My leukemia's back.

[Suzie]

Now that brings back memories...Microwave Ovens...

My Father was working in the aircraft industry and he was on a test flight ...there was a microwave oven being tested on the aircraft...food was cooked during the flight...when my Father arrived home one evening from Heathrow Airport he had some unusual baggage with him...maybe ten ready meals that had been cooked in the microwave...I have to say that although the meat was OK...the rest was a disgusting mess...my Brother and Sisters were expected to eat the contents of this experiment...I don't think I ate much which I why I am comparatively normal...compared to my siblings...!

I have to say however in my defence that ....cooking in the microwave is far safer for me than an oven or a hob...although my food may be inedible...I can at least show on my PC what it "should look like"...

Anyone brave enough to come over for dinner...? all are welcome!

 

[3goodeggs]

Thank you. I've had lots of time to work on them. They're a nice project cause they're small and work up fast. It's hard to drag a full size afghan around to doctor's offices

Anyone want to come fix my dryer? When we had our electrical issues Sunday we had to unplug and move it, now it's not heating up. Honey's not sure if it's still an electrical issue, or if an element went out or what. I've got a guy coming out tomorrow morning to look at it. Meanwhile, I've got a load of towels draped over things in the house around the woodstove to dry

.

We lost our "special" Faverolles hen Fluffy last night. I really didn't expect her to survive the winter, but it's going to be hard to tell Echo she died. He liked her a lot and I "gave" her to him. I'm not sure how he'll deal with a pet dying. Oh, and when I found her, something had eaten her head off

. My guess is maybe a rat? I've fought them on and off over the years under the hay barn, it may be time to put some bait out. I can't think what else would have done that. My next logical choice would be Pete, the barn cat, but I'm just not sure he'd do that. No other birds were bothered and from where she was laying, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the flock being opportunistic cannibals. Crap. I hate rats.

Well, as of yesterday I'm officially on Medicare

. I don't know why this is so hard for me. I think some of it is, it means I've been sick for 2 years now. When I first got diagnosed, I did so well and responded to the chemo well enough I really thought I'd not have to deal with this again. But, here I am two years later, still dealing. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to have them paying the bills. It's just a mental adjustment, I guess. It also means I lose my milage reimbursement I had through the state insurance. On the other hand, not being on the state means I don't have them in my life anymore. To qualify they wanted us to not have any assets or savings, that was very difficult for me. I liked having an emergency fund, now we can work on that again. Cause things happen, you know, like the dryer breaking down

.

Check to make sure the belt is still attached.
Sorry about fluffy.

 

[Suzie]

Rachel...so very sorry to hear about Fluffy...especially to read of how she was decapitated...bad enough to find one dead ..let alone to know that some disgusting vermin probably ate a part of her...we are having problems here now with rats...luckily most of my animals are adults now and the few chicks I have are in isolation in cages that are inaccessible to rats...you need to be very careful to use gloves when handling any areas that the rats may have been in...feed and watering dishes...rats can carry weils disease and that you do not need...! I have had rats eat the heads of young ducklings in the past..they chewed them up...gross..

I did not know what Medicare was/is...I just looked it up on the internet...sounds as complicated as the French health system....

Gotta say I love those cute hats you are making!

Bless you !

 

[3goodeggs]

I dunno, I kinda like it!

 

[LittleLakePhil]

Rachel I don't know how the system works these days...when I got sick and finally was forced to quit work..I had blue cross and Medicaid and Medicare. I wasn't even give the option not too.so I was wondering why they took do long to give Medicare to you.

 

[donrae]

Jan, bless your heart! You always manage to find a pic that literally makes me laugh so hard tears run down my leg

. Absolutely brilliant, I love it.

maybe I should use Eve as my hat model

.

NFC, the swaps are a chain type thing. Most are egg swaps, but this one is called the What Ya Got swap. Eggs are welcome, but it's mostly crafts or other home made type things. I figure since I have an abundance of hats, I'll see what I can swap for them. Some folks have done baked goods, jams, soaps, etc.

Phil, I didn't have insurance when I was diagnosed.

I went on Medicaid after we blew through our savings. I've had that for the last two years. Now, when you're on disability for 2 years, you qualify for Medicare. And since I'll have the Medicare, the Medicaid drops me. That's my understanding anyways.


I'm going to hit the coop with a rake and shovel tomorrow if the weather's okay. See if I can find some tunnels to bait. I'd say I'd fire the cat, but honestly I think a rat is a bit much for most cats. I'd rather not have my cat all scratched up. But if I start seeing mice, the cat's definitely fired!

 

[Blooie]

What a coincidence, Rachel. Yesterday my Medicare became active too. <sigh> And I didn't have any choice either. For all those years since Ken retired back in 1990, we had Tri-Care. It's the insurance program for retired military. We also paid darn good money for a zero deductible supplement which picked up whatever Tri-Care didn't, and believe me, that was a lot. But it worked well, and we liked it a lot, even if it was a tad spendy for the premiums.

Then PRESTO - about 2 months before Ken turned 65 we got a letter from our supplement that said he would be cancelled as of the first day of his birth month. He was automatically enrolled in Medicare, no choice, no option, at 65 and Tri-Care automatically became our supplement. Know what that means? It means if he had a hip replacement before his birth month, Tri-Care paid their share then our private supplement picked up the rest. After that date, if he had a a hip replacement, Medicare paid whatever they were going to pay and then Tri-Care picked up the rest. Hmmmm Anyone see anything wrong with this brilliant idea? We didn't mind paying out of pocket for a supplement but we were no longer ALLOWED that option. Now every dime after our deductible comes out of taxpayer money, first Medicare then Tri-Care. Then they are aghast at how much medical care for retired military is costing. Shoot, fellas! If you'd left us alone doing what we were doing, it wouldn't be costing you half as much!!!

I talked to our US Senator, Mike Enzi, about this. I was mad. We had medical expenses paid by the government, yes, but we'd signed on the dotted line and were promised that benefit to make up for 26 years of substandard pay and extreme sacrifice. Suddenly we were being forced to take from the taxpayers (us included) twice each time we visit a doctor or hospital. That's just wrong. Mike said, "Diane, you have to understand that that funding comes from two different sources....DFAS and CMS." I replied, "Yeah, Mike, I get that. But you have to understand that the entirety of that money was once part of someone's paycheck, no matter how you geniuses decide to divvy it up." He didn't like that. Oh, well!

 

[sourland]

Blooie, in so many ways we have been had, and the principles that we believe in are not valued by others.

 

[Blooie]

But if we hold fast and keep telling folks how it was, then maybe we'll be able to get that back for the Katies, the Evans and the Kendras of the world! Hope springs eternal!

 

[sourland]

Blooie, I just don't know. I just wrote a lengthy ranting reply to your last post and then decided that I sounded like an out of touch old man still wearing the patched jeans and shirts that he grew up with. Sometimes doing without is a GOOD thing.