After returning, I scrubbed the stove. Who knows when the last time that was done....

Now I want to clean out and wipe down the refrigerator but I must let my hands recover first (sponges and cleaning products leave my skin chapped and my nails broken). I hope to get around to it later today.

Right now beef stew is simmering in the crockpot (beef chunks, beef broth, 3 bay leaves, a sprinkle of rosemary, and some salt & pepper - just dump in the crockpot and turn on! That's my kind of recipe). The delicious odors wafting around the house are making my mouth water. I hope I can wait for M to get home at 8....

We're completely disgusted with Goodwill. Did I mention that we had a sidewalk sale about three weeks ago? Well, we called and made arrangements with Goodwill the very same day as the sale for them to come and pick up the leftover items. They told us that they would be able to pick them up February 28th (that was yesterday, for those of you playing along at home).

Last week, they required us to submit to them a detailed list of everything we were donating. So we did. Keep in mind that the stuff we are getting rid of is in no way shabby. We're not donating designer furniture, mind you, but we are donating designer clothing, some dishware, lamps, books, comforters, etc.

They told us they'd be by to pick up the stuff between 12:30 and 4:30. By 4:30, they still had not arrived. Angry, M called them and left a message (we always get an answering machine) asking them what went awry. After all, we left the stuff on the sidewalk in front of the house and expected it to be picked up because it's considered quite tacky to keep stuff on the sidwalk, right?

Goodwill returned his call this morning and I talked with the representative. She said, "I don't know why we have a message from you; the driver confirmed the pick-up." I, of course, said, "Well, the stuff is still sitting out there on the sidewalk so... no, it wasn't done. I'm looking at it the stuff right now." She said she'd talk with her supervisor to find out what the problem was and that the driver will be getting in big trouble. Whatever.

So she called back 15 minutes later and used this term I can't remember. I asked her what it meant and she said, "It means that the driver was there and made the decision that the stuff wasn't worth taking."

Huh?! What the....?!

I'm convinced that the driver simply wasn't doing his job. I don't believe he was ever here. Hell, maybe he even went for a nice long drive because the weather was so nice.

And since when does the driver have the authority to determine what's valuable or not? And why do they not ring the bell to confirm that they were here? Don't they need a signature? And why did Goodwill not warn us this might happen?

We're seeing red right now. We've had this crap sitting in our garage for the past three weeks thinking it would be gone by today. Now we're going to have to rent a pickup truck and spend more time and energy (and money!) dealing with this stuff than we expected. We'll either have to take the stuff to the dump or find somewhere else that will graciously accept it.

All I can say is that it's Goodwill's loss for passing up good merchandise. They're idiots.

And this weekend I'll have to deal with more idiots: The Good Guys (now that's an oxymoron!). Remember when I bought my car stereo back in early September? Well, for the past 2 months the back speakers have been sounding atrocious (buzzing/vibrating noises, anyone?). I simply adjusted the balance so that the volume on the back speakers was turned off. (I admit I didn't want to deal with it.)

But, after much prodding, M has convinced me to finally take the car in to the Good Guys so they can remedy the faulty speakers. I'm very irritated about this because the last thing I want to do during my weekends is deal with the Good Guys.

Other than that, I should have a nice weekend. Tomorrow I may go wine tasting in Sonoma with Laura. Sunday, M and I get to spend the day together (hiking? biking?) and then will meet with our photographer for our engagement photo shoot. M and I decided just this morning on the locations: Fort Point and the Legion of Honor. Fortunately, based on reports I've heard, the weather should continue it's fabulousness.

Well, considering that it is almost 3 pm, I should really get into the shower. Adios, muchachos!