October 2023

Nice Butts ARK. Looks like your guys are wearing their fuzzy pajamas too.

Bill and I haven't been able to spend much quality time together lately. Last night after work we went on a drive and admired the fall colors. We also realized how much we DON't get out because we kept seeing new (to us) buildings that had obviously been there for a while And while we were driving about I tracked down two of the facilities that have tentatively accepted Dan for continued rehab as he's getting kicked out of the Chicago rehab due to insurance. Don't ever get sick. It's all about the money.

Indy, you're certainly right about it being about the money.  There are all kinds of shenanigans for the hospitals/doctors/pharmacies to make more money.  Over the last couple of years when I was having my hip surgeries and then the heart procedures, I would get statements of what was paid by whom, and what my cost was.  When I added it up, there was a huge discrepancy between what was charged and what was actually paid.  Apparently, they jack up the charge, accept what insurance pays, and then write off the rest.  
Fortunately, my Medicare Advantage pays almost everything, leaving me responsible only a small amount.  
I will conclude by saying that I have received excellent care from everyone.  

This morning, I drove to Middlebury to get some cider.  (Indy, go to Miller Cider Mill just on the west side of Middlebury.)  They use about 20 different kinds of apples.  It is delicious.  
Then I hit E&S for some flour and a couple of other things.  
It's a really nice fall day.  Leaves are turning and starting to fall, though the falling is still in the early stages.

Happy fall, everybody.

ELLEN, I love going to E & S Sales. I stopped in there many a time just to wander around and look. I don't think I have ever come out without buying something.

I am not complaining about any of the care that Dan has received. There have been a couple of employees at various places that he doesn't necessarily like as much as others, but then that's just personalities, not level of care. The care has been fantastic and he is not the best patient. He's not the worst, but he could be better at times. He will be coming back to Indiana on Sunday. How he is going to get here is still up in the air, I may be driving him, or insurance may pay to medically transport him that is still to be determined. If he lived in IL he could get additional assistance and stay at the facility he is in. Because he is an Indiana resident, Medicaid will not cover the cost at a facility in IL. Doesn't matter that there is a medical need for him to be in that hospital. I find it amazing what I have learned about the system.

Indy, I drive the 35 miles to Shipshewana just to get bread flour at E&S. It is MUCH better flour and costs a LOT less than regular grocery stores. Almost all their stuff is less expensive than most grocery stores. It's worth the trip to go there now and then.
I haven't bought a loaf of bread for about 4 years. When I learned how easy it is to make it with my stand mixer I started making my own all the time. I make 3 loaves from one batch, freeze 2 of them and only have to make it about once a month.

A cousin's wife had to deal with the Medicare/Medicaid thing for her parents for a few years. She said it was just awful. They kept changing the rules and every time she tried to do anything there was a whole new set of paperwork to handle. She managed it for a few years, then one of her sisters took over, thinking that cousin-in-law was exaggerating. Boy, did sister find out the truth.

INDYAPP
 I really wish the health care system was the same from state to state.  It seems unfair to withhold special care from someone because he lives across the state line.  I hope Dan does well back home.
 Yep, my horses are getting fuzzy.  Trinket is the fuzziest, but all are growing hair for winter.

I rode Ivan at Pandapas Pond on Wednesday for a 5 mile loop.  We hadn't ridden that far since June, I think.   Ivan's hairy body was lathered up under his girth, he set a fast walking pace the entire way.  We went with 3 riders/horses who we had never met before.  They were quite nice.  We are going back this coming Thursday next week.

Then Donnie and helped unload 300 square bales we bought  into our barn loft and hay building.  Being saddle sore from the day before was nothing compared to how the rest of my poor bod felt after 4 hours of moving heavy bales.  It's lovely hay, but really big bales compared to our cute little round bales.  We should have enough hay now until after first cutting next year.  Yesterday, Donnie and I moved around like we were 90 years old.  We are somewhat better today.

This morning, Saturday,  we got up to half the leaves around the barn and arena that were on trees last night, on the ground.  We just spent two hours picking up leaves and walnuts out of where the horses live. Apparently the wind howled last night.   I was so tired, I never heard it.  Donnie mowed/mulched the leaves, then raked them up with the yard sweeper.  It worked fairly well.   We hand picked up two 5 gallon buckets of walnuts.  The wind had blown leaves into the barn and added a couple of extra loads with the wheelbarrow.   It must have been quite windy, that had never happened on this scale before.  

So today, I only feel like I am 85.  

Pix of the hay on the trailer taken from the loft, and the 10'x40' loft which is now filled.

Ain't nuthin' easy about taking care of horses. But I'll bet that you are in a whole lot better shape than most other people your age.
Does Trinket look like a little ball of fuzz when she gets her full winter coat?

Our leaves have really changed color in the last two days. We are supposed to get a bit of a freeze Monday night, so I expect there will be a lot of them on the ground on Tuesday. The lawn tractor will get some exercise turning them into dust - IF it doesn't rain. We've been getting some much-needed rain, so I'm not complaining.

ARK: You know I miss having my horses here on the farm, but when I looked at the trailer full of hay I remembered why I didn't replace them when my last horse Jazzy crossed the Rainbow Bridge. I don't miss all the physical labor that goes with having horses or dogs. I can visit my friends horses and have my freind Bev bring her therapy dog Lilly down to visit and give us some doggie love without all the manual labor. Never thought I would feel that way but getting over 70 changed my views. Keep up the good work my horse friends.

Our medical system here in PA is broken too...So sad. People are waiting months for operations or to even see a doctor. What a mess.

Another wonderful Fall weekend to get outside and enjoy Fall in PA. The trees are loaded with color.

Stay safe and healthy everyone.
Love & prayers...

I don't know what Indiana does differently, but I have not had to wait too long for any kind of health care. The longest I had to wait was 3 months for an appointment with the cardiologist who did the ablation. He is a VERY busy man. Since it was not an emergency situation, the wait didn't really matter.
If I need to see my GP I just have to call about 8:00 in the morning to see him that day.
I am very grateful for all of that.

As for a pet, my neighbor asks me to dog-sit every now and then, so I get a puppy fix once in a while. I don't have to feed him or pay for his grooming or vet visits. Just love on him and send him home.

TRUDY:
 As we get older, it definitely is getting harder to keep up with the horse work.  On the other hand,  I would be a total couch potato if I wasn't forced to get out and take care of the horses every day.  I can spend months sitting and reading if given a chance.  So I try to just do it and not think about how much easier my life would be without them.... And I would miss them.   It takes us about 2 hours a day to keep up with the barn.    
I feel closer to my actual age today,  the saddle soreness and hay lifting agony have gone away!     Next ride:  Thursday.   Rinse, repeat....


ELLEN:
 They will have to bury me with a cat or I won't be happy.   I can get by without a dog, goats, or poultry,  and would ask to be buried with a horse, but think there might be objections...      I gotta have my animal fix!

I don't think there are any more walnuts on our tree next to the barn.  We've had wind for three days and the walnuts gave up early and fell off.  We had our first frost last night and should have another tonight.  

Trinket the fuzzy:summer,  winter
   

today

The walnuts around here have been off the trees for about 3 or 4 weeks. There aren't as many acorns this year, so there won't be as many squirrels next year.
It got cold last night, but didn't freeze. The next 4 days are going to be warm - 70s. Indian Summer, I guess.

Paolo is coming over tomorrow while his family are away for most of the day. I have the cheese ready. He'll do almost anything for a bite of cheese.

I think all our walnuts are down now. I have more to clean up in the barn and arena areas, but don't see anymore on the tree. There are more walnuts this year than last year. Too bad they are so hard to hull. Hopefully there will be some happy squirrels this winter.


It was 71 degrees this afternoon, felt great! After the hard frost we had yesterday, and 36 degrees, it felt like summer was trying to come back.

Donnie has to take BART, the red truck, in to have its brakes fixed tomorrow morning. Our blue truck is sitting in the dealer's shop waiting on a new alternator. It's been an expensive truck year.

It was warm yesterday, and not too cold today.  The leaves have changed color a LOT in the last two or three days.  
So...  Hogie Carmichael's "Autumn Leaves....." seems very appropriate.

The next morning:
Let the shower remodel begin!  I was up at 6 AM this morning, a rare occurrence for me.  I tried to get everything ready for the carpenter to get started.  He got here a little after 7 and got right to work.  He laid down some tarps to completely cover the floors.  Good start.  
Then I started hearing the old tiles hitting the ground outside the bathroom window.  Much better to just chuck the junk out the window instead of hauling it through the house.  He's even cleaning up the mess as he goes.
Five hours later:
Demolition was done in less than three hours.  Rebuilding has begun. They left about 1:45 after putting in a good 6 1/2 hours getting everything done they could do without the plumber. AND, they cleaned up everything before they left! Afterward, I ran a vacuum to get some dust that was stirred up, but no big deal at all.
Wish me continued good luck. So far, it's going great.

I missed the announcement ELLEN of the bathroom remodel. How exciting! I've thought about having a different shower put in my bathroom. Currently I have a shower insert, but because of the way it is made, grab rails cannot be installed. Good Luck!

ELLEN
 Please ask your carpenters if they'd like a nice working vacation in Virginia when they are done with your bathroom!!   We've been talking about renovating both of our bathrooms, but will probably have to do it ourselves.  Try finding an independent carpenter who isn't a meth head around here.  Take pix!!  We were looking at new sinks and cabinets at Lowes the other day.  I suspect we'll be looking further afield.


BEECH:
 Do you live close to Lewiston?  Gads.  Will it ever end?  


INDYAPP:
  We took Ivan to Pandapas Pond yesterday.  He didn't want to walk close to the other two horses, both of whom he had met before.  It turned out it was for good reason.  The horse he knows the best was in a foul mood and kicked at Ivan.  I felt the air go past my foot as he kicked.  Ivan has never kicked at another horse on a ride.  Anyway, we ended up leading for the entire 5 miles, way out in front of the other two.  
 I have come to appreciate Ivan's attitude.  He gets nervous, but never bites, kicks, or creates mayhem with other horses.  He just sweats more or asks to go ahead of the others.   I wish he was more comfortable with going without any other horses on a ride.  He was so good yesterday.

Ark, you have another instance of needing to pay attention to the animals. Ivan knew those other two weren't safe. I'm glad you had a good ride. This is a beautiful time of year to ride.
The leaves are falling more rapidly now.

Today was a very productive day. In about 5 hours, he finished the drywall - there wasn't a lot to do - and did the mudding and taping. The plumber was here for a very short time getting that ready for the shower head and the drain.
They were gone by noon, having done all that could be done today. I think the tile guy comes on Monday.

When the guy told me it would take about a week, I silently doubted him. But, it looks like he might be right. He's so good about protecting my floors and cleaning up before he leaves.

I rather doubt that he would be too interested in traveling to Virginia. He's Amish. He has another guy drive for him. He has a trailer and all the tools, so the guy picks him up, hitches the trailer, takes him to the job site, then leaves until he's needed again.
Most of the Amish around here have a good reputation for being good workers. My electrician neighbor across the road has worked with this guy before and recommended him. So far, it's a good recommendation.
I'll send pictures when it's done, about a week from now.

Beech, I imagine that you and the rest of Maine are breathing a sigh of relief today.

Being a little older, I am very fortunate to have someone call and check on me every day. He is from India and is very concerned about my car warranty.

I choked on a carrot this morning, and all I could think of was, "I'll bet a doughnut wouldn't have done this to me."

Nothing spoils a good story more than the arrival of an eyewitness. (Mark Twain)

I finally realize why I look so bad in pictures. It's my face.

It only takes one slow-walking person in the grocery store to destroy the illusion that I'm a nice person.

Sorry that I'm late. I got here as soon as I wanted to.

It turns out that when asked who your favorite child is, you're supposed to pick out one of your own. I know that now.

It's fine to eat a test grape in the produce section, but you take one bite of rotisserie chicken and it's all, "Sir, you need to leave!"

One thing no one ever talks about, when it comes to being an older adult, is how much time we devote to keeping a cardboard box because it is, you know, a really good box.

I can't believe I forgot to go to the gym today. That's seven years in a row now.

If you drop something when you were younger, you just picked it up. When you're older and you drop something, you stare at it for just a bit, contemplating if you actually need it anymore.

I like to make lists. I also like to leave them laying on the kitchen counter, and then guess what's on the list when I am at the store.

A giraffe's coffee would be cold by the time it reached the bottom of its throat. Ever think about that? No, you only think about yourself.

My kids say they want a cat for Christmas. Normally I serve turkey, but, hey, if it will make them happy.

Ask your doctor if a drug with 32 pages of side-effects is bad for you.

I relabeled all of the jars in my wife's spice rack. I'm not in trouble yet, but the thyme is cumin.

I just read a book about marriage that says treat your wife like you treated her on your first date. So tonight after dinner I'm dropping her off at her parent's house.

The best way to get back on your feet is to miss two car payments.

I love bacon. Sometimes I eat it twice a day. It takes my mind off the terrible chest pains I keep getting.

As I watch this generation try to rewrite history, one thing I am sure of is that it will be misspelled and have no punctuation.

Driver: "What am I supposed to do with this speeding ticket?
Officer, "Keep it. When you collect four of them, you get a bicycle."

I asked a supermarket employee where they kept the canned peaches. He said, "I'll see," and walked away. I asked another and he also said, "I'll see," and walked away. In the end, I gave up and found them myself, in Aisle C.

I told my physical therapist that I broke my arm in two places. He told me to stop going to those places.

I put our scale in the bathroom corner and that's where the little liar will stay until it apologizes.

When I was a kid, I used to watch the ‘Wizard of Oz’ and wonder how someone could talk if they didn't have a brain. Then I got Facebook.

Do you ever get up in the morning, look in the mirror and think, "That can't be accurate!"

I want to be 14 again and ruin my life differently. I have new ideas.

Apparently RSVPing to a wedding invitation with "Maybe next time" isn't the correct response.

A guy walks into a lumberyard and asks for some 2x4s. The clerk asks, "How long do you need them?" The guy answers, "A long time. We're going to build a house.

I just burned 1,200 calories. I forgot the pizza in the oven.

Who knew that the hardest thing of being an adult is figuring out what to fix for dinner and doing it every single night for the rest of your life until you die?

I hate it when people act all intellectual and talk about Mozart, when they've never even seen one of his paintings.

Never trust an electrician with no eyebrows.

So my neighbor knocked on my front door at 3 am. 3 AM!!! Luckily I was already up playing the bagpipes.

Instead of cleaning my house, I just watch an episode of "The Hoarders," and think, "Wow! My house looks great!"

ELLEN:
Good ones!

I think I like that way of burning 1200 calories the best!


Such a pretty day today. So we celebrated by painting more on the arena fence. This is going to take awhile....

ELLEN: Those were so funny. They really made me laugh. I loved the one about the hardest things about being an adult is figuring out what to make for dinner. That is the topic of conversation here every single morning. Every morning...Me "what do you want for dinner...George "I don't care whatever...food." Me "OK then you are getting Cheerios." Then magically he decides what he wants for dinner and surprisingly it's NEVER Cheerios. Yes, we are crazy people and proud of it...LOL LOL

My favorite one was about the boxes.  I get boxes from Amazon (like everybody else) and I just hate throwing them away.  "It's a really good box."  
We used to have a place where we could drop recycling.  People made such a mess of it and all the others in the county they took them out.  Now, I would have to pay extra to recycle them.  Nope.  Not doin' that.  So, with regret, I put them out for trash pickup.  At least they will degrade back into dirt eventually.  Just try picking up an Amazon box that was delivered in the rain.

Trudy, maybe you could check out Pioneer Woman's recipe books.  She has a lot of quick good meals that mostly use things we keep on hand.  She has another new book just out. "Dinner's Ready". 112 easy meals.

I am really pleased with the progress on the shower. The tile guys came this morning at 7:00. By the time they left at 9:45, all the cement board was up, taped and sealed, and the floor had cement on it. That was all they could do today since the concrete has to set up before tiling can be done.
The contractor came with a portable dumpster in the truck and picked up all the mess from last week.
The tilers will come back on Wednesday, grout on Thursday, reconnect water lines on Friday. Done.
I grew up at a time when "PTA" baths were the rule of the day; baths were only on Saturday night. So, I know how to do that. However, I will be VERY GLAD to have my very own shower again.

ELLEN: Just wanted to share with you how much those funnies have brightened up so many people. I sent them to all my email buddies and have got so many emails saying how they made them actually sit there and laugh themselves silly. What a bright spot to my morning too.

I don't know if you remember Mary Ellen & Joe Sloan, they live in NH, They used to be a part of the forum many moons ago. Joe is 87 and Mary Allen will turn 86, still alive and kicking. She also sent it to her friends and is getting so many positive emails in return. Made her day...

We can all relate...Thanks again for the laughter. We all need laughter in our lives.
Love & prayers.

Trudy, you just made my day by telling me that others got a laugh. Thank you.
Yes, we sure need some laughter.

That was a list of jokes? I thought it was one of those tests you take. I got 28 out of 40...

INDYAPP:
 

Happy Halloween!



Last Saturday,  Donnie's walking cane got left in the shopping cart at Walmart. Again.  We were both to blame, he left it in the cart and I didn't notice it when I took the cart back.  It's gray.   So yesterday, Monday,  after a bunch of errands, we got back to Walmart.  Donnie checked in at the customer service who said, "Oh, you must be Donnie."  His name is on his cane.   So miraculously, he got his cane back.  There are good people out there.  We finished our shopping and went home. As we sat in the driveway,  Donnie turned to get his cane and couldn't find it in the truck.  We had left it in the shopping cart AGAIN.  

Indy, I literally laughed out loud at your response.  LOLOLOLOL

Ark, were you able to get the cane back?  Again?
I'm thinking the cane needs to be painted in bright neon red, orange and yellow. Or, Donnie can put one of those Apple trackers on it.