Musings...and Saving a Bundle on Cable!

Rumbling in the thundering...and the sky over the mountains is a strange shade of metallic blue. Looks like rain. But also looks like hail.

I've made progress out there (in the garden, that is). The tomatoes are all in, and a big batch of beans has been planted. The zucchini are up and scrambling to get ahead. Everything seems to be alive. I had hoped to put in one raised bed, but it may have to wait.

Today's the last to be Insurance Girl. It's been DEAD. Apparently if people haven't finished what they planned to before the weekend of the Fourth, they just decided, "Ah, stick it. I'll do it when I get back."

Slowly, slowly am beginning to drag myself back into life. A few piles are gone. (More soon.) Next week, I can concentrate on finishing up some restoration/quilting jobs, and help whip the biz inventory back into shape! At least it's cool downstairs in the biz area

* * * * *
The Brick accomplished something wonderful this week --
he cut our cable/internet bill in HALF!

We wanted to see if we could cut the fees any -- we decided to sponsor a Brazilian son through Compassion (a terrific charity), and needed to find the extra $36 monthly fee. And our cable bill had been steadily rising for some time.

Here's what Dave did to get their attention: he started the process to cancel our account. Before long, he was connected with a very nice voice that was more than willing to cut fees, if we'd be willing to stay on! Here's what he got:

*Our cable pkg price (pretty basic, but with History, Travel, AMC, Turner Movie Classics) was cut in half. Not the package -- just the price.
*Our internet access -- ditto. (We have no landlines, just cell phones, so need to get access via cable.)
*Turned in the second receiver, and cancelled the 'second room' coverage. (We don't use it, anyways.)
*Turned in the HD DVR...and got a regular one, instead! (This will save you $7-8 a month, just by itself. The service doesn't change, and we don't have a HD television, anyways.)

Our last month's bill was $145. What do we pay now? $70 for six months...then $90 the next six months. And then, we look at the process all over again!

Could we cancel cable altogether? Well, sure. And if things got really tough, we would. (There is Hulu, after all.) But the Brick enjoys his sports, especially the Rockies and college football. I like those too...but we both enjoy the CSI: NY and NCIS, the Mentalist and other cop shows. I love the History Channel. And it's nice to be able to watch Judge Judy whenever I feel like it, thanks to the DVR. These are niceties, though -- and we could live without them. (Both our daughters do...their great pleasure is Netflix.)

The other issue is the mountains -- TV coverage out here in Denver really stinks without cable. You just can't tune many channels in.

For now, though, saving more than half on our cable bill feels mighty good.