WHATCHA DOING TODAY?

[Annarchy]

Mmmmmmm, stir fry....  DH loves it.  I only make a cups worth of fried rice to accompany his hot hot sriracha & Szechuan dish. Oh, never add hot chili oil & cayenne to a hot wok before adding anything else... just about gassed myself out of the house.   My choice dish is usually garlic or gingered.

 

Nice to hear you had help, and glad L is healing, Mt_Rider.  MIL is doing well.  Concerned about her cognitive abilities, she made a couple of comments that caught me off guard.  Not anything bad, just noticeable. Her neighbor has finally gotten the money from his insurance company and is doing the design phase for rebuilding his house, demolition to the burnt structure is due to start next week.  I had a bad allergy attack, the 2 day there, DH thinks it was because of the strong winds & heavy rain, and I had my bedroom window cracked for air.  That house stunk the next morning and a large section of the roof and shingles had come off.

 

Jeepers, I can not deal with rude people on the phone. I’ll be the one to hang up, then, call back later.    If I get the same person, I will ask to talk with their supervisor, if their attitude hasn’t changed.  

 

Nam... my uncle, now passed from cancer, and one of our neighbors were there, agent orange gave the neighbor a permanent shake, he’s even had a few brain surgeries to try to help him with it.  He is a very sweet old man.  We helped him get to the hospital for burns, when his trailer burnt down.  

 

It’s supposed to be another scorcher today.  I’ll soak the garden again this morning, the little butternuts are growing, a few withered and died while I was gone last week.  I’ll put the hose by the hens, to wet down their sheet swamp cooler, several times.  They spend most of the hot part of the day under it.  

 

Then, company is scheduled this afternoon. IDK if I will cook for them.  It’s going to be hot out and I don’t really want to heat the house up.  We shall see.  

 

 

[Jeepers]

I'm not much for Asian food. Give me a plate of spaghetti though and my eyes will roll back in my head and I'll drool worse than a old hound dog walking past a butcher shop. I love Italian food. 

 

We were sort of lucky. The military had a great commissary every place we went so we always had name brand Murican food. In fact they encouraged us not to eat local in both countries. The favorite fertilizer of choice was human. Liquified. Not humaneur. Straight from the back of their indoor/outdoor toilet. All of our neighbors did that with their long handled bamboo dippers. Men would urinate any where they wanted and some of the women did too. Potty training was easy. Most pre-school kids were nakkie.

 

This wasn't in some back country little town. In Japan we lived just across the bay from Fukuoka and in Taiwan we were just a couple of miles outside of Taipei.

 

It was an experience I wouldn't trade for the world though. Once I saw a little lady with bound feet. I had a picture someplace. If course I'm going back nearly 50 years. I fell in love with Sumo wrestling when we went to a....don't know what it's called. Meet, match, game, contest or event. It was a big finals to-do. 

 

I wonder if "George's Happy V. D. (not to be confused with V.A.) Clinic" is still in downtown Taipai. That sign always cracked me up. Memories...

[Jeepers]

What are the odds. Well, with me about 99%. I called the doctor back and got the same person. I recognized her voice. I got that feeling of dread come over me. I don't know if she remembered me by my name or what but she couldn't have been nicer. Maybe she was having an off day yesterday. 

 

Anyway, I spent over an hour online looking up stuff that you should be tested for when you get your blood drawn. I'm going for it! I made a list of about 15 things I'd like to be tested for. Mostly normal things like kidney, liver, heart, CBC, vitamins and minerals, inflammation level, sugar, anemia etc. If I have to get stuck I want to make it count. One jab. Shudder. Also a urinalysis and a tetanus shot. I told that woman that I didn't know if they would order it all or not but I just have some suggestions. She said if I have a concern about something they will definitely order it. We'll see. So, I decided I'd go ahead and talk to the doctor before the blood test so I can discuss my issues first. The UTI is still hanging around too. I go this Friday afternoon. 

 

Something I didn't know is you can go to certain labs and have your own lab work done without a doctor script. The way I think it works is you order what you want done and pay right then. Not at the lab.Then you go to one of their affiliated labs and get the blood drawn. Then I guess they send it off. I didn't spend much time on the website. I was just curious, but I did look up my area and there were quite a few participating labs all around me. I don't see any reason I'd do it and it's probably pretty expensive but it is an option I didn't know about. I'd link it for fun but I'm on the Kindle. 

[Guest Amber Actually]

Go for it.  Turns out I can get a lot of my routine medications more cheaply outside of the insurance, especialy with the yellow card.  One kind of pills is less than $2 for three months' worth without insurance, but last I checked was $7 for one month's worth with insurance.  Another kind is $10 for one month's worth of pills with insurance, but $11 for three months without.  My doctors generally issue three to six months of prescriptions at a time, so that's what I have been getting when I can.

 

[Jeepers]

Doctors office called to confirm my appointment. I told her everything I wanted tested for. Luckily I had it written down and handy. Whether it's ordered or not is another matter. According to her I have blood work scheduled for tomorrow and not a doctor visit. I told her I wanted to talk to the doctor concerning the blood work done but since she just took down the info I probably don't need to see the doctor. Who knows? It's hard to tell what will happen tomorrow. I guess I'm just along for the ride.

 

Sheesh, what do they want...blood.

Oh wait.... 

[Jeepers]

The doctor (nurse practitioner) just called me herself.  She had a note saying I needed to talk to her before the labs. That other person didn't even give her the list I rattled off.  

 

So I started again and she said because I'm Medicare they need to know the reason it's being done or else they won't pay for it. If they refuse it then the supplemental plan will probably refuse it too. I told her I didn't care. Just order the work done and I'd pay the rest. She said no problem she'd do what I wanted. I told her I just wanted a 'blood work physical'. She doesn't know I'll be moving out of state and want to get stuff done now.  So I guess I'm getting blood work done tomorrow? Tomorrow is likely going to be a painful needle day. I hate needles. 

 

I asked about the tetanus and shingle shot. She said because I'm on Medicare it has to be done at a pharmacy. Medicare isn't what it's cracked up to be folks. Don't depend on it. 

 

Now I'm sort of interested in that 'no script' lab. Or what ever they call it. They will do a vitamin/mineral test and a test to check for heavy metals etc. If I'm going to have to pay anyway....  I'll wait to see what my doctor comes up with first. 

 

Suppose I should ask for a stress test. Stress...I got em. 

 

She probably thinks I'm a hypochondriac. I'm really not. 

[Jeepers]

Thanks Guest Amber. LOL, hope you get your computer back soon. And that it stays working! 

 

I have prescription insurance I pay extra for but it doesn't seem like my cost is that much lower. Maybe it's the deductible. I know things are going to change if I ever get moved. 

 

I just saw some of the prices on the no doctor lab. Dang. Believe I'll have to stick with Medicare care. Too bad poor folks can't afford the good stuff. Thanks Obama Care.

[Annarchy]

When I went on disability, they tried extremely hard to get me to take Medicare. I’m covered by DH’s work insurance. They required me to have medicare hospitalization, at no cost to me.  I researched what Medicare covers & doesn’t.  I stayed with his.  When he retired, I insisted he keep his insurance, we pay a high premium, but, thankfully, they pay for most everything. DH just signed up for his social security and asked me if he should get Medicare. Absolutely not!  If he had, I would loose my coverage also and have to take the Medicare plan and be required to choose and pay out of pocket for  a supplemental and prescription plans. Medicare is a bust, IMHO.  They don’t pay a fraction of the fees, leaving people hard pressed to cover the rest.  

 

Today, I woke up late, went into the kitchen to get my coffee, saw the Jury Summons on the table, picked it up to see what time I needed to be there and freaked out. 8:15 a.m.  Guess what time it was.... 8:15. With adrenaline rushing, I got dressed, but my wallet was in the guest room and our company had locked the door!  I got the key, opened the door, apologizing for intruding, got my wallet and left.  I was 15 minutes late showing up, forgot my glasses, no coffee, no makeup, no earrings, and wearing a tank top, (they mentioned “no tank tops” on the recording & during orientation), because it was all I could find in my rush to get there, then, had to fill out a form. I certainly hope I filled it out right, I could barely read it. The clerk did offer to excuse me and call me in for the next trial. Meh, I figured I’d get it over with.  I lucked out, an hour later, after listening to the speech, they were half way through assigning juror numbers, when the case settled out of court, and we were all dismissed.  Whew!

[Mt_Rider]

6 hours ago, Jeepers said:

She said because I'm on Medicare it has to be done at a pharmacy. Medicare isn't what it's cracked up to be folks. Don't depend on it. 

 

I've been on it for over 2 decades......believe it!  Get the MediGap coverage!

 

3 hours ago, Annarchy said:

Medicare is a bust, IMHO.  They don’t pay a fraction of the fees, leaving people hard pressed to cover the rest.  

 

For my recent hospital surgery and anesthesia gone wild, Medicare did pay a great deal of it.  YET....those bills we still had to cover were thousands..........   And so DH has returned to work full-time.      I say again, get the MediGap coverage!   Oh wait, that's the OTHER reason he had to go back to work....to pay for the MediGap coverage!     

 

Got the first call about our free horses.....     She was hoping her friend with one horse would take ours to keep hers company.  Horses don't like being solo.  They like herds.  We'll see.    

 

MtRider  .....without my horses, will I change my name?    I do not like the "end of this era" ...but it must be. 

 

Edited August 23, 2019 by Mt_Rider

[Jeepers]

Smart thinking Annarchy. I didn't have much of a choice going on Medicare. I'm not disabled...just old. I waited until age 66 before I took Social Security and they automatically deduct Medicare from that. The government giveth and the government taketh...and taketh. 

 

Since I'm single and hadn't worked in awhile, I had to pay for my own health care. And with the new health care act, if I didn't have insurance I'd be fined. A few years back I was paying over $1,500.00 (not a typo) every month. No eye no dental and no prescriptions and a copay. I never met my deductible each year so I was still paying for everything. Those were hard years. Will look into MediGap. Thanks.

 

I hope your horses get a good home. I know you will miss them though. Changes can be hard and confusing at times. Even if it's for the best.  

[Jeepers]

Mt. Rider, I looked up the MediGap and I think it's the same thing I'm referring to as 'supplemental insurance'. If so then I do have that. I have Plan F. Good coverage but a high deductible. I usually don't meet it but I would if I had a catastrophic illness...I think. That's the only reason I keep it. For future health. I got in as soon as I was eligible so I got in at a lower rate than if I started it now. Different states have different premium rates so it could go up or come down. Give you three guesses which one it will be. It starts with a "U" and ends with a "P".   

 

They said come in 10 minutes early to update ID's etc. So I did and sat there for 45 minutes past my appointment time. It could have been because as soon as I pulled in the parking lot, a pizza delivery guy pulled in beside me and made a lunch time delivery. At 12 noon. Hummm. 

 

She did spend a lot of time with me though asking a lot of questions. Urinalysis is being cultured. I had blood drawn. Twice. She took 5 vials of blood. The first jab netted one and a half vials then the vein blew. Sigh. So she had to stick the other arm too. She said she was sorry but I didn't blame her. Stuff happens. She was surprised by how many things I was being tested for. Good to hear. That's what I wanted. Doctor is thinking adrenal gland issues.

 

She gave me a script for an x-ray of my back. Finally. Now maybe I can find out what is really wrong with it. I suspect arthritis. I asked if an MRI wouldn't be better. She said probably but first they have to do an X-ray. Medicare again. Mammogram is due but not over due. I'm going to wait on that until I get lab results, x-ray and biopsy done. It's just too much to think about right now. I still need my two shots from the pharmacy too. One step at a time.

 

Oh yeah, I need a biopsy on my arm. Three more needle punches. I have a couple of white circular patches that COULD be an indication of lupus. Probably not but it needs to be checked.

 

She also said I am eating too much fruit. It's because of the sugar content. I guess grabbing a peach was worse than grabbing a pudding pop. Sometimes you can't win for losing.  

 

Ya know, for the last couple of years I was thinking I'm 66. I figured it up last night. I'm 68. Crimony. How'd that happen! 

[Guest Amber Actually]

 

Time slips away.

[Annarchy]

White spots... brown spots...crusty spots... all are age spots.  I won’t let them do anything any more.  Last time I got a biopsy, they said the spot would go away. Yeah, right.  Looks like a tattoo now.  I don’t care.  Doc & NP got upset at me because I’m a bleeder.  Really?  I told them that before he hacked a chunk out of me and had to stitch the hole he left.  I’m almost grateful he retired (they said he disappeared). Still don’t have a primary care doc.  Thank God we haven’t needed one.  

 

Mowed the lawn, again, this morning. The street sweeper went right past me while I was next to the road, I had to quit and run away, a dust storm was following it.  Cough, yuck!

 

Ran laundry, washing the guest bedding, towels and such.  

 

Came in and took it easy the rest of the day.

 

Chicken something tonight.  Thinking about de-boning it, smashing it out, putting a layer of cream cheese and some thin cut ham, then, wrapping it in bacon.  Maybe some beets to accompany it.

[Jeepers]

Ugh Annarchy. That's horrible! It isn't right when doctors blame the patient for things out of their control. I have a boat load of brown spots. I know it's sun damage. I used to be one of those who laid in the sun basking. Nice glow then. Now...not so much. I have a few other symptoms too. Especially the tiredness, arthritis and my nails have changed shape. The one I have used to be dime size and now it's nickel size. Plus many more are cropping up. Only on my forearms. She might want to rule out skin cancer since I used to be in the sun a lot up until my late 30's. I don't think it's that though. Well, if I have to get a tattoo to cover it I've got a few in mind. I always wanted one but was too afraid of the needle. I was thinking more in line of a tramp stamp though. 

 

I lazed around this afternoon catching up on the computer and doing bills. I need to go to Wal-Mart sometime tomorrow. I'm out of the diabetes test strips and I need a fan. I thought I bought one a couple of weeks ago. I can't even remember. Suppose I should check the garage first. Sigh. And I still haven't gotten that blasted turn signal fixed. Not really sure where to go now. I miss Lube Stop. They did stuff like that too.

[Homesteader]

19 minutes ago, Jeepers said:

 And I still haven't gotten that blasted turn signal fixed. Not really sure where to go now. I miss Lube Stop. They did stuff like that too.

 

Check around at some auto parts stores ... NAPA, O'Reiley, Carquest, Autozone.  Many of them have a bunch of test gear and will install simple items for you. Sometimes batteries for women of you buy from them. My hubby does it all the time ... getting the test results and buying from them. It cuts out the dealerships that are about $75 hour around here. 

[Guest Amber Actually]

Definitely auto parts store.  Lady at OReilly's put in the new wipers because I couldn't reach. 

[Jeepers]

Thank you ladies. We have quite a few of those around here. OReilly's, Auto Zone and another I can't think of are close by. Someone said Rad Air might do it. There's one of those close to me too. Auto maintenance is pretty foreign to me. I can check the oil and fill the washer fluid. That's about it. 

[The WE2's]

On 8/15/2019 at 4:25 PM, Jeepers said:

I hope I can find someone

 

I think a lot of retired carpenters are doing work...and they usually have a following.  Word of mouth gets around!

[The WE2's]

Guess I've been somewhat AWOL...but our farm friends have had an abundance of produce and have given us lots.  So I've been pressure canning (even though I prefer to wait until cooler weather) to get it set back.  Yesterday they called and we went out and they gave us a 4 gallon bucket of green bell peppers, 2 gallons of yellow sweet peppers, 2 nice egg plant, 4 of those wonderful cucumbers (that are sooo sweet!) and a couple of personal sized zucchini's.  Today we made a Mennonite store run and picked up some really nice bargains.  Two 5# bags of ham bits for less than 10$, a case of canned Mandarin oranges, a case of canned mix fruit and two cases of Key Lime yogurt.  Also two chunks of bulk pepper jack cheese and bacon/white cheddar. 

Last week a lady was clearing out her canning jars so we picked up 5 cases of quart jars and 96 pint jars for 50$ and she included a sack of rings.  I recall hearing that in the 70's there was a shortage of jars, rings and lids when the economy was having a rough time.  Figured I'd get ahead of the game...just in case.  Can't ever have too many canning supplies! 

[The WE2's]

Hubby's just about to finish our lady's basement lid.  She had him put a hasp and lock on the interior door also.  He dug a footing and built a form so he can pour a concrete footing so the water won't run into the stair well any more and then under the interior door.  He should be finished with that next week...then...before he starts her front porch...we're gonna take a few days and go camping!

[The WE2's]

Hoping all the thunderstorms are over...it's tough not getting any sleep with our Abby-girl having such a tough time. She gets to sleep it off the next day...we don't 

[Guest Amber Actually]

Storming hard here.

 

Great deals. Lots of work, but worth it.

[Mt_Rider]

FINALLY got a definitely cool day to pick currants.  Until I got scared out by whatever slithering AND scampering critters live under that thorny bush.      But I have a couple cups - which is actually a lot if we just use them in pancakes and muffins.  They are potent lil' things.  AND now I have to take the flower and stem off of each one.  Tedious and time-consuming!  Picking ....I've gotten the knack of avoiding the thorns....of which there are MANY. 

 

The other MANY .....IS MICE AGAIN.   Today I discovered that they really go for the seeds on the bread DH brought home.  Chewed thru the plastic wrapper and were chewing the seeds off the top of the bread load.  ON MY KITCHEN COUNTER!       

So why isn't the poison working any more?   Why aren't the glue traps working?  I'm not getting another cat till we move.....

 

"till we move" is getting to be a very old and increasingly awkward refrain, I think.     Get rid of horses and we could move somewhere around here that doesn't have mice and rats and bats and holes in the chinking and ......    Yeah, like we have the energy to do that. 

 

MtRider   

 

 

 

[Jeepers]

WE2 it's very true about the canning lids and rings. Times were getting pretty rough then. People didn't panic, that I remember, but people were scared. Carter was in office. That was the year son and I spent a summer with the in-laws while D-ex was in summer school catching up from the Air Force. They plowed the whole back yard up and we gardened and froze and dried all summer from it. And picked fruit and berries along the railroad tracks.

 

Most women had stopped canning but when things got bad they wanted to resume canning and there wasn't any stock piled. Stores didn't have them and couldn't get them. Odd, we lived about 50 miles south of Muncie where all the Ball canning stuff was made. Forget buying or bartering for them. Women held on to those lids and rings like they were a first born son. Of course the price reflected the supply if or when they did get some

 

Glass canning jars weren't so bad. They are sturdier and you can reuse them a lot more often. Coffee jars, spaghetti jars and peanut butter jars were a favorite back then. Everybody still water bath canned about everything back then.  

 

Those were the years they tried the plastic bands. I would love those because they wouldn't rust. Wish they would start trying to get something beside those metal rings. And also the one piece lids. I didn't like them at all. Lid and rim were one piece. And pretty flimsy.also, you couldn't remove the band to wash the jar. 

 

To top it off there was an oil embargo going on and food trucks were doing what they called a convoy. Their way of striking without actually waking off of the job.on the interstates they would drive side by side with two or three wide and go about 10 miles per hour down the road.

 

Good job on your hauls!

[Guest Amber Actually]

Carter was making the hard decisions that pulled the US out of the hole it was in and set it up for the economy that was starting to solidify just as Reagan took office.  Carter just misjudged the "misery index" and the people's ability to see past it to what good it would do for their futures.  That's why he didn't get a second term in office.  He was the last sitting president to overestimate the intelligence of the American voter.

I was in middle school/high school in the seventies, and working at everything I could find: tutoring, mowing lawns, baby sitting, scrubbing floors, hurricane cleanup, cleanup at construction sites, bicycling a gallon of gas and a can of starting spray down the bridge to sell if the CB said a car had run out (oh, my mother would have KILLED me!), grocery store runs, helping people with canning days and freezing days (amazing how much work you can pick up after seeing someone unloading a trunk full of ear corn, stopping to help unload, and casually shucking three ears for every one she can shuck while chatting and drinking her iced tea) and so on.  My boyfriend's sister and I traded off jobs with each other when schedules clashed.  Also, I had a best friend who was one of those high-energy types who could just keep going and going, but kept getting in over her head, so if I ever ran into a free moment, I could just call her mom to ask where she was and if she needed help doing that.  We teenagers saw a lot of out-of-work grownups.  Sometimes had to ask them to move so we could mow or sweep or scrub where they were.  Couldn't understand why they couldn't scare up jobs for themselves.  Then again, we worked by the job, basically piecework, and it didn't always come up to minimum wage.  But it was money coming in.