to work with them to get things right again. And orders are still not getting processed.

Sometimes it just doesn't pay to get outta bed. Literally.

Well, at least I was finally able to get some yard work done - work that was not getting done in the rain. And all of this year's cordwood is finally in and stacked in the shed. Now I gotta cut a bunch to season for next year. And, yes, I am being very watchful concerning my knees and chainsaw chains.

Had a chance to finally check out the garden, too - what's left of it. Much of it drowned, just like last year. And all the tops to all the peas, and all the lettuce, and all the cukes got eaten by a woodchuck that decided to take up residence under the shed.

Tried trapping him with a Havahart trap. He wanted no part of that. So, I decided to pop him with the .22. But I guess he is psychic, because he immediately packed his bags and headed for parts unknown. But not soon enough to save the garden.

So I won't be bringing free corn, cukes, tomatoes or peas to the cruises this year, as I usually do. But if I get half a chance, I may bring a woodchuck pelt!

/