pammyfay, as with so many other things in life, some people abuse coupon policies and ruin it for everyone else. Many if not most of the stores (not just BB&B/LNT) around here will not accept printed-from-the-Internet coupons or anything except original coupons as provided by the store or manufacturer, because there are so many "forged" and "doctored" coupons out there. This is a particular problem around here with Lowes and Home Depot, there are big signs at the checkouts reading "we do not accept Internet coupons". Accepting competitors' coupons is getting to be a real rarity, too, as are price-match policies with any teeth in them to give you any incentive to shop at store A instead of store B if they both have the same items (f'rinstance I got into a polite argument with the manager at Lowes because their TV ads about how they match any other store's price plus give you 10% more off are misleading, they only give you the 10% if they have the item on the sales floor at the time of purchase - if it has to be ordered, even off their own website or transferred from another store because they normally have it but just don't have any on hand, no 10%!). I try to call ahead and ask. BTW, the LNT here will not accept BB&B's (or anyone else's) coupons, nor their own expired coupons, nor more than one coupon in a transaction (and you better not try the "buy one item with a coupon, take it out to your car and come back in to buy another item with another coupon" routine more than once or twice, it doesn't fly at this one), and there's a list as long as your arm of all the things you can't use coupons on. This LNT's policies have always been MUCH more restrictive than BB&B's, so I've always been surprised at how accomodating BB&B's policies are! Neither store keeps a coupon at the register anymore though; I asked at BB&B a couple of weeks ago, explaining that I had moved and was not getting coupons at my new place yet. The manager signed me up for the mailing list again and suggested Freecycle or eBay! LOL If I have coupons I'm not using, I always offer them to someone else in the store. I've also been known to just leave them on a shelf near the checkouts if the clerk won't let me leave them at the checkout itself for the next person. (If it's a direct-mail coupon I always scratch out the name/address/barcode, I'm not quite as dumb as I look! Almost, but not quite.) I also shamelessly admit to picking through the trash bins at the exit if I'm going in and need a coupon, since some people just throw them away rather than leaving them for someone to use. The local supermarket has these silly "save up points" things where they give you points for spending a certain dollar amount that you can later redeem for percent-off coupons or a turkey or some such foolishness, but I never get enough points for any reward by the time each one of these promotional periods ends because we just don't spend enough. The manager said they were transferable so I tuck the little "you have earned 1 point" slips in the candy display for someone else to take and use. Just seems, I dunno, unfriendly not to. It's not like it costs me anything.

Nothing odd or unusual about our BB&B employees here. It would take a bit for me to notice. I do know the lines move SLOWLY, so I try to go at off hours. They're not as slow as Kohl's, though. . When we used to have a video store (remember those?) there was one lass with Cindi Lauper hair (multicolored) and one older guy who wore a copper wire pyramid on his head. Our local grocery hires baggers and shopping cart attendees who often have some mental disabilities with attendant "quirks" (for which I commend the store). I miss seeing the older chap who always had a kind word when he was retrieving carts from the lot. I don't know if he's still working there but at different hours, or not.

I love their Wamsutta sheets and the Yankee cancles have monthly "Scent of the Month" 25% off sale that you can use a coupon for after that, like a $5 off coupon. Love the Cranberry Chutney scent. I've gotten fabulous deals on Mikasa and found my "Antique White" pattern on the BBB clearance racks for one reason or another, and snapped them up (like eight luncheon plates for $9.99, usually $10 a piece). Got our Fitbits there, and will stock up on sundry items when I have a 20% off your entire purchase coupon, which I receive once or twice a year. I think the 20% off coupons make the "Harmon" drug store items very competitive price-wise. I would never pay for that service however. Not Prime either. I'm not paying a retailer to shop there.... except Costco. : ( Finally, Macy's is having their "Thanks for Sharing" promotion, which gives you 10% of your Fall-Winter purchases back in the form of a gift card in January. I paid $25 for that privilage, but it was taken off sale shoes, and the associate doubled that coupon.

Thanks for your compliments. Honestly, that arrangement WAS effortless. I did it outside as I deadheaded. Golden Buddha and partner, clematis ‘Franziska Marie’ are looking too nice not to share today. I just love all the dark to light color progressions Golden Buddha’s blooms go through. Felicia is really blooming well. A little spotty from the rain, but still pretty. Felicia’s blooms have a special sheen to them, impossible to capture with my phone camera. Carding Mill A nice new cane coming up in the middle of Carding Mill. Lisa