Tag Archives: packages

It’s that time of year! Frango time!

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Every year, for as long as I can remember during my married life, I’ve helped my husband with Holiday cards and small gifts of appreciation for his clients. I add that to my personal cards and friends and family gifts.

Frango mints hold a dear place in my heart. When I was in elementary school, Mom would drive me to the city (Seattle) for back-to-school shopping at Frederick & Nelson’s, an old fashioned department store. Frederick’s had an amazing toy section, books, clothing, even a Steuben glass room and a whole floor of fabrics, patterns and notions. We’d have lunch at the counter in the basement and after lunch, Mom would buy me a single Frango mint.

When I have a Frango mint, I remember Mom.

For the past years, I’ve mailed out Frangos to my husband’s clients. It’s quite a project and I’m pleased that over our quiet Thanksgiving weekend I got started.

I enjoyed when my daughter was in high school and helped me with this project because two hands are better than one!

I’ll never forget one year in the Palm Springs post office, when the postal worker asked me to re-label my stack of Frango Mints to save money on mailing. My daughter and I wrote new labels as fast as we could, and the postal worker was ringing them up and punching into her computer. We actually had teamwork going and it didn’t slow down the process at all for those waiting behind us. It looked like it did — because of us filling out new labels — but in reality it took no more time. The postal worker was moving as fast as she could and she hadn’t caught up to our new labeling.

But the comments and cursing I heard that day! My daughter had my back and defended us loudly to those behind us. I was afraid one impatient person was going to come to blows with us. Or my daughter would get into a fight defending me.

I’ve made friends with our postal workers in Carefree (like I did for 30 years in Palm Springs) and gave them their own box of Frangos. This will be my third year of overwhelming the small Carefree post office with packages. They’ve told me to never come in on Mondays and what hours are best. I’ve also learned to come in on multiple days with no more than ten to a dozen boxes. It may take a few more trips, but I understand how people in line get annoyed at having to wait.

I’ve never had a bad experience with a postal worker. Just the people waiting behind me. I’ve also found people in Carefree are happier and more patient than the Palm Springs customers.

Thankfully, gift giving in our family has gotten smaller and easier. It’s spending time together that’s most important. I can’t wait for Christmas this year with our kids coming to our home for the first time to celebrate. The past few years, we’ve rented a place in Palm Springs or Santa Barbara to be together.

So what are Frangos?

The Plumbing Parts Mystery

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Our saguaros are wearing flower crowns.

Friday I got a package, which isn’t unusual because I use Amazon a lot. However it’s what was in the package that was odd. It was a diverter cartridge for a Danze faucet from a “Plumbing Repair Parts Specialist” in Ohio.

Note: we do not have any faucets with that brand.

I have never heard of the company. I have never been to their website. I did not order any plumbing parts. The part is $108.47. I doubled checked my Amazon orders and no I didn’t accidentally click on the part.

I emailed them asking how they got my name and number — and why they decided to mail me a part I don’t want and didn’t order.

I checked through all our various banking accounts and credit card. We have not been charged for the part.

Then I noticed a charge for $600 to PNP billpayments. I have never heard of PNP billpayments. I freaked out, called the bank and disputed the charge. I considered closing our account but decided to discuss with my husband. He told me to make a list of ACH’s and see if there was anything coming out soon — like the electric bill.

I called back to the bank to close our account. I was on hold for 20 minutes and gave up.

I googled PNP payments:

The PNP Bill Payment bank charge typically signifies an automated payment made to several municipalities nationwide in the United States. These payments are commonly utilized to cover various services, such as utilities, taxes, or other municipal expenses.
https://cashvapour.com/what-is-pnp-bill-payment-on-a-bank-statement/

I had an “AHA” moment. The $600 was for property tax in Washington for our family’s riverfront lots that I had made several weeks ago. It hit my account on Friday, but under a weird name.

Back on the phone with the bank to tell them I was an idiot. I asked to cancel my payment dispute. That took 45 minutes.

Saturday, I got another strange package. More plumbing parts that I did not order. This time it was two parts from a plumbing fixture company in Illinois. It was a pull-out faucet spray head and a Roman tub diverter assembly. At least that’s what the packaging says. There’s no invoice or paperwork. So, I don’t know how much this order cost.

I got on the company’s website and filled out an online form wondering what the heck is up with all of this?

I hope to get an answer from both plumbing companies today. Hopefully no more plumbing parts arrive in the mail.

The mysterious plumbing parts I got in the mail, one still wrapped because I’ll most likely have to mail them back. I don’t want to pay for the postage! Would you?

Why do you think I’m getting random plumbing parts in the mail?

Have you ever received items you never ordered? If so, what were they?

After I wrote this, I talked to my millennial son and he told me this sounds like a scam called “brushing.” Ever heard of that before? Be safe. Stay Aware. Change your passwords.