WHATCHA DOING TODAY?

[Jeepers]

Thank you Twilight! 

 

That's a good idea! I'm going to go from room to room and list all the items I want gone. I like to put it on the computer and color code it and print it out. Humm, then I could tape it on the door of each room and know at a glance which items go. I have to get the rooms cleared out first though. I can call the junk guys. Not sure how much they charge. I'm not sure if the furniture bank will want any of it or not. I don't know if any of it is good enough for them. I know if I didn't have any furniture or if I lost it all in something like a fire, I'd appreciate it. But these days you don't want to offend...  

 

I've almost got the big walk-in bedroom closet packed up. I'm using those medium size vacuum space bags for clothes. They are a little expensive but they are small enough for me to handle. And sucking the air out saves on *space. Most of the clothes I'm putting in them are over flow prep clothes like socks, undies, gowns, tee shirts etc. I want them stored away so the space bags will be good for that anyway. I started with plastic totes but they became heavy, very heavy, fast. The trash bags pulled up and over things like blouses works great.

 

It's going to be a slow process for me alone. But it's easier to just throw things on the bed and pack the space bags and when my back goes out I can just lie back for awhile. Thanks for thinking about me.

 

 

* Space Bags. Until this very moment I always thought they were referring to outer space. Like NASA. New and approved astronaut type material. They are really talking about 'saving space' (as in room) aren't they? Kinda makes you feel funny when something like that dawns on you after all these years. Dang, I thought I was cutting edge using space age material. Last to know ------->

 

 

[Mt_Rider]

2 hours ago, Momo said:

I told DH that Dr. appts are our new social life now!

 

Glad to hear MrMomo is doing ok.  Last year it seemed like doctors were our new besties too. 

 

MtRider   for His continued watch over you both!

[TheCG]

15 hours ago, Jeepers said:

Thank you Twilight! 

 

That's a good idea! I'm going to go from room to room and list all the items I want gone. I like to put it on the computer and color code it and print it out. Humm, then I could tape it on the door of each room and know at a glance which items go.

 

I've walked through with the little colored dot stickers you can buy at the office store and put dots on everything I wanted.  You could do it the opposite way as well, and put it on everything you want to get rid of (and use one color for the junk guys, another for stuff you might sell, another for things somebody in the family wants, etc.).

[TheCG]

This is a stay-home-and-get-stuff-done weekend.  Cooking up a storm, have vacuumed most of the house, have the last of the laundry in the washer.  I'll have to go in to do a bit of work tomorrow afternoon, but that's it.  This whole having a real job thing sure does make it hard to get things done around the house...not that I was getting them done as well I should have been before I got a real job!

[Jeepers]

A day of resting the old back today. It seems to be getting worse. Not sure if that is a good thing or bad since I have scans scheduled for Tuesday. Usually when I have medical appointments things clear up suddenly over night only to return the next day.

 

Have a toothache...call the dentist...pain gone...cancel appointment...pain returns. Never fails.

 

Back pain is mostly on either side of the spine so I'm glad I'm getting an ultra sound instead of an x-ray. An MRI would have probably been better but beggars can't be choosers with our medical system now. 

 

 

I'm going to have to figure out a way to go tell my doctor she is wrong about my knee. They don't take kindly to being told they and their fancy equipment is wrong. I'm probably going to have to tread lightly on this one. Going to have to reach deeply in to my magic "tact" bag.  Sigh. 

 

X-ray showed nothing wrong. But when I go down a step it hurts up to a number 7-8 on the pain scale. Maybe they were just focusing on arthritis and missed something else. Or maybe an x-ray didn't pick up soft tissue or what ever. She wrote a prescription for physical therapy but I want to wait until I find out what is wrong first. Kinda jumped the gun on that one. In my opinion. 

 

Yep, doctor visits is my new social life too. 

[Twilight]

Sorry you are having problems!!!! As far as the knee pain..are you walking different? Is your back pain putting stress on your walking?

If my foot doesn't stay straight or I start walking on the side of my foot..I can have savage knee pain. Getting one or both under control , no knee pain!

Take care of yourself!! You are loved!

 

I know what you mean...I bought an expensive love seat 25 years ago. It has lasted beautifully and is worth reupholstering but at my farm sale it would not even bring a $1. So I moved it up here and it is still good.

Today people would rather have faddish stuff which is cheap and they can throw away. They also think of germs. In other words they do not want to work..........

[Homesteader]

Jeepers - We've been forced to move many times. It's a hard way to part with so many earthly things, but necessary if we want to keep our sanity (and our backs).

 

A friend recently told us to NEVER retire. We would just get busier, with less energy to do everything. Smart friend.

 

We've had disastrous floods in our area this past week. Our own pond's earthen dam was breached on both sides and exposed a 3-phase feeder cable that powers the whole area.  The electrical company was out several days later with a Bobcat and filled the dam back in.    We're the blessed ones. We have a few towns that went underwater. We found out in church yesterday that Samaritan's Purse was arriving with a semi-load of mudding-out equipment. It's a ministry run by Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son. We've had training at their North Carolina headquarters for disaster relief. Now that we're retired, we should have plenty of time to volunteer with one of their teams for the next three weeks.   Our church is housing about 60 of the volunteers so there's lots to do. I sure do love it when community comes together and we can be the hands and feet of Jesus as the world looks on. 

[snapshotmiki]

I hope you're feeling better, Jeepers!  Moving is hard enough when you are doing great!

 

Checking bottled water and preparing the bath tub for saving water. Cooked a few days of meals ahead, although we have plenty of canned food (and some water) anyway. We are right in the middle of the cone right now but we all know that changes hourly. Tomorrow we will put up the patio furniture and secure all we can outside. The dogs and goats hate this weather because, you know, they will melt! LOL

 

Thursday we have a funeral and feeding folks afterward at Church.  Weather is supposed to be just as bad as Wednesday. 

In other news, I washed the dogs today, did an exercise video on you tube, took eBay photos and a little later will open the Christmas trunk to hopefully find Christmas cards that hold a photo, so I know what size photo to order. And pull out some Fall decorations because I am impatient and too hot!

Have a good day, you all!

[Mt_Rider]

7 hours ago, Twilight said:

They also think of germs.

 

Y'know, until I read that, Twilight....I had never thot of bed bugs.  But I just got an email from my dear friend here.  She allowed her son, DIL, 2 kids to squeeze into her townhouse with her for 6 months.  They now have their own apartment again but they left behind some "friends"....from previous apartment.  After a series of three exterminator treatments....she just found a live one.  Very discouraging.  So....perhaps there is some validity to not getting used upholstered things with bed bug trouble really prevalent now.  That's sad tho....I love the bargains and the older style of furniture.  Hmm..... perhaps even clothing should be run thru a HOT dryer or hung outside in winter to insure no 'friends'. 

 

Homesteader.....I've had my eye on WI.  Have a roommate from college/post-college years who lives in Milwaukee.  First Madison went under water with...18" of rain?   Her area only got 2".  But the recent rains and tornado were closer.  She had, just days before, purchased a piano and transported it down a road that was the tornado's path.  The big flooding hasn't affected her area....and they're so glad they chose to live where they did.  Some areas they searched for retirement townhouse have had flooding.  Hope your area stays safe. 

 

Exposing wires that a whole community depends on, gets some action huh?  Our property manager is have only RUDE encounters with our phone company....cuz our phone lines are exposed from our recent DELUGE.  She can't begin a restructuring of the driveway until they know EXACTLY where those lines run thru the driveway....the part that isn't already above ground, that is.    

 

MtRider   

 

 

[Mt_Rider]

  Gordon is mild-mannered and doesn't start tossing stuff in SE about...and doesn't rain so much there is dangerous flooding.  (((Miki)))  Hug your rain-allergic lil' goats from me! 

 

My dd2 called just now.  Reports that everyone on Maui is so worn out from doing hurricane prepping ...and then putting stuff back when the damage from H. Lane was THANKFULLY   minimal on Maui.  That was incredible....thanks again for prayer.  Big Island and Kauai both got a lot of damage from heavy rain/flooding.  The biggest problem for Maui was the West Maui 3 brush fires and electric outage for 3 days.  All the restaurant/hotel district lost food....and tons of business.  Some sent food over to 'other side' where they still had electricity...in refrigerator trucks.  Then had to bring it back when power to fridge/freezers came back on.  Hundreds of thousands of dollars lost from businesses.  DD2 says Costco has made a lot of money cuz folks need essentials.  But they've had the lowest business week in their store in 9 yrs.  Tourists diverted away from Maui and locals lose money from hotels being down 50%.  It will take time to bounce back to normal. 

 

The hurricane-spawned WINDS caused the brush fires and to be so hard to battle/extinguish.  Many people now homeless from that and the community is helping with feeding/donation of goods/giving them tents while they rebuild.  But lotta tension too.  It's a year no one will forget.

 

MtRider 

Edited September 3, 2018 by Mt_Rider

[Annarchy]

End of the month balancing books, house cleaning, dodging intense dust storms that left sand dunes in every thing, and dusting repeatedly. 

 

Took time out to fill out an application for an USGS lifetime disability forest pass. We have the annual pass, but the other one would be nice. 

 

Tired ? 

 

[Jeepers]

Glad everyone had a nice safe holiday weekend.

 

We got storms here. Nice to have the rain so I don't have to water the shrubs. But this one bush has me stumped. About every other day I find it pulled up and in the driveway. This has been going on for about 3 weeks now. I really don't think it's a neighbor because it's in the front of the house by the driveway close to the house. There are plenty of shrubs he could mess with closer to him and more private. I think it's a deer. But why that same bush. They don't eat it like they did the others. Maybe they are hinting that I plant a more tasty variety. I think it might be dead because it was in the driveway for a couple of hot days and by the time I saw it, the roots were very dry. I'll check it the end of the week and if so I'll replace it while the nurseries still have some plants.

 

Son is still mowing my yard. Just for fun he called the guy who was cutting it to see how much he was charging. Gulp. It was $124.00 a week.    A new riding mower would pay for itself in a couple of years. Plus I can get a snow blade and do my own snow removal myself too.

[Twilight]

My yard man charges me $60 for my two acres, which includes lot of weed eating.,... My little 90 year old friend 1hour SW has to pay $75 , weed eating $75 extra .

Maybe you had better get some sheep.....

[Jeepers]

Hee-Hee. Not a  baaaaaaa-d  idea.  

[Mt_Rider]

  Jeepers....then you'd have lil' automatic earthquake detectors toooooo....  

 

Whew....went to see folks last nite.  My mom and I finished a 500 piece puzzle that was beginning to frustrate her.  She'd gotten a lot of it done.  When we work together, we seem to multiply each other.  It's fun.  Now she has to lay out another one.  Sitting on card table chairs kills my back but I don't notice as much till we try to stand up.  Ugh.  No chair except with a recline is comfortable for me.

 

Taking it easy today.  Guy was here to suss out the location of our [mostly] underground phone line.  Put orange spray paint, flags, and in the driveway, "feathers" you can drive over.  J/B will be happy to get this driveway/erosion ditching/back of house waterproofing out of the way before the season turns to   We are in full agreement! 

 

MtRider .....furnace began Sept 1st and continues to be COLD here!   

Edited September 5, 2018 by Mt_Rider
hear - here -roll eyes-

[Jeepers]

Had my ultrasound scans done this afternoon.  It was a little painful but mostly uncomfortable. They scan the kidneys on your sides. I thought it would be on the back. She really dug around the ribs with that device. Then you have to hold your breath while she snaps the picture. It took about an hour to do both sides. A lot of breath holding and gouging around.

 

I got the other scan to the pelvic region. I don't wanna talk about that one.   Probed.  

 

It was real muggy and raining so hard when I came out of the building. My hair looked like the back end of a Pomeranian by the time I got home. I forgot to ask how long before I get the results. I'll give them a week before I start calling.

[TheCG]

11 hours ago, Jeepers said:

I got the other scan to the pelvic region. I don't wanna talk about that one.   Probed.  

 

They were doing ultrasound on me when I was 17 or 18.  The lady asked me if I was a virgin, then told me, "Well, honey, I ain't gonna be your first." 

[Mt_Rider]

Hey Miki....are you DRENCHED YET?  At least it's not a hurricane but looks like Gordon running right on top of you.     Stay safe.

 

Meanwhile in the Pacific.....

Norman is Cat 3 ....all expection is for it to veer upwards and miss Hawaii.    If it continues on this path....collision. 

Olivia is Cat 2 ....a long way off yet.  Not sure where that will be when it's closer.  Not expected to hit Hawaii either....  

 

Keeping my eye on Norman and Olivia.  These are not doing the tourist trade much good in the islands.... 

 

Pray for the folks affected by their Typhoon.  They really got blasted ....and unfortunately, I think it hit at high tide.  Quite a mess in some parts.

 

MtRider   

[snapshotmiki]

6 hours ago, Mt_Rider said:

Hey Miki....are you DRENCHED YET?

 

No, ma'am!  We got nothing from the "storm".  No rain (might get some tomorrow) and no wind at all.  It went to the East of us.  My daughter up in IL is having terrible storms tonight from that system.

 

I organized recipes today and pitched some.  I still have so many!  I could never cook them all in this lifetime!  Also wrote 3 eBay drafts and made two 9X13 pans of spoonbread for a funeral tomorrow.  That is where I will spend a good part of the day, probably.

[Mt_Rider]

Glad Gordon was ok for your area.  Hopefully that storm will just give MO some needed rain and be gentle about it.

 

Yes folks....it's in the news.  We SNOWED yesterday.  Not at my house, actually...Colorado.  I was keeping an eye on our unsettled weather last evening in CO.  I saw BLUE [represents snowfall on Doppler Radar maps] on a lot of our Colorado "Fourteeners".  [mts 14,000' and above]  Apparently it snowed at least as low as 11,000'.  Our area merely got a good downpour of rain yesterday, but nothing like the driveway-wrecking, firehose-shooting DELUGE we had a couple wks ago.  Just good liquid moisture.  Not the WHITE stuff.   

 

https://koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/2018/09/05/snow-atop-pikes-peak/

 

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/national/summer-snowfall-colorado-town-gets-snow-in-early-september

 

Japan now got hit with 6.7 earthquake....  

 

Some folks are getting concerned about Hurricane Florence....in the Atlantic.  Burmuda?  Eastern coast of US?  Keeping an eye on 3 hurricanes now.... 

 

MtRider    ...... winter cometh 

Edited September 6, 2018 by Mt_Rider

[Jeepers]

I didn't really want to do it but I called the patient advocate again today. Sigh. It seems like Misty, the one who couldn't figure my ultrasound prescription and who called me "You People", messed up the directions after all.

 

First of all it clearly said external (I saw it and read it to her) scan on one of them but the sonographer said I needed an internal scan. I didn't want that but she said my options were to sign a form saying 'I accept' it or sign a form saying I 'deny treatment'. I didn't like the sound of 'Denying' Treatment' going in my records so I accepted. I knew in the back of my head it was a more thorough exam so after the initial surprise I was fine with it.

 

It was another example of old folks confusion. Do I listen to a sonographer or to my doctor. I needed time to think it through and she had other patients to see. Was she blaming me or was I blaming her? Neither fortunately but we were both frustrated.

 

I was also given the option (another form) of having another person in the room with us. If it would have been a man, I would have.

 

Then the kicker to the whole day was the instructions Misty gave me to follow before the tests. She specifically told me to not eat or drink anything for at least 8 hours before the test. That's normal. Except with an external pelvic ultrasound you have to have a full bladder. She didn't tell me not to go to the bathroom either. So by the time I got there I hadn't had anything to eat or drink for close to 10 hours because the appointment was in the afternoon. I clearly remember her telling me not to drink but if I needed to take medicine, to take small sips of water and to tell the sonographer that I had had something to drink.

 

The sonographer wasn't very happy because she had to rewrite the orders and second guess herself about what to do. She did the kidney scan first hoping there was enough in my bladder to do the second test. Fortunately, there was. We got to talking and she wondered who gave me those instructions. I said Misty. She said she was a nice person but she (sonographer) has had some other orders that she has had to call her about.

 

I stewed about it for a couple of days and decided to call again. She could have messed up my scans or at the very least I would have had to wait to reschedule it. If she hadn't been so hateful to me during that call I would have probably let this go. But now I know she for sure needs some further training.  

 

To be clear, the bladder needed to be full for both external scans and empty for the other one. My two scans turned into three scans. Lucky me.    

[Mt_Rider]

I hope you can get REALLLLY SUPER-GREAT doctors, office folks, specialists after you move, Jeepers.  Incompetence is rampant...but with that ATTITUDE, one does think it might be on purpose.  And that might be a line to give gently to patient advocates.  Both incompetence and attitude are absolutely inexcusable.  But INTENT to give a patient bad service or misleading/erroneous directions is grounds for a lawsuit.  That's not the first word out of my mouth at any time but.....lawsuit comes to protect folks from danger.  The snippy NOT-doctor giving wrong pre-procedure directions can put a patient in danger.  Perhaps not in your case but the NOT-doctor doesn't know...

 

(((((Jeepers))))) 

 

You might request written directions to follow before the procedures....as you walk out of the previous appt.  Lot of places are giving those in written form OR a webpage to find the same directions.   Directions given verbally from the NOT-doctor staff is asking for trouble for patients and the medical office!  I don't blame you a bit for following up with this terribly unprofessional behavior and treatment of you and your health.   

 

 

Ah.....so we did not snow today either.....  But a terribly BLACK and HUGE cloud bank descended upon us.  Actually, I wasn't looking out W windows and only became aware when Koa was barking.   ......    ....so NOW she's a Weather Dog toooo?   I'm wondering if she was barking at the distant thunder/lightning I wasn't hearing yet??  Or maybe talkin' to her bunny friends.    But I went out and ....aiieeee!  That's gonna be INTENSE!  Got both of us in and ran to look at Doppler quick before I had to unplug my modem.  It actually blobbed up bigger and changed to yellow/red after I unplugged.   [You can see the rewind of the weather on Doppler so I had to watch it afterwards to see WHAT had hit us!]. 

 

Y'know that 'Once Every Five Years' storm we had a couple weeks ago that ripped out driveway, stairs to goat, flooded back yard and basement....  This one was 3/4ths of that one.  Not QUITE as bad.  LOT of rain/half-pea size hail.  Driveway crevasses 1, 2, and most of 3 are baaack .....despite the new rock that was laboriously poured into there.  J/B are not going to be pleased.  I'm not pleased.....I'll be walking down and UP from feeding tonite cuz I won't risk torquing the truck wheels.  And with all that's going on with green Doppler blobs all over the mountains today....I'm gonna want to make it a fast trip!  I haven't seen yet what damage is down at barnyard....but looks like a mess.  Had another minor flash flood thru the valley between our hills.  I'm not going to have any grass if it keeps covering it with the uphill neighbor's mud!

 

My mini-moat and berm in front of garage door held fine.    My deeper canal diverting gushing water away from back of house also held fine.    This was not the fire hose affect like the previous [5-year DELUGE]....but a LOT of racing water, all the same.  It went on for an hour...which is why you get so much damage.  DH called in the middle of it and right now, he's getting it at work.  My folks probably too...unless they are just outside the main intensity. 

 

  I think MtRider is getting tired of living on her mountain.

Edited September 6, 2018 by Mt_Rider

[Ambergris]

Speaking of which, I had one eye doctor for about thirty years.  When I had concussion, I saw a new eye doctor who specialized in concussion rehab.  After two years of his stuff, went back to the old doctor.  Got one pair of computer glasses from him, which despite some tweaks at his expense just haven't worked out for me.  Then this weekend I broke my distance glasses, which I had gotten from the rehab specialist.   Naturally, I would break them on a three-day weekend.  So Tuesday, as soon as the old doctor's office is open, I'm asking for a replacement pair.  Only to be stopped dead by the front office person, who will not look me up in the computer and will not let me talk to the doctor because--since I got this particular pair elsewhere--I clearly need an appointment.  And they are running three weeks out on appointments. 

 

Called the rehab doctor, got a Thursday morning appointment.  Went this morning, got a new prescription (two, actually--distance and close), and have those prescriptions in my file so I can go online or to Costco next time I need emergency glasses.

 

[Ambergris]

Oh, and one of the ladies at the rehab doctor's place (who used to work for the old doctor) unmangled my broken glasses enough I could drive home wearing them.  Gave me a headache, but it was worth it.  

[Jeepers]

We had lots of rain again. Last night the radar was really lit up here in the Midwest. This has to be one of the hottest summers we've had for a long time.

 

Yes, the health care industry is getting worse and worse. The advocate lady said I did the right thing because if people don't call, they have no way of knowing what is going on. She did mention something about what could happen if she had given me  (or anyone else) dangerous instructions. I told her the worst thing (in my case) would have been that I would have to wait another couple of weeks for an appointment

BUT I'm 66 years old and if I have something brewing in there I want to know now. Not next month. I'm not getting any younger over here, I think as I'm waving my beloved senior card around my head trying to stave off yet another hot flash.   

 

I'm sorry they gave you a rough time too Ambergris. No wonder people doctor shop. It isn't only to get more drugs. Although that is the main reason; doctors need to look at themselves in the mirror too. I felt like I was almost begging my doctor to order the scans. It wasn't like I was asking for drugs or that anything was coming out of her personal pocket.

 

I hope it's better in Indy. But there is much less competition over there so who knows. I saw where my old doctor is still in practice. His name is Dr. Ailes. He's good for what ails ya!  nyuck-nyuck. Bet he never heard that one before. 
 

 

 

I made a big Dollar Tree haul tonight. I spent a whopping $2.00. I bought two glass saucers. I came up with a neat idea. Well, maybe not but I'm claiming it. I use them under toilet/sink plungers. They are clear so you can't really see them plus they save the floor from getting wet.  I looked at bowls but they have to be bigger than what I want. Saucers are nice for that. AND another time I got one of those sugar dispensers and removed the top. I keep my 'pumice stone on a stick' for tough calcium build up in the toilet bowl (hard water here) in there. Nice and handy and prevents drips too. It also takes up very little space. 

 

Heloise Jeepers signing off. Over and out.