I remember personalized checks with cartoon images or nature scenes or sports logos on them. I also remember being able to choose the font for one's name and address. I never cared for any of that and always went for the most basic and least expensive option: block print on beige check stock. I also recall little stands with attached pens at all cashier areas on which customers would write out checks. The pens are long gone and those stands now have card readers affixed to them.
The heatwave quickly came and went. Today's weather is mild with slightly overcast skies and a bit of wind. The hubs and I went to SF's second largest (and most overlooked) park today, McLaren Park, for a bout with an old Monday crossword and a nap on the grass. The crossword won. I snoozed while Eric finished the crossword on his own.
What I like about McLaren is that it's a bit more sort of untamed than Golden Gate Park. I imagine myself on the Heath when visiting.
We packed it in when the sun became obscured and the wind whipped up.
The heatwave quickly came and went. Today's weather is mild with slightly overcast skies and a bit of wind. The hubs and I went to SF's second largest (and most overlooked) park today, McLaren Park, for a bout with an old Monday crossword and a nap on the grass. The crossword won. I snoozed while Eric finished the crossword on his own.
What I like about McLaren is that it's a bit more sort of untamed than Golden Gate Park. I imagine myself on the Heath when visiting.
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| Wee view of trees from our perch. |
We packed it in when the sun became obscured and the wind whipped up.
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| Clouds coming in from the west. |
Thirty one is toooo hot. I am dreading our summer when we will spend weeks well over that temperature. And hope (fervently) that we don't get nights which don't dip below that temperature this year.
ReplyDeleteLoved the park - and those clouds.
Yes, it's too much for me as well. :(
DeleteThe park is a gem. We're lucky to live near it.
I have noticed that Americans visiting here have debit cards without smart chips, so they have to swipe them and then sign the bit of paper as we used to years ago. I am surprised about this. The U.S. is usually way ahead of us with practical technology.
ReplyDeleteI've just noticed the card offer above. They don't say whose money it is, and in any event our machines would not let you draw even $5,500 per day!
DeleteWe're way behind. Many of us now have chip and pin cards, but the card readers often don't work with them, so one is swiping and signing after having entered a pin no. It's silly.
DeleteI remember all that check writing business, too. I, too, always bought the most basic check; i.e., the cheapest. Now I do all my banking online, and only my rent is not an automatic debit. But I still write them a check online.
ReplyDeleteI write out checks for utility bills still. It gives me a sort of perverse pleasure to do so.
DeleteI love my cheque book! I stubbornly refuse to give up my account as hardly any bank offers cheques any more. It's even in my maiden name so I can still sign it like in the olden days. Oh, and I still keep a safety deposit box in the bowels of an old bank branch in the city just for the nostalgic atmosphere. Comes at a fee of course but once you let go of these things you can never get them back. I like that you wrote out a cheque for a swim!
ReplyDeleteI took my husband to the pool today and he sort of shamed me out of writing a check, alas. I like that you have a safety deposit box. I've never had the pleasure, so the only time I've seen one has been in film and on TV!
DeleteOh, it's so grand! There's a sweeping marble art deco staircase into the basement then you pass through the metal gate shaped like a Chinese moon door and you and the attendant have to synchronise your keys and then they leave you to it. You still gain entry by writing your signature on a slip of paper that gets checked against card files! As far as I know, the vault has never been robbed but I'm not actually sure that people even know it's there. The magnificent old marble and gilt-furnished bank upstairs is now some sort of fashion emporium. Sign of the times.
DeleteMost of our old, stately banking institutions house now fitness centers, clothing stores, pop-up shops, etc.
DeleteYour visit to the safety deposit box sounds like taking a trip back in time. :)
Yeah, it was a warm week. We got into the 90s. I'm hoping for a cool off, too.
ReplyDeleteI ran out of checks about a year ago. Bought the smallest package, and I think it'll last me a while. Checks are so cumbersome.
It's just weird to think that checks are going the way of landlines. ;)
DeleteToday was a mild 68-70F. It was nice at the pool til the wind kicked up!
I love the 86 degree days. So hate to see summer coming to an end. Nice you got to take a dip, around here the pools all close on Labor Day. Hubby and I were complaining about that just the other day. Seems like they should stay open longer so people could enjoy the pool after school and or wkends etc. The only place I write a check is when I have my hair done and that annoys me, because I sometimes forget to take a check with me. Probably only write about 6 checks a year, but the other day someone in line at the grocery ahead of me was writing a check and I was really taken back. She was older and it was taking her quite a while.
ReplyDeleteSandy's Space
I don't know of any grocery stores that even take checks anymore around these parts!
DeleteI guess because the weather here is so temperate, the outdoor pool facilities stay open awhile longer. It was around 70F yesterday with just a bit of wind, so a few of us made it out to swim. --not bad, really.
Attorneys still like checks.
ReplyDeleteAh, good to know!
DeleteDear Bea, I still pay all my bills with checks--and send them through the mail. I tried to pay on-line and then got hacked and thought that writing my own checks gave me more control. So, in more ways than one, I'm a DINOSAUR! Peace.
ReplyDeleteHi, Dee.
DeleteI think my husband pays some bills online, but I don't yet want to go that route. I, like you, feel a bit of a sense of control being able to write out checks and send them per post.
Yes!
DeleteI can't remember the last time I paid with a cheque (as we spell it in the UK)!
ReplyDeleteI never once saw either a cheque or chequebook when I lived in the UK. You've left them long since behind!
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