Tuesday, October 25, 2011

A tisket, a tasket...a green and yellow basket....

  Ah...autumn.  The harvest season winds down and ...oh, WAIT!! What's that? Green beans and pea pods and turnips and kale and squash STILL coming out of my garden ???  LOL. What a lucky girl I am.
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  Oh my. It's been a hectic few days around Honeysuckle Hill. The root canal was a financial nightmare. The cost--$1000.00. Amount insurance paid-- $530.00...amount we paid--THE OTHER 50%  !!   WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

  and--when he got home, I says to him-how's it feel? And he says still really numb.  I says surely, the post they put in for the crown would require that. And he says to me-no, no, they didn't do that. I have to go back to MY dentist for that.  (Note: today is Friday. Evening).  I am , of course, incredulous.  SO, this mouth is going to heal and then they will do it all over again ? And he says, no, he told me to call IMMEDIATELY so that it doesn't heal first.  

  Naturally, I fall over in a dead faint, because A) I have never seen anything like this and B) Here comes another 500 dollar bill. If I just killed him before he could make the appointment, I could actually make a profit.

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  The roof endeavor has been almost finished, he says there is one more small area that he will finish himself next weekend. In the meantime, my entire back deck is full of debris..shingles, plywood, all the stuff they ripped off the roof.  Just laying there, waiting for me to trip over. I would cry, but it will just make my face look funnier than it does now.

   This next weekend I have to do 2 overnighters with MissB, as someone is taking a trip east.  I hate it, although the extra dineros will be a blessing.  I must be getting old. I don't like sleeping away from home much anymore. lol

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  Well. I don't know how that got started, but there it is. lol

  It's supposed to get up to 85 today here. Weird weather for October. But then it's seesawing down to 38 then back up to 60 and OH MY! I can't keep up.

  We figured out how the raccoon was getting in after it killed a second chicken. This time (luckily) it was the old Rhodie that I've been expecting to leave this planet  for some time, but somehow never would die. We'd be SURE that today would be it, and then it would rally.  We named it Lazarus.  At any rate the 'coon got it, by climbing up the sides of the run, going under the tarp that acts as a rain shield, and then pulling the wire apart so it could get through.  We are now putting the hens up for the night and locking the door, as well as reinforcing the coon door.  sigh.... Guess they'll have to go back to stealing cat and dog food (which I am putting up every night as well)....and maybe they'll give up and move on.  That would be best.

   I watch the dramas unfolding around me and think that I am blessed to have a simple life. I know that I have some skills that will enable my survival for a while, and I know that no matter what happens, I am not a victim. Looking around, I know that we could downsize our life a lot more than we already have and be the better for it. We do have our ups and downs here, but nothing like it is for some folks. One reason for that is that we already know how to live poor. lol  It's much easier to have to cut out cable tv and dinners out, than it is to lose your 1200/month home.  Or to have to have your car payment on your Ford scrape the bottom of your account this month, than to lose the Mercedes you've paid a lot for but are nowhere near paying off.  I'm just saying, the simple life does make things a lot, well, simpler. And it really helps you keep everything in perspective.  I have enough food put by to feed us. We have food for the animals. We have kerosene lamps at the ready, filled with oil and another bottle of oil at hand. We have an emergency heat source (kerosene heater) for emergencies.  We have candles. We have a pond teeming with fish, a good source of food protein.  We have clothes and coats and shoes and we have an abiding love and respect for one another. I see a lot of couples who don't even seem to like each other most of the time, and I understand that, but if you don't treat each other with respect, you've got a problem. Love and respect go hand in hand...whether you're talking about the marriage or the Mother Earth or whatEVER.


   Alrighty then. . I'm off into the day, trying to remember to have faith that all will be okay, and that I will do my best to try to be kind.   I shall go out and try to pick beans and maybe make a sandwich for himself for supper. Something that travels, as he has his discussion group tonight. That means he must rush home shower frantically, grab whatever food I leave for him, and fly out the door to get to the group, which is 25 miles away.  Not my idea of a good time....


    Be well--and let's look for the light in one another today, okay?


  Namaste.


   

9 comments:

Teresa Evangeline said...

What a wonderful post, filled with humor and insight and just plain good stuff. Love everything about it. You always make me feel better about life. You are light itself. :)

Namaste

Rita said...

OMG! The dentist nightmare--eeekkk! And he still has to rush over to his regular dentist, too? Good lord! I hope that will all be over with soon for him. Ouch for the pocketbook, too! :( I guess the overnighters with MissB will come in handy.

I'm glad you discovered the way the raccoon was getting in and that the girls are locked up for the night. Too bad about Lazarus.

I know what you mean about living a simple life. Me...I'm pretty poor already, so not far to fall--LOL! You are blessed to have someone you love and respect...and a kerosene heater. ;)

I love your posts. Nice that your garden is ignoring the threat of winter and still happily producing. Life is good! :):)

Beth said...

My gosh, the cost of a root canal has skyrocketed since I had one done quite a long time ago.

I love your post today! I too try to keep the faith although sometimes it is difficult.

My life is simple but I am so much more fortunate than many seniors. I thank God for that.

the wild magnolia said...

Humor and right to the heart of the matter. Loving it.

By personal experience just recently, I know where of you speak, regarding the high cost of dental work.

I sold my Volvo to get mine done, and it took almost all the money. Just short of $4,000.00, and I didn't have enough to finish with the two bridges. But I am thankful for what was done. And from what I hear now healthy teeth and flossing are critical for heart health two. Who knew?

LindaM said...

Root canals can be awful. I worked for a dentist for a long time and he stopped doing them. He fit the crown but referred the actual work out to a specialist, who charged more of course. This lowered my employers liability insurance but the cost goes up for the patient visiting a specialist. I hope this is over soon!
I really admire your attitude. Hope the oons leave you alone soon.

DJan said...

When I have a root canal, it is ALL on my shoulders as I don't have any dental insurance. I think I managed to keep from having a root canal since the nerve under the crown has settled down. But it's a huge expense.

And I'm sorry about the coon problem. I love your posts too, you always put my life into perspective because I can see you are doing great with your life and then, so can I. :-)

Rubye Jack said...

In California, a year ago, a specialist demanded $1500 for a root canal and the dentist wouldn't do them, up in SF anyway. Thank God my tooth survived without one. Dental insurance is indeed a blessing. Funny how as the world moves on our blessings are found in the mundane.

As always, it makes me happy to visit you.

Namaste

Mary LA said...

Sympathy to the Man -- he is going to go through a hard time before that mouth can heal properly.

Annie I'm with you on self-sufficiency and living simply to avoid debt. We have enough food and farm produce is often cheap out here -- water is expensive though so I plant waterwise to keep the garden do-able. No TV but I need the Internet -- gas rather than electricity for the stove -- gas lamps and candles for summer evenings, cold water baths and showers in summer. The vet's bills for the dogs are going to sink us, but until then we keep trudging...

Just wishing you lived next door.

Petit fleur said...

Dentists and Insurance companies are legal forms of high stakes extortion!

If you ever want to adopt an old woman, please consider me! I love that feeling of being prepared and ready to hunker, whether it's needed or not... but I'm way too disorganized.

Cheers!