Back in the pool today!

Does anyone out there really read this nonsensical boloney that I spew out nightly for my own satisfaction of doing something tangible to prove I have minuscule capabilities?
You all do know that this is my personal mental health therapy?
Being allowed to verbalize how things are in my own little world has made me feel a wee bit useful.
As I told an FB friend just yesterday, as we all know; there is nothing new under the sun and sharing our flaws or frailties allows us to realize that as human beings we have many commonalties to compare notes on so to speak. Or to laugh at what the other guys consider problems and say, hey mine aren’t so bad after all!

So let me encourage you to listen to my reasoning on this venue of unadulterated narcissistic boldness of manner and idea I will ‘xplain myself ‘Lucy’ to all of you or any one person who might find the time and take the non-initiative to consume this fodder of my heart and soul.

Here goes… being practically an only child with older parents I was listened to intently when I spoke, and when they died and our sons grew and moved away and my hubby heard it all before too many times I decided there was an entire world who hadn’t heard a peep, and that is why we are here today!
The end.
Nah you’re not getting away with it that early, you should have realized that peeps, this is Tobi’s turf!

But as simple as I stated my reasoning.
I do enjoy talking and since I don’t drive anymore due to my health and I quit so many of my extra curricular activities where I did have friends and if not friend’s people to talk to…THIS IS MY VOCAL OUTLET FOLKS!

This morning I did get back into the pool for my ROM exercises, and they do help I suspect.

I have come up with a new greeting for all to verbalize for your day to begin and I think most of you may adopt it since it is a very simple twist on our usual boring daily welcome to our world or friends, instead of good morning just say happy morning!
What do think?
I proposed it to my FB friends today and a few responded in the positive.
But not enough to brag about.
I suspect most might be in a rut of sameness, you know what I mean?
But just think about what just changing that one word means?
That you are wishing your buds, co-workers and complete strangers to have happiness for the start of their day!
Wow, what a concept, huh?
Isn’t that really what we are all looking for?
Some think MONEY buys happiness or love or this job or that other thing, but what it really boils down to is you making you happy!
Truthfully, all any of us can do is smile to fool our brains when we are feeling down.
Things don’t make you happy, just comfortable.
Of course I am not so idealistic that I don’t know that we as human beings need our creature comforts taken care of, but after that; what do we really need?
Greed is what caused this mess that we are in economically and it truly shocks me when I read some of the people’s forms of incomes on my FB page.
Make millions, flip this or that, doesn’t anyone remember how this economic disaster started with people who were so greedy they never knew when enough was enough!
Having fun and monies to relax are fine but when you have to have more and more and more, then my friends I think you may need your own Blog for some mental health re-evaluating!
Playing hard and working hard to get what you want?
But in reality what is it that you really need?
And yes those two things are different my friends, and you should all weigh those choices…where does it stop?

On this pittance of an attempt to create thought of deeds in my newest friendships I will bid you all a very good night and to all count those blessings, which I may add are not how many homes, cars or whatever you have but your spouses, partners, children, pets of whatever treasures that breaths your air in your space alongside of you or somewhere in this world!
And we will count ours too!

And now my audience has reached on FB friends a tally of lively breaths of 302!
Thank you to all!

Today I went to the vampira and gave...

You know, I always wondered why when you have to have blood work done they always appear to take more than they could possibly ever need for a scientific specimen, and if you are not a carrier of a major plague or anything like that why can’t they use your blood for transfusion donations?

Today alone they must have taken four to six vials ( I lost count and tried not to continue to look the first three were interesting but the rest were just a wee bit ghoulish, you know what I mean?) just from little ole me! And you can’t tell me that they were going to use all of it!
So I asked the phlebotomist and she didn’t know either.
Where would one go for that type of information to find out?

In a world where we are trying hard to pride ourselves on ingenuity and non-wasteful ecologically sound ideas we as a people I ask you collectively, why not use all the healthy human bodily fluids that we no longer have use for or have been well tested and proven safe. The FDA could have control over this too! Wait a minute, they don’t seem to have a knack on that control of checking products yet; they have recently made quite a few whoppers of mistakes, huh? Well, then scientists who test it could do it don’t you think they would have the most knowledge in what actually would be OK; what do you say folks?

Without going into too much detail I do mostly mean blood since that is the one they have all those drives for, right?
The other one that is for procreation should be an individual’s choice, but over the years that one has caused most of the enormous amounts of problems and controversy.
So I suppose I will stick with the question; what happens to all that blood that the medical professionals take from us in labs, doctor offices and hospitals?
Am I the only one who has wondered, I think not!
Sure it must go into the hazardous waste containers that they have all over those places, but why?

If you don’t have some horrendous transmittable disease, are your hemo-typical fluids still considered a hazardous waste?
Not to any human creature who has them within them and who knows they could have healing components to help the world?
Wouldn’t that just be ducky?

After we went for my early morning blood letting which had to be on a fasting stomach, Hubby took me out to breakfast; rightfully so.
We went to one of those comfort food restaurants with a cowboy guy as their icon, our local in neighborhood place.
Hubby ordered the heart attack special and I went for the lighter choice the egg white spinach omelet with rye toast, we both had black coffee.
His came the way he wanted it gushing with all those finding globules in those sunny-side up eggs and sausages butter for his white toast, just what he desired.
Mine looked good too until I took the small bowl of strawberries and pineapples off my plate, and there it was gelatinous running stuff that puddled away from my pristine egg-whites encrusted with spinach and topped with small chunks of very fresh looking tomatoes, yummy except for that oil glop!
I’m not one to complain in fact I don’t recall the last time that I did do that, but this oil fluid just seemed to defeat my whole concept of eating healthy, you know what I mean?
So Hubby found the server and told her that we had a problem with one of our meals and she looked at it and took it away. Meanwhile I ate my fruit and rye toast with sugar free berry preserve which was just perfectly fine. By the time she returned with their second try, and I say this because it was another greasy looking specimen I said that I really didn’t want it, and she took it away.
Soon the manager came over and apologized in hush, hush tones, in a squatting position at the end of our table, and said that he would take care of our meal and we didn’t have to pay for either of your choices, we politely protested but he insisted.
He even gave us coupons worth ten dollars off for our next visit.
Hubby and I felt we should leave a tip and so Hubby checked his wallet and left one.

That pretty much sums up the day.
I told the manager it was nice to see that such a large chain had an old fashioned way of handling such situations. And I said what my dad used to say that, “He was a gentleman and a scholar”, which I am sure didn’t make any sense to that thirty-something fellow, and now that I think back it doesn’t make any to me either, LOL!
Well, to be honest if Dad was still here he would be 103 by now!
And they spoke differently in those days, didn’t they?

Good night to all and to all take and count those blessings and we will too!

PS Happy Birthday to the ADA, the Americans’ for Disabilities Act that went into affect twenty years ago today!
Bush ‘one’ was responsible for it, and for that I am grateful.

Being me has become simpler than ever before, but...my rant!

Is there anyone out there who wouldn’t want an uncomplicated life?
I ask all of you, seriously.
The reason I am saying this is because for the first time in my life I am able to do what I want when I want to without anyone telling me not to.

At different times in my life I was juggling too many things but some how they always turned out just right or pretty OK.
Been there, done that has become a familiar lament of late.
Boy, it makes me angry though when others seem to know what’s better for you and they don’t even know you at all!

You see when I was able to I did it all, from working a ninety-six hour week, drove three thousand miles a month while raising two teenagers while they were in college and their father too.
You know we all worked actually Hubby and our sons through school and me too when I went.
But they did work part-time at those times as we all did.

When I became a bum, so to speak from my illnesses I became a board member of a non-profit, a fundraiser for them, a certified Acquacize instructor and co-president of the local support group, an advocate, went for training to teach a self help group and this was all as a volunteer! I have seven types of arthritis out of one hundred different types, as well as Multiple Sclerosis and more than likely that periodic altruism, which I even became Volunteer of the year in 2000, caused me to not get disability coverage, but then we were very well insured by Hubby’s job.

I went to the organizations that I helped when I was a volunteer because about two years ago I was told not to walk anymore with my Ataxia, numbness in my legs, since my hips now have osteoarthritis and I need to have them replaced, but duh I have no insurance, any-who I needed a mobility scooter and both organizations told me all monies go to research and programs to educate not for such things like that!
I’m too young for Medicare and with too much income for Medicaid, and too pre-existing for insurance and so now what?
Sympathy only seems to come to those who are terminally ill and rightfully should.
And children have fund raisers for them when they need surgeries medical attention or whatever, and St. Jude’s.
What happens to the rest of us?
We take advantage of the system however we can if we know how to, which is a learning process.
Knowledge is power and my unwieldy attitude into research for my own needs has become my latest, for the last four years since I have not had insurance, full-time job folks!
And so when I tell people on this Blog about some available medical care I am sharing that with you all, not trying to get away with anything, which sounds and feels dirty to me!
Although, getting free anything still doesn’t fit my nature right.
It’s an adjustment like anything else.

Perhaps an analogy would be almost like, ‘empty nest syndrome’, in reverse.
You have had these little people depending on you all of their lives and then all of a sudden they don’t need you anymore, because you raised them right to be independent capable human beings? It hurts but you have to let go.
Well, now it’s more like you had all this care of your needs taken care of and now its’ not there anymore, but you need it more than ever, does that make any sense?
Maybe yes, maybe no, who knows?

Financially we pay, as I said all our bills on time, and we have this adorable accessible house that I love with a pool, fish pond, docks and boats and all…

PS world… by the time I was nineteen I had already been to eight countries, seven of them in Europe and forty of these United States, even got lost in London at one A.M., and owned with my husband three businesses. I have been on TV and radio, and have been interviewed by major newspapers. Worked with big stars in movies and MTV, and helped to make a music video and worked with NASCAR, Hawaiian Tropic, MTV and the like, not too bad, eh?

And so as I said before now is the time to simplify and so I have and you world…I am not thumbing my nose but I wish that everyone would just understand that we all have to do what we have to do to continue in this life and beyond!

And I am just plumb tuckered out friends but doing things in my own slow-mo way these days as I told you before I used to be a ‘dynamo’ and now I am a ‘slow-mo’ and there is no shame in that!

Life goes on but pacing ones self my change in tempo but no one should be denied that right to set their own beat!

Good night to all and to all count those blessings and we will too!

Authors and rainy days!

The day in spite of the threat of Bonnie not completely out of the area we only got our thunderstorms around three this afternoon, and showers are continuing as I write this tonight.
No pool for me with that rain cooled water this morning too chilly and that was just fine with me since I had a good book to read by an author that we just discovered.
Bob Morris is the author who is a professor at a central Florida college and resides in Winter Park.
He’s written perhaps a half dozen books that we will most likely search out to read since we enjoyed the one we just finished, ‘Baja Florida’.
The other author who I found in the new section is a Californian from LA and her name is Sue Ann Jaffarian who is a plus-size cute middle-aged and single quirky mystery writer who is both in her character and herself paralegals.
Very new in her endeavors since we noticed so far she has only written three, which we have read two of, “Too Big to Miss” and "The Curse of the Holy Pail”.
Her books are quite a bit different from our usual realm of mysteries readings of more main stream authors but quite entertaining just the same.

My day was rather quiet as you can imagine with only stopping the read-a-thon for meals and to clean a portion of our frig.
By in large it was a pleasant non stressful day.

That’s why it irks me when my body acts up on me.
I did get up periodically to prevent stiffness as we all know from sitting too long, and in spite of my do diligence I am in pain from I do believe my arthritis not the MS, although my eyes have become worse.
My right eye must have a cataract that has gotten worse since January when I was last at the eye doc’s.
I know reading like how I have been could put a strain on any eyes.
But I suppose with my eye issues the detached vitreous and Neva and cataract not to mention the MS; blurry is not that unusual I suspect?

My neck and shoulders too today have been acting up pain wise, it could be the rain or as the doctor’s say the low barometric pressure which is not an old wife’s tale. It really does have an effect on arthritis.

The wonderful doctor that I went to yesterday that I mentioned said that one of my medications, the Statin at 40 MG. can cause liver damage, oh great! But the labs should let me know, it’s been a year and a half since they were checked, and now I have the prescription to take care of it.

My skin on my shoulders is now peeling and the doctor said that it appears to be Keratosis which can be precancerous, oh great; which is why I will be seeing the other doctor as soon as he has an opening.

I know I mentioned briefly why I was getting all those labs and these are more specifics.
Stomach issues too came up and they too will be addressed with my lab testing, thankfully; for peace of mind. At least I hope for no other significant reasons.
Have I bored you enough tonight?
I will stop now, since I am boring myself.

Just one more thing last night it was movie night here in our little world and we watched the ‘Bounty Hunter’, with Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler; with mixed reviews from both Hubby and myself, parts were funny but not the rolling in the isles type of funny and for those two seasoned actors it was not their best in their realm of Romantic Comedies, which they have both done better.

On those critical words of my unabashed non requested opinion I will bid you all a very good night and to all count those blessings and we will too!

Tropical Storm Bonnie!

And so we just are completing our day of our first tropical storm to touch our coastline this early in July since 1985!
To be honest it fortunately did not have much bluster at all; it was mostly just a rain maker and timid and calm to be truthful no big winds here.
If this could only be the way the rest of our hurricane season could go I would be first inline for that rainy season!
But tameness is not what hurricanes are made of, and still this one as non-fierce at it appears it is heading now into the Gulf of Mexico up to around Louisiana and Alabama to create more rain and cause more delays on the oil leak clean up; they say for another twelve days!
Reports say we are not in the clear yet either for this little girl called, ‘Bonnie’ will still be causing thunder storms tonight and tomorrow.

Due to a nasty headache and stomachache and of course the rain this morning, and so I did not go into the pool.
Instead I finished one book and started another, two new authors to me and Hubby. You see, Hubby and I shared all four of the eight from the library and they were new ones which are due back on Wednesday. We both are finishing our last trade offs, which will complete the four early returns, and so I have a very good feeling that we will be done with time to spare!
The other four have an additional two weeks.
I do so love the library, but I don’t love how some of the books are destroyed by other borrowers. Some look like they were used for napkins or dare I say gauze; have you ever had that experience?
I used to belong to book clubs years ago and would buy first editions, but this is more cost effective, especially now and except for the condition aspects it is easier for both of us and we usually make it an outing for the day or least early afternoon.

Today we had a wee bit of an unusual experience … a dog of unknown origins, black brown with some tan, and one blue and one brown eye coveted our front doorstep for most of the afternoon! We didn’t mind since at first Hubby thought it was our next door neighbors who might not have been aware that it got out of his yard, and he was at work, since all it was doing was sleeping. Unfortunately, though it drove Skipper berserk with barking at it. And the different color eyes and the fact that it was a female made Hubby and I realize it was not our neighbor’s dog at all but one of unknown neighbors or perhaps just a dumped one?
With the economy on the nightly news more people are giving up their family pets due to not being able to afford them and at first that’s what I thought.
The Animal Control Department of our county said no since most dumped pets have their collars removed and hers was still on. And so we asked them to please come out to pick her up. I didn’t know if she had her shots since I didn’t see any tags and she was five times bigger than Skipper our Bichon so I didn’t know if she would be friendly or otherwise.
The officer that came was an old acquaintance of Hubby’s from his deputy days.
And just after he got the dog into the crate in the rear of his truck the dog’s family came and identified her (the dog) and took her home! So it was a happy ending!
Apparently they were looking for her all afternoon. Hubby kept yelling out the window for her to go home but I suppose with the rain she was way too comfortable there, under our overhang on our welcome mat.
You know if things were different and I was in better condition I would have asked, if she hadn’t found her people parents if she was adoptable.
Being down to only one pet after all these years is quiet but sometimes better since I can’t do what used to with three dogs, two cats and one old bird!
Not me, the bird, Charlie our cockatiel bird who lived to almost thirty-one, but you must remember I dedicated an entire night’s Blog to him back around the end of March!

Good night to all and too all count those blessings and we will too!

PS 249 tally on FB friends!

Got home rather late and so that is why this is too...

Had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon for four at the one who would determine if I needed to see the specialist for my skin problem and I will need to see him, but I was put on a waiting list, would you believe?
Meanwhile, this new doctor is very thorough and ordered a whole bunch of labs for me, which made me feel very cared for.
This was at the specially financed clinic where all my procedures will be free!
How great is that for me; the fall between the cracks person or not able to get insurance because I am still, “pre-existing”!

The fact that I was well prepared also was a plus for any doctor you go to.
Their time is as precious as yours so you should write down all questions and additional information like in my case my medications are all in my computer to gain access when I need them.
Questions are always different for each physician and so those have to be written the day of the appointment or night before.
Doctors appreciate you taking that time to being ready with specifics and makes their job that much easier, when they have back to back patients to see.

And besides the fact that I am in this current situation of no insurance I always did the helpful thing for the doctors when I learned the logical necessity of it, even when I was well insured.
It still feels so awkward it’s not quite four years that I can take claim to this.
Nobody realizes how lucky they are when they are.
Funny, looking back I wasn’t as verbally appreciative then, but now in this odd dilemma I realize how important it is to thank people for what they do.
I always was to business people but not to medical ones, since I could relate in the business world, which I had been both management and an employee of.
But unless you are a doctor or nurse being on the patient side is where I have always been not on their vantage point. So it wasn’t as relatable as the other.
Though when you go from insurance to none, then you have a new vantage point to circumvent as a consumer of a very necessary commodity for health needs, your care.
But acquiring it at a discounted price or even for free like my visit tonight is still mind boggling to me, and I wonder how many know about these services available to you if you should need it? The word should be more readily available for all who need to get the help. You see, I don’t foresee any change in my current situation in the near future due to a stupid mistake of mine way back in 1997 that I made. Hubby had excellent insurance being a deputy and so when I got so sick everyone recommended that I apply for disability; well, I did pursue it for a while until I became so ill it just made it too difficult to bother with and gave up and so now with this most recent trying to gain the disability, I even went to a hearing and now the reason they gave for me not being able to get the coverage all stems way back to that year when I gave up!
Yes, Hubby did have great insurance but the PT OT and NMT that I went to for six months was only an eighty/ twenty split and cost several thousands in out of pocket expenses and that is why I did try. As it is when they said no, and I gave up I literally had to sell family items that were my parents' and to this day I do regret that but I had to pay the bills that were mounting up! I truthfully felt I had no other choice at the time, oh well…
Hubby had only been working as a deputy for two years then and they started them at very low wages in those days. And I was way too sick to hold up my end financially.

Ah memories, boy those were harder times than even these for us in so many ways that I will elaborate on at a later date perhaps.
No, it’s true, except for the health insurance issue which looms quite large when you have as much wrong with you as I do… but in every other way we are in very good shape, we pay all our bills on time and we have a roof over our heads and we have plenty to eat, so who could really complain! Who would listen anyway? LOL

On that positive note I will wish you all a very good night and to all count those blessings and we will too!

Trying something new can be exciting and scary at the same time...

But having courage to try is something beautiful to behold, whether done with exuberance or reluctant guarded intent to be helpful.
We as human beings may test the waters daily on what to do for each other.
Usually in our careers with innovative ideas, but also with our families with how we desire them to be their best, not to mention needing their co-operation in all of our lives daily chores, and generosity in helping in our communities.
It’s tough taking measures to change things in our lives; be it with what we have been doing or the harsh change of the dynamic of the family as it was.
Flux is how we all lead our lives and can be extremely different for each and every one of us.

Doing what we want when we want to is never a real option, you say but of course it is…
No, I beg to differ with you.
Whether a child, an adult, an employer or employee we all have someone we must answer to.

But having imagination thus ideas can be an incredibly outstanding example of brilliance and to be fearless when expressing those original concepts take bravery and fortitude!

And then as a member of this planet you can truly say that you had that hypothesis as yours and yours alone and no one can takes claim to that but you!
My quest for all of you tonight out there in the world is to find your original ideas to better our world and form your own localized think tanks to discuss all that you come up with, and study ways to finance and produce jobs for the masses.
We as a populace of living intelligent creatures should be able to do this!
And so I am posting this tonight as a challenge to all!

As of tonight my FB friends have reached just shy of 230; simply put 229!
Everyone knows that I am never simple. (update now: 230)

Yesterday, we did go for a short adventure to our north and only about twenty miles up to Englewood, Placida, and Boca Grande, the scenery was beautiful with all those multi-million dollar homes, but I never got out of the car. For two reasons actually our darling loyal Skipper was with us on this journey and it was way too hot to leave the air conditioned car, and really it’s all residential so there was no place to get out anyway.
To be honest they did say that they have a dog park locally the people at the New Faull Inn restaurant told Hubby that when we stopped there to pick up his tasty remembrance of their famous cheese steak sandwiches which he used to eat when his deputy job took him up that way. Driving around for a while and so we finally did find the dog park where we thought we could eat with our pal, but there was only a small pavilion and in order to get to it you had to go through a way too hot pebbled walkway! Not really conducive to mobility scooters.
And so we decided to go all the way home to eat in our used-to comfort, yes we sure did.
Planning for an outing with a dog and a person who is somewhat disabled takes a wee bit more effort than either of us put into our thought processes.
I suppose it is because staying around home with all that is so familiar, within our five mile radius has spoiled us.

Life used to be so much simpler…
In the old days just throw stuff in a bag, pile in the kids in the car and go!
That’s when they were no longer babies because when they were babies, wow… I could tell you such stories I would take everything but the kitchen sink, well, you had to be prepared and I HAD been a Girl Scout folks!
Yes, in life sometimes we don’t realize how small our windows of opportunity will be to do those unexpected not real well planned out spur of the moment fun ideas, and so when you get those brains ticking away on whether or not to do this or that without any encumbrances, just do it my friends and don’t ever look back, have courage!
For those are what makes the very BEST of All memories, the ones we least expect!

Good night to all and to all count those blessings and we will too!