Well another week in the house in the house due to COVID 19. Other than walking out our side door (through a small porch) 3 days a week to take in the mail from the box at our front door, we have not been out of the house in an evening short of 2 weeks. Not as bad as one would think, I have been catching up work and in email contact with some friends from college as we check on each and say happy birthday/ happy anniversary as we have had several of same among us these past few weeks. Also found that a friend with cancer has successfully completed her treatment. A friend had COVID 19, luckily a mild case, and is recuperating. My sister told me that a family of our (adult) cousins also has same – but are doing well. So – knock on wood – we are doing okay.
Husband has become terrified of going to the Post Office to mail out items – work I have done and has to go to clients, paid bills, etc. - as the community where the Post Office is located has one of the higher COVID 19 counts in the county - even though I would only be only throwing it in the mail collection box in front of it. I telephoned our local Post Office (I think I have explained that the Post Office which serves our home is considerably further away than 2 others – one of which is where we have our box) and asked and, yes, one can still leave mail in one's home mail box for the postal delivery person to pickup when they deliver your mail. So, our bill payments are sitting in the clip on the small door through which our mail is delivered for it to be (hopefully) picked up tomorrow. The clip is there for this purpose and we have the flag up on the box. Unfortunately this only works with regular #10 envelope sized mail with our box. We have two items that are in 6 inch by 9 inch envelopes which do not fit in the clip, so at some point we will have to go to at least a mail box to mail them. They are not bills and not as urgent, so we are okay with waiting to send them out. The funny thing is that I used these two envelopes for these items as I was afraid that they would be too thick in a regular envelope to fit in the new thin deposit slits in the mail boxes.
Tonight my husband went downstairs for something. He noticed a plastic box on the shelves in the basement with food cans in it – our old emergency food supplies. He said he hoped I had not let the food go past date. I went downstairs afterward to look – I knew it all had to be past date as I had not bought new drinking water since I stopped cooking for our reenctment unit. (I had to buy bottle water for them also, so I would rotate ours into what I used for them and put the new water bought for them, in as our supply just to keep ours from getting old which I why I say this.)
I managed to get the box off the shelf and out – it was heavy and I was afraid of dropping of it, but did not. I put it on a table in the basement and opened it. Apparently it has been over 15 years since we bought emergency food supplies and stored it – a couple of years old and I would be using them – but 15 years?!. Perfectly good looking cans – but much too old to even think of eating – what a waste. If you have similar emergency food supplies be sure to check them and rotate them before they are too old to eat.
I know a lot of you are going through a lot right now. How are YOU handling all everything to keep your home and family running? Any suggestions or tips for the rest of us?
THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK -
I want to wish you a Happy Easter and/or a Happy Passover – the holidays might be very different than usual this year – but they are still are special. In future years these holidays will be looked back on and remembered for how you and yours managed to get through it. For some they might not be happy memories, perhaps even tragic, for others the memories will be better – even funny. All of the memories though will remind us of what can we can do when we need to and that we can survive.
My best wishes for all of you and your families.
Showing posts with label phone calls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label phone calls. Show all posts
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Thursday, September 5, 2019
THE CRAZINESS CONTINUES ON
Another week already? For those of you who have been/will be in Dorian's path - I hope that you and yours come through safely. To say that it is a horrible storm is to greatly understate the situation.
Things are still hinky here - I called the insurance company for our reenactment unit again to try to resolve the problem of the paperwork not being right. What the employee and I did manage to figure out is that it is not a paperwork problem - the changes to the policy do not seem to be right when we discussed them. She was to check with their underwriters and the files to see what happened and then call me back. I waited a week and then called her again - last Friday. The agency was closed for a four day Labor Day weekend. I called her again today, Wednesday. She was not in - working from home (I got the impression she was not well). She called back while we were out - which is why I said I would call back instead of her calling me, and left a message to talk to someone else at the agency - I will call them tomorrow. I have been trying to resolve this since June - policy renewed in late May. At this point we only have 3 events left before the insurance will renew again next year. I have now requested a printout of our payments to our medical insurance company in 2018 three times - hope this time they send the correct papers and not a summary of what we owed - what we owed and what we paid could be totally different amounts (although not in this case) and the county will not accept what we owed - they want a list from the insurance company of what we actually paid. That and one other set of papers is the last of what we need to file for our senior real estate tax exemption. Then I can assemble the "tome" of papers that have to go to them for this exemption. We learned our lesson last year. This year we will not mail the paperwork to them (and we had mailed it by certified mail and had a record of when they received it). We will drive to the real estate tax assessor's office and I will walk it in and get a receipt from them that they have everything. Husband will sit in the car as parking is just about non-existent. Newspaper article recently said that our new County Executive is going to make this department actually answer their phones and help people. When one calls the message on their end is basically - "We don't have time to take calls." and sometimes also "And we don't have any parking for you to come here." Public servants.
I have managed to do a bit of house cleaning this past week - I admit it, I am sooo off schedule as I just have not had a chance to get to anything.
I have been tasked by my sister to find sources to sell items from our family home - a library of books, a collection of records (LPs, 45s and CDs), china and glass - useful and decorative, dad had a number of clients who were artists and they have pieces from some of the clients and other pieces that purchased - only a maybe ten to twenty, but some of them may be valuable. We need to get as much as we can for items which can be sold as we need it to keep mom in the assisted living program she is in and likes. Time is also of the essence as mom has a reverse mortgage on her house and every month more interes accrues. The sooner we get rid of the stuff in the house the sooner we can sell it - the less money that goes to interest and the more that goes to mom. I emailed a client that I have still have whose husband is one of the artists and asked if either of them knows of a gallery or auction house to contact. I know the husband's work still sells from time to time and figured that they must still know who to contact. Problem, of course, is that we need to not just find someone to buy (or take on consignment) the stuff we need to get rid of, but need someone honest who will not buy stuff for considerably less than it is worth. I just found a site that was recommended by a seniors organization for pricing items. I will have to look at it. Quite frankly it was this part of clearing out the house that intimidated me. My sister had talked as if she had an idea of who to call about all this and I had felt better about it, now I am overwhelmed again - and quite honestly, my sister is handling most of everything. Anyone with ideas about getting rid of all this stuff without getting "taken" - please let me know, it will be gratefully appreciated.
I had the first meeting of my embroidery chapter today. I was not sure that I would that I would get to the meeting as husband is desperate to go away for a few days - both for sanity and because we have spent a lot on the RV to keep it in good shape, we do not use it, and it needs to be used - especially driven - to keep in it in good condition. Due to rain storms today where we were to go, we dropped the plans - bad for husband as he is upset, but good for me as I had my first non-work day without him since June. I did come home after running a couple of quick errands after the meeting and did not take the entire afternoon for myself as I normally do, as husband is sure that the Dorian will turn and hit Long Island and we will lose our electricity, so I did not want to leave him moping and in a panic all day by himself. We are learning a new stitch that I had wanted to learn and it was such a pleasant time at the meeting. I really need to find another group to join also - I have tried to get husband to join a group without me, but he is not interested and finds an excuse not to join any group that is related to his interests when I find them.
I normally write my post using a word processing program that I like and then copy it to the site. Tonight for some reason it would not work - it opens, but does not work, so I used good, old Notepad to write - any spelling errors or oddities in appearance of the post are due to that.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Well, one has to go on and do what one can. Having my embroidery chapter keeps me sane - what keeps you sane when it is all piling up?
Things are still hinky here - I called the insurance company for our reenactment unit again to try to resolve the problem of the paperwork not being right. What the employee and I did manage to figure out is that it is not a paperwork problem - the changes to the policy do not seem to be right when we discussed them. She was to check with their underwriters and the files to see what happened and then call me back. I waited a week and then called her again - last Friday. The agency was closed for a four day Labor Day weekend. I called her again today, Wednesday. She was not in - working from home (I got the impression she was not well). She called back while we were out - which is why I said I would call back instead of her calling me, and left a message to talk to someone else at the agency - I will call them tomorrow. I have been trying to resolve this since June - policy renewed in late May. At this point we only have 3 events left before the insurance will renew again next year. I have now requested a printout of our payments to our medical insurance company in 2018 three times - hope this time they send the correct papers and not a summary of what we owed - what we owed and what we paid could be totally different amounts (although not in this case) and the county will not accept what we owed - they want a list from the insurance company of what we actually paid. That and one other set of papers is the last of what we need to file for our senior real estate tax exemption. Then I can assemble the "tome" of papers that have to go to them for this exemption. We learned our lesson last year. This year we will not mail the paperwork to them (and we had mailed it by certified mail and had a record of when they received it). We will drive to the real estate tax assessor's office and I will walk it in and get a receipt from them that they have everything. Husband will sit in the car as parking is just about non-existent. Newspaper article recently said that our new County Executive is going to make this department actually answer their phones and help people. When one calls the message on their end is basically - "We don't have time to take calls." and sometimes also "And we don't have any parking for you to come here." Public servants.
I have managed to do a bit of house cleaning this past week - I admit it, I am sooo off schedule as I just have not had a chance to get to anything.
I have been tasked by my sister to find sources to sell items from our family home - a library of books, a collection of records (LPs, 45s and CDs), china and glass - useful and decorative, dad had a number of clients who were artists and they have pieces from some of the clients and other pieces that purchased - only a maybe ten to twenty, but some of them may be valuable. We need to get as much as we can for items which can be sold as we need it to keep mom in the assisted living program she is in and likes. Time is also of the essence as mom has a reverse mortgage on her house and every month more interes accrues. The sooner we get rid of the stuff in the house the sooner we can sell it - the less money that goes to interest and the more that goes to mom. I emailed a client that I have still have whose husband is one of the artists and asked if either of them knows of a gallery or auction house to contact. I know the husband's work still sells from time to time and figured that they must still know who to contact. Problem, of course, is that we need to not just find someone to buy (or take on consignment) the stuff we need to get rid of, but need someone honest who will not buy stuff for considerably less than it is worth. I just found a site that was recommended by a seniors organization for pricing items. I will have to look at it. Quite frankly it was this part of clearing out the house that intimidated me. My sister had talked as if she had an idea of who to call about all this and I had felt better about it, now I am overwhelmed again - and quite honestly, my sister is handling most of everything. Anyone with ideas about getting rid of all this stuff without getting "taken" - please let me know, it will be gratefully appreciated.
I had the first meeting of my embroidery chapter today. I was not sure that I would that I would get to the meeting as husband is desperate to go away for a few days - both for sanity and because we have spent a lot on the RV to keep it in good shape, we do not use it, and it needs to be used - especially driven - to keep in it in good condition. Due to rain storms today where we were to go, we dropped the plans - bad for husband as he is upset, but good for me as I had my first non-work day without him since June. I did come home after running a couple of quick errands after the meeting and did not take the entire afternoon for myself as I normally do, as husband is sure that the Dorian will turn and hit Long Island and we will lose our electricity, so I did not want to leave him moping and in a panic all day by himself. We are learning a new stitch that I had wanted to learn and it was such a pleasant time at the meeting. I really need to find another group to join also - I have tried to get husband to join a group without me, but he is not interested and finds an excuse not to join any group that is related to his interests when I find them.
I normally write my post using a word processing program that I like and then copy it to the site. Tonight for some reason it would not work - it opens, but does not work, so I used good, old Notepad to write - any spelling errors or oddities in appearance of the post are due to that.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Well, one has to go on and do what one can. Having my embroidery chapter keeps me sane - what keeps you sane when it is all piling up?
Thursday, August 15, 2019
WORK, FAMILY, CLUBS - ALL ARE TAKING UP MY ATTENTION
Okay, so now I have to work on getting things done - not all house things - mostly work, family, financial, and club things. I got a fortune cookie today that said that my problems are behind me - if only I believe it.
Work - I went to the client that I go to monthly. She was charged a large amount for fees by her credit card processor and she had no sales. I telephoned her processing company and they gave me a breakdown that sort of made sense, but did not. What I was told the fees were for do not match what I have been told in the past about the annual fee she has to pay (due to low sales and this being a crooked company that she says she will switch from, but does not). A friend of hers (she is in an indoor, open market area and this is one of the other vendors) came by and said that she has to fill in a form with the processing company (and Mr. Expert does not use the same company) and then they will get rid of one the larger fee. I called the company again and they then said that I had to call the sales office for more info. Her salesman who should be who she talks to about questions disappeared in 2016 about two months after she signed up this company. So I am trying to reach their sales office - either no answer at the extension I need or it keeps ringing. I looked up the company name on line that answered and not only is not the company she signed up - it seems to be a “use an electronic device for card processing” company not one that uses the card reader she has. I will keep trying.
Mom - since I have been less helpful with going through mom’s house, I have been put in charge of taking her to 4 doctors she has to go to. Husband insisted her wheelchair will not fit in our car (and she cannot climb into the van). I pointed out to him that if I went without him, it would fit as I could drop the back seat down for more room behind it. In the meanwhile, my sister explained that the wheelchair comes apart to fit in a car. I have been waiting for husband to set on when we are going on a trip - still a short one and probably to PA again - so I can make appointments for mom. Today my sister called - mom had to go to the emergency room due to leg muscle spasms. Now she will have an aide 24/7 for 3 days due to the medication - so I am putting off calling about the appointments until next week (or the week after if we go away next week) so I know where we are with her going out. I called her Medicare supplement plan to see if they would cover the aide, only if Medicare does - so, no, they don’t
Work, again - I have a tax client who has me put his tax return on extension as he goes south for the winter. Normally he will contact me the start of September to set up an appointment to do his return. He sent an email - can we meet Monday? Have to find out from husband if we are going away next week or not - he seems to be leaning towards not as it is suppose to, yes, rain.
Family, again - husband this time - husband has been having problems for several years finding the clothes he likes. As a result he is low on presentable clothing. Now that RV is finally working correctly, he needed something else to obsess about. Underwear - it seems that it cut with a lower waistband and is too low for his to be comfortable in and falls down. Then again, his old underwear falls down also - I am going to have start sewing new elastic in the waists. Some of his shirts are so worn out that he can be seen through them. When he complained a week or so ago, I made him go to the outlet of the company whose shirts he likes - they are short sleeved which I figured would make it easy - but he found most of them to be “too heavy”. He got 3 shirts - which have to be washed so he can wear them. We also have been going to various Walmarts as he found shirts in another fabric he liked, looking for what colors it comes in. He also bought some tee shirts to try - only $2 each at Walmart closeout. He didn’t like them, but they are fine are spares for me - especially at that price. Jeans - he had 2 spare pairs that he bought when the ones he likes was discontinued. I washed them. I went to pin them to shorten - but the waists are so tight that he would pass out if he wore them. (They were 2 of 3 identical pairs he bought together - the other is tight, but not like this and the next size up falls off him.) We went out looking for jeans. He found 3 pairs - all going back are they are not right. I did convince to buy a waistband extender which moves the button/button hole 1 or 2 inches apart and he is using same. More jeans shopping to come. (Okay, I can be as bad, just have been lucky - my only problem is socks and I have taught myself to darn so I can fix them when they get holes.)
Clubs - I have to get paperwork out to an upcoming event for our reenactment unit. We raised the unit’s insurance coverage and I have been trying - by telephone and mail - to get a copy of the increased coverages from them since May!
Clubs - I managed out to get out the summer newsletter for my embroidery chapter. Now I have to get the year book (upcoming year’s meeting programs) out. The newsletter is email; the yearbook has to be printed and mailed - and husband is planning a trip - sometime.
Financial - I have to print out, sign, and mail by certified mail two letters for credit cards that we have to “opt out” of changes they are making. I paid all our bills today until the end of next week in case he decides that we are going away same.
THOUGHTs OF THE WEEK -
First thought is - I don’t have time to write and post this!
When one does not know when one will do something - one cannot plan when one will do something else and has to juggle to deal with it all. It will all work out in the end - either work out well or badly, but it will work out and new problems will come along to be solved.
Work - I went to the client that I go to monthly. She was charged a large amount for fees by her credit card processor and she had no sales. I telephoned her processing company and they gave me a breakdown that sort of made sense, but did not. What I was told the fees were for do not match what I have been told in the past about the annual fee she has to pay (due to low sales and this being a crooked company that she says she will switch from, but does not). A friend of hers (she is in an indoor, open market area and this is one of the other vendors) came by and said that she has to fill in a form with the processing company (and Mr. Expert does not use the same company) and then they will get rid of one the larger fee. I called the company again and they then said that I had to call the sales office for more info. Her salesman who should be who she talks to about questions disappeared in 2016 about two months after she signed up this company. So I am trying to reach their sales office - either no answer at the extension I need or it keeps ringing. I looked up the company name on line that answered and not only is not the company she signed up - it seems to be a “use an electronic device for card processing” company not one that uses the card reader she has. I will keep trying.
Mom - since I have been less helpful with going through mom’s house, I have been put in charge of taking her to 4 doctors she has to go to. Husband insisted her wheelchair will not fit in our car (and she cannot climb into the van). I pointed out to him that if I went without him, it would fit as I could drop the back seat down for more room behind it. In the meanwhile, my sister explained that the wheelchair comes apart to fit in a car. I have been waiting for husband to set on when we are going on a trip - still a short one and probably to PA again - so I can make appointments for mom. Today my sister called - mom had to go to the emergency room due to leg muscle spasms. Now she will have an aide 24/7 for 3 days due to the medication - so I am putting off calling about the appointments until next week (or the week after if we go away next week) so I know where we are with her going out. I called her Medicare supplement plan to see if they would cover the aide, only if Medicare does - so, no, they don’t
Work, again - I have a tax client who has me put his tax return on extension as he goes south for the winter. Normally he will contact me the start of September to set up an appointment to do his return. He sent an email - can we meet Monday? Have to find out from husband if we are going away next week or not - he seems to be leaning towards not as it is suppose to, yes, rain.
Family, again - husband this time - husband has been having problems for several years finding the clothes he likes. As a result he is low on presentable clothing. Now that RV is finally working correctly, he needed something else to obsess about. Underwear - it seems that it cut with a lower waistband and is too low for his to be comfortable in and falls down. Then again, his old underwear falls down also - I am going to have start sewing new elastic in the waists. Some of his shirts are so worn out that he can be seen through them. When he complained a week or so ago, I made him go to the outlet of the company whose shirts he likes - they are short sleeved which I figured would make it easy - but he found most of them to be “too heavy”. He got 3 shirts - which have to be washed so he can wear them. We also have been going to various Walmarts as he found shirts in another fabric he liked, looking for what colors it comes in. He also bought some tee shirts to try - only $2 each at Walmart closeout. He didn’t like them, but they are fine are spares for me - especially at that price. Jeans - he had 2 spare pairs that he bought when the ones he likes was discontinued. I washed them. I went to pin them to shorten - but the waists are so tight that he would pass out if he wore them. (They were 2 of 3 identical pairs he bought together - the other is tight, but not like this and the next size up falls off him.) We went out looking for jeans. He found 3 pairs - all going back are they are not right. I did convince to buy a waistband extender which moves the button/button hole 1 or 2 inches apart and he is using same. More jeans shopping to come. (Okay, I can be as bad, just have been lucky - my only problem is socks and I have taught myself to darn so I can fix them when they get holes.)
Clubs - I have to get paperwork out to an upcoming event for our reenactment unit. We raised the unit’s insurance coverage and I have been trying - by telephone and mail - to get a copy of the increased coverages from them since May!
Clubs - I managed out to get out the summer newsletter for my embroidery chapter. Now I have to get the year book (upcoming year’s meeting programs) out. The newsletter is email; the yearbook has to be printed and mailed - and husband is planning a trip - sometime.
Financial - I have to print out, sign, and mail by certified mail two letters for credit cards that we have to “opt out” of changes they are making. I paid all our bills today until the end of next week in case he decides that we are going away same.
THOUGHTs OF THE WEEK -
First thought is - I don’t have time to write and post this!
When one does not know when one will do something - one cannot plan when one will do something else and has to juggle to deal with it all. It will all work out in the end - either work out well or badly, but it will work out and new problems will come along to be solved.
Thursday, May 2, 2019
CATCHING UP A BIT
Yesterday we took mom to the doctor and it worked better than we anticipated. One problem was that the medication she had been placed on is out of stock - everywhere. I spent a good part of Sunday afternoon calling pharmacies. The doctor called the pharmacy he uses. None. But his pharmacy suggested a compounding pharmacy. If you don’t know what this is - it is a pharmacy that mixes medications as needed. For example - a child has to take a liquid medication but won’t take cherry flavor medications - they can mix up the same actual medication with a different flavor. In our case they can mix up and make pills for mom of the medication she can’t get - at a price of course, and insurance not accepted. Worth the extra money for her to have medication - plus they delivered it to her today so we did not have to get it and then travel to her to give it to her. We also have an appointment with a specialist for 2 weeks from now and that doctor will be better able to adjust her medications.
Night before last (Monday night) husband printed up the pictures of samplers that I had found for the talk I gave today. I spent last evening putting the photos into plastic holders and printing up information about them - each one had a paper in the back explaining about the picture - and a number for the order they should be in (in case I dropped them). Some had only a descriptive title and date - others had a full page of information. I then had to write up my treasurer’s report and an agenda as I was not sure if I or the secretary was going to run the meeting since neither president or VP would be there. I also printed up a membership list for the membership chair as it is renewal time for our group.
When I finished the talk this morning - which was very well received - I felt so good. I had gotten through the mess of everything one after another by staying calm and getting each day’s work done and preparing the night before where we could. We have another problem coming up with Sunday, but we have ways of working around the problem - and if we know in advance that it is going to rain on Sunday and where we are to go will be canceled - that would resolve the problem.
On my way back from the meeting today I went to the post office and picked up the mail - only one ad, as we did not get to our box yesterday. I then went to the pharmacy and picked up husband’s prescriptions as one has to be refrigerated and we also had to go and buy food that also needed to be kept cold and did not want to have either sit in the car as we bought the other. I then came home and we went out for lunch and shopping.
I had the rest of this afternoon through Saturday to catch up. I went through one of three piles on my desk - scan, enter into computer, to do. I first worked on the paperwork from some new members in our reenactment unit - two of them also joined our national group and now their paperwork is done and ready to be mailed to national.
I paid some bills for us and worked out what money has to be transferred where to pay them. I did some other small tasks that needed to be done. The to do pile is now down to one thing to do.
I normally put out the garbage from the kitchen on Sunday night for Monday morning pickup but did not have a chance to do so. I put it tonight along with our upstairs garbage which would normally go out on Wednesday night (tonight) for Thursday morning pickup.
Husband is finishing up a weaving project and has had a section of the kitchen in use by him, but he moved it all so I could go down to the basement and put in a load of laundry to wash.
I actually feel with all of this as if I accomplished something!
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
Tasks in general tend to work out better than one fears in advance. If one goes ahead and does what one needs to do - it is amazing how well it all can go sometimes and then one is done with whatever the original problem was. Go ahead - start the task and see how it goes. Doing nothing is generally not an option and it will probably work out better than you think it will!
Night before last (Monday night) husband printed up the pictures of samplers that I had found for the talk I gave today. I spent last evening putting the photos into plastic holders and printing up information about them - each one had a paper in the back explaining about the picture - and a number for the order they should be in (in case I dropped them). Some had only a descriptive title and date - others had a full page of information. I then had to write up my treasurer’s report and an agenda as I was not sure if I or the secretary was going to run the meeting since neither president or VP would be there. I also printed up a membership list for the membership chair as it is renewal time for our group.
When I finished the talk this morning - which was very well received - I felt so good. I had gotten through the mess of everything one after another by staying calm and getting each day’s work done and preparing the night before where we could. We have another problem coming up with Sunday, but we have ways of working around the problem - and if we know in advance that it is going to rain on Sunday and where we are to go will be canceled - that would resolve the problem.
On my way back from the meeting today I went to the post office and picked up the mail - only one ad, as we did not get to our box yesterday. I then went to the pharmacy and picked up husband’s prescriptions as one has to be refrigerated and we also had to go and buy food that also needed to be kept cold and did not want to have either sit in the car as we bought the other. I then came home and we went out for lunch and shopping.
I had the rest of this afternoon through Saturday to catch up. I went through one of three piles on my desk - scan, enter into computer, to do. I first worked on the paperwork from some new members in our reenactment unit - two of them also joined our national group and now their paperwork is done and ready to be mailed to national.
I paid some bills for us and worked out what money has to be transferred where to pay them. I did some other small tasks that needed to be done. The to do pile is now down to one thing to do.
I normally put out the garbage from the kitchen on Sunday night for Monday morning pickup but did not have a chance to do so. I put it tonight along with our upstairs garbage which would normally go out on Wednesday night (tonight) for Thursday morning pickup.
Husband is finishing up a weaving project and has had a section of the kitchen in use by him, but he moved it all so I could go down to the basement and put in a load of laundry to wash.
I actually feel with all of this as if I accomplished something!
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
Tasks in general tend to work out better than one fears in advance. If one goes ahead and does what one needs to do - it is amazing how well it all can go sometimes and then one is done with whatever the original problem was. Go ahead - start the task and see how it goes. Doing nothing is generally not an option and it will probably work out better than you think it will!
Thursday, November 8, 2018
PROCRASTINATION
I have been making phone calls that have been sitting waiting to be done as long as we have been in the house.
When we picked up our prescriptions after going to doctor one of mine came up showing I owed $45 on it - it is suppose to be covered in full by my insurance. I had expected a $5 charge as husband had when he picked up this prescription for the first time on this insurance, which was later refunded to us as he did not owe it - but $45? Pharmacist said that I had to talk to the company, so I finally had a chance today. They don’t know why - they have to talk to, yes, the pharmacist about it! So next time we go in I have to tell them to call the insurance company about it. Both husband and I have the same prescription, so I am taking some of his in the meantime (90 day renewal, so there are enough for now until this is resolved).
I also called about the annual service for our furnace. We used to be called by the company each year to have this done - often in the spring or early summer. When I went looking to see when the last service had been done it was done in October 2016! 2 years with no service on the furnace, not only we did pay for the service last year as part of our service contract and did not get what we paid for - one of the things done in the service is to check for carbon monoxide. So I finally called yesterday to find out what was going on and to make an appointment. The cheerful voice on the other end told me that it was no trouble to make the appointment for the service - the next one is February 26! I repeated the date to her with emphasis on the February and she said yes. A conversation then followed about why have they not called us to do the service and I was told that it is my responsibility - never was before - why now? The company was joined into another company and the new company has its own rules, but never told us about the change. We buy our oil and have our furnace contract through membership in a non-profit co-op group and I have written letter complaining to same - after greatly complementing the old company which gave us great service and helped us out with two emergencies over the years, oh wait, I just remembered a 3rd emergency they helped us with. I mentioned that my mother-in-law had a different oil company and the water tank for her furnace fell on it and broke it. Her company told her that they don’t do replacements - too bad. I called ours and within 3 days she had a new furnace installed - and they had a new customer. A couple of years ago I found an oil leak in our oil tank - in our basement - at 1 am on a Friday night. Someone was sent to plug the leak. A huge snow storm was to hit on Monday - over the weekend a new oil tank was installed. The one I forgot was about 15 years ago our hot water heater (which is natural gas not oil and not serviced by this company) died and flooded the basement also on a Friday night. We had plans for Saturday and husband saw our plans gone and us spending the day shopping and making arrangements for a new water heater. I figured I had nothing to lose and called our oil company - by 1pm we had a new water heater installed and we were off to do what we planned to do - late, but with plenty of time. What a difference between the old and new company.
I have to make a call tomorrow - I had been called by the parks department that my embroidery group gets a room from for meetings. I telephoned the woman back, got her voice mail, and left the information she requested - an email address. It is time to do the renewal paperwork for the meeting room for next year and I figured I would be receiving it by email (and the town would save the cost of mailing it), but I have not heard back from her and will try calling her again and ask if she has the information to please either leave a message on my phone or send an email so I know she has it.
On the other hand, I waited too long to call about my eyeglasses. Last year (2017) in June I bought new eyeglasses which change in the sun to sunglasses. I have had glasses like these for decades and never had a problem with them. These did not change. At first I figured they needed some time - this has happened in the past - then suddenly it was this July. I went back to the optician and was told it was past the one year for the warranty. He did try to help me and said that the glasses changed a bit under his lights and I should try putting them in the freezer overnight. I thought this strange, but saw it in articles and tried it. First time the glasses changed to the lightest shade of grey. Tried two more times and nothing happened. He had told me to call him if it did not work. Due to procrastination and life I did not have a chance to call him - until I was stuck in the house with husband - 3 months after I had been in. So, now I have a spare of eyeglasses which do not change color - just stay the lightest bit of yellow and I will have to decide if I want to spend all that money again on a new pair that changes color and make sure it does or go back right away. I figure I will wait until just before spring to decide as I won’t need them during the winter.
I also have to call our eye doctor and make an appointment for both of us to see him. I had planned to call just about when all this happened last month. Appointments for routine eye exams are usually about a month after I call. Now I have a problem. I am not sure if husband can deal with driving out to him - about 45 minutes to an hour - followed by our going to stores slightly further out near the doctor and walking around for a few hours until the eye drops wear off. I hate to make appointments and then have to cancel them - but then again, if wait until January there may be snow and that would be a problem to drive out there in same.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Try not to procrastinate - we all do and I can be the queen of procrastination - believe me. (I have to take 20 hours of online classes for work - this year I made sure to pay for them early so I would not be taking them all in November and December again - still have not taken any and they have to be finished by the end of December - or else.)
Procrastination can result in an oil burner not being serviced and inspected for two years - two and half by the time they come. If I wait to hear back about the meeting room - we might lose it and have no where to meet next year. If I had followed up on the eyeglasses sooner I would have glasses that do what I need them for (or a refund) instead of a unneeded spare pair and having to spend more to get yet another pair. And if I had called the medical insurance right away I would not be going back and having to explain the problem, as I am sure it has been forgotten by now as they are so busy at the pharmacy.
When we picked up our prescriptions after going to doctor one of mine came up showing I owed $45 on it - it is suppose to be covered in full by my insurance. I had expected a $5 charge as husband had when he picked up this prescription for the first time on this insurance, which was later refunded to us as he did not owe it - but $45? Pharmacist said that I had to talk to the company, so I finally had a chance today. They don’t know why - they have to talk to, yes, the pharmacist about it! So next time we go in I have to tell them to call the insurance company about it. Both husband and I have the same prescription, so I am taking some of his in the meantime (90 day renewal, so there are enough for now until this is resolved).
I also called about the annual service for our furnace. We used to be called by the company each year to have this done - often in the spring or early summer. When I went looking to see when the last service had been done it was done in October 2016! 2 years with no service on the furnace, not only we did pay for the service last year as part of our service contract and did not get what we paid for - one of the things done in the service is to check for carbon monoxide. So I finally called yesterday to find out what was going on and to make an appointment. The cheerful voice on the other end told me that it was no trouble to make the appointment for the service - the next one is February 26! I repeated the date to her with emphasis on the February and she said yes. A conversation then followed about why have they not called us to do the service and I was told that it is my responsibility - never was before - why now? The company was joined into another company and the new company has its own rules, but never told us about the change. We buy our oil and have our furnace contract through membership in a non-profit co-op group and I have written letter complaining to same - after greatly complementing the old company which gave us great service and helped us out with two emergencies over the years, oh wait, I just remembered a 3rd emergency they helped us with. I mentioned that my mother-in-law had a different oil company and the water tank for her furnace fell on it and broke it. Her company told her that they don’t do replacements - too bad. I called ours and within 3 days she had a new furnace installed - and they had a new customer. A couple of years ago I found an oil leak in our oil tank - in our basement - at 1 am on a Friday night. Someone was sent to plug the leak. A huge snow storm was to hit on Monday - over the weekend a new oil tank was installed. The one I forgot was about 15 years ago our hot water heater (which is natural gas not oil and not serviced by this company) died and flooded the basement also on a Friday night. We had plans for Saturday and husband saw our plans gone and us spending the day shopping and making arrangements for a new water heater. I figured I had nothing to lose and called our oil company - by 1pm we had a new water heater installed and we were off to do what we planned to do - late, but with plenty of time. What a difference between the old and new company.
I have to make a call tomorrow - I had been called by the parks department that my embroidery group gets a room from for meetings. I telephoned the woman back, got her voice mail, and left the information she requested - an email address. It is time to do the renewal paperwork for the meeting room for next year and I figured I would be receiving it by email (and the town would save the cost of mailing it), but I have not heard back from her and will try calling her again and ask if she has the information to please either leave a message on my phone or send an email so I know she has it.
On the other hand, I waited too long to call about my eyeglasses. Last year (2017) in June I bought new eyeglasses which change in the sun to sunglasses. I have had glasses like these for decades and never had a problem with them. These did not change. At first I figured they needed some time - this has happened in the past - then suddenly it was this July. I went back to the optician and was told it was past the one year for the warranty. He did try to help me and said that the glasses changed a bit under his lights and I should try putting them in the freezer overnight. I thought this strange, but saw it in articles and tried it. First time the glasses changed to the lightest shade of grey. Tried two more times and nothing happened. He had told me to call him if it did not work. Due to procrastination and life I did not have a chance to call him - until I was stuck in the house with husband - 3 months after I had been in. So, now I have a spare of eyeglasses which do not change color - just stay the lightest bit of yellow and I will have to decide if I want to spend all that money again on a new pair that changes color and make sure it does or go back right away. I figure I will wait until just before spring to decide as I won’t need them during the winter.
I also have to call our eye doctor and make an appointment for both of us to see him. I had planned to call just about when all this happened last month. Appointments for routine eye exams are usually about a month after I call. Now I have a problem. I am not sure if husband can deal with driving out to him - about 45 minutes to an hour - followed by our going to stores slightly further out near the doctor and walking around for a few hours until the eye drops wear off. I hate to make appointments and then have to cancel them - but then again, if wait until January there may be snow and that would be a problem to drive out there in same.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Try not to procrastinate - we all do and I can be the queen of procrastination - believe me. (I have to take 20 hours of online classes for work - this year I made sure to pay for them early so I would not be taking them all in November and December again - still have not taken any and they have to be finished by the end of December - or else.)
Procrastination can result in an oil burner not being serviced and inspected for two years - two and half by the time they come. If I wait to hear back about the meeting room - we might lose it and have no where to meet next year. If I had followed up on the eyeglasses sooner I would have glasses that do what I need them for (or a refund) instead of a unneeded spare pair and having to spend more to get yet another pair. And if I had called the medical insurance right away I would not be going back and having to explain the problem, as I am sure it has been forgotten by now as they are so busy at the pharmacy.
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