INSURANCE INSPECTOR CAME

This morning I called the neurologist's office to find out what was going on with my pre-authorization for the brain MRI. They seemed a bit surprised that I hadn't heard anything from the hospital. They assured me they would follow up immediately and let me know that once they send it in the hospital does not let them know if they got it or not or that they've contacted me or not. So basically it's up to the patient to follow up if they don't hear anything. This sounds like a horrible system and one of the reasons why the medical system is crumbling.

Now if I was at my new concierge doctor this would never happen. My concierge doctor's office follows up on everything if they send something into the hospital a few days later they follow up with me to see if the hospital has contacted me for an appointment. But regular doctor's offices just don't have the manpower or the time to do such follow-up.

I received my seeds in the mail for my herb garden. On a funny note, I opened up a piece of mail that was a couple weeks old and inside was a packet of Basil seeds. I guess I could have saved myself a few dollars and not bought another packet of Basil seeds.

The insurance inspector came today and did a thorough review of the damage from the storms. I tried very hard not to give too much information and let my contractor do the talking. My contractor is going to take her call and give her the whys and what for's.  You know, all the info. Fingers-crossed this time! 

I have been asked to be the co-organizer of my local arthritis support group. I'm super excited. I'm a great organizer. I used to do it for a living. 

Until tomorrow...

GARDEN BUGS

I found bugs in my garden. They are little black bugs. I took out my giant gardening book and looked them up. They are some sort of fungus gnat I think. All the evidence seems to point in that direction. So I looked up how get rid of them. The best way is Neem oil. I guess it hinders the bug's ability to feed and interferes with their hormone system. It is organic and safe to use on vegetables. It is an oil that comes from the Neem tree. It has a naturally occurring pesticide from the seeds. I have some coming in Thursday. 

I also read that a hydrogen peroxide and water mixture can work to kill the bugs. I will try both methods. No pesticides for me. 

My new seeds should arrive tomorrow also. I may run over to the outdoor plant store and buy some soil and rosemary. I wonder if a snippet of rosemary would take root if I put it in water? My neighbor has a rosemary bush. Interesting idea. 

Until tomorrow...

HAPPY BLOGAVERSARY!

 It is my blogaversary today! 12 years of writing this blog. I can not believe it. Some days it doesn't seem that long and other days, well, it seems like I have been writing this blog forever. 

I try to make this blog interesting and fun. I am here to entertain. 

I was happy that I could send in to my insurance company some claims today for COVID tests that I bought. I will be happy to get that check in the mail. I take a number of tests a month if I have been unmasked during a medical test or around a bunch of people without masks indoors.  Not that I am in those situations very often. I like to test just to make sure.

Random things:

Why do people put Ranch Dressing on pizza? I just don't get it.  I don't think I ever will. 

Steve Harvey with a judge show? When did Steve Harvey become a judge? I read that he has no legal experience whatsoever. I thought he was a game show host? 

Until tomorrow...

ASL

When I was younger I went to the school for the deaf to learn ASL (American sign language).  I wanted to learn because it seemed like a useful language to learn unlike the French and Latin I learned in high school. The Latin was useful for taking the SATs but that was about it. I paid less attention in French so I barely know any. 

So I enrolled in the ASL class for the hearing. I was surrounded by people taking the class for various reasons such as interpreter, family member of a hearing impaired child, friend of hearing impaired person and people interested in learning ASL. I found it quite interesting. 

I remember the alphabet (finger-spelling) and have been practicing. I remember some of the ASL signs. Tonight I made some flash cards so I can practice. Some of it is coming back. 

Until tomorrow...

CORONATION & DERBY

 After two days of rain, my garden is really growing. I ordered more seeds to grow my herbs. I know people say you have to grow them inside first but they also said that about the veggies in my garden. I am going to give it a try. I got basil, thyme, parsley and dill. I already have mint from years ago and oregano from two years ago. 

I woke up at 5 am to watch the coronation of King Charles. I figured I saw Diana's wedding, Diana's death and funeral, Queen Mother jubilee, William's wedding, Harry's wedding, Queen jubilee, Prince Philip funeral, Queen funeral and now the coronation. I am not a Royal Watcher but you kind of can't help seeing this stuff if you watch the news.  I was in London right after the Queen's Golden Jubilee.  Here is my impression: I understand the pomp and circumstance but with the world the way it is right now, right after millions of people dying of COVID, children orphaned, businesses lost, loved one's lost, the economy on the downside, businesses going out of business, do you think this was the best time to spend 1.5B pounds on a giant celebration of a royal system that some people think is unnecessary? It seemed a bit egotistical for a guy that is saying his platform is about saving the environment and all about service. If he wanted to save the environment he would not have had all these people fly in to see him be crowned for a couple of hours. If he wanted to be of service, he would have had a small service and televise it and encourage people to be of service not just for one day but do what they can. Offer opportunities. It just seemed a bit hypocritical. You know all those people went out and bought new dresses and hats/fasinators (sp?).  Why not ask people to wear something they already own to save the planet. There could have been so many ways he could have shown he was for the environment and not just all talk. 

I was glad Harry went because if he didn't he would have regretted it later. Your father only gets to be king once. Do I think Camilla should be Queen, no. Queen Elizabeth expressed that she wanted her to be Queen Consort. That is the way it should have stayed but Camilla has a hold on Charles that we will never understand. He has to live with her. 

At 5 am I only saw them come out of the church and ride to Buckingham Castle. So I went back to sleep and woke up later. I have Britbox and they recorded the whole thing so I watched it all from the beginning. I got to see the whole service but I used my FF button quite a bit and the 4 hours took about 1.5 hours, if that. I just wanted to see the ceremonial parts in the church and who was at the service. 

Once that was over, I did somethings like change my sheets and walk Lucky. We stopped by an open house because my neighbors moved. I love seeing inside the houses and see what changes they did. I saw the house before they moved in, while they lived there and now after the spiffed it up to sell. Don't worry I carried Lucky through the house. 

Then it was the Kentucky Derby. I almost didn't watch it due to the deaths of too many horses this week. I don't care the reasons. One horse is too many. The horse I was rooting for came in 3rd. The horse that won was such a long shot and was owned by 300 people. It was a consortium and some of the people put in $50. Isn't that fabulous?! I love that they are making horse racing in the big races for the common person. 

I am giving a shout out to my sister-in-law and niece for the awesome video they sent me today. 

Until tomorrow...

VACCINE AFTERMATH

I received my second Bivaliant vaccine last evening around 6:30pm. I came home and ate some soup and crackers and got into bed. My head already started to ache and by 8pm my arm and neck were hurting.

I slept surprisingly well all night until the morning. I woke up with a pounding head. I took some Tylenol and climbed back into bed. I had nothing planned today so I could relax. I tried to watch TV most of the day but kept falling asleep. I ate a muffin and apple sauce around 2pm and went back to sleep. 

I woke up around 5 pm to feed and play with Lucky. I ate another muffin and apple sauce and it is now 7:30pm and I am back in bed. I'm basically tired and sore and have a slight headache. I had chills earlier today but they were fleeting. 

I think it will pass by tomorrow in time to watch the coronation and Kentucky Derby. 

Until tomorrow...

FINALLY I HEARD FROM THE DOCTOR & 7TH VACCINE

The neurologist office finally called. It turns out the assistant has been "out sick". I wonder if that is now code for having COVID? Today the doctor's son came into their office to catch up on phone messages and paperwork. He was super nice and figured out my mess. 

I will be getting my MRI at a location that accepts my insurance. The pre-authorization has been sent in so now I have to wait. My appointment with the doctor next week has been cancelled since it was to receive my results and, shocking, there are no results. 

I feel much better about the situation now that it is figured out. 

Then this evening I went over to get my 2nd Bivaliant COVID vaccine. I didn't feel the needle but on the way home I got a headache and my arm got really sore. I got into bed at 7:30 and I have no plans tomorrow. Hopefully it will be easy. 

Until tomorrow...

FEEDLY

 I wanted to write about Feedly. A reader wrote to me about Feedly and I thought I would check it out. I am so glad I did! I thought that once Blogger ended the email feature I would never be able to get anyone's blog posts again without going to each website. Feedly has come to the rescue. If you have blog posts that you want to read and you have to go here and there to read them or if you have boards that you like, you can now use Feedly. I am not getting anything for promoting them, I just like Feedly and I think it is a great free service. 

 Before you ask, I have not heard from the neurologist office. I keep calling and getting the answering service. I hear there will be someone there tomorrow but I am not holding my breath. I need to get this mess figured out so I will be hounding the office. 

We had another day of rain. It really came down last night. It was raining so hard it woke me up. We are supposed to get thunderstorms tonight. I just see lots of rain. The good part is my garden is really popping up. I see three cucumber plants, three green bean plants, and some lettuce and carrots. It is hard to tell the lettuce and carrots because they are so small still. I know I will have to thin out the cucumbers and beans but I am waiting to see which plants make it. 

Until tomorrow...

 

RAINING AND COLD AGAIN

 Well, it is raining again. And it is cold, like really cold. It is 5pm and it is 48 degrees outside in May. What is going on?? I hope it doesn't kill my seedlings. I can now see them from the window. They are getting big enough to see from a distance. 

My tarp is holding so I don't think any rain is getting in. 

There is no word from the doctor's office so I don't have another appointment for my MRI. I checked and there is no pre-authorization with the insurance company. I think this is going to take a while. 

I have my COVID vaccine scheduled on Thursday evening. I am ready for that. I have my weekend cleared except for the Coronation and the Kentucky Derby. But that just means a day in bed or on the couch. Good for a weekend after taking the vaccine. 

I am going to curl up with my "fireplace" and keep warm. 

Until tomorrow...

MRI CANCELLED

It has been quite a day. I got up at 6:00 a.m. so I could be all set and ready for the getting to my MRI on time. I didn't sleep very well with the stress of getting to the MRI on time and having everything go according to plan.

When I got up I immediately called the MRI place to ask them if they could send me some kind of proof that the amount that they told me the MRI was going to cost was actually what I was going to pay. The reason I did this is because the reviews online of this MRI please said that some people paid an amount and then were billed an additional amount after the fact and I wanted to make sure that didn't happen to me. I was passed from person to person and no one could could give me any kind of proof that the amount I was quoted was the total amount that I was going to have to pay. That got me a little suspicious but I decided the appointment scheduled I'll still go through with it. So I got in the shower. As soon as I got out of the shower I could hear my phone ringing it was the MRI place calling to tell me that they received a pre-authorization from my neurologist to have the MRI at a different location. I was very confused so I decided that I needed to cancel this appointment and not go.

I then spent the next hours trying to sort out who was this authorization from, where is this other location that I'm supposed to be getting the MRI, why is no one calling me back. I also took a nap since I was up at the crack of dawn to get to this MRI appointment at 8:00 in the morning.

 

The neurologist called this afternoon to tell me that the pre-authorization is correct but didn't give me any explanation of what happened.  I was told her assistant would call me later today to explain it to me. The good news is that I won't be going to the unorganized and "shell game" location. I now have to wait more time. 

Rain is coming. It looked like it would rain today but it is definitely going to rain tomorrow. It is good news for my garden. I went down to see it today and all my veggies are coming up. I see three cucumber plants coming up. I see two bean plants coming up. I see some carrots and lettuce peaking out. I can't get over how exciting this is. 

Until tomorrow...