Life is interesting these days. It amazes me the kinds of things one can order online. Of course, there are the normal, everyday items. Clothing. Accessories. Even food. And then, there are exotics. Things that I would have never believed would be delivered to the front door of a person’s home. Things like a 8 X 8 screen dome.
With all the trouble I’ve been having with mosquito bites, I might think about getting one of these delivered to put over my bed. At any rate, let me start at the beginning, which involved one very large greenhouse. That’s where the SNAFU began.
Having wanted a greenhouse for a very long time, I decided I’d waited long enough. If not now, when? The smell of fresh herbs. A place for my houseplants to vacation. Although I do have a pickup to retrieve such an item from the hardware store, the hardware store only ships these items. And so the SNAFU-able events started to unravel.
At first it seemed that the greenhouse was on its way and would even arrive early. In less than a week, I’d be helping to pour a foundation for this garden wonder and in two weeks, I’d have plants thriving inside. All that wasn’t to be.
It got as far as Sacramento when another freak storm hit the area leaving Donner Pass impassable. With nothing better to do, the company shipped the greenhouse from Sacramento to Los Angeles, where it lounged for two days before starting the journey back to Sacramento. It finally made its way over Donner Pass to my door, days after it was supposed to arrive.
With the excitement of the greenhouse, friends and family wanted to help! We had a brother that offered to help pour the foundation on the day it was supposed to arrive. Then, there was my bestie, CC, who was so thoughtful. She sent a book on greenhouse gardening tips along with some cute wooden plant markers that we could use to help us remember what seeds were growing. Each item came in a separate package including a nice little note.
A few days later, another package arrived. “Wow! CC is really getting into this greenhouse garden event! ” thought I. The evening the package arrived, I called to thank her for her sweet gift. I hadn’t considered a misting system, but what a brilliant idea. On a timer, this would help on those hot summer days!
Well, the SNAFU had set in. You see, she ordered the misting system for herself, but had forgot to change the shipping address on Amazon. CC and I live 7 hours apart. This wouldn’t be a little something I could drop off while we enjoyed a cup of tea.
After our call, a wonderful idea popped into my head. I’d just buy a system for her and have it delivered through Amazon. How easy would that be? I now wanted the mister for the greenhouse and she’d get a laugh when one arrived at her house. Except, I was out SNAFU’d. She’d already ordered another for her house. Now, she would have two.
But, the biggest SNAFU was yet to come. CC had ordered the above mentioned 8×8 screened dome for her house and …..you guessed already….it was coming to my house. She did mention that although she thinks of me as a sister, this was her item, needed and wanted at her own home.
I came home Monday to find the dome home safely delivered to my house. With a few calls and pick-up appointment, we finally got all our orders straightened out. UPS came to retrieve the item yesterday. Hopefully CC has another delivered to her house just as quickly.
Life in 2023 is fast and crazy. One had better pay attention to the fine print while ordering gifts delivered here or there. Amazon will definitely deliver any package to the exact address you select. With the push of a button, your own dome home will fly off to another state. If only our orders could tell their tales.
Whatever you do today, be careful when ordering on the internet. Make sure your passwords are at least 24 random letters, numbers, and characters. Keep your passwords hidden and try to avoid operator errors that can create unneeded SNAFU’s. It can happen to the best of us.
More tomorrow.