Memory Monday

 Artemis

I know everyone has been hooked on the latest space venture. I will admit I tried not to pay too much attention. In 1986 I was home making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for my one year old, my two year old and my five year old while they were watching a rerun of Andy Griffith. The words appeared on the bottom of the screen about the Challenger disaster. I had it on a network channel and saw her son and his class watching the lift off, but the natives got restless. I was devastated. And now I am too nervous to watch space travel.

Later everyone started sharing memories on our local Facebook page. We live near a NASA facility in a rural area with some very special testing facilities. I think this was in 2019/2020.

"TRAFFIC ALERT—TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16 AND 17.

For the special attention of motorists in the City of XXX/XXX Township and XXX Township areas:

Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 16, and again on Wednesday, August 17, oversize loads consisting of Blue Origin spacecraft components will be transported from the NASA Neil Armstrong Test Facility to the docks. The transports are scheduled to begin at about 7:30AM on both days from the NASA Mason Road gate, just west of the Career Center. The loads will travel eastbound on Mason Road to River Road, and then north on River Road to the docks. Due to the size of these components, various sections of Mason and River Roads will be completely closed to all traffic as the haul vehicles navigate various segments of the route, to include the major intersections of US123 and State Route 123 at Mason Road, and US456 at River Road. It is expected that the transports on both days will be completed by approximately 2:30PM.

Motorists who plan to travel the above route during the time period in question are asked to take an alternate route for the next two days. Your cooperation and patience are greatly appreciated."

According to the local Facebook officials these pieces and parts that went to the special testing facility were the pieces and parts of Artemis. Here they are maneuvering the corner by our post office.

Facebook was full of videos and photos those days. You won't recognized the parts because they are covered in tight white tarps.

Since I don't follow space travel I can not verify the accuracy of any of this. But I am happy and relieved that the astronauts are home and safe.

We old timers call the facility - N A S A - pronouncing each letter separately. When my kids were teenagers they would make fun of me for spelling it instead of saying it as a word. I went through a spell when I couldn't remember which way to say it and usually guessed wrong. Once NASA became more popular on news shows, I figured it out.

The facility in the remote location has a interesting history and maybe I will do a blog about it one day. I used to attend a history group at a local library and people older than me had pretty vivid memories of the beginnings.

Bad Medicine

Sorry, this post is a rant and a grumble.  I decided to publish it tonight so it won't be at the top of my blog for long. Memory Monday will be back on Monday and hopefully by Tuesday I will have my "where the heck have I been" update. 

I have been adjusting to the new me, me, me.  Medications, home blood pressure checks, daily weigh-ins to monitor fluid retention, appointments, tests, blah blah blah. The exercise program, counting steps, throwing in cataract surgery so we could add eye drops. 

SO - the cardiologist put me on several new to me medications that started in smaller doses and were smaller mg. Whatever that is. Then he increased to twice a day, then gave me a prescription for a larger mg that I have to cut in half and take twice a day.  I think we are eventually going to do a whole pill a day. This is the background story. 

Like all people of a certain age, I sit down on Sunday night and put all my pills for the week in my new and improved extra large pill box.  I was almost out of one of the medications and put in an on-line renew request to my drugstore.  I got an email message that my insurance would not pay to renew the prescription yet.  They stated they would contact the doctor. 

I figured out this was because he had not changed the instructions when telling me to double the dose. I decided I would leave my own message for the doctor in the automated system. I stopped at the pharmacy and they said they hadn't heard back but that possibly I would be able refill it and just pay cash if it came to that. 

No one from the pharmacy or insurance company or doctor's office would contact me. Then I got an automated message that I had a prescription ready to pick up.  When I got there I had a new precription of the drug to pick up with a $3 co-pay.  I had the renewal of the prescription with a cash price of $35. And I had a renewal of the prescription at a lower doseage with a $3 co-pay.  I did get both of the larger mg bottles of the same thing since I wanted back up bills for next time this happens.  

I just wonder if this was something I could sell on the street instead of heart medicine, woud they would just issue me three bottles of the same thing? It just seems wrong.  

Meanwhile my drug plan is calling me three times a day telling me I can save $6 a month if I put all my medications into refills by mail. Since the prescriptions and doseage keep changing this does not appeal to me but that is not an option in their automated system. 

Today I had a Chest CT scan.  I got a call Monday to schedule it. I said - ooookay.  She read me a long list of instructions and I made some scratch pad notes assuming I would get an email or something.  I didn't. And I forgot to even ask what doctor ordered it.  

She told me I had to quit eating 12 hours or more prior, no caffiene or even DECAF coffee for 24 hours prior to the test, I can't remember what else.  I did not get an email.  I went to the hospital website that charts appointments.  It did not list what doctor ordered it and when I clicked "instructions" all it said was "please arrive 15 minutes in advance". I googled generic instructions for a CT scan and followed those.

Luckily it was a ct scan without dye (and I think what she read to me on the phone was the instructions with dye.)  I did abstain from food and decaf coffee, but I am not sure I had to.  I did not wear undergarments so that I did not have to change into a gown.  And the radiologist person was able to tell me that the test was ordered by the pulmonologist.   

I just feel like no one tells me anything. Was this because of my pulmonary tests in February? Because I haven't had a follow-up appointment yet. 

Anyway  - blah, blah, blah.  I'm over it. 

Now I have it out of my system. Thank you for listening.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! In my new tradition of turning over holidays to my children, we will be celebrating on Saturday at my youngest daughter's house.  I baked brownies and a lemon pound cake tonight. Tomorrow I am putting together crack green beans, scalloped potatoes and chicken breast stuffed with asparagus. I bought a sliced ham.  But I don't have to clean my house. 

I have two kitchens in my dollhouse. This little doll is in the second kitchen with my Hallmark appliances and white furniture. 

The ice box is from the inherited kitchen. I bought the wooden cabinet set about ten years ago. The kitty is waiting for scraps. 

The Dionne quintuplet on the right is holding court around the fireplace in a living room in sad need of remodeling. In my defense my sister in-law who owned this house originally let her toddler daughter play with it. 

The papoose in the den has her own dollhouse. The footstool was made for me by author Camille Minichino (writing as Margaret Grace) in her dollhouse miniature cozy mystery series. She hosted a giveaway on her blog and personalized the prize for me. Camille passed away in May. Not only did she author two award winning mystery series, she was a former nun and a nuclear physicist. For real! She also invited me to "Noir at the Bar" a literary event that is part of the Lit Quake mystery authors conference in San Francisco during the pandemic. The event was held on line and we sat at home with cocktails while several mystery authors read chapters or short stories of their work. 

The reindeer and elves are sleeping in the upstairs bedrooms. 

Second cataract surgery completed. I have had a few more side effects this time but plowing through.  Today we even made it to the gym.  

Big Girls Don't Cry

There have been some long days at the church charity. Our hours are 10 am to 2 pm and somehow it is a stretch for me to be there by 10, lol.  We can make it to the rec by 8:30 but struggling into an office is a whole different ball game. 

For the past several weeks mornings have been very slow.  There might be a call on the answering machine, I usually sit alone for at least two hours. 

Around 1:30 I start to get panicked calls. Three weeks ago it was someone whose water was just shut off. Our city water department has printed on our bills that the bill is overdue and subject to shut off when the new bill is received.  I am sure it is mentioned somewhere on your online bill.  This person's bill was 3-4 months overdue. They had to know they weren't paying it.  So big fat sigh. I did say, in my nasty voice, that you need to reach out for help before bills are shut off so that you do not incur reconnect fees.  

But there are children in the home. And I have a real problem with children who cannot flush a toilet or brush their teeth or wash their face before school.  So I took the application over the phone (she claimed to be positive for influenza and I wasn't going to argue) called the city to get the actual amount to be paid, I texted board members to get permission to pledge the amount, I called the city back to pledge the money and they were very helpful and actually turned it back on that afternoon. And all this meant I worked about 45 minutes over. 

I was to the point I was thinking we should change our hours but realized people would still wait until the last moment.

About a week and a half ago I had a voicemail from a woman enquiring about rental assistance. I called back and left a message with our hours.  She did not return the call until  about 1:30 pm. She explained she was at work and that she had fled a domestic violence situation with her children. I stopped her and told her I would wait until she could get to the office. She called me on the way with an update and I assured her I would wait for her. 

She has two children, a daughter for whom she gets $80 a month in support and a two year old daughter whose father she left due to violence. To try to stop her from leaving, he took the car seat to work with him every day. Somehow she found transportation and traveled to our state, where her father lives, at the end of January.  Unfortunately dad is very ill and in the hospital. She has been couch surfing with co-workers.  

It isn't my first rodeo. She needed a security deposit and first months rent so I sent her to a second church. And researched her social media. She arrived in January, has been working at a factory with her friend since she arrived. She did post on facebook asking for clothes for the girls and then asking for a toddler bed and mattress. She and the older daughter sleep on the couch.  

She is rough.  Old tattoo, not well-done. Looks much older than her actual age. But she is really really trying.  When they were leaving for the other church, the older daughter who is about 10 asked a question and I understood what she was asking. When mom told her they were going to ask a church for the money to get a home, she thought I would give them the money immediately and she would have home by bedtime.  It broke my heart. 

Of course I cried all the way home.  The money needed is more than we would normally do. My thought was the other church would be willing to pay half of the deposit if we paid the other half but I knew the landlord would not allow her to move in without all of it and would probably not hold the apartment.  

She had called the office Monday morning before the board meeting and talked to a fellow member. The other church felt as strongly as I did and gave a larger amount. And an out of town church that someone she works with belongs to gave enough to add to it and cover the deposit. And my board was willing to cover the first month's rent, about double what we would normally do for a client. 

I was still struggling all week.  My heart goes out to these little girls.  I got up this morning and went shopping.  At my first stop I picked up every kitchen utensil I could find including a set of silverware.  I went on to the next store and picked up plastic tableware for the girls, a crock pot, a set of pots and pans and some towel sets.  I raided my gift stash and found five dish towels and a fist full of potholders.  I had an extra canvas hamper where I stuffed them along with a pink and purple quilt and shams from my closet. I had just weeded our children's games and stuffed those in too.  I picked up baking pans somewhere - metal ones.  I filled my trunk. 

Then I texted her to see where we could meet. Because I am not totally crazy.  I went home and told my husband what I had done and he said, let me get my keys. (And this is another reason I love him, no questions asked).  We drove to her town and met her and the girls in a grocery store parking lot.  

She was very grateful. She still need beds especially and furniture. I talked to my neighbor and she has a glider rocker.  My eye surgery is coming up and she is moving in on the 1st so I will text her on Friday and see where she stands. 

I'm still teary eyed.  I want my little friend to have a home and a bed.  

I try not to get involved. But I feel so blessed and lucky. I do not want.  I feel like I have so much.  And I just want them to work this all out.  

See. I am not always the cranky mean girl that lectures our clients.  Just sometimes.