A trip to Urgent Care

It's been a month since I had been diagnosed with influenza. And the side effects keep lingering such as being tired, being cold and breathing isn't as easy.

Well, I had an interesting thing happen recently.

As I had mentioned last time, I have a history of bronchitis. Well, Last week just before closing, I called our local clinic to make an appointment to see a doctor. I got the appointment desk and she asked why I had called.

I told her that I just had influenza and now I am having pain in my left side in my what I thought to be my lower lung and pain under my left shoulder blade. The pain had increased throughout the day and was worried about bronchitis or pneumonia.

She said that she would send me to the nurse help line on the phone. (You know, dial an 800 number and a nurse helps you out in case it is something minor.) I told the help line nurse the reason for the call and she had me breath in deep and breathe out. Does it hurt more? Yes. I am driving home by this time and have the ear bud in so I can have both hands on the wheel. She  asked a number of questions because she needed too to make sure.

After a number of questions, she said I should go to Urgent Care. She also said that maybe applying a hot water bottle there for a bit would help. I had asked, can't I just wait until tomorrow and make an appointment. She said no.

Now, I have never had pneumonia so I am thinking that maybe this is in worse shape than I had thought. So almost home, I make a "B" line to Urgent care.

I had to wait about 5 minutes for the person in front of me to get settled in with the nurse at the registration desk. I walked up to the window and explained why I was there. I could see in her face she was starting to get anxious. Her eyes where getting bigger and her body language was going into emergency mode. She was trying very hard to speak calmly. She said that she was going to put me in a room and have me checked out immediately.

Well, in comes the EKG machine. (Nope, Hadn't ever been hooked up to one before.) They thought I was having a heart attack. That was the first thing they did. and was only hooked up to it for maybe two minutes total. The results were negative. And that nurse at the desk was trying to get the EKG tech to hurry up.

Then comes in another nurse to take my blood presser, heart rate and oxygen level. Everything looks good. Heart rate was under 60 beats per minute.

Then the Doctor comes in. I told the doctor all I needed was someone to listen to my lungs to make sure I didn't have bronchitis or pneumonia. She said, "Well, I am going to do that now." So she listened to my breathing then sent me to get an x-ray. Turns out that I did have bronchitis.

So now instead of having a bill for an office visit, I have extra ER/EKG/Xray fees. grrr. I guess it is better to be safe and check for a heart attack rather than not.

Now what is the point of this story? I am getting there.

The Doctor gave me a perscription for anti-biotics and an inhaler. Things seem to clear up.

I told this story to my chiropractor. And here is the helpful hint you have been waiting for.

He said that if you are having a trouble breathing from a cold or bronchitis, lie down face down and have someone pat your back rapidly and that is to help loosen and work that nasty mucus out of the lungs.

And also, if you have congestion problems, eat some onion and garlic soup. They have properties that help boost your immunity. You put onion, garlic, carrots, celery, lettuce or any other greens into water and boil it. DO NOT have sugar or milk while sick. It sets the body's immune system back.

He told of a story were one of his clients whom had a cold for 9 weeks and tried the soup and the cold cleared up within two days. Another gentleman who was into a healthy life style and had a cold for two weeks ate the soup and he was also cleared up within two days.

Thank you for reading. I hope that you all stay healthy the rest of this cold season. Have a wonderful and blessed day.

Gun's E-Z Own: Influenza? WTH

Well the last couple of weeks have been interesting at Gun's E-Z Own and for me health wise.

For the first time in 50 plus years I was diagnosed with influenza. Here is a little background of my health.

You know from a previous blog that I was in the US Army-Regular service. I had not been sick since April 1986. Ten plus years of no cold, no temperature, no flu, no stomach flu. Nothing.

UNTIL, I was delivering propane, I believe this was December 1996. I finished up the propane delivery and knocked on the customers door. Now this was the year of the worse flu break out ever. The media was warning of a possible epidemic. (Sound familiar?) I remember because I had shrugged off the warnings because I hadn't been sick for , yes TEN YEARS.

Anyway I knocked on the customers door to give him the bill. As soon as he opened the door, he coughed right in my face. I felt the breeze of his cough past my cheeks. This was days before Christmas. Yes, I got sick with my temperature spiking to 103.1. I was miserable, achy, tired and cold.

Let me time travel even further back in time. I wrestled heavyweight and qualified for the 1982 Minnesota State Wrestling Tournament. The Monday before the tourney, I got sick, spitting out clumps of mucus. Not just the little bit when you have a little cough, I mean clumps. I was able to wrestle one match and lasted to the 3rd period before I was so gassed I couldn't do anything. I got pinned and called it a tournament. It  hadn't cleared up for three weeks so I went to the doctor. It turned out I had a case of bronchitis.

Now post-Army. it was cool not being sick. Missing no work, not feeling achy and giggling at others who got sick. (What a bunch of wimps.) Well, ever since the propane gas cough, I started getting sick once a year. And it was typically a severe cold or bronchitis. (grrrrr)

Now In the past 6 months I have been sick, twice. The first time a the regular flu we all know and love. Temp of 102 sleep for a day and then back on your feet.

Not this second time around. My temperature peaked at 105.1. But the funny thing was I didn't feel achy. Just hot and tired. Two days later I went to the doctor because the temperature persisted at around 101-102. I was worried about a case of bronchitis again.

When I went to the doctor, the nurse had me wear a  mask. (WTH). She did the regular weight, temperature, medical history and blood pressure,  (By the way, my BP was 98/74. I am so laid back. haha).

The nurse had now decided to stick a swab up my nostril for the test. and happy day (NOT) I had influenza. The kind you can get shots for. The doctor put me on quarantine for four more days. And now I am back to work but still feeling tired, still have a cough and still have a runny nose. I got my vitamins, vapor rub and throat lozenges. I am just hoping to avoid bronchitis or even pneumonia.

When I got back to work, the tabs one our 15,000 lbs gross weight delivery truck were due. Being it the last of of February and had to be purchased by then. I went down to the licenses center and got the tabs. Came back and got ready to put the tabs on the plates, but (WTH, AGAIN), the plates were gone. Some bone head stole the license plates off our truck. with expired tabs.

I filed a report with the police and warned the neighboring businesses to be heads up. We were wondering on what type of vehicle they were going to put 15k GVW plates on. I think it would be funny if they put truck plates on thee car and got pulled over just for being stupid. Yes, they didn't only steal the plates, they stole the brackets too. (Place eye roll and face palm here)

Well, maybe we will see them on World's Dumbest Criminals sometime.

Thank you for reading. Until next time, please be safe and may you stay healthy.

Gun's E-Z Own: How do I Stage a home for sale?

Are you in the processes of selling your home? Or maybe you are a realtor and need to chow your clients what the home for sale would look like with furniture it. Or you are Stager for hire by realtors to help sell a home. Gun's E-Z Own can help.

One of our Living Room stagings in a
model home in Lake City

Now we don't offer feng shui. We wouldn't even begin to know what to be for that. Heck, I don't even know if I spelled the thing right. But one thing  Gun's E-Z Own does and we do it very well is supply furniture to those who wish to stage a home that is for sale. We have staged homes in cities like Red Wing,  Hastings, Cannon Falls, Lake City, Minneapolis, Rochester just to name a few. We have staged million dollar homes down to $100,00 homes. Large, small, new and renovated. And we have been doing this for over 15 years.

The whole purpose of staging a home is to help your potential buyer envision what the home would look like with furniture in it. Some people just can't envision this in their heads without the props. We feel that keeping it minimal is key. If you put too much furniture in a home it will look small and cluttered.

In the LIVING ROOM,  a sofa, love seat or chair (depending on the size of the room), three piece occasional table set (not too big), and two lamps.

In the DINING ROOM only needs a four place dining set. What we have used in the past is a glass top table set to keep the dining/kitchen area looking open. Don't go with a big fancy dining set. It will take up too much space and shrink the room considerably.

Bedroom staged in a  model home.

For the BEDROOM we would suggest a full or queen mattress set, headboard, one night stand and either a dresser or chest (not both). And don't use a king mattress set either. It can make the bedroom appear small.

We do NOT offer items like bed spreads, plants, pictures and so on. Only the furniture.

Don't want to drive all the way to Red Wing to see what we have? You can go to Gun's E-Z Own, click on PRODUCTS, then click on IN STORE to see what we have in stock.

Neutral colors seem to work best. You want the house to stand out, not the furniture. The furniture is only a prop to help sell the home.

Not sure of the color scheme? Take pictures of the rooms you wish to stage and e-mail those pictures to gunsezown@gmail.com attention Marcia. Marcia is excellent at putting items together for staging and keeping the color schemes simple, which is what you want. The guy writing this blog is just a guy. Color schemes seem to escape me. I just do the deliveries.

If you would like more information on rentals and staging you can go to gunsezown.com and click on RENTAL . There you will find forms needed to begin staging a home. For our staging package pricing, e-mail us or give us a call at 651.388.3951. Staging prices are different from rental fees. For a brochure you can e-mail us as well.

I hope these little tidbits will help you in the future.

From the cold of Minnesota, thank you for reading today. Have a safe and blessed day.

Gun's E-Z Own: Should I purchase the product with payments or rent the product?

One the questions we often get, "Should I purchase the product with payments or rent the product?"

This question we get most often when a client is trying to get temporary accommodations for a elderly loved one. This is a very tough question. Clients have thought it would be 6 months and ending up being two years. Then after two years it might be longer yet and decided to purchase the items rather than paying more rent on the items.

Today I will point out a couple of pros and cons for each.

If I rent the furniture.
Pro
-I save money if it a 3-6 month rental.
-It can be returned and I don't have to worry about moving the furniture. Gun's E-Z Own will do that.
- If there is a problem with the rental items, Gun's E-Z Own handles the repairs or replacement.

Cons
-If the rental goes for over 16 months I will have paid enough in rental fees that could have purchase the items.
-If I want to buy it out right after the rental period, Gun's E-Z Own CAN NOT use what rental fees I paid on the items towards the purchase. I will have to pay the original retail price. (Because of Minnesota regulations)
-I don't own the furniture


If I purchase the furniture
Pro
-Once paid for I completely own it
-Once it is paid for I can re-sell it if I don't need it any more
- I don't lose out on any money spent on the item if I purchase it.

Con
- I am responsible for repairs of the items.
- I can still return the property if the "rental" ends up being short term, but I will have paid interest on
- Now what am I going to do with it.

Even though most of our rentals are only short term, every great once in a awhile a rental goes on much longer than anticipated.

Here is a rule of thumb I hope helps. If you think that the rental may be 12-24 months, consider purchasing it under loan contract. Yes, you will be paying interest on it, but at least once the 16 month loan is paid for, you own it.

If it is for sure to be 12 months or less, rental is the way to go for a temporary solution to a temporary situation.

We are more then happy to rent to our clients for the long term. But we also want to be fair and make sure you have the the information to make an educated decision.

Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful day.

Gun's E-Z Own: The Holidays and the Winter Clearance Sale

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. Gun's E-Z Own hopes that you all had a safe and blessed holiday season.

I had two Christmases. One with the in-laws which is quiet and laid back. Only seven people. And we don't say much in conversation.

Then for the 2nd Christmas I went over to my dad's place to spend Christmas with my family. This is a completely opposite experience. We are loud. Very loud. Extremely loud. 16 people, ages 5 to 77 all trying to over talk each other,  kids running around, Everyone unwrapping presents and singing Christmas carols. If we are lucky we might get a game in and argue over the results. Oh, yes, we eat a huge meal sometime in there as well. And Yes, it can get quite loud. But it was enjoyable. A little red wine certainly helps.😉   With this crowd, we almost need two days for Christmas. You may have heard of the Seinfeld holiday, Festivous? Maybe we should go with a two day celebration and call it, Christgunhusmas . More wine would be needed. A lot more.

Then for New Years Eve my family of 16 did it all over again. We all try to see who can talk the loudest. I won one round and conceded the rest. We play games and watch the football games. Of course this was the evening to stay over night so partaking in some Jamison and coke was definitely on the radar.  I stayed up until midnight and crashed at 12:05. I'm such a party animal.  I survived the holidays, the bitter cold and slippery roads.

Ok, enough about my holidays. When the family reads this blog they may ask, "What do you mean we're loud?" But hey, it's an annual tradition.

Gun's E-Z Own Winter Clearance 2017

Now to business. Currently Gun's E-Z Own is having a Winter Clearance Sale. This is the biggest sale we've ever held. Even under the old ownership. We have over 100 items on sale. Prices are slashed to make this SALE, to quote some famous person, "HUGE!"

A Sofa & Love seat went from $599.99 and slashed to $299.99. A Night Stand that was $149.99 is now $69.99.  And there is so much more on SALE. I left the pricing up to my Assistant Marcia. I'm often cringing, "She priced it at WHAT?!!!"  So if you want to save some money on your purchase, you need to take advantage of these low prices now before I come to my senses and change them. Our Winter Clearance Sale ends January 31, 2017. (Ha, You thought I was going to put 2016 didn't you?)

Our Price board with Sale Prices

It is best to stop in the store at 816 Main Street, Red Wing, MN 55066 so you can see and touch the furniture. You wouldn't be the only person who does this. There are a lot of people who prefer the be able to touch the furniture then to just trust a photo.

And there are those who are okay with a photo. Look at how popular online shopping is. That is how the original E-Z Own business got started, with people ordering via a catalog. If you would like to see what we have on clearance click on the links within this blog and you will find those pictures. There is a lot there to see.

One more thing, Please Find or like us on Facebook. I do post photos of what we have in stock on Facebook as well. Maybe some funny memes or the like.

Once again thank you for reading. There is no guarantee that I won't solicit sales in my next blog, but stay tuned and find out.

Have a safe and blessed day. Until next time.

Gun's E-Z Own: Winter Safety for Deliveries

Greetings all.

In 2008 we placed a delivery policy that stated that our delivery people have the right to refuse delivery if they feel it is unsafe. How and why did this policy come about.

Today I am tackling a subject that is one of my pet peeves. People who ask Gun's E-Z Own to deliver a product to their home, but they don't shovel or spread ice melt on the path we would take for the delivery.

Let's go back in time when I was a mere regional manager.

One winter we had a rental furniture delivery to a gentleman from Texas. The day before the delivery there was an ice storm and this gentleman was not prepared for a Minnesota winter. He did not have ice melt or a shovel for that matter. While I was checking the path we were going to use for the delivery, I stepped on a patch of ice that cause my feet to slip right out from under me. Like you would see in a cartoon. I fell on my back and hit the back of my head hard on the concrete driveway. Fortunately I had a stocking cap on that was folded over and gave extra cushion. I came out okay, but still got a headache. Two days later, I heard on the news that some guy slipped on some ice like I did, He did not have extra cushioning on the back of his head and died from severe brain trauma from the fall.

During another winter after the previous paragraph, 2008 to be exact. I had slipped and fell three times. Once hurt my back, another hurt my hip and third one, well the third one I will tell you about.

The third time we were delivering a sofa and a recliner. The main side walk going to the customers sidewalk did not have ice melt on it and was slippery. The customer's sidewalk was not shoveled. Now some recliners, the backs come off for ease of delivery. I had the bottom part of the recliner and my assistant had the top half. Well I slipped and fell with the bottom part of the recliner landing on top of me. I was fine. We then carried the sofa, We both slipped a little and the sofa got a little snow on it from the piled up snow bank. We got the sofa into the town home.

The customer then started to complain that we got a little snow on the sofa. This was just a little bit towards the bottom. Like 3" wide by maybe 6" long. It was all I could do not to snap. I told the customer that if he was not happy with it, we will take it back and refund them their down payment.

Now for my tirade. Really, dude. You were too lazy and too inconsiderate to shovel the sidewalk for an appointed time for a delivery and then complain that we got a little snow on the product, that would not do any damage to the product. In which, from the fall, we could have done a law suit for improper maintenance of your sidewalk. That with us falling, could have done severe physical damage. Just dust the snow off and carry on.

That was the last straw. I had enough. I don't need any of my delivery people to get hurt. I got permission for a Delivery policy from the owner of the business and he agreed.

This policy reads:

DELIVERY POLICY

Gun’s E-Z Own Staff Reserve the Right to REFUSE DELIVERY if they feel there are safety issues.

Customers are asked to:

1.    Make sure the furniture purchased will fit down pathway and through doorways of their residence.

2.    Keep possible delivery pathways clear of snow, ice, toys and any other items that may cause an E-Z Own staff member to slip or fall. During the winter make sure pathways are sanded and/or salted.

3.    Stairs must be deemed as safe and not rickety.

4.    Have vehicles moved out of the path if furniture may have to be lifted over head to clear vehicle.

Gun’s E-Z Own staff will inform the customer of the safety hazards. If the safety hazards can’t be cleared immediately the delivery will be cancelled until the safety hazards are cleared.

The customer may chose to pick up the purchased items themselves and have a portion of their delivery fee credited to their account.

#   #   #   #

So what is the moral of the story? Please be considerate of service people who are coming to your home. Have the sidewalk cleared off, have a path to where the service person is going cleared. Yes, They are being paid for their service but you may end up paying a lot more if that service person slips, falls and does severe damage or death because a path was not cleared.

But the business has workmen's Comp. Yes, True, but the workmen's comp will go after your insurance to get repaid if they find that it is the fault of the customer.

And to avoid this process, Gun's E-Z Own reserves the right to refuse delivery.

Phew, I said my peace. Now I will need to go zen and settle down.

Thank you for listening today.

Have a blessed and safe day.

Gun's E-Z Own: What NOT to do around your TV

You may have heard the Jim Croce Song with the lyrics, "You don't tug on Superman's Cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask of the old Lone Ranger and you don't mess around with Jim."

Well today I have three stories of what you shouldn't do around your TV. Another title could be: Kids, don't do this around the TV to anger your parents.

Story 1: 

One our customers came into the store very upset. We asked what happened? Her 11 year old son was playing with his BB gun. (Oh, yes. You already know the ending) He was cleaning it and pretending to shoot it. He had thought it was empty. (Of course it was empty.) He had moved to the living room and placed the BB gun down. 

While placing the BB gun down on a table, the BB gun was pointing towards the TV. His finger got stuck in the trigger and bang. Cracked TV screen. A TV that was less than two years old. 

Needless to say, BB guns are now banned in the house*

Story 2:

An family member recently went to a local home improvement store, who were handing out helium filled balloons to all the kids. To help weigh the balloons down, the balloons had a washer tied to the bottom of the string.

The daughter got home and was so excited about her new balloon, she was swinging it around and around in, . . . you guessed it, . . . the living room. Her father told her repeated times to stay away from the TV with the balloon. She lost hold of the balloon and it floated over the TV cabinet. Now the TV sits in a TV cabinet where the doors can close over the TV.

Thinking the daughter couldn't get to the floating balloon, the father who had a broken foot in a cast at the time, decided to take a long hot bath. Being as that it was easier than taking a shower.

After the bath, he entered the living, hmmm, the ottoman was by the TV cabinet and the TV cabinet was closed. Odd, but ok, He opened the cabinet, sat down, used the remote to turn the TV on and HOLY CRAP, there was a rainbow colored, spider web patterned crack in the TV screen.

A loud, "Get over here now!" to the very upset and nervous daughter was called out to found out what happened. She pushed the ottoman to the TV cabinet, that was open, climbed up to get her balloon. In the process she banged the washer into the TV screen. She got scared, closed the TV cabinet to hide the damage and ran away to her room. 

Moral: Never assume that your determined child CANNOT do something. Especially when it comes to cool balloons.

Story 3:

A customer's daughter enjoys the scented candles. On this particular day, she had lit a candle on the TV stand. Of course the TV is sitting right by the lit candle. What happens to candles when lit? They melt and while still warm there can be a puddle of wax. 

The daughter was being responsible, didn't leave the room while the candle was lit, but when she was ready to leave the room, she picked up the candle to blow it out. She lifted the candle up, in front of the TV, took a deep breath and (Yes, she did) blew the candle out and blew a bunch of hot wax onto the screen of their new TV. The hot wax melted spots into the screen and the spots that didn't melt, left a mark from cleaning it. 

Moral: Wax on not so easy to wax off.

At the time of the incident it's not so humorous but these are memories that we can look back on and smile about.  Remember that time when . . . broke the TV? Yea, how did that happen again?

Ladies and gentlemen, I am more than happy to sell you TV's, but if you like to save some money you don't play with a loaded BB gun, you don't swing a balloon with a washer on the end, you don't blow out a lit hot candle into your new TV and then you don't have to visit Gun.

*Just a side note for Story #1. A few months later, That boy's older sister, by 4 years, decided to play with the BB gun in the house and blew out the glass window of there stove. Face palm here.

I hope you enjoyed today blog. Please remember to view our Facebook page and visit our website at gunsezown.com.

Have a safe and blessed day. And if I don't blog before then, Have an awesome Thanksgiving.