Friday February 24th 2023

[Joe NightingMale, MSN, RN]

NJ22 must be nice to have everything set for retirement

Ado I would have thought OK had more sunny days than that, given that it's fairly far south

Stars that was good that the fix was so simple and that he realized he had been wrong

Tweety that is a lot of sunny days

Dianah it's been pretty cloudy/stormy here recently

Was not a bad day yesterday, despite having to set aside some time to prepare for being off today.  Got everything done and had time to set off work messages on various emails and voicemail

The evening was fairly quiet.  Went for a walk, despite it being cold and windy.  Then did my usual  hot bath and white Russian, as it was Friday for me

Today made pancakes and bacon, a rarity for me.  Might go outside a bit if it's not too cold.  Need to pick up a yoga mat too, and see about yoga classes.  Getting together with J tonight too

Will be fairly chilly today in the upper 20s

 

[Ado Annie, ASN, RN]

I'm talking about the weather again because, despite the forecast, the high today will only be about 32 (and it's overcast and gloomy). Rain over the weekend, and a 70 degree day on Monday. If the forecast is right ? 

I did see robins this morning, the first time I've noticed them this year. Spring is coming!

Joe, I hope you are having a good day off and enjoy getting together with J this evening.

Stars, it is good that you got an apology. When you're right, you're right!

Hubs and I need to put some effort into understanding the options for Social Security/ Medicare. He'll be 65 next January. 

Dory dog had me worried last night because she wouldn't even accept a slice of cheese I offered (I was out of dog treats and wanted to give them a treat). She seemed to be in pain. Our vet confirmed this today (the boys took her in). She does have degenerative disk disease and seems to have exacerbated it. So she has meds and is on "cage rest". It's easy to keep her still when she is hurting but once she starts feeling better she is her usual hyper self, dancing around for attention. 

[No Stars In My Eyes]

Good Morning (actually afternoon)~

Sunny, 73 degrees, slight breezes. I got Nannie up, got hubby his full (small) 02 tank set up in the den.

Today was trash day, and although I have repainted in white, on the top of each barrel: "TRASH" and "RECYCLING", hubby put out the wrong barrel. Recycling is every other week, and trash is every week. One might suppose the big white letters on the top of each barrel might give a good solid hint about which-is-which, or looking inside the barrel under the lid might be a clue, but apparently it didn't work today. I don't get it, but it isn't the first time he's done that. *sigh* No big deal, but really.....smh.

We have had zero snow and zero ice here this Winter. One year I remember we had a foot and a half of snow in April, but that was up in the mtns in Asheville. Since Mother Nature has her own ideas, I won't believe it is really Spring until May, which is actually when Summer temps have already started. Right now it is t-shirt weather, but in a day or two the temps are supposed to go down to 50, then back up again. It really has been a roller-coaster of temps this year.

I'm going outside to reload the bird-feeder; I only fill about a third of the feeder at a time, and then I scatter a lot of seeds/nuts/fruit bits on the wooden steps up to the (unusable) back deck. 'My' red-bellied woodpecker will arrive shortly after I put out the food. He (it?) is so cute! There are also two different (little) wood-peckers that frequent the 'bird-deli'. The doves, sparrows and finches come in groups, it seems.

Okay, all for now. It is Siesta Time in the den: ?? .The silence is SO much nicer than the bickering! 

 

 

 

[No Stars In My Eyes]

"No-Filter Nannie" just woke up and said, "there are a lot of peckers out on the patio...."

They must've flown away 'cause I can't see any!

[Davey Do]

[No Stars In My Eyes]

As my old Southern father-in-law used to say: "Why, you're as smart as a cracker!"

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

Afternoon. The weather has warmed up to 32, and the wind has calmed to about 15 mph, down from 30 with gusts to 50. Clouds are moving in, and a small amount of snow is predicted. I think one more week, and then it will seem Spring like. I went for a run, which was tolerable, thanks to wearing a mask. I had a consult for a tattoo and then took my sis to lunch at her favorite Mexican place.  I had chicken mole, which was quite good. I reminded her, again, to call for her followup cardiac testing and appointments and texted her the phone # to call. She has a mountain of papers from past visits so I doubt she could the right one. She was feeling low because she had to put her 17 yo kitty down. dh and I are going to get a garden plaque with his name. 

I might look into yoga after retirement. I've done a little in the past. I have always been rather inflexible , so I need a teacher who's gentle. 

All of our refuse receptacles look different: trash is just a trash can, paper, plastic, and cardboard each have their own "milk crate" bins, garden waste is a big green, wheeled tote, and kitchen refuse goes to the compost pile. For some reason, I can't convince dh not to put plastic in the compost. Things like plastic bags with old celery or potatoes, or net bags with icky onions. I guess he thinks the garden gnomes take care of all that. 

No one else is home right now, so this would be a good time to do school reading. Or watch tv...

[dianah, ASN]

Hello all!

Ado, I hope Dory is feeling better soon.  It is hard to see our animals in pain. 

There is probably a foot of new snow in the local mountains, and more to come today and tomorrow.  It has rained on and off, today, though no thunder and no hail. 

I did a few errands this afternoon, and did initial pre-camping grocery shopping.  I will likely do a little more on Sat night, then pack/prepare/load on Sunday.  I will make a cauliflower risotto tonight, and probably teriyaki noodles tomorrow.  We are also finishing our large burritos from the local best-burritos-in-the-area place.  WITH homemade tortillas!!  So yummy!

Not much else planned.  Except I do need to put together some songs, so I have the words to new bluegrass and folk songs, to do at the jams.

Hoping you all stay safe and healthy.  Have a good evening!

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Good evening.

Ado, hope Dora is okay.

Work was busy but okay I guess.  Left late.

Boy blind dog went out to the Florida room where his pee pads are and then came back and peed in the living room instead on the tile.  Whatever.  Girl blind dog is on her blanket in the couch eating the dinner she just ate and threw up.  Gross.  

I'm going to try to stay off of medicare at 65, although you need to sign up, and continue to contribute to my Health Savings Account, so that when I do retire I'll have money for glasses and dental work and co-pays.   Not sure if I can do that but I'll look into it in a couple of years.  

 

 

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

Yes, you don't have to use Medicare at 65. You don't have to sign up until you retire. Yes, I think there is something restricting  contributions to an HSA if you are on Medicare. Just know it takes a few weeks to process. 

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

nursej22 said:

Yes, you don't have to use Medicare at 65. You don't have to sign up until you retire. Yes, I think there is something restricting  contributions to an HSA if you are on Medicare. Just know it takes a few weeks to process. 

Good to know. I thought you had no choice but to register for part A at 65.  I am pretty sure you can't contribute to an HSA (which is tax free) and collect medicare at the same time.   I want to stay in the HSA as long as I'm working.  My current health insurance is good so I won't go on medicare until I quit work.

Best friend is on medicare with a supplement.  He does pay a premium to medicare monthly but his copays have been zero.  His supplement is provided by the State of Texas as a retirement benefit from the University of Texas in El Paso.  When he had his hip replaced he didn't pay anything to the hospital and is on an expensive drug for his osteoporosis (which he had to jump through hoops to get authorized) but he's pretty happy with them.

 

 

[Davey Do]

No Stars In My Eyes said:

As my old Southern father-in-law used to say: "Why, you're as smart as a cracker!"

A Cracker Jack refers to someone who is good as what they do.

Are we now...

?