Catch up and a plug

We've been taking care of a few items in between visiting with Viv.  We had a bit of an issue with our dash air conditioning.  Seems like lately the air hasn't been as cool as it used to be.  I know we should have it serviced but I decided to try to recharge the system.  I checked it out with Jason and he said it's a simple deal so off to Wally World I go to get two cans of freon.  It was simple and now we have cold air again.  We'll see how long it lasts.  I imagine we have a leak somewhere but hope it's tiny and this will work for a while.

I can't help myself but I'm going to give a plug to a great store, REI.  I had mentioned previously how great they were throughout the roof rack saga, but here's another example.  I have worn several pairs of the same Merrill shoe, kind of a cross trainer, light hiker for years.  Well, as it happens so frequently, at least to me, once you are completely happy with a particular design, they go and change it.  I went to REI back in November and after trying on a million different shoes finally bought another pair of Merrills that I thought would be okay.  I procrastinated awhile and wore my old worn out ones when I walked or hiked, so finally I tried my new ones.  Disaster!  Uncomfortable to the point of rubbing the back of my ankle raw.  I figured they just needed to be broken in a bit, so I taped the back of my ankle and continued to use them.  They were OK at best.  I've hiked in them, walked in them but wasn't happy.  So after 6 months and trying several times without tape and ending up rubbed raw I asked REI if they would take them back.  I was embarrassed to even ask.  Well, they say certainly bring them in and we'll be happy to give your money back or get you in to some new shoes or whatever you'd like.  So today I brought them my dirty, dusty shoes and they gave me my money back.  It is such a pleasure to find a store that absolutely puts the customer first.  And they are a co-op, so at the end of the year you get a dividend check for the items you purchased.  So that's my plug for today!