Staying the Course - 10/01/2018

[epstns]

Wow, it sure is quiet here. I hope that doesn't mean that SB has had more weather or health related issues. He's sure had his hands full lately, so I am not surprised if he can't get around here to open the week.

I'm back from my wild few weeks of touring and family. We spent the second week of September touring Boston, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Then we drove west to the other side of the state to visit our daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons. Not a single minute of downtime in those two weeks. Then, it got crazier. We came home on Monday, and on Tuesday morning our daughter, son-in-law and grandsons came here to visit us for a week! Initially it wasn't planned that way, but after our trip was planned, the kids were invited to a college classmate's wedding on Sept. 30. Since they were coming in for the wedding, they brought the little guys for a visit while they were at it. Pure mayhem! I had to come back to work to get some rest.

I'm kind of bummed out over the weather this past month and a half. True - we didn't have any life-threatening storms, but it seems that all I have seen is grey skies and rain since the last week of August. Half of the summer it seems to have been raining. We went out East and it followed us there. We got home, and here it is again. It doesn't seem like it will ever end.

I finally weighed in today and was pleasantly surprised. I actually lost 2 or 3 pounds over the 3 weeks of touring and family visits. Probably because I didn't have time to snack. Then today, I finally got back to the gym, after a three-week absence. I had to start out gently, as I am sure I have de-conditioned some over the weeks.

SB - I hope all is well with you and DW. Also hope everyone is around and just too busy to check in. I'll keep the lights on. . .

Stayin' the Course.

 

[Paleowoman]

Hello ! or Bonjour ! We just got back from France on Sunday evening. Two weeks of a heatwave there ! Most unusual. Awful mosquito bites too - I put on Deet every day but the one day I popped out to talk to a neighbour for five minutes and I got eight bites which were obviously infected as yellow pus in each one and very inflamed - I think it's 'cos the rubbish bins were open so naughty mozzies carrying infection. I also got a cold despite the high temperatures !

We did a ton of hill walking though - absolutley blissful up in the hills, away from houses, cars, electricity wires, just the noise of the birds and insects


Rôti de porc with fresh green beans and sliced apple cooked in butter, all bought from the local farmers market shop which is mostly organically reared meat and grown veggies, with a really good local wine.

Back to the grindstone here in Blighty, dealing with son who is going to be moving into a better place with a better support company in four weeks time, lots of work to do regarding that.

My shoulders still giving me gip, probably 'cos of the long car journey through France. I saw the rheumatologist today and he said to give it another coupe of months and then I might have a nerve block injection if necessary.

 

[Paleowoman]

I posted two photos above, one of hills and one of food - can't see the hill one for some reason, here it is:

 

[Superbob]

Wow, was just getting around to starting a new week's thread and I find these delightful start-up posts -- good stuff! France and New England -- tall cotton. as we (some of us anyway) would say down here. That's a good thing.

Slow-motion flooding post-hurricane still happening. Schools reopened today after 2 1/2 weeks closed but with school officials calling audibles for bus drivers because some roads are still closed and some are in precarious shape. Now that's scary!

Open enrollment time is nigh as those of you of Medicare age would know, and I am facing a dilemma of high premium/most bills paid plan versus low premium/more to pay out of pocket plan. Won't go into detail but our current high premium/most thngs covered plan now costs close to as much as our home mortgage. Mighty tempting to go to Medicare Advantage plan. But would I be forced to accept an in-network surgeon if I had to have a replacement of my replacement? All sorts of questions....got to study and talk to lots of people. Any thoughts from others who've wrestled with this decision would be appreciated.

Resumed exercise class yesterday and it felt great. Teacher tried a new thing somewhat like burpees -- squat planks -- and she kept calling my name for classmates to see as an example of someone doing them well. Maybe she was just bolstering my spirits.

Anyway, have a great week all. Stay the course!

Cheers,

Superbob

 

[jwinter]

Hello, dropping by to check for posts from the "course" gang,

Those pictures Anne, OMG! so beautiful there! I am truly envious of all that beauty. Your meal looks terrific also. Sorry about the shoulder problems and it seems like they should be able to do something sooner. Obviously a couple months to the docs is not the same, painful, couple of months to you. Hate it when you have to wait and wait. Now if we could all just join you with that glass of wine we could all whine together. Personally I think they should give you that block and not wait. I hope your son's move is a good one and step in right direction. My grand daughter that is autistic will graduate high school (well, not graduate but be in line with class mates) and not sure what the future holds for her. Her Mom and biological father have lots to decide. My son is very supportive and loves that little girl dearly so we shall see.

Steve, I am tired just reading how busy you have been. Sounds like a lot of fun though. Can't beat family outings in my book.(think I have posted that to some of your posts in the past, oh well ) It does feel good to get home though, and get some rest even if it is at work (all pays the same) lol

SB it sounds like things will likely start to fall in place there soon. Bad weather events have a way of leaving some scars that will never heal. Back to exercise class and a few other daily routines will help. Still a few years to medicare so can't help you there. I have been choosing the lower BC/BS premiums for regular insurance the last few years as the gold has been out of reach for me as far as monthly premiums. I have just about decided it gets you one way or the other *sigh*

INR today and was therapeutic at a l.8 so am back to monthly checks. Yay me! Last hematologist and gastro appointments next week. I am about to be free from the medical system, well as much as one can with this heart valve and issues I have had. Hope to not see them for a long time....

Have a great week all

 

[epstns]

Anne - I am truly envious of your lovely scenery! Around here, it is considered scenic if it isn't all concrete. Add to that the 7 or 8 weeks of mostly clouds, grey skies and rain, and I would be happy to be almost anywhere else. We do have another short trip (just DW and I) planned later in October, and may shoot off for a couple of days somewhere else, just to unwind. Your local market also sounds way beyond even the nicer ones here in the upper rust belt.

SB - I hope you can hang in there until the aftermath of the storms clears up, and that it leaves behind minimal disruption and issues. Sometimes the emotional scars last longer than the physical ones, and I wish you rapid healing of those.

jwinter - Glad to hear that you will soon be just a future appointment to your docs. I am gliding into my "regular checkup" season. I see most of my specialists twice per year, and a couple of them hit next in October/November. Just some blood tests and then an office visit with oncologist, but we all know the drill on these things. As we get closer to the appointment, we begin to wonder how it will go this time.

As for medical insurance, I have Medicare Part A and B, along with a Blue Cross supplement from my wife's retirement package. It doesn't cover optical, dental or hearing aids, but for medical costs I only end up paying a small co-pay on prescription meds (around $100/month). The coverage is not cheap, but it is the best price/value balance we have found. Of course, if her former employer was not still subsidizing the cost as part of the retirement package, it would be way out of reach, price-wise.

I'm still trying to relax after the last few weeks, but I will definitely be stayin' the course.

 

[Paleowoman]

Hi Steve - getting back to England was truly a big shock. Getting off the Shuttle in Folkestone and onto the motorway the pollution hit us both right away. The south east of England is so heavily polluted and when you've been out of it for a couple of weeks you really notice it when you get back. My respiratory consultant says that my small airways disease is undoubtedly caused by pollution. And the crowds here - I had to go to Kingston-upon-Thames, our nearest town four miles away yesterday to see the rheumatologist - the crowds and crowds of people in the streets, the noise of buskers, the noise of cars. It was really a horrible shock. I think things have got worse here in England just over the past year. When you live here you don't notice the gradual changes for the worse, but when you've been away to somewhere far less populated with far fewer people and more countryside it really shows. Not that all of France is like that countryside, the little town we were in (population only 8,000 people) has a lot of cars parked everywhere and a lot of refuse lying around, but access to the beautiful countryside is just ten minutes walk away !

 

[epstns]

A town of 8,000 people? We have single buildings housing that many here!

It is funny, though. The city center is about 15 miles from our home. The city is wall-to-wall people, cars, buses, noise, frenzy and all that. Our little neighborhood is officially within the city limits, but some days I can go out of the house and walk for half an hour before I encounter another person outdoors. Yes, the next-door house is only about 50 feet away, but people are rarely out at the same times, except for maybe summer evenings or so. That's why we paid the premium price to live where we do. We have all the conveniences of the city (services, transportation, facilities) with little of the crowding or frenzy of the central city areas.

Of course, we are far from a rural area. When we visit our daughter, out in western Massachusetts, there are only small towns near them. The nearest (relatively) major city is Hartford, CT, which is about 20-30 minutes by car. When we visit the kids, we feel as if we have been transported back in time about 20-30 years. Kind of a culture shock to us. They like it, though. They have become accustomed to the slower pace of life, and seem actually to prefer it to the hustle of the city.

 

[Paleowoman]

A town of 8,000 people?.

Yes, a town of 8,000 ! Where we live in England we live in a 'village' of 20,000 ! The village of 20,000 has no bank, just a smallish supermarket, a pet shop, a chemist, a small DIY shop and several cafés and charity shops, plus three dentists and two doctors' surgeries. The town of 8,000 has branches of all the major banks, two hypermarkets, several pharmacies (chemist in English), several doctors' surgeries, several dentists, a small hospital, an MRI/CT unit, a laboratory for people to go to for blood tests, a cardiologist, a gynaegologist, and other obscure specialists, several cafés, several restaurants, several clothes shops, several gift type shops and a whole complex of other out of town shops within 15 minutes walk.

The difference is that the English 'village' is too near a big town (Kingston) whereas the French 'town' is a market town for all the surrounding villages which have from 100 to 600 inhabitants each - the nearest very big town, Montpellier, is 40 kilometres away.

Such a different set up, like the difference between where you live Steve and where your daughter lives. Mind you, I can't imagine that next door is "only 50 feet away" ! Our next doors our attached to our house, both here and in France !

Oh goodness, I forgot to mention the seven boulangeries in the French town of only 8,000 !