Jeepers

Loved the video. That lard looked so nice.

Flap, Flop, Flop, Swish, Flap, Swish, Swish, Flop, Flop, Swish, Flap, Flop. Why am I starting to feel like I'm tripping today. And why am I making strange noises when I walk? Oh yeah. Remember when I super glued my shoe to my hand and the carpet? Well, the glue isn't very super any more. It let loose big time today while I was out running errands and it was my shoe flapping again. Sheesh, that was embarrassing. So while I was out I stopped in Famous Footwear and picked up a new pair of shoes. They always have my half size in Nike's. I know I have some shoes...somewhere. Now I have some here too. I stopped by the house just to pick up some towels and washrags that are covered in sawdust and spackle dust. I will wash them in Indy and I bring them back here. Also a set of curtains. I don't have a washer and dryer over here yet. Not sure if I'm going to get one or not. I really don't need one for me. I have plenty of clothes to slide by for a couple of months if I want to. I'm thinking about going to Indy either tomorrow or Friday. Time is running out on me. I need to get presents over there soon. Plus I have two doctor appointments the 18th and 22nd so I need to be here for that. And a final walk through on the house too. All before Christmas. The weather is holding out so far so I need to get it done. I can only stay a couple of days but I'm okay with that. Christmas is not my thing.

Our roads over here are pretty good. Except in the spring when winter thaw happens and the potholes mysteriously appear. Some are pretty bad. But they are usually all repaired by March or April. I can't really complain about the roads here. They seem to always be working on them in the summer/fall though. Most of the toll road in Ohio is three lanes all the way through. Only two in Indiana.

So true Euphrasyne. I'll help any one who will help themself but I won't enable them. I helped out a cousin ONCE. I loaned her money and was more than happy to do so. I would have never mentioned it to her again. Until less than a month later she bragged about her and her husband going on vacation. That didn't set well with me so I asked her to repay the money she owed me. She did with no hard feelings but it could have gone south fast. BTW, up here we don't have tunnels or local toll roads so no one has the EZ Pass. The only time I would use one would be going to and from Indiana and until recently I was only going over once every 3-4 months so having one was not on my radar. I'll probably only be going over a few more times and will never have a use for one again...I hope! Oh, and I do go to PA about once every five years. But that won't happen again when I move. It will be too far to drive. Other wise I would have had one too. Normally, there is no place to use one over here.

No EZ Pass. Just charge cards. If they want their money they can just bill me. I know I owe it and am willing to pay. I think it's $14.90 or there abouts. I'll even give them $15.00 and let them keep the change. I'm generous that way.

Those butterflies were torture doing them by myself. I was sitting on the floor and had to use my foot to hold them down. Then get the book in and hurry and close the lid. Just when I thought I had them all in there I'd hear a RRRRR sound as one of them went off. Then back to the drawing board. If I couldn't have got them in there I would have gone to the front desk and asked for a couple of extra hands. They are so nice here. And they are used to me by now. G-son is gonna love it when they fly out. The book I got is called Grandma's Kisses. Not hugs like I thought. All kinds of little animals with their grandma. I tucked one of the butterflies inside the book too. Just when he thinks they have all flown, one more will pop out. They really fly high too. I somehow got all 20 of them in. I put a note on the box to open it last so he doesn't spend too much time playing with them instead of opening his other gifts. The dogs will hate me. LOL. I'm the reason they can't have nice things. Amazon.com: AhlsenL 20 PCS Flying Butterfly Toy, Magic Wind Up Flying Butterfly Surprise Box Wind Up Butterfly Surprise Toy for Wedding Birthday Party Book and Greeting Cards(5 Styles) : Toys & Games Oops, this isn't the exact one I bought. It looks jut like it but mine have plastic wings not paper.

That's true Becca_Anne. Maybe someone else would want a big fridge. The house is pretty big so I'm sure a bigger family will be interested in the house. They could always sell it. It would be theirs. And I've already paid for it. It is brand new. A big fridge could be an asset to someone. I'm going to take your advise and sit tight for awhile. And it could be used as a garage fridge. Littlesister, I hope your G-son gets in the military soon. They are begging for recruits right now. It should be a good time for him to get in. Glad you got your windows in! The check from Bank of America finally arrived yesterday. It took 10 days to get from California to Ohio. So today I took it to the bank and deposited it. The Project Manager happened to be at the house so I took a check over to him and he can give it to the construction company. In one hand and out the other. Literally. I did call them and told them I gave him the check. Just incase. I trust him but you know my luck lately. So the construction company was very happy to get the remaining $18,556.69 and we are up to date on our money situation. Next payment will be from State Farm. It should go directly to the company. Should. Yesterday I gave them a check for $2,000+ of my own money to cover the extra work they did for me outside the house. I thought that was cheap for all they did. I'm very happy to have gotten that done. It had to be done as the bare wood was exposed on all of the wood surfaces. They painted all the trim, the front door, installed 4 lights, repaired the two front posts that woodpeckers had destroyed, repaired a door frame, fixed a wooden piece that a light was on, power washed the house and are repairing a drain in the garage floor. I think that's it. Well worth it. And they fixed my mail box for free. Now I just have to call the chimney people to come and repair/replace the chimney cap. It was knocked sideways during a wind storm last spring. I got all my Christmas wrapped and bagged up. Getting those flying butterflies in a box and getting the lid on was a chore. The only way I could get the book I got him in the box was to tip it up on its side a little and hurry and close the top. But the butterflies kept escaping. All 20 of them. Maybe I should have gotten a bigger box but the next size up was way too big. It was a hot mess in here for a minute. Language happened.

I got the fridge as a package deal from Home Depot or Lowes. I can't remember which. But I got it about 6 months ago so I doubt if they would take it back. Plus it was a package deal. I think I got it at Home Depot online. I've bought so much stuff at both places it's hard to remember and the paperwork would be in Indiana. I really did screw that one up. It does look horrible. That towel rack looks really funny in person. Wash your hands at the sink, wander on over to the window to have a peek at the neighbors across the street and while you're there, dry your dripping wet hands. It's only funny looking because they are going to fix it though. Otherwise...not so much. They also did a similar thing in the upstairs bathroom. They put the ring on the side of the wall instead of on the wall beside the sink. They are fixing that one too. He is blaming the Amish carpenter. If he is Old Order Amish (Swartzentruber) I can sort of understand. No inside plumbing. I don't think they have towel racks in the outhouse.

Copy/Pasted a post from Littlesister. She responded to a post I put in the wrong forum...again. This was safer than me trying to move the post. Remember what happened the last time I tried that? I do. Blowie. Wow Jeepers, the fridge is way too big. I see your issue there. And what were they thinking when they put the towel rack across from the toilet and that high up? Hope you get all that taken care of soon. As for the fridge, I would call the place you bought it from to see if they would take it back. Take a picture to show it still has the tape and such on it also. Let them know the kitchen was a part of a redo and hopefully you can get a new one and they will take that one back. The worse that can happen is they say no. But I would sure try. Do you still have the receipt for it? That would help.

I had a walk through at the house with the Project Manager today. There were a few issues but nothing major that they can't fix. We are not in agreement about them leaving nails in the wall and painting over them. They say it isn't an insurance related issue. They are correct it isn't. But I paid extra to have those unaffected walls painted with the understanding that the walls would be smooth. My own money. So we came to an understanding that they would remove the nails and repair the holes and paint over item. But not repaint all of the walls again. He said it wouldn't be perfect. I'm fine with that. A little bitty paint imperfection will show up less than a big painted nail sticking out of the wall. So we were both happy with that. A few other minor things that we agreed on too. There are some touch up things that I will have to do, if I want to. I'll have all winter to do them though. Very minor things. Also I'll probably paint the closets. He advise me to not do too much because other people will probably change it anyway. True. I just want it to show nice. I need the money out of it. I mentioned the towel ring being in a strange place. We laughed about it and he said an Amish guy was working for them and for some reason that must have made sense to him. It will be moved over by the sink. And they forgot to paint the bathroom. The TP holder looks strange too but I let that one go. Towel holder under a window. LOL Look at how much that fridge sticks out. It looks awful in person. Sigh Copy and pasted over here from another forum. Sigh

Thanks Miki. I updated down in the Blue Couch forum. I was hit in a parking lot but I'm okay now. Littlesister, the last time I took an ambulance ride they billed me. My insurance is supposed to cover it. I didn't pay it so they must have? I'll bet if I would have paid it I wouldn't have been reimbursed. OOTO, I'm thinking that must be true here too. All they did was a blood pressure check. They suggested it and I thought it was a good idea too. The times I did go to the ER, the ER took my insurance info and not the ambulance crew. The last time I came back from Indiana, the toll machines were down. They told me to go on line to pay. I did go on line to pay but they either wanted payment in EZ Pass or cash. How do you pay cash online? I did try twice with the same results. They can either send me a bill or stop me the next time I use the toll road. That will be this month. They probably have a picture of my license plate. They asked for the last four numbers of my phone. Don't know how that will help them. I owe it, I'm willing to pay it. Just work with me people.

I had a 'mishap' yesterday and an ambulance was called. I refused to go to the hospital but they did offer to take my vitals. I requested a blood pressure check which they did. But I just now thought that they didn't ask for my insurance info. Wonder how they will bill that one.? Charge it off to someone else? They have my personal information but that's all.

Mystery gifts at Necie's mom's house must be from Santa. No other explanation about where they could have come from.

Kinda strange giving gifts to adults and not to the children. For Christmas. Christmas is more about the kids than the adults IMHO. Suppose the littles will probably feel left out with others getting gifts but not them. Good for you for giving them something to unwrap! In this case it's the thought that really does count. You are right about the Amish shopping habits. They buy as much processed food and junk food as we do. I used to take an Amish family shopping and they bought more Chef-Boyardee and chips than I did. And yes, they used food stamps too. We would go to the next town over so no one in their neighborhood would see them. Congrats to Euphrasyne's DD on her engagement!

I meant to post this the other day but got distracted. I didn't know Mark Cuban (Mavs owner and Shark Tank) had a drug company. Regardless, I thought it was an interesting read about the middle man in the drug company and how drug prices are set. At least one billionaire is concerned, or maybe just notices, about us little people. Hopefully this will be the start of a change. So far, Cuban is buying generic drugs but possibly non-generic drugs in the future too? The struggle is real folks. I know I'm paying a lot more for my meds and waiting longer for my prescriptions to be available. CVS is shaking up drug pricing. You can thank Mark Cuban December 6, 2023 at 6:00 AM The way drug prices are set in the United States is … kind of a mystery. You might assume that when you go to the pharmacy and hand over money for your meds, the price is what the drug itself costs, minus what your insurance covers, plus some fees that keeps the pharmacy staff paid. It’s a sensible idea. But you’d be mistaken. Instead, the process is super complex and largely hidden from public view. The price you pay at the counter is largely determined by middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers, or PBM’s. Although the PBM’s negotiate discounts between the pharmaceutical industry and insurers, they do so in secret, making them a frequent scapegoat for everything that’s wrong with drug pricing in America, A,K.A. the country that pays the most for prescription drugs, to the tune of about $1,200 a year on average, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. On Tuesday, however, a simpler model got a major boost that could upend the way we buy drugs. And you can thank Mark Cuban for that. Here’s the deal: CVS, the largest retail pharmacy chain in the country, is ditching the opaque formulas that currently determine drug prices. Under its new model, CVS pharmacies will be reimbursed by the PBM’s based on the the cost of the drug, plus a set markup and a fee to cover operations. The model bears a striking resemblance to one championed by Mark Cuban, the billionaire entrepreneur, via his online pharmacy (aptly named Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company). Cuban’s company buys generic drugs directly from pharmaceutical companies and sells them to patients. The pitch is that cutting out the middlemen and having a transparent pricing model leads to lower costs for consumers. “I could make a fortune from this,” Cuban says on the company’s website. “But I won’t. I’ve got enough money. I’d rather f**k up the drug industry in every way possible.” He appears to be all-in on the startup, which has ambitions to make its own drugs at a facility that’s now under construction in Dallas. Cuban is selling his majority stake in the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and he plans to leave ABC’s “Shark Tank” in 2025, fueling speculation that he may be eyeing a third-party presidential run. But Cuban told reporters last week he has no plans for a White House bid. The bottom line CVS is seeing the writing on the wall. Over the summer, Blue Shield of California dropped CVS Caremark as its PBM in favor of Cuban’s Cost Plus, among others. Meanwhile, Congress is weighing several bills designed to force more transparency. It’s not yet clear which meds will get cheaper, or by how much, though CVS executives told CNN that more drugs should see costs go down than up. “At a minimum, the goal for CVS and others should be to shine a light on the way drugs are priced, any discounts that are negotiated and overhead that comes from a variety of sources,” said Nick Fabrizio, senior lecturer in health policy at Cornell University. “Americans would be surprised at the hidden costs that are passed on to them by a variety of third parties. These extra or hidden costs make prescriptions more expensive.” Cuban’s company, Fabrizio said, is “forcing pharmacies to change their model to remain competitive.” CVS is shaking up drug pricing. You can thank Mark Cuban (aol.com)

I thought about a fridge exchange but I think I've had it too long. I have thought of a few things I could do. 1. Leave it and let the new owners keep it or sell it for a smaller one 2. Buy another one and have the delivery guys take the big one to the garage 3. With the fridge in the garage I could sell it myself without people in the house and it would be disconnected 4. See if it would fit in my Indy house (how to get it over there in the winter) 5. See if it would fit at son's house (how to get it over there in the winter) I've been giving it a lot of thought. I wouldn't want to ask son to bring his trailer all the way over here in possibly bad weather just for one item. And there is the heavy lifting. I think I need to either leave it or sell it. I'm leaning toward selling it. It is HUGE. Sigh Project Manager called at 7:30 this morning. Luckily I can fake an "I'm awake" voice. LOL. He wants to schedule a walk through. I told him anytime. So sometime Monday afternoon it will happen. I'm making a list. It's a short one but still... I got most of G-sons Christmas wrapped. I need another roll of paper. I'm going out later to see if I can find one more thing that was on the list. If not I'm not concerned. He will have enough. I went a little overboard because I knew mom and dad are struggling until they can get the other house sold. No need for the little one to feel the pinch yet. Pffft. That sounded good in my head but I tend to overbuy for him. Easy when you only have one. But only twice a year. Christmas and Birthday. Luckily they are 7 months apart. Rest of the year it's just a book or two. Justifying.

I got G-sons last present delivered today so tomorrow they WILL get everything wrapped. I have one more I might get for him locally. If I can't find it I'm not stressing. It isn't something he mentioned. I'm not ordering it. I went in the house to get the package. The fridge is waay too big for the area. I'm going to have to do something about it. It is horrible. It sticks out so far into the kitchen. It's really unacceptable. It's my fault. Sigh. There are a few other things that bothered me that isn't my fault. I didn't really look around yet but there is a big ding in the wall on the stairway. And I'm not sure if the bathroom fan works. If it does it's very quiet. They put in a regular light switch in the dinning room when it's supposed to be a dimmer switch. The kicker is they put the round towel rack in the half bathroom across from the toilet instead of next to the sink. Everything is an easy fix except for that massive fridge. I wish I would have taken a picture of that bathroom towel ring but I didn't have my phone with me.

I just used the mollies that came with the shelf. I know what you are talking about though. I think they are called toggles. Kind of butterfly shaped that fan out when you put the screw in them. I need to get a few of those before I hang more shelves.

I'm going to be more careful about hanging this next shelf. If I mess up the first hole I'm going to stop and not repeat the same thing on the other side of the hanger. Duh! Not sure what I was thinking. But the holes kinda matched. I have a stud finder but the studs aren't where I want the shelves. And the two hangers aren't where the any stud would be. It seems like the pictures I hung are right between the studs. One tip I think is working for the heavy pictures though. I got some of that putty that you can hang kids papers on the wall. I think they use it in elementary schools. It might be called 'tacky' something. I got it at Hobby Lobby. Anyway, I put it on the back of the big frames. Three pieces on top and three pieces on the bottom. And three pieces on each side. About dime size stretched out. It helps hold the frame in place and it takes some of the weight off of the nails that support the frames. Some of Jeepers best handy work. Never ever hire me to hang a shelf! Think anyone will notice?

O.M.G. Littilesister, I can't escape Pinterest! I'm finding all sorts of ideas on all different things. I go from garden to crocheting to hot chocolate mixes to quilting and on and on. I click on one thing and see something else interesting and click on that and before I know it, I'm way far down the rabbit hole watching remodeling a house and urban survival. Did I mention all of the food storage ideas? Crimony. It's worse than Google/Youtube. I'm set for winter watching. Thank You...I think.

Still nauseous. I'm thinking it's the med. One more day. I don't think it's working though. I saw where Amazon is 3 stops away from my house so I might as well head on over there again. It's the corner shelf I ordered. Hopefully I won't demolish the wall again getting this one installed. Two holes bigger than my thumbs. Reminds me that I need to buy wall paint again. The last batch they sold me wasn't eggshell, or what ever it's called now. I over painted where I repaired the wall so it would blend in. Except the next day I noticed it is all shiny. It didn't blend in. The more I work on things the worse they get. I still need to get the screws out of my kitchen cabinet door pulls. 'Someone' stripped the Philip heads. Might have to saw them off. Sigh. Still can't figure out how to hang up my paper towel holder in the recessed cabinet door. I have tons of little things like that. Plus some major things too. I used to be handy. Don't know what happened. I'll bet Annarchy could knock everything out in day. Now that girl is handy!

Congrats on all of your canning and deer processing this year Necie. Lots of hard work but worth it! Got another "Sorry your delivery is delayed" again. Now it's pushed back to Dec.9th. And the package that was supposed to arrive today was pushed back to tomorrow except I got a notice from Amazon saying it had been delivered today. So I ended up going over to the house today anyway. Maybe I'll get these presents wrapped tomorrow. The house is kind of a mess because they had to move my stuff around to do the flooring. I told them I'd do it if they cleaned out the garage so I could take it in there. But they didn't. Anyway, I'm not crazy about the flooring but I won't have to live with it. And it is starting to grow on me. I think it's because it's just different from what I'm used to. However, the carpet looks great. Thinner than what I would have chosen for myself but it's pretty and clean and most importantly, within budget. Not sure what they are going to do about the fridge. It doesn't fit in space allotted. Sigh. Not my issue because I had all of the appliances bought and delivered before they ordered the cabinetry.

Miki, glad you discovered a possible issue with your insurance network before you needed it. I've been hearing a lot of good things about funeral potatoes too. I'm not feeling great today. Upset stomach. I don't know if it's the virus going around here or the antibiotic I'm taking. Both symptoms are the same. I have 3 more days on the antibiotic. Virus and med will both run their course at the same time so who knows which is the culprit. I'm sticking close to the room today and should start wrapping presents this evening. I need it done but I really need to do it now so I can get them wrapped and in trash bags to be a little more out of sight. Sitting around in the room like this might be a little too tempting. What I bought will be the majority of G-sons Christmas so I need to guard it until I can get them over there and under his their tree. He called last night. I'm always amazed when he calls on his own. I'm pre dialed in his mom and dads phones. He played a song on his ukelele I got for him a couple of weeks ago. I have no idea what it was. Not even sure if it was a song. But of course it was a masterpiece.

Thank you Littlesister! I'll check it out.

I don't have a Pinterest board but I do have an account so I'd like to see ideas too. I'm sure that is the way I'm going to go because of my back and knees. Probably mostly raised beds except for a strawbwrry and asperagus bed on the ground or slightly raised.