How the Big W Grinch stole Christmas...

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I'm a single, working mother.  The idea of ordering my children's Christmas presents online and paying them off over a period of time, was extremely appealing.  I could budget and I could rest assured that Christmas was going to be relatively sorted.

I ordered in July and dutifully paid off my lay-buy every fortnight, making my final payment on the 28 October as was required.  Delivery was supposed to be completed by the 16th of December.  I went online last week to check the progress of my order as I was getting a little worried.  It just didn't feel like Christmas without toys hidden all over the house!  On the Big W online tracker, it told me that my order had been sitting in a warehouse in Brisbane since the 1st of December - 11 days! I called Big W to query this and was told that my tracking number was incorrect, and that I would receive a call within 24hrs advising me of the correct number.  48hrs later, I still hadn't received a call, so I called again.  This time, I was told that the tracking number was indeed correct, but they were unable to assist me. I was given the number of the courier company, but this number was wrong!  I had to call back.  Again.  I finally got the number and got through to a lovely lady who advised that the order was indeed in the warehouse and she would call me back within 24hrs to advise me of the status of my order.   24hrs later and still no call.  I called again.  I spoke to another helpful girl who told me that in fact, the order was now with their local shipping company and she would call me back within 24hrs to advise of a delivery time.

Can you see the pattern here?

In the meantime, I had sent two emails to Big W, as I refused to spend 2 to 3 hours of my precious time sitting on hold.  Neither of those emails were answered, until today when they emailed quoting the wrong order number, and advising me of the delay! Well, duh!  I called the delivery company again this morning and they told me that my four items would be 'probably' be delivered on Thursday.  My four items?  There were twelve items on my order!  And 'probably'?  What does that mean?  Will I get my items, or won't I?  Will my children get to have Christmas or not?

In fairness, I did receive a call today from Big W who told me exactly the same thing as the courier company.  This was after I sent them another email advising them I had contacted the media.  And boy, did I contact the media!  Every local radio station, local news stations and A Current Affair!  Big W made no offer of compensation, no apology, no offer of a refund or credit voucher, and certainly no guarantee that I would receive my order on Thursday. I'm certainly not the only one experiencing this though.  Check out the link underneath the picture above.  Some families have had their orders cancelled without their knowledge, and without promise of a refund in time to go shopping again!

I don't know what to do at this point.  I can only wait and see what happens on Thursday.   I chose this method to avoid the mad Christmas crowds, and who knows if there will be anything decent left on the shelves anyway??  I've been a dedicated Big W and Woolworths shopper for years.  I'm not anymore.

I know that Christmas is not really about the presents but the point is that a multi-million dollar company has made empty promises to hundreds of families. People that have done their darndest to try to provide their families with the best Christmas they could, and who now may not have anything under the Christmas tree come Christmas morning.

Shame on you, Big W!

My year of living gratefully

I've started a new blog. I certainly won't be ignoring this little baby, but I've decided to try something a little different. One picture for everyday. Each picture will be of something that I'm grateful for - be it big or small.

I hope you'll have a look, and I hope you'll be inspired to count your blessings too.

You can find it here - My Year of Living Gratefully

The Fire of Friendship by Paulo Coelho

“A man called Ali is in need of money and asks his boss to help him out. His boss sets him a challenge: if he can spend all night on the top of a mountain, he will receive a great reward; if he fails, he will have to work for free. When he left the shop, Ali noticed that an icy wind was blowing. He felt afraid and decided to ask his best friend, Aydi, if he thought he was mad to accept the wager.

After considering the matter for a moment, Aydi answered: ‘Don’t worry, I’ll help you. Tomorrow night, when you’re sitting on top of the mountain, look straight ahead. I’ll be on the top of the mountain opposite, where I’ll keep a fire burning all night for you. Look at the fire and think of our friendship; and that will keep you warm. You’ll make it through the night, and afterwards, I’ll ask you for something in return.’”

Ali won the wager, got the money, and went to his friend’s house. ‘You said you wanted some sort of payment in return.’ Aydi said, ‘Yes, but it isn’t money. Promise that if ever a cold wind blows through my life, you will light the fire of friendship for me.’”

- Paulo Coelho

The Vegetable Patch

What do you do when you have an ugly spot like this in the yard? You make a vegie patch!

After a trip to trusty Bunnings, we came home well equipped and ready to go!


We edged the area and then added cow manure and organic soil. This was the chicken's last foray before they were banned from the area for good!


We planted lettuce, strawberries, zucchini, cucumber, eggplant, capsicum, tomatoes, basil, thyme and chives.


The last step was to add some trusty chicken wire to keep those curious chooks out!






Now we can just sit back and watch it grow....

How much fun can you have with $300?

Heaps!!

So we went and bought ourselves a little old caravan on eBay. For $152.50! We had all sorts of hopes and dreams for her too. You saw the pictures. I was off in Gypsy Land. I go there sometimes, and it's a wonderful place. Freedom... With nowhere particular to go, and no schedules or deadlines. Just a whim. A fancy. I have no doubts I'll end up there for good one day. Just me and my man wandering the countryside, making our own little discoveries.

Not this time though.

We bought the 'old girl' on eBay, with the hopes that she'd be a keeper. A vintage beauty that we could restore, and turn into our own little home on wheels. We bought her one weekend and on the following one, we headed north to check her out. And that's where the fun started.

You see, there's not too many places to stay in Childers. A couple of dodgy little motels is about all I could find online. Wotif.com wasn't really much help either. So I hit up our trusty old search engine, Google, and found a pub to stay in. For $60 we could have a balcony room at The Grand Hotel. Sounded pretty cool to me. I'd never stayed in a pub before, and this one was haunted to boot! There had been several sightings over the years, and then there was the interesting phenomenon of the lightning strikes. Once in October 1997, and again in October 2004.... Would it happen again while we were there? How could we not stay there? It was a given.

We rolled up at about 4pm and paid our nightly board at the bar, and were told it was quite safe to park the car on the street, because 'you know, it's Childers and all'... Our room was on one side of the balcony and on the other, there lived an old man. You could tell he'd been there for a while too. He had his recliner, his radio, his esky (full of Bundy Rum and coke) and his newspapers. He was set, well and truly. We decided to settle in too. We unpacked a little, pulled up a stool and sat on that balcony and watched life in Childers pass us by.

We never did see any ghosts that night though, and even when Mother Nature opened the heavens in one almighty storm in the early hours, we weren't struck by lightning. We did however wake up to grey skies and howling winds, and wondered how we would get the photos we wanted to take of our little retro princess. Especially with no freshly brewed coffee under our belts! We found a bakery, ate a sausage roll and a pastie, had some bad coffee and headed out to Apple Tree Creek, to see our lovely little van.

In the middle of nowhere, we found her. First though, we were greeted by her previous owners who immediately conjured visions of the Soggy Bottom Boys.


We were in Australian red neck country. Well and truly. The van was in the back of the yard and from the outside she was beautiful. All my gypsy visions came rolling in.... On the inside though, she was rotten. Through and through.


The years she'd spent sitting in the pasture hadn't been kind, and it didn't take us long to realise that she wasn't going to make a trip home to the Gold Coast. We chatted to our country friends for a while and after coffee and biscuits, we headed home. Not dejected, but full of enthusiasm.

We were going to put her back on eBay! We were armed with photos and information, and decided that the only thing we could do, was to try and sell her for more than what we'd bought her for. We took our time coming home though, stopping off at Woodgate Beach for a paddle, and some shell collecting. We stopped and bought a tray of mangoes, and we browsed through an antique shop in Gympie. For dinner we ate red emperor and coconut prawns on the banks of the Noosa River, and we drove home through one hell of a thunder storm.

Over the next couple of days we gathered our thoughts, and then armed with a barrage of arsenal, we put the old girl back on eBay. Within hours we had 15 watchers, and our first bid came in on the second day. Just before the auction ended, we had 79 watchers! We sold our little van for $305, and literally doubled our money.

Our little risk paid for our weekend, and gave us memories that will last us a lifetime. I'm sure some thought we were mad. I guess we are a little, but that's what makes life so worth living. We still don't have our little, longed-for holiday home, but nothing will replace the fun we had on $300!

Controversy

Don't you just love it?

I love stirring up the pot and getting people to think, to feel and to express. I've had a bit of criticism about my blog recently and despite what people may think, I love it! It means people are reading what I write.

I must admit, I did get a little upset by the mysterious comment from 'anon' a few weeks ago though. I'm all for free speech, and I'm definitely one who endorses freedom of opinion and freedom of expression. If I wasn't, I wouldn't be a blogger! What did upset me though was the lack of courage that 'anon' displayed. After all, if you have something to say, don't be afraid to say it. More importantly though, don't be afraid to own your words.

If you feel strongly enough about something, then say it. Tell everyone. But screw what they might think! What they think doesn't matter in the slightest. It's true. What matters most is that you've been strong enough and confident enough in yourself to be able to express what is important to you.

Controversy is good. Debate is good. Difference of opinion is good. Being able to express everything that is important to you, AND put your name to it, is even better! Be true to who you are. Don't be afraid to rock the boat. Don't be afraid to create a little bit of upheaval or a bit of controversy. And don't be afraid to be the one that starts it.

To me that's the most exciting part!

Bring it on!

It's that gypsy blood again...

The gypsy in me has gone and made me buy a caravan. Not just any caravan either. Nope... This little beauty is about four hours north of here, is about 50 years old, and is in dire need of some TLC!

Don't you think she's cute though?

I'm already imagining what we'll be able to do with her. Obviously we need to work out a way to get her home first, but when we do, I think she's going to become a beautiful labour of love. The other half of this little gypsy duo wants to do her up and sell her, but I have a feeling I might become a little attached during her make-over and want to keep her.

I've been scouring vintage caravan websites and my mind is over-flowing with decorating ideas. Do we go retro? Do I try and sneak in a little bit of shabby chic? Do we stick with keeping her original? Or do we go totally modern?

I love this look, but I think Mr Gypsy might find it a bit too girly.

Then again, I love this too. Maybe this might be more his style?

One thing I do know for sure though.... This is going to be fun!!!