This morning I awoke before the sun did, the first time since day light savings ended. Often I have troubles with the setting forward or backward of the clock hands but this one went far smoother. It was not a bad thing to be awake in time to see the sunrise, not at all!
When I walked out to the kitchen for my soda, it did not feel horribly cold in the rooms but I did notice again that my ceiling fans are running in the river room and family room. They are quite unnecessary, and think I will pull the strings the next time I venture through. No need to waste the electricity, especially since the temps dropped to the low 30’s overnight. I do not usually watch local news but did catch the weather last night on one network, where the meteorologist said the temps were dropping by 25 degrees overnight. (I just pulled my blankets up around me without even thinking about it!)
My doctor appointment went well on Thursday and my scrips have been refilled. My doctor, whose name is House, no kidding, is such a kind man. And a good salesman, as he has convinced me to get a flu shot. The only other flu shot I have had was when I worked at Shady Lane Home when it was mandatory for swine flu, I believe. He is also the man who convinced me to take the cholesterol-lowering medication when he told me he had outlived his father and grandfather, who had both died in their early 60’s from heart disease, and credited Lipitor for extending his life. What endeared him to me was his remark, “If my wife would let me, I would walk through the house eating a stick of butter!”
He also apologized to me for the high cost of medical procedures (i.e. colonoscopies) which he estimated cost me about $1000. I said, “Yes, times 7!” “Oh, my!” When he said I had not had blood work done in a couple years, I pulled out my paperwork from LifeLine Screening, which has been shared with them at the doctor office every time. I told him I get the testing done there because it is cheaper, but he remarked that some info he needed was not tested for.
He was then informed that the last time I went for the full course of blood work the doctor ordered, it cost me over $500 and again he apologized. And asked, “What kind of insurance do you have???” I expressed my dismay about this because that is part of the reason why pricing is so outrageous, when we think cost doesn’t matter if insurance pays for it. He said he knows how much those tests should cost, like $50 or so, and the rest is overhead or otherwise. So, he agreed to only order three tests for my blood in January, bare minimum with the rest of the information coming from LifeLine Screening. And the plus is doing the lab work now in the office again, which I really like. They had done this years ago and was quite convenient.
I complimented his medical assistant, telling him how nice she was and seemed compassionate. He told me there had been another turn-over of staffing recently and I remarked that this seems to happen a lot in this practice. He said he has nothing to do with the staffing, and in fact, he is an employee himself. It does not really affect me since I usually only go twice a year, and would only go once, if I had my way!
Martie and I went to dinner on Thursday evening, meeting at Longhorn in Argyle, my Monday place. We had not seen each other since September, the day of Marian’s memorial service. Much has happened for her since, including going to PA to nurse her sister, June, to health after some respiratory/heart problems requiring hospitalization. While there, her hubby had health problems back home so Martie cut her trip short to get back to Ernie. He is okay now, had to increase a medication he takes. She is working lots lately, being the only employee in the office besides the boss, which why it’s hard for us to get together sometimes. She insists she needs to try harder so I set up a schedule for us, including Dinner and a Movie for next week!
Yesterday began early with the “Meet, Eat, and Play” event at The Club, the fourth time we are doing it. I am in charge of the game, and those who wish to play have breakfast first. This time I had a great breakfast with my favorite person of all---me! No one else showed up to either meet, eat, or play so I was showered with all the attention. I also did not get to play Trivial Pursuit. Instead I came home to do some writing before meeting Betty and Robin C. for lunch. Such a life!
Betty loves Longhorn so once more, my 3rd time in a week, I enjoyed their menu. Makes for great leftovers for when I eat at home---like today! Betty had a birthday in late October but we ladies had a tough time finding a date we could gather. In fact, we had to go ahead without Brenda as she was working this Friday, which is fantastic for her. We sat and visited for hours, and when we parted, Robin said we must not let so much time pass between these gatherings. I agree, and that’s twice in two days that someone said that to me. We really must do this more often!!!
