Rough day...

Did you ever feel that the world has too many sneaky or stubborn concepts up their sleeves?

Most decent people know enough to give information clearly before asking for consent of an innocuous although expensive procedure even on a dear pet.

Let me give you the scenario, since I must have totally confused you by now.

A month before Skipper, our lovable canine, is due for his yearly checkup needing his shots and heart-worm test and license; we make an appointment with his same doctor’s office since he has been a pup that we had done for his predecessors as well.

I do ask periodically for the cost, since that has gone up in the past, and so when I called this year I was given the same price as last year of $137 and of course the additional charge of his heart-worm and flea protection meds. (And we put aside that amount yearly when we know, being on a small set income.) That the woman who I have known all of Skipper’s life stated, since she was his puppy school teacher, she said that it would actually be less money, about thirty or forty bucks less to buy the combo meds. this year and I said that’s great remind Hubby!

You see, this is the first year that I did not go with them, since Hubby cannot figure out how to push me in the wheelchair with my compromised eyesight not allowing me to be left to my own devices, since I bump into things, and he walking Skipper on the leash, since Skipper is not good on a leash to begin with, he’s our free spirit! (So much for puppy classes…He is used to a fenced-in backyard anyway and never runs out of the front door and when he has he never has left the property, any further than my ramp.) Any-who, so after Hubby called me at 11:40 A.M. to tell me they still had not gotten in to see the new doctor who took over the practice and that their appointment was for 11:00 A.M. it sounded not so good to me.

But unbeknownst to me it would get even worse from there when Hubby came home from his 11:00 A.M. appointment at the vets office at 12:15 P.M.

We always enter our bills in to our account online, especially when on our debit, it goes right to our checking account with our bank, which we do now that we decided to stop using the Signature for everything and now only used it for the two and three percent rewards that we get on groceries and gas. Hubby says he doesn’t know why the bill was so high, I said what? He showed me the bill for $359.63! I looked at it and besides the medication, which actually was higher than the others, not lower! They charged him for a geriatric wellness profile, $125!

The tech, the same one who answered the phone, his old puppy teacher said that he needed it and Hubby did not ask how much or really anything, at age nine for a small breed, geriatric? A large breed yes, but not a small breed that weighs 15.8 lbs, which is just right for his breed and they had just determined from the comprehensive wellness examine that he was fine, ears, eyes, teeth everything, stool, heart-worm was negative!

So it was all her doing!

I called there and asked her why she didn’t tell my husband the cost, and her answer was because he didn’t ask!

I said some dreadful things about that and then I told her that we did not ask for it and she said that she can remove the vile of blood from the fridge and refund our money! I said fine, do that! She said they could cut us a check, and the reason became clear when I called back later, they so nicely do not keep our card numbers according to law for safety, okay that makes sense, but I should have given them to her over the phone, although I did not trust them any longer. And so what was instantaneously removed from our checking account and could not be put back the same way!

Meanwhile, I contacted the local Animal Welfare League and Humane Society for names of good vets that were reasonably priced.

One name kept coming up and so I called them… and they will be our new vet for next year. In the interim though Hubby felt I should call a few others and since I had the bill in my hands with the breakdown I compared apples to apples and they were all less for every procedure. And when asked about charging someone without explaining what the test was for and each item it entailed and the total cost, they all said before I asked what goes into a geriatric test and how much they charged, there was an ala cart charge with the client giving informed consent once all explained! The medications varied in price but even that is five bucks cheaper for the combo at our now new vet!

Moving on…

I guess I was still riled and so I did something I shouldn’t have…

I went to the site that is a secret and poo pooed a procedure that I truthfully feel cannot cure MS, but many do believe it can.  

This particular woman who believes in it so emphatically, this procedure, and said that her driver was bed ridden, but now drives her around! But why can’t she drive herself, I do wonder.

I checked this woman's timeline and she is an advocate for the procedure, indicating her job and her educational background is from the life.

Good enough for me! LOL!

But she wasn’t even as old as me and I attended college that is not to say that I learned anything... This blog is tangible proof that it might not have been the case

And so I riled her enough to encourage her to call me names, saying I was like a sock puppet, never heard that one before, but it sounds vile!

Also that I must live in a vacuum; not a Dyson, can’t afford one of those, plus we have mostly ceramic tile and we sweep and mop, Hubby does these days, rarely vacuum our one carpeted room or throw rug.

All in all I made her go poof, by not allowing her to insult me anymore and closing her nasty name calling comments to me.

And I did that to another woman who I used to be friends with, but apparently, now I know why she has been married seven times; it was after she posted one of those too sexual comments, but from her over seventy year old addle apparently brain!

Not all those men could have been at fault, hmm?

Oddly enough, she is not rich, according to her,who would have thunk it?

But that one was before the vet incident.

Anyway, I have done my deeds for today, bad or good. 

Looks as if it's going to be a bumpy year!

On that not too nice note, allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask all of you to kindly count all your blessings and share all those overages with you know who and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

63!

Getting older is a breeze, since if you let it, it just happens, and so I did.

Did you know that all numbers have some significance? Sure you do, since you are brilliant! But here are some things that you may or may not have known about this combo of numerals…

“63 See: 36, but less outgoing.

36  Very creative.”

Thanks to: http://www.numerology.com/numerology-news/meaning-double-digit-numbers-numerology?page=0,2

Thanks for that! But I beg to differ with that, since I am very outgoing!

“Represent the organization, 3, in the cosmic harmony, 60, producing the full development of all things - 6+3 = 9 - according to R. Allendy. It would represent also the complete series of the evolutionary cycles - 7x9 = 63 - and as odd, it would mark the passage towards a final state that would be the number 64.”

Thanks to: http://www.ridingthebeast.com/numbers/nu63.php

And than there is Psalm 63 and it was very long to transfer, but here’s the link: http://www.biblemeanings.info/Bible/Psalms/ch63.htm

Now, my reasoning for going into a little background on that particular numerical pair’s background… on its own it is quite ordinary and not noteworthy, but when put into context with all those above possibilities, it is something!

Sure monetarily it is a nice wad of a little cash.

And if a group of that many people got together it would be a small crowd?

Many of my friends have turned this age or will be this year.

Personally in our immediate family of three here, counting Skipper too, since it was at one time that dogs years were in increments of sevens and so 9X7 = 63, which he is than too, and Hubby has been 63 for a while now, and today I joined the gang! TA DA! Three at 63, whatever could that mean? But multiply that times all my school chums that have or will turn 63 and you really have something, huh? Not to mention my one cousin who is my identical birthday twin! A lot to think about, hmm?

We had just the two of us for the celebration though with eating out at the Crabhouse in Punta Gorda Florida after my gym/rehab workout. I so wanted blue claw crabs like we used to catch in our traps, but they were plum out. Just as well, really, the market value is $35 for a dozen! We used to catch them for free, never paid for them before; had no idea they were that dear. Fortunately, I had a ten dollar off birthday coupon, since we both had soup and dinners. Hubby chose clam chowder and a blackened grouper sandwich; I went for the Laishley Crabhouse Cobb salad with the she crab soup, our usual beverages, coffee for Hubby and iced tea for me with extra lemons.

Last night with the nasty storms I didn’t get to sleep until the wee hours, I think it was close to four A.M., and awoke at 6:35 A.M. My tummy was not too good before we left and when there I became very cold and could not eat and so we took it home.

Even when we came home I was still not right and so I took to bed and tried to sleep, while talking to number one son who called to wish me a very happy birthday! Hubby listened to make my homemade recipe for chicken noodle soup. You see that last night we had cooked a whole chicken and so veggies and spices and no egg noodles were incorporated into the known to cure the worst of anything ills, Jewish Penicillin!

But even that would not go down, only my club soda, warm.

Hubby did buy me an adorable ice cream cake.

Tiny! I have never seen one this small and just right for the two of us to have a serving and perhaps another next time?

I waited awhile and did blow out those six red and three yellow, signifying my allotment for this year and with no fear to burn down the house!

Before...

After...

On this note of thanks to all who wished me a happy birthday and any who had no idea it was my birthday, don’t worry, be happy, and allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you to kindly count all your blessings and share all those overages with you know who and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

PS Oddly enough, I did have a slice of my ice cream cake and you know, somehow, so far, it is staying down! HOORAY! My wish as a kid! You had to be here or there too!

Interesting stats...

Spoiling your child with things, may cause them to covet them.

Having them earn what they desire makes them appreciate them more.

Which is true? Both or one more than the other? Raising two sons who had been given much but also worked hard to attain things I never thought about it much, until now…

Than how does one explain this little model darling of ours?

Wearing three of his scarves from his collection?

Yes, three. And how do we handle this issue that is laughable, but sneaky!

Mommy, me, felt it was a teaching moment when dear sweet canine companion Skipper kept sneaking them out of the bag that holds all of his many years of collecting his wardrobe’s worth? You see, my sharps container for my Copaxone is in the bottom of our closet and when I go in there to take it out and turn my back on him while in my chair prepping that is when he does it, half the time I don’t know until he escapes into the living room. He has been doing this for quite some time and I always used to just put them back, but recently I decided to try this experiment that doesn’t seem to have the same affect as if a person were doing it, I know they wouldn’t… and I wouldn’t…And so these last two times, since one was put on just because he always has to have one on, yes, his idea… when he stole the last two I decided to see how he would react to putting them on him too? So far he appears to feel the need to wear them all without any negative response what-so-ever.

He is never outside longer than it takes to do his business and so they are not too hot, although, some say they, people, wear them to absorb sweat, but dogs, and dare I say that about our son, calling him a dog feels wrong, sweats through his mouth, I think?

Here are the remainder of his wardrobe to date:

This is me displaying all his clean scarves on the guest-room bed, it being white and all that to be honest came with his many grooming experiences over these nine plus years! Except for the one that was a publicity one with the bag from a K-nine product.

Here’s the question, what would you do?

I know laugh, which we do regularly, since he is so adorable and causes us to laugh at his intelligent ways. And I do close the door as quickly as possible that’s what is so baffling; he is so very fast, and sneaky, for lack of a better description.

I suppose he and I can go on this way for years with him taking his own scarves and me thinking I can teach this older fellow newer tricks by putting them on him one at a time as he goes until the two dozen are all neatly attached to him?

Nah, he won, although, he let’s you know when you remove any that he wants it back, no winning now that he has seriously gotten figuratively and literally attached to all three that may be how he will have to be dressed after his baths, and grooming experiences!

He reminds me of that little girl in that laundry detergent commercial about her wanting to always wear her princess dress except for a few hours when daddy gets her to wear her cowgirl/sheriff’s one so he can wash it…

Well, you got to be here!

On that odd note of when your kids grow up and move away and you have no grands… your pets become more important than ever! Although, ours were even when the boys were still at home... Who knows if we did have grands when they would go home it would more than likely be the same thing… please allow me now to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you to kindly count all your blessings and share those overages with you know who and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

Our crops are coming in...

And no, we are not farmers, we are Floridians!

Although, not true to born here ones, who would never ever tell you that, we are; even though we have been here since 1986!

 Avocados

 Honey Tangerines

 Pineapples

 Ponderosa Lemons

We are organic gardeners and use our compost from our kitchen waste after it ferments in our side yard enclosed composter we attained from the city years ago, looks a little like a great big black barrel stove, mostly fruit and vegetable peels, coffee grounds, egg shells etc. to bolster the soil and insecticidal soap for dealing with insects; it’s by the Safer brand, but with all the recent rain it looks as if those avocado leaves could use a bit more… tree is so tall too, about twenty feet now.

Soon we will have another crop of tomatoes too… and some years we have had in the past an abundance of Romaine lettuce as well.

It has been our experience that whenever we have more than just the two of us can use, we share.

Over the years we have shared with my seniors when I was a volunteer, people at work, neighbors, and even with one of Hubby’s co-workers from the sheriff’s office who had cows, our grapefruits!

But that tree was lost due to the hurricane of 2004, just as well with our cholesterol medication we cannot eat grapefruits anymore, and how I loved them… that tree had white and pink on it, must have been grafted, it was here before we came to this home.

The twenty-foot avocado tree was started by me from the pit from one bought at the grocery. The pineapples were started by their toppers, first one than two and on and on it would seem. I see more babes sprouting out, pineapple babies, and do you see them too?

Moving on…

The rain has gone to a twice a day romp in this area, but thankfully not stormy, just a gentle rain, the kind that does a gardener’s crops good.

No lightening or thunder and so this is definitely the best kind!

This weather causes me to get a bit more tired and so I will close this up for tonight and so allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you to kindly count all your blessings and share all those overages with you know who and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

Like me, like my page, follow me, follow my page?

Why is it on social media that we have this incessant need to be liked?

Does it mean that all these business networking types are actually insecure?

It reminds me of junior high with friends’ cliques.

I know I know it is a contest to get the most people to your site that you are selling, what?

For whenever I arrive at their site, determined to fill their need, there is nothing telling me why I am there. If they do say what they do for their living and it is not illegal, depraved or disruptive to society I will usually like it/them.

Although, on a few occasions I have dishonestly said, sure, when asked and not even gone there; oops did I just say that out loud?

We all know that in our heart of hearts it is times like these that we don’t want, need or care to make waves in the world, right?

The world has enough problems to deal with without me adding to them, don’t ya think?

And it appears that this last generation is not so sure on how to proceed with whatever they are trying to provide for the rest of us…simple, has always proven to be the best way when needing to describe what it is that you want from the rest of us patrons/consumers and I only wish they were more specific. I suppose that some may find that too demanding.

To tell you the truth I am at a loss with so many of the menu specific concepts now on our joint social site, like the ‘follow’ gadget on the timeline. In truth, I had no idea what it was when I initiated it a few weeks ago and then all of a sudden people started to go on it and I found out that many were just there waiting to become my friend and as soon as I friended them they no longer were following me, odd, and confusing. And than they’re some that if you try to let them friend you they don’t and continue to just follow you! I still don’t get it?

You see, with my blog it makes sense to me if they follow you there… Although, I do know that once you post that you follow someone it can’t be undone, since many are no longer really there, or are they? WOO WHO.... We have parted ways, unfriended them by me or themselves unfriended me and one forgot that she had been there already and she dittoed herself! Quite perplexing if you think too hard on it, so I won’t! LOL!

In reality, that just sort of let the cat out of the bag about me too, who doesn’t want to be accepted?

Any who said that they don’t, goodbye, you lie! Sorry, but true.

I know as we get older we say we don’t care, because with all our wisdom we are supposed to have all this confidence from our life experience and being independent, but ya know it ain’t true!

All of our days are a bit sweeter with knowing that others care that we are here on this planet and that we will be here for many, many, years from now on…you know that is true, that’s what puts the human in human nature, hmm?

Contradictions too, I have said some things one day and switched my brainwaves in almost the next tact or tract, opposite direction, without skipping a beat… more than likely taking more time to reconsider. And taking the time to do something, oh so simple… TO THINK!

Sure, I know looking back at my own writings here I can see that has happened several times, stuff happens is my only excuse!

But the complexity of us all is what makes us interesting, right?

Not dishonest.

Changing our mind is a normal growth pattern for many.

As long as it is all encompassing, and I have been known to waffle on some of those issues, but that is my problem, not yours, since I rarely if ever have that much power!

We are told we do though, aren't we and we told our kids too, didn't we...

One person could change the world, and so we should all check our words more carefully, starting with my own…you check yours, okay? Whew, share the wisdom.

On that note of a bit of my own writings causing some, okay, a lot of confusion, allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you to kindly count all your blessings and share all those overages with you know who and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

Our morning rain on our backyard pool, looks a little like a bubbling caldron, hmm? And no, I am NOT A WITCH or any rhyming of that either! HA!

You know summer is here when...

You have rain daily!

And that rain has come in a little later than usual for us; it is mostly an afternoon event in our summers due to the clash of heavy humidity with hot, hot, hot, temperatures and boom, you get stormy weather!

After I wrote just one sentence a little while ago we had a flicker of power going off and thankfully this old fashioned PC that started out as a Gateway brand one, but has since been fractured into newer parts when the older ones died of natural deaths, and it is plugged into a surge protector, just like our 160 Lb. large screen 32” Sony TV in the breakfront in the living-room!

If all gets fried, these two electronics will live on…to our detriment sadly, both are nine years old this year. Our deductible on our homeowners’ insurance is more than they are worth now anyway. Oh well…

Life goes on… with us in Sun Country, our nickname for our coast here is the ‘Sun-Coast’ in southwest Florida, which is redundantly called the ‘Sunshine State’! For we know that it shall return, sun that is! More than likely in the morning, ha! Although, our meteorologist on our NBC-2 station out of Fort Myers Florida, Robert Van Winkle is saying it is in the morning for the next several days that us here on the south-west coast, coast will be having rain ala in the morning? Not our usual way to conduct beach time here, although, now many can sleep in who were planning on an early get to the sun and fun type of day! Touristas now you know what to expect here for tomorrow and the next few days, okay? Rest assure that the day will get better early on and as of yet a return trip of afternoon showers has not been predicted, swim/surf/sunbathe on… dudes and dudettes!

The rain always has a way of making me nervous, not the rain itself it’s just innocent water and we can always use some of that, not too much, just enough, but it’s with that lightning being embedded in it; and that thunder can be scary too, but a nifty warning!

But that lightning is deadly and this, our lovely state of Florida, also has the notorious distinction of being the ‘Lightning Capital’ of the entire country that is of USA!

Safety is of the utmost importance when you hear those thunder boomers; don’t count how faraway it is, TAKE COVER INDOORS AND AWAY FROM WINDOWS!  The idea of out running lightning could prove fatal and has too many times to too many, sadly, two just this week!

Moving on…

Rewind: Yesterday, when we went out to lunch at the Goal Post, sports grill and bar we had a funny experience. My right ornamental lens from my eyeglasses fell out and I was neatly tucked into my table and I had to roll out and pray that I did not roll over it… although it is plastic like all are today…any-who, Hubby found it on the carpeted floor and it was fine and the tiny screw in the bridge of the frames was oddly enough still there!

And so when the waitress came upon the odd scene of me rolled out and us both staring at the floor she wondered what was up and we told her. We ordered our lunches and Hubby kiddingly said that if you have a screwdriver too.

Actually, Hubby had his miniature multi-tools set in our car and so he took my glasses outside with him and in a jiffy he was back with them all fixed!

When our order arrived not only did the server deliver our fish plates and Hubby’s coffee and my iced tea but a screwdriver too! The funny part was it was the type that you drink! The server must have written it down and forgot about the eyeglass incident! She laughed as she took the beverage away, but said we could have it; Hubby said he doesn’t drink and drive and I said that I am on too many meds, but in the day, I kinda liked screwdrivers, the drinking kind that is…ha!

On that silly note of what fun life can be when you let it, allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you kindly to count all your blessings and share all those overages with you know who and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

Just short of an hour and half...

Storm came in and shut down our power, only for an hour and twenty-five minutes, from 3:50 P.M. to 5:15 P.M.

I am usually the first in the area to call it in on our land-line with the old fashioned hook-up, not the newer kind, without the wire attachment.

Perhaps, the reason that I am the first is probably because many have the other type, wireless and in a power failure they don’t work. Of course your cell does, that is if it wasn’t that bad a storm, the type that takes those towers down, but this wasn’t.

Being the first I think confuses the computer system, since when no other calls have come in yet many a time they tell us to check our electric panel to see if it snapped off, due to no other complaints of no power. Then they go on to say, in that computer voice, if that is the case we have to reset it and if it doesn’t reset to call a licensed electrical contractor, since it is NOT their problem most likely yours! Huh? Well, Hubby went into the garage where our panel is and immediately said that no, ours did not snap shut-off, and the meter which is on the same wall was not working at all either!

I went back to the phone, but it seems the computer who said they would hold on to wait till we checked, hung up; if they can do such things, I suppose this proves that they can, hmm?

And so I called back, and this time they told me that it was a main power line down due to the storm and two hundred and thirty-five homes were also out of power…It’s nice to be exonerated and not made to feel at fault… whew!

The approximate repair time would take until 5:45 P.M.; this was still only around four, okay I thought, not too bad.

As most all of you know I get antsy and so around five-ish I gave them another call…since they did promise updates by phone on our land-line and not one had come in! So I called and this time the compu-voice said they were working on the problem and now only one hundred and thirty–one homes were still without power, which at that point we were included…and the automated tone gave me a new time when the repair would be accomplished of 7:30 P.M., what??????

Fortunately, Hubby and I had another big lunch out…we had a bit of a bunch of stops today, starting with my gym/rehab time and from there to the bank drive thru, across the parking lot from the gym/rehab, to cash a check we received for an overpayment at closing, $17, we are slowly building up our cash in case of having to evacuate due to a hurricane and this went into that pot… after there my new medical insurance card had to be copied at my doctor’s office right on the next block and then Hubby went in for that, and from there to Meals on Wheels, a few more blocks away, where Hubby got the brilliant idea to donate quite a few, six, of my Styrofoam coolers that my Copaxone is delivered in to them so that they can deliver their meals to the elderly and even eighteen of our cold packs, we had accumulated so many cold packs, in just the three years that I have been on the Copaxone. I had tried to originally give them, coolers and cold packs, to the Red Cross, but there were too many glitches with getting the local number for contacting them. Hubby’s idea was absolutely wonderful and they were very happy to receive them. Then a stop at Walgreen’s for our fancy wine, and lastly to the Goal Post Restaurant, for a lunch fish special at $4.99!

Just around the time of 5:15 P.M. when the power was restored, Hubby and I had chosen our light dinners, his would you believe was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, comfort at its finest and mine a salad, those were going to be pretty much what we were going to have anyway, except for some homemade soup, next time. Hard to make soup without power, unless it’s a Gazpacho; but you still have to use a blender or food processor or of course cold Borscht could have worked, which I do have beets in the pantry and of course living in hurricane country we do have a hand held can opener. Oh well, more ideas just flow in after the fact… Hubby wouldn’t eat Borscht though anyway… just as well, not big on Gazpacho for his likes either, those are more to my liking.

On those high and low notes of a more than a boring day, allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you to kindly count all your blessings and share all your overages with you know who and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!