Tuesday, Feb. 6th

[Colliemom]

Morning gals. Little foggy and 28° this morning. Looking sunny and around mid 40’s later. We’ve been having freezing fogs on and off lately, due to warm air riding over the cold ground, snow and open waters. Making Hoar Frost and some spectacular frosty scenes on the trees, bushes etc. Course also makes for black ice as well. One just has to keep that in mind if out driving in the morning.

I took Molly in for her follow up eye check yesterday and no change. So she will be going in tomorrow morning for enucleation of her left eye. It breaks my heart, but has to be done. She will do fine without it. She should be coming home in late afternoon. One thing I don’t like is, she will have to wear that crazy cone of shame for awhile Fthat is not going to be fun. Will still be putting drops into her right eye as she does have some issues there too, but some are age related, the other can be controlled. So other than one 3 times a day drop, I won’t have to watch the click as much. That one is temporary. The other two are twice a day and one is supposedly supposed to be discontinued down the line as well.

Interesting reading on electric and heating bills. I go just the opposite as this is my highest bill time and Thry gradually go down as warmer weather starts moving in. I have a 1460 sq. Ft. Home, heated with natural gas, hot water baseboard heat. My highest bills are usually January and February. Last Months gas bill was $119. Everything in this house except boiler and hot water Heater is electric. Last minthselectric bill was $74, which is high for me. But since I’ve been working on Diamond Art, my lights over my kitchen table are on a lot, plus I’ve been running my dryer and washer daily to wash Pipers bed cover from her nightly bed wetting episodes and shorter and cloudier days make for more electric use. But other than the light over my table when I'm working on the art, I have no other lights on and TV is off. But this too is starting to diminish. Electric rates have gone up too. And since I now have a light pad u der my art canvas, I am dimming down the overhead lights too.

Anne, you be careful heating with your stove. It’s not recommended due to risk of carbon monoxide. They are always telling people here not to do it for that reason. Cooking over it is one thing, but heating is another.

Not sure what I am getting into today. Seriously thinking of taking my art down to Houghton Lake and get a framed sized to it, even though it’s not done. Don’t want to be gone from here too long after Molly has her surgery for a few days and weather is good. Painter will be showing up one of these days too. He said about two weeks and two weeks is Friday. So he will be around eventually. Molly will have a followup appt. too. So this might be a good day. Will think in it a bit. Mid afternoon drops are still in the picture too.

So, guess I should get my act together here and this day started one way or other. Hope you all have a nice day and those in rainy areas out west, stay safe.

[Cudedog]

Interesting reading on electric and heating bills. I go just the opposite as this is my highest bill time and Thry gradually go down as warmer weather starts moving in. I have a 1460 sq. Ft. Home, heated with natural gas, hot water baseboard heat. My highest bills are usually January and February. Last Months gas bill was $119. Everything in this house except boiler and hot water Heater is electric. Last minthselectric bill was $74, which is high for me. But since I’ve been working on Diamond Art, my lights over my kitchen table are on a lot, plus I’ve been running my dryer and washer daily to wash Pipers bed cover from her nightly bed wetting episodes and shorter and cloudier days make for more electric use. But other than the light over my table when I'm working on the art, I have no other lights on and TV is off. But this too is starting to diminish. Electric rates have gone up too. And since I now have a light pad u der my art canvas, I am dimming down the overhead lights too.

Anne, you be careful heating with your stove. It’s not recommended due to risk of carbon monoxide. They are always telling people here not to do it for that reason. Cooking over it is one thing, but heating is another.

Good morning, Sue, and all who follow.

So sorry to hear about your sweet pup's surgery, surgeries are always a bit scary (at least to me). Since she is blind in that eye anyway, and probably giving her a bit of pain as well, she will likely be more comfortable once it is done. I hope the surgery goes well, and that her other eye stays at least as healthy as it is now.

Um. . . "duh" time on the electric bill thing. When I opened my bill, and saw the amount due, I really did need to sit down and not look at it too closely.

Finally took a closer look yesterday. PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric - the electric utility in much of northern California) sends a combined bill - natural gas and electric. When I took a closer look at the bill, it was $125 for the electric part, the rest of the nearly $300 was for natural gas.

Still a shocker - compared to other places (like, for instance, Michigan!) it really doesn't get that cold here. So the gas part seemed unusually high - I'll need to go back and check on the gas part of the bill for previous January bills and see what it was.

Still, it really shouldn't be so high and expensive - northern California actually produces a lot of natural gas.

Oh well. I'll still take Sandi's suggestions for helping with my electric - I'd rather keep my money in my pocket (no matter how much or little it is!), rather than forking it over to PG&E.

Judy, to answer your question - our electric utility doesn't send "estimated" bills - LOL - what we receive is "what you see is what you get", pay NOW. When you get the bill, you gotta pay.

Good advice, too, Sue on heating with my stovetop burners. Thankfully, I am aware of the risk - I have a carbon monoxide detector which I tested to be sure it was working before turning on the stove burners. I also opened a window in my living room about an inch, to let in some fresh air.

When I started, I shut the bedroom and bathroom doors (so the heat wouldn't go into these rooms, and just heat my living room. My living room was at about 55 degrees when I started - not terribly cold, but cold enough - and it only took about twenty minutes to get the living room up to about 64 degrees. When the temp reached 64, I turned off all the burners. The house held above 60 until bed time.

You are 100% correct, Sue, that this is not the best thing to do, and can definitely pose a danger. And it also never hurts to post a reminder of this danger, and I do thank you for doing so.

My problem is that I was getting very chilled, with temps heading lower, maybe towards the 40's. I was and am aware of the danger, and took precautions (window open, carbon monoxide detector).

Luckily, the outage only lasted about fifteen hours. I do wonder what people do when they lose power in snow country. I have considered getting a generator like you have, Sue, but they are pretty expensive here. Thought of maybe going to a hotel - but in checking the maps, I could see that the electric was out in swaths over a good part northern California, so hotels likely wouldn't have electricity - or heat - either. Thought of getting in my car to go for a drive - but without electricity, gas stations couldn't pump gas.

Oh well.

With the outages so very widespread, I was actually a bit surprised that the power came back on as quickly as it did, after only fifteen hours!

Thanks.

Anne

[Irmi]

Good afternoon friends!

Sue,I'm sorry Molly has to go through that procedure and pray everything goes well.

It's a quiet day in central FL. It's still chilly and we're having some pretty strong winds today. So even though the thermometer said it's 60, it sure doesn't feel like it. Tonight we'll be going down to about 41. I know I'm spoiled but I don't like these cold Florida winters.

Our calendar is very busy this month. Other than today and tomorrow, we're booked almost everyday. The organ repair guy we use for church was supposed to meet me in church to check the organ there but he had to run in the opposite direction today. So he wanted to schedule it for next week Tuesday but that is Shrove Tuesday, and we're having friends over for pancakes and sausage. So right now we're scheduled for the Tuesday two weeks from now.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

[BarbaraRose]

Good morning gals.

We just had some light rain over night and this morning. The sun is out now but the radar show more showers on the way. Nothing heavy tho. I did choose not to play putters this morning because of the on and off showers that were happening. I am a fair weather golfer .

Need to get some notes together that I wrote down about my symptoms I have had over the years and during my childhood for the ADHD assessment later today.

I had to cancel the TNR plan for this weekend. I have to work the later shift on Friday and work early shift on Saturday so that wouldn't give me any time to trap the cat and get it delivered on Friday night or Saturday morning.

Sue, sorry about Molly having to get her eye removed, but hopefully she will be more comfortable. Animals adjust to things like that much better than people do.

Need to get something to eat and get dressed. Have a good day!

[JudyJB]

In Michigan, especially in remote places, if the snow or ice is too deep or the weather too bad to go on the roads or wade through several feet of snow drifts to check meters, the utility companies will send estimated bills and then send a corrected one the next month. Sometimes they estimate too high or low, so the next bill will be unusual. You still have to pay the estimated bill by the due date. That used to happen to me fairly often in winter. In houses, most of the time meters are located on the sides or backs of homes, so it is easy for them to not be accessible. Meter readers will often not go into a fenced-in back yard if there is a not-so-friendly dog, as well. Apartments and condos are usually a lot easier because meters are grouped and in better places.

No word from son yet, so hope all is going well. Tomorrow is my urology appointment so I have to get up very early for me and be on the road at sunrise to make it in time. I may dump my tanks this afternoon to save time on the way out.

I was going to turn on AC around noon, but opened a window and the strong, chilly wind cooled things off very fast. Hope it is not so windy tomorrow.

[Bethers]

Sue, I know you've gotten all the advice and are making the best decision, which is hard with our fur babies who can't talk. I'm hoping for only the best outcome! And glad you're able to take care of it so soon.

I picked up my rug order. I wish the variety was greater. Lolol. But I'm happy to have it. I'm ordering some extra rug tape as what's on them is probably good if I wouldn't have to be cutting probably every one (or close to it) of them.

One thing I do to keep electric down is having almost no draw when not in use. I use power strip surge protectors for almost everything that gets turned off so no power goes through. The microwave in my rig is an exception, but won't be in the tt. And every light is led. But like most of you, rarely more than one will be on. Even in Arizona with both the RV and casita, (and believe me my RV and now tt are not well protected from cold/heat other than things I've done) I'm able to keep my electric down. Like Irmi, only one gets AC at a time during the days. And I had my highest electric bill last summer in Arizona at $128. They also had raised rates which have gone back down now so fingers crossed I can get it lower this summer. That's the first time since rving I hit over $80 for electric!

[JudyJB]

Late this afternoon, I got a call from the new general practitioner I have seen since the one I used to have left Cleveland Clinic. (I had requested a prescription refill a couple of days ago.) The nurse said the doctor wanted to know if I had moved since she had not seen me for over a year. Except, I saw her this past Sept 8, as I told the nurse, who looked it up as I was talking to her.

Oops. First, shouldn't she have looked this up before she called me??? And, second, don't you think it is time for me to get a new general doctor??? My previous one was an internist, and I was seriously thinking about getting someone who specializes in older patients, possibly even a geriatrician. Since this current one that I have seen only twice obviously does not even remember me, maybe I need to see someone at a smaller practice??

At least my oncologist remembers me.

[BarbaraRose]

Well, I am officially diagnosed with ADHD! He put me on Strattera which is a non-stimulant. But I have been reading the side-effects and am not sure I like them, especially the headaches and nausea which I guess are fairly common. That won't be too fun at work. I Have a couple days of taking it before I go back to work on Friday afternoon so will see how it goes.

Just a few spritzes today and now it is clearing out. LA had over 300 mudslides and hundreds of rescues. And it was still pouring there this afternoon! Some places got over a foot of rain! We dodged a bullet!

[Acadianmom]

My gate actually came and I got it installed. So far so good. I thought it would be taller but I don't think Luna will try to jump over it. I wish the black cat that Luna likes to mess with would stay in the bedroom but he wants to be on top of the kitchen cabinet. She laid with him on the back porch for a long time today so wish she would leave him alone in the house.

Didn't do much today. I need to set my alarm for in the morning. The appointment for the internet tech is between 8 and 11:00. My internet was working this morning between 9 and noon. Then it went down until this afternoon about 4:45. It makes me wonder if it's my equipment or their service.

Anne, glad you got your power back. Hope you aren't in the area with all the tree damage.

Our weather is going to be clear and in the 70's until Friday, Saturday and Sunday when there are parades again.

Judy, good luck finding a good doctor. I'm not sure there are many. I like the doctor I saw for my annual checkup but having to wait 3 months to find out the results of a test are ridiculous. If I was worried I would do something about it. I wonder if I had something I needed to see the doctor about could I even get in? What I really need to do is get my colonoscopy scheduled. The reminder is buried on my desk somewhere. I hate those so much.

Martha

[Bethers]

Judy, I've been thinking about your last post and doctor's. For 5 or more years I was seeing a doctor in South Dakota. Twice I had to see another doctor from the practice. Never was I thrilled but I was getting what I needed. After getting my lot in Arizona I decided to make that my base for a doctor. I got very lucky and for a couple years was quite happy. Then the, I think the third year, when I called to make my annual appt, I learned my doctor had moved. I saw a pa, which I was ok with happening, but wasn't happy with when it happened. So I hemmed and hawed the next year but called to make an appt and there was a new doctor. So I saw her. She was ok, and listened to some things. Thought all would be good. But tests that should happen didn't get scheduled and a few other things. So I just didn't go last year. Now I have made an appt here in Texas, hoping to make this where I'm hoping I'll establish a relationship. We shall see. I have my appt in a couple weeks. I think many of the doctors today see so many patients they don't remember most. But if they'd read the charts/their notes, they could certainly appear to remember. I know how you feel. I sure hope I like this doctor enough to be willing to go back.

[Cudedog]

Late this afternoon, I got a call from the new general practitioner I have seen since the one I used to have left Cleveland Clinic. (I had requested a prescription refill a couple of days ago.) The nurse said the doctor wanted to know if I had moved since she had not seen me for over a year. Except, I saw her this past Sept 8, as I told the nurse, who looked it up as I was talking to her.

Oops. First, shouldn't she have looked this up before she called me??? And, second, don't you think it is time for me to get a new general doctor??? My previous one was an internist, and I was seriously thinking about getting someone who specializes in older patients, possibly even a geriatrician. Since this current one that I have seen only twice obviously does not even remember me, maybe I need to see someone at a smaller practice??

Judy. . . This sounds very suspicious to me. I would be extremely cautious in giving out any kind of personal information to some unknown person who has randomly, and unexpectedly, called me on the telephone. It may be an office person from your new general practitioner - and it may just as easily be a scammer attempting to gain your personal information.

For me, it would be especially concerning if this person didn't seem to know you had been seen fairly recently. I hope she didn't attempt to "validate" any of your personal information, so that she could "look up" information about your previous appointment.

And, if she did, I hope you didn't give any of it to her.

I have been reading a lot about scams and scammers of late, and it seems that they are becoming ever more clever. If you have caller I.D., it is even possible for phone number to be "Spoofed". What this means is that the caller I.D. that you see is not the actual number of the person calling.

Never give out any personal information over the telephone to someone who has called you - even if the caller I.D. number looks legit, even if they have a small bit of your personal information that they can parrot back to you - they may have a little of your info, they are definitely digging for a lot more.

If the issue seems important, disconnect the current call. Then call back using a telephone number that you, personally, know to be valid. Never call back on a number that was given to you by the original caller.

Anne

[snowball]

Sue I hope that all goes well with the surgery on Molly...it's really hard when it's our kids or our pets...
Sometimes things don't go quite the way one thinks... I didn't get started as soon as I should on the Swiss Steak and since I forgot the french onion decided to caramelize my own... it took longer than I expected so by the time it was ready to put it into the oven for a 2 hour at least bake it was almost supper time so in the oven the meat went and we had speg and meatballs good thing I normally keep stuff on hand for it ... was going to make a salad but none of the lettuce looked good we will have the Swiss Steak tomorrow night I hope it smelled good hopefully it's very tender and not dried out ... I do know that Swiss steak is usually with a tomato base but I think my mom did it with onion and I've always liked that
was suppose to have gone to an activity tonight but we've had a lot of snow and didn't want to drive on snowy roads at night and attempt to find a house that I've never been to and it was suppose to snow during that time... I actually don't think it did...
I have a drs appt tomorrow with a PA when I saw him after I was in the hospital well over a year plus I liked him we will see how it goes tomorrow... in the pass I've actually preferred PA to the actual dr they seem to have more time... we will also see about that tomorrow
and hope that the highways are not to bad as I really HATE driving on snow bound roads... there is a reason I prefer the southern states in the winter..
didn't get much done on my shrug though had thought when I got the meat in the oven I'd go back and finish the row at least but that didn't happen
Anne I've seen a ad for a generator I don't know how big of an area they will work on but what I like about it is that it's powered by a solar panel it's really tempting I wouldn't be surprised if when I get back into my trailer that I will need to replace the generator it's been ignored for so long
you all have a good day
sheila

[JudyJB]

Thanks Anne, but she knew my doctors name and that I had called in a specific prescription refill so I knew it was legitimate. It also popped up as my doctor’s phone number and her name.