It was a road-trip day, and what a great day to travel. Mild temperatures and several road construction jobs allowed me to sit and take in the landscape of fields full of awaiting harvest. In time to come, it was our turn to be led by the courtesy car to be taken to safer spaces. It is always a good feeling when one’s arrival brings smiles and hugs from family. It’s a very good thing.
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Noreen
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Noreen
Best news I have had for a long time. Two prescriptions of mine filled at the Shopko Pharmacy for a total bill of $15.30. Ten of that was to enroll in the Shopko Pharmacy Family Program. This $10.00 enrollment was for myself, Dennis, Honey Bunny, Butter Ball and Snuggles. Yup, our pets are included as long as they are listed on the enrollment. If the drug prescribed by our doctors or veterinarians are on the web list of Shopko Pharmacy Program, it is either $4.00 for 30 days or $10.00 for 90 days. This is a relatively new program for Shopko.
I was expecting with that information, that my bill would be the $10.00 for the initial enrollment – and then $10.00 for each of my prescriptions. As it was, the two I needed were even at a lesser rate. Good times!
In times past, I know I had commented on my blog that my blood pressure pills had gone from $5.00 to $59.00 for the 90 days. Recently, I mentioned this to my doctor, and when we checked, that medication was not on the Shopko list. My doctor changed my drug of his choice to one that was listed and will do the same thing for my blood pressure. Actually, today that drug was $3.30 for 90 days. It is so worth checking around to see if a different drug, as per the label, can be substituted for one that is more expensive – whether for two-legged users or four-legged users.
I sat down with Dennis’ drugs that he takes for his heart disease and his peripheral artery disease. There were six of the ten that will be available through Shopko. Those six will make a difference from $167.00 for 90 days to $60.00 for 90 days.
It is time that there is some reasonableness to the pharmaceutical industry.
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Noreen
Ugh!!
Fuzzy and Harry spending some time
in the prime spot of the porch.There are good “Ughs” and some not so good “Ughs.”
The good ugh of the day: “Ugh, I now need to share my rocking chair?” The newbies, Fuzzy and Harry, were in my rocking chair soaking up some sun when I came out this afternoon. These two charmers are just that, charm the pants right off of you. The squeaky toy that Kersten and Kevin sent over for Snuggles earlier this year is a hit with these two. It is the squeak that keeps on giving.
Getting onto the bad “Ugh”: Butter Ball was suppose to have his yearly check up this morning at 9:00 a.m. We bought some treats that were suppose to have a calming effect on the cat. Two treats were the prescribed dose. At eight this morning, Dennis gave Butter Ball three of the treats. By 8:20, I was applying an antiseptic to Dennis’ arm, finishing off with band-aids.
Butter Ball is one really strong cat. I had happened to look out the bathroom window towards the porch patio doors and all I could see was a tail flailing wildly with an occasional pair of paws jutting straight out. By the time I got outside, Butter Ball was hiding under the car and Dennis was wiping blood.We canceled out on the appointment and Dennis made a trip to the veterinary clinic seeking help. Help . . . to knock out this cat enough to get him into a carrier for his checkup. We have several pills that can be crushed up and put into something that Butter Ball will eat. Actually, a half pill is suppose to do it. Hmm. It will be some time before Butter Ball wants anything to do with us. We have given Butter Ball the best year of his life. “Ugh.”
Later this afternoon, I did put some butter on the tip of my finger and Butter Ball took a sniff of it and then strode off. Snuggles had no problem licking my finger right down to the first knuckle. This whole project will take some time. I can assure you that even if Butter Ball is comatose, he will get his annual checkup.
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Noreen
My crystals are a bit displaced. Not the crystals in my kitchen cabinets, but the crystals in my ears. I got up from the bed quickly the other morning to answer the phone. A call early in the morning causes me to move . . . now. The call was a wrong number. The crystals in the inner ear can dislodge with swift motion and may end up in some of the semicircular canals. It does cause some vertigo, a bit of dizziness if a move too quickly. In time all gets better. It is getting much better. Yesterday, while painting the attic steps, all went well. On the good side, I can still shake a leg when I feel I need to.
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Noreen
Stauffer’s Annex
Small homes depend on a stairway to storage. We would be lost without this annex. Man, oh man, for the items that have been trudged up and down these steep stairs. Today was a hot, humid day – too hot to be out and about. Even giving the attic stairwell and steps a fresh coat of paint brought the sweat that stung the eyes.
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Noreen
There are leaves falling. . . and so are Dennis’ putter pants. There are only so many years that elastic will give 100%. At this stage of the game, it would be sociably acceptable if the elastic could give 20%. The elastic could easily be replaced, but there is a limit to thread bare. Two new pair of pants have been purchased, gone through the laundry and are being strutted about. Priceless!
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Noreen
Schefflera Re-potted
The Variegated Schefflera really took off this summer. It is a house plant that graces the edge of Dennis’ Koi pond from spring to fall. The pot that it had been in looked like a thimble compared to the height of the new growth. A larger pot with Miracle Gro Moisture Control should serve this plant for several seasons. Last winter, the Schefflera was challenged as Snuggles and Butter Ball had a hard time staying out of the potting soil. The answer was putting small rocks around the base of the plant right up to the rim. Time will tell. After the potting was done, Dennis got out the mower and I put a charged battery in the trimmer. The acre looks green and lush as we go into September. This fall we are stretching the mowing out to every other week, and there were areas that needed raking. A very unusual fall season to say the least.
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Noreen
The Chinese Have the Year of the Lamb
Here on Stauffer Avenue, Dennis and I are having “The Curry Month of the Doors.”
We are awaiting the arrival of two garage doors from our local lumberyard. It is warranted, as both doors have had to have multiple adjustments to the point that you realize, enough is enough. How much grief are we going to put ourselves to?
The passenger door of my trusty 1999 Lincoln needed to have the springs adjusted. Though I cannot remember having the door caught by the wind, it must have been stressed enough to let you know when the door was opened. It did not sound happy.
The door switch: A taken for granted function in doing the laundry that can cause the entire process to come to a stretching halt.
On Sunday the top loading door of my Maytag washing machine let me know just how important it is. The switch that allows the machine to shut down when the door is opened, quit. The washing machine was full of clothes and water – and nothing was happening. After checking out a lot of information on the computer, we decided the switch that manages that function of the washing machine needed to be ordered. I ordered it online on Sunday. The matter of wringing out the clothes by hand and tossing them into a clothes basket was the easiest part. Dipping out the water took some doing. Dennis and I headed for the laundromat here in town and finished the load. There was nothing wrong with the dryer portion of our stackable unit, and as the evening hours fell, we were folding a load of laundry that had been started quite a bit earlier in the day.
Three days out, the new switch arrived on Stauffer Avenue. I thought if looked huge. This afternoon a very friendly Sears repairman was at the door with a smile. Oh my gosh! It looked as if the entire washing machine was being taken apart. The top and front of the washing machine was taken apart and the switch was right where the repairman knew it would be: hidden under the right hand corner of the lid. I was amazed to see where the wiring harness and the fuse needed to be placed. The repair fellow was kind enough to take some time out for me to clean the rim of the tub as well as other areas that cannot be seen with the naked eye . . . but once I saw the dirt, I had to tackle it. After the machine was run through its entire cycle, the repair was deemed to be complete.
It is a very good thing that our entire first floor of our home only has one interior door . . . that being on the bathroom. We had replaced the front door of the home just several weeks ago. As I mentioned earlier: it has been “The Curry Month of the Doors.”
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Noreen
I am quite proud of my 1999 Lincoln Towncar. I needed to make a visit to Jiffy Lube in Mankato. I have been using their services for several decades and have total trust in them. The general oil change was due, as the last date had been in March and I was just about at 3,000 miles. It was going in for service with no indication that the oil level was low. As per the computer info, it did indicate that the tires could use rotating. The general manager came back in and said that all four tires were showing uniform wear and the rotating could be done the next time. The alignment of the tires on the car is good.
I was asked to come out to the service bay for a look-see at the serpentine belt. It was not showing severe crackage, but I went ahead and authorized the new belt. I know what can happen when that belt goes by the wayside on the highway. The compression test came back at a 9. That was deemed to be a very good read.
All in all, I can’t imagine that I would think about a replacement at this time. It gets about 27 miles per gallon and I am not putting on the mileage that I did several years ago. I will admit the newer cars are shiny and might be a bit easier to get in and out of. The book value of this vehicle is . . . not much, but I’m looking to have this beauty around for quite some time to come.
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Noreen
Great visit to the farmers market today. Kun Hung is a fellow from China that has lived here for several decades. He is growing Gingko trees from seed that he has brought from China to his acreage northeast of town. He now has 12,000 trees in various stages with some of the oldest ones at five feet tall. Drummers is a huge nursery/greenhouse in Mankato. Kun Hung and Drummers are working on a “grower to retailer” deal. I hope it works out for Kun Hung as Gingko trees are highly sought after in landscape design, and I know how hard he works on his farm.
This is Kun Hung’s first year at the farmers market with a huge variety of vegetables. He only uses soybean meal as fertilizer. I have a batch of creamed cucumbers going for supper using his Chinese Cucumbers. They are a bit sweeter than those I have bought from other vendors. The proof will be in our supper.
We are just so fortunate to have such a great selection of vendors at the farmers market three times a week. Our downtown shaded park is the perfect venue for the sellers and the community people to find a park bench for visiting.
