HP Ink Recycle Program

We belong to the HP Smart ink program. I pay about $1.99 per month for fifteen printed sheets, and when the ink is low it is sent to me automatically. When I was printing a lot of stuff it made sense. Since I hardly print anything anymore the ink wasn’t working even though it said there was plenty left. I contacted HP and they shipped out a black and color cartridge to replace mine after first performing some basic tests. The new cartridges did the trick and things were back to normal. But I didn’t have a recycle envelope included to send the used items back so I requested an envelope from their website. It just didn’t feel right dumping the used cartridges in to the garbage. The HP recycle envelope arrived yesterday and I put the cartridges in it and mailed them off today - postage free - at the post office. It was always such a pain to keep ink supplies on hand and then try to remember the right one to buy. I think my printer is no longer made and rarely print anymore and try to avoid it at all costs. Perhaps I should run a page once a month just to keep it in shape. The service at HP was great and now the printer is working again. I can’t always say that about anything else. 

The Costco Adventure

It's been a week for adventures. We tried our first Uber trip, went to Constitution Hall for the Billy Joel Gershwin concert, and got Costco cards. When we first came to DC we went to Costco with our family members and were overwhelmed by the size and amount of STUFF. Back then, they needed diapers and did a lot of hosting for large parties. It's been awhile since then, so we decided to give it another try. We ordered our Costco cards on line, paid the $55.00 annual fee, and they arrived in the mail this week. So we drove over to Pentagon City in Arlington today and first stopped to get the mandatory photos taken. My husband had a big list of things he wanted to get for Thanksgiving, but it turns out the amount and quantity of the items really is much too much for a single dinner for only six people. But we did stock up on a lot of non perishable household items, and ink cartridges for my printer, and calcium pills and baby aspirin, shaving razors and toothpaste, etc. The parking lot was packed, and the place was filled - even though some of the aisles looked empty. The grocery section was the busiest. I do need to spend some time on the website to see what kinds of things are available. I don't see us going back very often, but I do think we already got our savings from just one day. The best part is we found our favorite cheese and got a whole wheel of P'tit Basque. I still have to use Amazon for K cup decaf tea, Britta filters, and Bali's and Nips treats. Why doesn't any one place have everything we need? That would be just too easy. 

Staples - Ink and Coffee

It's an expensive habit but a necessary one. I use my desktop printer to make 8 x 10 prints of my dog and cat portraits to mount on foam board and hang in the Wagtime shop on Capitol Hill across from the Historic Navy Yard. I also need to print 4 x 6 photos of the items I receive for commissioned orders so I can first sketch the subject. I then look at the photo as my "subject" while I'm painting the portrait on my iPad - no different, and no easier, than using a paintbrush on a canvas. Regardless, I need to get replacement ink for my printer, as I have been printing a lot lately because of several holiday requests. So we rode over to Alexandria to the Staples shop, and used my "discount" ink and toner savings pass to save a couple bucks. While there, we picked up a few Keurig Coffee K cup packs as we just ran out over the recent Thanksgiving dinner! So we killed two birds with one stone and it was a delightful ride on a brisk sunny day. Now I need to get to work as those portraits are calling!