About 2:30 this morning I was dragged from the arms of sleep by a thunderstorm. There was, for a split second a wash of annoyance at having been so unceremoniously ripped from my dreams. Then I remembered Moore, Oklahoma.
I began, in the middle of the lightening and thunder, to give thanks.
I gave thanks for my ability to see, hear and understand just how lucky I was that when this storm passed I would still have a roof over my head.
I gave thanks for the knowledge that my loved ones were safe.
I gave thanks for the reminder that while I may feel that my troubles are insurmountable, there are those whose problems actually are far, far worse than mine.
I may have lost sleep, but hundreds have lost their homes and 91 families have lost forever the ability to hold their loved ones in their arms. I have lost nothing compared to that.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
I Object
What am I objecting to?
EVERYTHING!
My hours got cut at work again. This time I decided to get firm and tell them that if I'm only going to be given 16 hours a week, I am only willing to work 3 days. If I get called to cover a case on a day off is one thing, but to regularly schedule me for 2 hours a day isn't going to work for me. Three days allows me time to myself and still gives me the ability to provide coverage for others if needed.
My schedule was rearranged and I got out of bed Saturday morning planning on some online fun. My fun was interrupted by a brief thunderstorm which necessitated I shut down the computer. When the power came back on, the computer didn't. I tried using Hubby's 10 inch Acer netbook. Typing on that was so painful that I only lasted 15 minutes.
The price of desktop computers these days was an eye opener. Hubby's truck just got a new engine so we could stay in business and that wiped out our available cash. Much of April was spent with almost 0 business income since there was no truck to conduct business with. Then it took a week to change out the engine and whatever parts needed changing with it. So, I simply didn't have the money to replace the dead computer.
It was 8 years old and the tech guy at the local repair shop said he wouldn't be able to get the parts anymore. So, it looked like I was going to have to tough it out with Hubby's 10 inch. Tried it again and the verdict was...NO.
Fortunately Best Buy had a Toshiba 15 inch on sale for less than $300. The price is a thumbs up, however Windows 8, the operating system is a big thumbs down.
There is a tutorial for it somewhere in this thing. I can't find it. The very fact that I have a workable screen and was able to download Chrome browser occurred entirely by accident. I had to password protect this thing before it would even allow me to see the thumbnails which you get until you create the desktop. Problem with the thumbnail view is that once you open it, there are no icons that will help you navigate it.
If you wave your cursor around long enough something with icons slides out the side of your screen. It, of course, doesn't stay still long enough for you to actually click on anything except the settings icon and the power off icon. I use that a lot since I keep clicking into things expecting it to resemble something I'm familiar with, finding out it doesn't and not finding the way out of the screen.
I'm sure I will figure it out in time, if I can find where they hid the tutorial. In the meantime I can shut it off and hope I don't break the power button turning it back on so much.
EVERYTHING!
My hours got cut at work again. This time I decided to get firm and tell them that if I'm only going to be given 16 hours a week, I am only willing to work 3 days. If I get called to cover a case on a day off is one thing, but to regularly schedule me for 2 hours a day isn't going to work for me. Three days allows me time to myself and still gives me the ability to provide coverage for others if needed.
My schedule was rearranged and I got out of bed Saturday morning planning on some online fun. My fun was interrupted by a brief thunderstorm which necessitated I shut down the computer. When the power came back on, the computer didn't. I tried using Hubby's 10 inch Acer netbook. Typing on that was so painful that I only lasted 15 minutes.
The price of desktop computers these days was an eye opener. Hubby's truck just got a new engine so we could stay in business and that wiped out our available cash. Much of April was spent with almost 0 business income since there was no truck to conduct business with. Then it took a week to change out the engine and whatever parts needed changing with it. So, I simply didn't have the money to replace the dead computer.
It was 8 years old and the tech guy at the local repair shop said he wouldn't be able to get the parts anymore. So, it looked like I was going to have to tough it out with Hubby's 10 inch. Tried it again and the verdict was...NO.
Fortunately Best Buy had a Toshiba 15 inch on sale for less than $300. The price is a thumbs up, however Windows 8, the operating system is a big thumbs down.
There is a tutorial for it somewhere in this thing. I can't find it. The very fact that I have a workable screen and was able to download Chrome browser occurred entirely by accident. I had to password protect this thing before it would even allow me to see the thumbnails which you get until you create the desktop. Problem with the thumbnail view is that once you open it, there are no icons that will help you navigate it.
If you wave your cursor around long enough something with icons slides out the side of your screen. It, of course, doesn't stay still long enough for you to actually click on anything except the settings icon and the power off icon. I use that a lot since I keep clicking into things expecting it to resemble something I'm familiar with, finding out it doesn't and not finding the way out of the screen.
I'm sure I will figure it out in time, if I can find where they hid the tutorial. In the meantime I can shut it off and hope I don't break the power button turning it back on so much.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Doctors Just Don't Like It When Patients Say NO!
Gus is a 72 year old friend of ours. He's in pretty good health except for the need to take blood pressure medications. He decided that his Medicare HMO was costing him too much money for what he was getting and decided to make a change. His monthly payment now is slightly higher, but his co-pays are enough lower that it offsets the increase. Unfortunately his existing doctor wasn't a member of the new HMO so he had to choose a new one. Standard procedure and not something he had a problem with.
The new doctor orders the usual round of blood work, and asked Gus if he'd take a stress test. Gus hadn't ever been called upon to do so but he thought it was a good idea, so he agreed. The stress test showed nothing unusual and he thought that would be the end of it until the next doctor's appointment. When he went for the follow-up, the new doctor recommended he have a number of other tests. He had x-rays, a cat scan, and a colonoscopy. He understood why the scope might be a good thing, but the x-ray and the cat scan didn't make much sense. Neither did the other tests that he endured whose names he's forgotten since they made no sense to him.
Gus had no symptoms of any diseases or other health problems. His heart function was shown to be normal and there was no fluid or anything that shouldn't be there in his lungs. He simply wasn't prepared for what the doctor asked for when he went to the second follow-up. Frankly, I don't think I would have been either.
He and the doctor were discussing the normal results on ALL of his tests when suddenly he asked Gus if he smoked. Gus hasn't smoked in 47 years. He told him he smoked for 5 years of his life when he was a teen and in his early 20s. To which the doctor responded, "I'm going to order an endoscopy, we need to make sure your smoking didn't damage your lungs or heart."
First off, all of Gus's tests gave normal results. Any of the tests Gus took would have shown a problem in those 2 areas in...well...a heartbeat. I am aware that an endoscopy will show damage from smoking in the esophagus, but in the heart and lungs? I don't think so. Neither did Gus. He refused. Doctor got mad and practically threw Gus out of his office.
The blood work didn't contain a single abnormal reading. All values were in normal range. Gus doesn't even have high cholesterol, which would negate the idea of a stress test since Gus suffers no shortness of breath or any other symptom of heart stress. However, since he does have high blood pressure it is a good idea. The colonoscopy is a good idea too although at 72, an argument could be made against it being a medical necessity. Cancer treatment at that age can be more deadly than the cancer itself.
What Gus has chosen for his Primary Care Physician is someone who practices medical malpractice avoidance and not medicine. These kind of "practitioners" are becoming more common and are among the varied reasons our medical care costs are out of control. Literally thousands of dollars were spent here on unnecessary procedures and the specialists that had to conduct the tests, read the tests and provide the Primary with the results.
Among the things Gus said to the doctor, which might be why he threw Gus out of the office, was that he'd be damned if he'll pay for ANY of these tests if the HMO decides they weren't medically necessary. Which could happen since as far as Gus knows, there wasn't any submission to his HMO for permission to conduct these tests. It may be that prior approval isn't necessary, or it might fall under all the "preventative" tests that insurance companies are now required to pay for.
Gus is planning on looking for a different doctor. Not because this doctor is necessarily a bad one, but because he got mad when Gus exercised his right as a patient to say no. Successful healthcare is always a partnership between doctor and patient. That partnership doesn't give the doctor the right to demand something just because it will make the doctor feel better. The purpose of this partnership is to help the patient to maintain his state of health, not to help the doctor stay out of court.
The new doctor orders the usual round of blood work, and asked Gus if he'd take a stress test. Gus hadn't ever been called upon to do so but he thought it was a good idea, so he agreed. The stress test showed nothing unusual and he thought that would be the end of it until the next doctor's appointment. When he went for the follow-up, the new doctor recommended he have a number of other tests. He had x-rays, a cat scan, and a colonoscopy. He understood why the scope might be a good thing, but the x-ray and the cat scan didn't make much sense. Neither did the other tests that he endured whose names he's forgotten since they made no sense to him.
Gus had no symptoms of any diseases or other health problems. His heart function was shown to be normal and there was no fluid or anything that shouldn't be there in his lungs. He simply wasn't prepared for what the doctor asked for when he went to the second follow-up. Frankly, I don't think I would have been either.
He and the doctor were discussing the normal results on ALL of his tests when suddenly he asked Gus if he smoked. Gus hasn't smoked in 47 years. He told him he smoked for 5 years of his life when he was a teen and in his early 20s. To which the doctor responded, "I'm going to order an endoscopy, we need to make sure your smoking didn't damage your lungs or heart."
First off, all of Gus's tests gave normal results. Any of the tests Gus took would have shown a problem in those 2 areas in...well...a heartbeat. I am aware that an endoscopy will show damage from smoking in the esophagus, but in the heart and lungs? I don't think so. Neither did Gus. He refused. Doctor got mad and practically threw Gus out of his office.
The blood work didn't contain a single abnormal reading. All values were in normal range. Gus doesn't even have high cholesterol, which would negate the idea of a stress test since Gus suffers no shortness of breath or any other symptom of heart stress. However, since he does have high blood pressure it is a good idea. The colonoscopy is a good idea too although at 72, an argument could be made against it being a medical necessity. Cancer treatment at that age can be more deadly than the cancer itself.
What Gus has chosen for his Primary Care Physician is someone who practices medical malpractice avoidance and not medicine. These kind of "practitioners" are becoming more common and are among the varied reasons our medical care costs are out of control. Literally thousands of dollars were spent here on unnecessary procedures and the specialists that had to conduct the tests, read the tests and provide the Primary with the results.
Among the things Gus said to the doctor, which might be why he threw Gus out of the office, was that he'd be damned if he'll pay for ANY of these tests if the HMO decides they weren't medically necessary. Which could happen since as far as Gus knows, there wasn't any submission to his HMO for permission to conduct these tests. It may be that prior approval isn't necessary, or it might fall under all the "preventative" tests that insurance companies are now required to pay for.
Gus is planning on looking for a different doctor. Not because this doctor is necessarily a bad one, but because he got mad when Gus exercised his right as a patient to say no. Successful healthcare is always a partnership between doctor and patient. That partnership doesn't give the doctor the right to demand something just because it will make the doctor feel better. The purpose of this partnership is to help the patient to maintain his state of health, not to help the doctor stay out of court.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
The Family Mystery Deepens and She Did WHAT????
I am no closer to finding out how Granddad Milo came to have that account journal in his possession. The only idea I had regarding it's source has bitten the dust rather thoroughly. It's source couldn't have been Grandma Fannie since the dry goods store she worked in didn't exist until somewhere around 1890. Obviously not the source of provisions for a Union Army Regiment being sent off to fight in the Civil War.
This historical research stuff is fun. Especially when you're dealing with a family who weren't the least bit interested in listening to "the stories" told to them as children. None of them got interested until all those who could have answered their questions had passed into the great beyond long ago. Figures, right? So, I am stuck trying to get at the information I'd like to have without the benefit of anyone with a memory of anything and without access to whatever other members of the family descended from brothers and sisters of Granddad Milo may have found out. They have their findings on Ancestry dot com where one has to be a member and PAY to do so. Ummmm, no. Not going to do that no matter how curious I get.
What I do know so far is this. Granddad Milo was born in either 1875 or 1874. He died in Feb of 1955. Grandma Fannie died in 1954 and was either born in 1888 or at a date unknown depending on which of the two Fannies buried with Granddad the cemetery has listed information on. Interesting since there is only one Fannie actually buried there. So much for cemetery records.
It also turns out that the Bert listed in the journal wasn't a brother to Milo, which is what everyone thought. Bert's last name is Nutt, which is the maiden name of Fannie, wife of Milo. If anyone had a truer last name, I haven't heard it. Seriously. Fannie seems to have been quite the gal.
Hubby remembers Grandma Fannie living with some really mean guy named Al. He is the person I need to thank for Hubby's lack of interest in sports. When the kids went to visit Grandma Fannie, if sports were playing on the teevee machine, kids needed to sit their asses down quietly and "shaddup gol dammit!" This order was almost always followed by a slap across the back of the head. The very fact that Al survived that behavior surprises me no end since Fannie was on the violent side herself.
It seems that Granddad Milo had a glass eye. He acquired it by making Fannie very, very angry. So angry that she threw a dinner fork at him for some infraction or other and it lodged in his eye. Apparently this wasn't the first attempt on his life, since Old Charlie said that Fannie was the only person or thing he ever knew Milo to be afraid of. It was, however the last. While he didn't have her arrested, he did put her out of the house and lived quite serenely until he couldn't take care of himself anymore.
Next avenue of research will be whether or not Milo's Dad could be the source of the journal. Fortunately I do have the information on who he was, who he married and how many kids they had. Even have their names so although I'm not finding out what I want to know, I'm at least getting somewhere.
Told you this was fun.
This historical research stuff is fun. Especially when you're dealing with a family who weren't the least bit interested in listening to "the stories" told to them as children. None of them got interested until all those who could have answered their questions had passed into the great beyond long ago. Figures, right? So, I am stuck trying to get at the information I'd like to have without the benefit of anyone with a memory of anything and without access to whatever other members of the family descended from brothers and sisters of Granddad Milo may have found out. They have their findings on Ancestry dot com where one has to be a member and PAY to do so. Ummmm, no. Not going to do that no matter how curious I get.
What I do know so far is this. Granddad Milo was born in either 1875 or 1874. He died in Feb of 1955. Grandma Fannie died in 1954 and was either born in 1888 or at a date unknown depending on which of the two Fannies buried with Granddad the cemetery has listed information on. Interesting since there is only one Fannie actually buried there. So much for cemetery records.
It also turns out that the Bert listed in the journal wasn't a brother to Milo, which is what everyone thought. Bert's last name is Nutt, which is the maiden name of Fannie, wife of Milo. If anyone had a truer last name, I haven't heard it. Seriously. Fannie seems to have been quite the gal.
Hubby remembers Grandma Fannie living with some really mean guy named Al. He is the person I need to thank for Hubby's lack of interest in sports. When the kids went to visit Grandma Fannie, if sports were playing on the teevee machine, kids needed to sit their asses down quietly and "shaddup gol dammit!" This order was almost always followed by a slap across the back of the head. The very fact that Al survived that behavior surprises me no end since Fannie was on the violent side herself.
It seems that Granddad Milo had a glass eye. He acquired it by making Fannie very, very angry. So angry that she threw a dinner fork at him for some infraction or other and it lodged in his eye. Apparently this wasn't the first attempt on his life, since Old Charlie said that Fannie was the only person or thing he ever knew Milo to be afraid of. It was, however the last. While he didn't have her arrested, he did put her out of the house and lived quite serenely until he couldn't take care of himself anymore.
Next avenue of research will be whether or not Milo's Dad could be the source of the journal. Fortunately I do have the information on who he was, who he married and how many kids they had. Even have their names so although I'm not finding out what I want to know, I'm at least getting somewhere.
Told you this was fun.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
A Family Mystery and Josephine
We have in our possession a very old ledger book belonging to Hubby's Granddad Milo. He kept his accounts in it beginning somewhere around 1907. Well, we think those accounts are his, the writing looks about the same as that of the accounts that become more frequently updated around 1918. The book is in extremely bad condition, the writing is seriously faded and in a style that closely resembles the copperplate script examples that I've seen. It's very difficult to read and we seldom open it since the covers are so brittle, the pages tend to rip.
It's a glimpse into the history of farm life in the early 20th century. It details what work he did and for whom, what he was paid for his labors, and how much he received for the milk, hogs and maple syrup he sold to make what living he could from the land. If it was in better condition, it would be an excellent resource for those who wished to try living on a barter system since most of the entries were in goods and services rather than cash paid.
The book is a standard ledger that is 18 inches or so long, by 6 inches wide. There is no front page in this book that tells us it's origin and that is truly a shame since the initial 5 or so pages cover the years 1861 through 1863. They are devoted entirely to the accounting of requisitions for Infantry supplies.
Given the area that Hub's Granddad lived in, I'm fairly certain that we have a list of provisions for the NY 97th Infantry Regiment, Third Oneida, Conkling Rifles. I can't say so positively since I can't find a roster of it's members to match against the names listed. We have no idea why Granddad would have been in possession of this ledger. One of many history's mysteries that we probably will never solve.
The regiment was created by a Boonville resident, one Charles Wheelock who was by all accounts an upstanding gentleman of his time. What I have managed to find out about him indicates his treatment of his men was so exemplary that they were one of the few regiments that had no deserters. If the requisitions listed are actually those of the 97th I can understand why.
Outfitting began in 1861 with new pants and infantry jackets for 100 men. An ambulance, horses, mules, harnesses, shoes and other necessary items for the transport of the men of the regiment. Other supplies included journals, paper, ink, nibs for pens and anything else needed for these young men to write home to wives and Mothers. When I read the order for 500 pounds of coal, I wondered how it would be transported, but I suppose there were supply wagons since there were barrels of flour, beans and other staples that also traveled with them. There are many entries we can't decipher, but overall they appear to be carefully chosen for their ability to provide and comfort men who were marching off to war and possibly to their death. One entry, I believe, is for Bibles.
We know nothing of the book's origins, but Hub's family history may provide us with a clue. Milo's wife worked as a clerk in a dry goods store in what is now called Hawkinsville, NY. In the middle 1800's Hawkinsville was part of Boonville as were quite a few other towns and villages that now have their own names. It makes sense that she may have acquired the book while she worked there and possibly that dry goods store was where Col. Wheelock outfitted his regiment. It's an interesting theory, but not one we can prove.
We've had this book since Hub's Mom died and while I found those entries to be interesting, I was more involved with those entries created by Milo and his brother Bert. We were watching RFDTV last night. Hub does so frequently, especially on Fridays for the Country Family Reunion Show and I enjoy the Joey and Rory Show. Rory wrote a song based on letters written by JW Robison to his wife. The song is a letter Mr. Robison might have written on the eve of the Battle of Hopkinsville. The letters are preserved in a museum near where Rory and Joey live.
The song is a picture of life in the Confederate Army and the hardships they were facing on the night before a battle in which they were outnumbered 5 to 1. It was December of 1864, they had nothing with which to provide heat for the troops and his friends were dying of fever. The song is very simply written and heartbreakingly sad. Something about it has inspired me to see if I can find out anything more about the Infantry requisitions we have and to see if any of Hub's family served in the NY 97th Infantry Regiment, Third Oneida, Conkling Rifles.
It's a glimpse into the history of farm life in the early 20th century. It details what work he did and for whom, what he was paid for his labors, and how much he received for the milk, hogs and maple syrup he sold to make what living he could from the land. If it was in better condition, it would be an excellent resource for those who wished to try living on a barter system since most of the entries were in goods and services rather than cash paid.
The book is a standard ledger that is 18 inches or so long, by 6 inches wide. There is no front page in this book that tells us it's origin and that is truly a shame since the initial 5 or so pages cover the years 1861 through 1863. They are devoted entirely to the accounting of requisitions for Infantry supplies.
Given the area that Hub's Granddad lived in, I'm fairly certain that we have a list of provisions for the NY 97th Infantry Regiment, Third Oneida, Conkling Rifles. I can't say so positively since I can't find a roster of it's members to match against the names listed. We have no idea why Granddad would have been in possession of this ledger. One of many history's mysteries that we probably will never solve.
The regiment was created by a Boonville resident, one Charles Wheelock who was by all accounts an upstanding gentleman of his time. What I have managed to find out about him indicates his treatment of his men was so exemplary that they were one of the few regiments that had no deserters. If the requisitions listed are actually those of the 97th I can understand why.
Outfitting began in 1861 with new pants and infantry jackets for 100 men. An ambulance, horses, mules, harnesses, shoes and other necessary items for the transport of the men of the regiment. Other supplies included journals, paper, ink, nibs for pens and anything else needed for these young men to write home to wives and Mothers. When I read the order for 500 pounds of coal, I wondered how it would be transported, but I suppose there were supply wagons since there were barrels of flour, beans and other staples that also traveled with them. There are many entries we can't decipher, but overall they appear to be carefully chosen for their ability to provide and comfort men who were marching off to war and possibly to their death. One entry, I believe, is for Bibles.
We know nothing of the book's origins, but Hub's family history may provide us with a clue. Milo's wife worked as a clerk in a dry goods store in what is now called Hawkinsville, NY. In the middle 1800's Hawkinsville was part of Boonville as were quite a few other towns and villages that now have their own names. It makes sense that she may have acquired the book while she worked there and possibly that dry goods store was where Col. Wheelock outfitted his regiment. It's an interesting theory, but not one we can prove.
We've had this book since Hub's Mom died and while I found those entries to be interesting, I was more involved with those entries created by Milo and his brother Bert. We were watching RFDTV last night. Hub does so frequently, especially on Fridays for the Country Family Reunion Show and I enjoy the Joey and Rory Show. Rory wrote a song based on letters written by JW Robison to his wife. The song is a letter Mr. Robison might have written on the eve of the Battle of Hopkinsville. The letters are preserved in a museum near where Rory and Joey live.
The song is a picture of life in the Confederate Army and the hardships they were facing on the night before a battle in which they were outnumbered 5 to 1. It was December of 1864, they had nothing with which to provide heat for the troops and his friends were dying of fever. The song is very simply written and heartbreakingly sad. Something about it has inspired me to see if I can find out anything more about the Infantry requisitions we have and to see if any of Hub's family served in the NY 97th Infantry Regiment, Third Oneida, Conkling Rifles.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
I've Lost It
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Don't go getting these all up in a twist.
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While I'm off looking for this.
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Y'all might try meditating on that.
Monday, April 1, 2013
A Case Of The Warm Fuzzies
He's the only abandoned kitty we've ever taken in that simply won't stay inside. He won't use a litterbox when there's another cat in the home. He's also a neutered alpha male like Butterscotch and therein lies the problem. He doesn't challenge Butterscotch for alpha position, he just won't submit to him. Life gets kind of interesting when Butterscotch starts bullying him. And since I don't want to have to take a kitty to the vet to have an eye removed, the only solution is to allow him to go outside when he wants to.
He's not very loud so we had a difficulty hearing when he wanted to come back in. Hubby, being the creative sort bought one of these cheap motion detectors with inside alarm. He mounted it on the deck post directly opposite the door so that when his little self wants to be let in, we know it. Works great, when Hubby doesn't shut the inside alarm off.
Hubby let Precious out about 5:30 this morning and because he was filling the wood rack, he shut the alarm off. He also forgot that Precious was outside. I didn't know the alarm was off and when it started raining I thought it odd he didn't beat feet for the warmth and shelter of his home. I didn't say anything because I was getting ready for work.
Finally when I sat down I wondered to Hubby why the cat hadn't come in. That was when Hubby remembered the alarm was shut off. He turned it on and went to the door to call for him. He wasn't there, but must have been somewhere nearby since he showed up about 10 minutes later. Ever watch a cat behave as if he's grateful for something? I never have before, but I did this morning. He was downright excited at everything except, of course, Butterscotch. It was 39 degrees here and raining, not exactly what I'd call warm. Poor thing must have been frightened that he wouldn't be allowed back in the house. He's been abandoned twice that I know of. He has no way of knowing it's not going to happen again if we can help it.
Precious has made himself a bed on my craft table and that's pretty much where he likes to sleep. After getting a bite to eat, that's where he went and he's still there these few hours later. Hubby is feeling guilty for leaving him out there as long as he was. I hadn't really warmed up to him the way Hubby has until this morning. I think you'd have had to see his behavior to understand how he finally managed to break down the wall that has existed. Before this morning, I would have said I liked him, just didn't have the warm fuzzies for him. Well, a few hours out in the cold and a very grateful kitty managed to change that.
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