What did you do today? 2019 version.

[W2R]

Off to the doc today for a check on my eye. I’m currently in Inverness, Scotland and last Sunday had a tear in my retina laser spot welded. The tear was the bad news, but the good news is the excellent care available here and, of course, the zero charge for any of this.

How frightening! I am so glad you were able to get it taken care of right away, and hope your checkup today goes well.

 

[W2R]

Day 12. Finally got around to sharpening the chainsaw blade. A 5 minute job that I blew off for 3 days. Oh, cleared the answering machine. Most were prescriptions to be picked up. This retired life is exhausting!

That's for sure! I recommend cutting back on those exhausting retiree tasks.

Years ago I told Walgreen's to never call me on the phone. They are supposed to email me instead, but don't (which is fine with me). When I want to know if my prescription is ready, I log into their website and find out there.

Oh, and I don't even have a chainsaw. Don't really need one. F has a chainsaw that we can use if neighbors' fallen trees block the street after a hurricane. I say "we", but after Katrina he did all the chainsaw work and I helped with dragging the resulting tree pieces out of the way. Neither of us has any trees of our own to saw.

 

[NW-Bound]

Off to the doc today for a check on my eye. I’m currently in Inverness, Scotland and last Sunday had a tear in my retina laser spot welded. The tear was the bad news, but the good news is the excellent care available here and, of course, the zero charge for any of this.

That's a scary health scare. Glad to know you had it fixed promptly.

But zero charge as a matter of course? Darn, I should have headed over there a few years ago when I had a scary illness that cost $200K for surgeries and treatments. My portion was only $30K ($10K deductible each year), but every $K counts.

PS. They may even serve haggis in the hospital, and I want to try it.

 

[ABQ2015]

Getting new roof and gutters next month. Undecided about getting gutter screens. Until now. Fell off the ladder climbing down off the roof after leaf blowing debris out of the gutters. Luckily I only fell 6-7' and landed in a bush. No more roof climbing.
Also got new license plate stickers for the car, truck, and MIL's car. And did some woodworking.

How scary! Thank goodness you weren't hurt in your fall. I stopped cleaning gutters in my late 50's after feeling very unstable on a 6' ladder and was not even on the roof.

I am headed up to Colorado today, this time to a festival in Estes Park over the weekend and then to Rocky Mountain National Park. There is some snow predicted this weekend at the higher elevations along the main road in the park. But I have already postponed this trip once and am not camping, so will just go with it. The snow should be beautiful to view even if it prevents me from doing a few (easy) hikes.

 

[NW-Bound]

In my case I have about 600' of 2/0 cable that used to run overhead between two buildings at the camp...

I am surprised thieves have not walked away with all that copper. It's "only" about $4 per foot.

 

[NW-Bound]

Getting new roof and gutters next month. Undecided about getting gutter screens. Until now. Fell off the ladder climbing down off the roof after leaf blowing debris out of the gutters. Luckily I only fell 6-7' and landed in a bush. No more roof climbing.

I saw the video you posted a while back on blowing leaf off the gutters. I still get on the roof now and then, but I tend to clamber on all four now. I am old now and my balance is not as good.

Just counted. Still have 5 ladders. And that's after giving away 1 to my son-in-law.

 

[W2R]

How scary! Thank goodless you weren't hurt in your fall. I stopped cleaning gutters in my late 50's after feeling very unstable on a 6' ladder and was not even on the roof.

F and I figured out a few years ago that our ladder climbing days are behind us. He still climbs on one of those 2-3 step, ultra stable stepstools with a handle to hang onto like shown in the attached photo. I have one of those also, but won't even use that one any more.

With medical care costs skyrocketing as they have been, ending ladder climbing is the LBYM approach when we are older because older people tend to get hurt more than younger people do, when they fall. None of us really need or want to pay for a broken bone or other injury.

(Mental note: I need to take my stepstool ladder with me on the next Goodwill donation effort).

College aged guys don't charge much to clean gutters and hiring one is a good deed as well, since they can usually use a little extra income at that age.

 

[travelover]

That's a scary health scare. Glad to know you had it fixed promptly.

But zero charge as a matter of course? Darn, I should have headed over there a few years ago when I had a scary illness that cost $200K for surgeries and treatments. My portion was only $30K ($10K deductible each year), but every $K counts.

PS. They may even serve haggis in the hospital, and I want to try it.

I may have spoken too soon. On reexamination, they decided to blast away some more with the laser, and worse, when I clarified that I lived in Vancouver, WA, not Vancouver BC, they started talking about charging me. I have Medicare Supplement F High Deductible, so I may be on the hook for some of it. But, honestly, they saved my eye, and I’d have paid whatever it took to achieve that.

 

[ls99]

I am surprised thieves have not walked away with all that copper. It's "only" about $4 per foot.

Heh, heh, I am known in those parts to be unpredictable and quick on the trigger.

 

[NW-Bound]

Is that you, Yosemite Sam?

Hmmm... I did not know Yosemite Sam could dance the fancy Tango.

 

[Marita40]

5 weeks post rotator cuff surgery! Believe me, it is not for the faint hearted. Sling comes off next week, but then many more weeks--months--of p.t. No driving, so I sit in the sun, read books, take walks. It is a mini-retirement for me, albeit one with daily pains.

 

[Walt34]

Getting new roof and gutters next month. Undecided about getting gutter screens. Until now. Fell off the ladder climbing down off the roof after leaf blowing debris out of the gutters. Luckily I only fell 6-7' and landed in a bush. No more roof climbing.

Same here. I am thinking about buying what is called a "platform ladder" that is a lot safer before swearing off ladders for good. They come in a variety of heights and tend to be more costly than the normal kind but once you're on the platform you can't go any higher. Unless you want to earn a Darwin Award.

The image and link is from Lowes but Home Depot and I'd think any large hardware store sells them too:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Werner-8-f...00-lbs-Capacity-Podium-Step-Ladder/1000075179

 

[SumDay]

At the grocery store, the weirdest thing happened. While I was cruising by a crossing aisle and DW went to get some coffee, a large bag of peanut M&M's flew off the shelf by itself and landed in the grocery cart, snuggling in underneath a package of Kleenex!

You say you don't believe that? Yeah, my wife didn't believe it either when we got to the checkout....

This happens to my husband ALL the time. I never seem to have this problem when I go alone.

I spent the day driving around buying up a new walker, a toilet riser, and an under the desk elliptical stepper in preparation for my knee replacement surgery next month. Facebook Marketplace is wonderful for such things. A new restaurant in town had been renting some adjoining space to a medical supply vendor, and he quit paying the rent and skipped town so they're selling everything cheap. My gain.

Then my very own personal United Health Care Registered Nurse called me in advance of the surgery and asked me some of the dumbest questions I've ever heard. After 20 minutes I finally asked if we were almost finished. I did learn to be careful about which DME supplier provides my ice machine so UHC will pay 100% of it, so I guess it was worth it.

 

[O2Bfree]

I spent the day driving around buying up a new walker, a toilet riser, and an under the desk elliptical stepper in preparation for my knee replacement surgery next month. Facebook Marketplace is wonderful for such things. A new restaurant in town had been renting some adjoining space to a medical supply vendor, and he quit paying the rent and skipped town so they're selling everything cheap. My gain.

Thrift stores are another cheap option for such things. I saw a fancy walker at one recently, the type with four wheels, handbrakes, a seat, and basket, even a little brass bell, for $10.

Though I probably would not buy a toilet seat riser at a thrift store...

 

[pb4uski]

A sad day here.

Our 17 yo cat has been in failing health for a while... now 5.5 lbs last time he was weighed a couple weeks ago vs 9 lbs last fall. He has a sizeable tumor, likely cancer and has been lethargic, lost all bladder control, etc. We didn't have him tested further because at 17 yo even if additional testing confirmed it was cancer we were not going to put him through chemo or radiation or whatever that would likely just make him feel worse.

Last night I put him on a pillow on the bed with DW and a couple minutes later he fell off the pillow and off the bed... that has never happened before. Also last night, I was walking in the dark while DW was sleeping and tripped over him... he usually is nimble enought to get out of my way long before I get near him. He is moping around and just lying in corners here and there but he does nibble a bit here and there and at least his head is still up most of the time.

Anyway, we just decided that the time has come and I made an appointment to take him to the vet tomorrow to be put down. I have some pine in the woodshop to make a small casket and he'll be buried next to his buddy Jameson under the flower pot up by the road.

Not looking for sympathy but it is helpful to just type it out.

 

[Souschef]

Thrift stores are another cheap option for such things. I saw a fancy walker at one recently, the type with four wheels, handbrakes, a seat, and basket, even a little brass bell, for $10.

Though I probably would not buy a toilet seat riser at a thrift store...

I volunteer at a local hospice repairing wheelchairs and walkers. and they will loan out all that stuff. Someone there sterilizes it before it goes out.

 

[Walt34]

Went to get a haircut, came home and grilled some boneless skinless chicken breasts that had been marinated in Good Seasons Italian salad dressing, then ate a salad with half of one chicken breast cut up on it. Logged in here and read a while, then took a nap (didn't log out) read a while on here for a while longer, went out and trimmed the bushes out front with the Stihl hedge trimmer, came back to read/post here.

I have no idea how I got anything done when I had to work, I'm busy enough as it is.

 

[O2Bfree]

Dear sweet pets! Our elegy for our cats is this poem by Garrison Keillor:

In Memory of Our Cat, Ralph

When we got home, it was almost dark.
Our neighbor waited on the walk.
“I’m sorry, I have bad news,” he said.
“Your cat, the grey-black one, is dead.
I found him by the garage an hour ago.”
“Thank you,” I said, “for letting us know.”

We dug a hole in the flower bed,
The lilac bushes overhead,
Where this cat loved to lie in spring
And roll in the dirt and eat the green
Delicious first spring buds,
And laid him down and covered him up,
Wrapped in a piece of tablecloth,
Our good old cat laid in the earth.

We quickly turned and went inside
The empty house and sat and cried
Softly in the dark some tears
For that familiar voice, that fur,
That soft weight missing from our laps,
That we had loved too well perhaps
And mourned from weakness of the heart,
A child’s weakness — to regard
An animal whose life is brief
With such affection and such grief.

If such is weakness, so it be.
This modest elegy
Is only meant to note the death
Of one cat so we don’t forget
His face, his name, his gift
Of cat affection while he lived,
The sweet shy nature
Of this graceful creature,
The simple pleasure of himself,
The memory of our old cat Ralph.

A sad day here.

Our 17 yo cat has been in failing health for a while... now 5.5 lbs last time he was weighed a couple weeks ago vs 9 lbs last fall. He has a sizeable tumor, likely cancer and has been lethargic, lost all bladder control, etc. We didn't have him tested further because at 17 yo even if additional testing confirmed it was cancer we were not going to put him through chemo or radiation or whatever that would likely just make him feel worse.

Last night I put him on a pillow on the bed with DW and a couple minutes later he fell off the pillow and off the bed... that has never happened before. Also last night, I was walking in the dark while DW was sleeping and tripped over him... he usually is nimble enought to get out of my way long before I get near him. He is moping around and just lying in corners here and there but he does nibble a bit here and there and at least his head is still up most of the time.

Anyway, we just decided that the time has come and I made an appointment to take him to the vet tomorrow to be put down. I have some pine in the woodshop to make a small casket and he'll be buried next to his buddy Jameson under the flower pot up by the road.

Not looking for sympathy but it is helpful to just type it out.

 

[tb001]

Same here. I am thinking about buying what is called a "platform ladder" that is a lot safer before swearing off ladders for good. They come in a variety of heights and tend to be more costly than the normal kind but once you're on the platform you can't go any higher. Unless you want to earn a Darwin Award.

The image and link is from Lowes but Home Depot and I'd think any large hardware store sells them too:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Werner-8-f...00-lbs-Capacity-Podium-Step-Ladder/1000075179

This one is exactly what we have and I love it. I'm very wobbly with heights and I won't get on any other type of ladder. The only drawback I've experienced is that if you're outdoors it can be difficult to get all 4 legs stable. We just bought a taller size that I think is probably too big for us--in retrospect, the platform puts me up too high to comfortably use.

 

[Nemo2]

Not looking for sympathy but it is helpful to just type it out.

You may not be looking for it, but I'm giving it. When my 12 year old Border Collie died, and a few years later my 20 year old Saudi cat, I bawled my eyes out.

They become part of your life.

 

[Gumby]

I have made that long last trip to the vet for 3 cats now. I have a least two more to go and I don't look forward to it one bit. You have my sincere sympathy, pb4uski.

 

[neihn]

You may not be looking for it, but I'm giving it. When my 12 year old Border Collie died, and a few years later my 20 year old Saudi cat, I bawled my eyes out.

They become part of your life.

+1

 

[neihn]

Fixed my garage opener. It has been acting up for the last several days. It turned out a 9/16 bolt at the handle bar to the door fell off. New bolt, everything is smooth again.

 

[Ronstar]

I saw the video you posted a while back on blowing leaf off the gutters. I still get on the roof now and then, but I tend to clamber on all four now. I am old now and my balance is not as good.

Just counted. Still have 5 ladders. And that's after giving away 1 to my son-in-law.

You should give them all away - or least keep the one you feel the safest on. My balance isn't as good as it once was either. Roofer came over and showed me the proper way to walk a roof. He puts the ladder by a valley, walks up the valley to the peak (ridge) and then walks the ridge. All good except that doesn't work when cleaning the gutters.

How scary! Thank goodness you weren't hurt in your fall. I stopped cleaning gutters in my late 50's after feeling very unstable on a 6' ladder and was not even on the roof.

I'm feeling a little unstable too. My BIL is advising against gutter screens. He said it doesn't make sense to spend the extra $ if I'm selling the house in the next few years. So maybe I'll forego the screens and hire someone to clean them.

Same here. I am thinking about buying what is called a "platform ladder" that is a lot safer before swearing off ladders for good. They come in a variety of heights and tend to be more costly than the normal kind but once you're on the platform you can't go any higher. Unless you want to earn a Darwin Award.

The image and link is from Lowes but Home Depot and I'd think any large hardware store sells them too:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Werner-8-f...00-lbs-Capacity-Podium-Step-Ladder/1000075179

I like that ladder. I don't like mine. Too unstable when trying to climb up and down with only one hand because I have the leaf blower in the other hand. The extendable ladders have a little wobble in them because they aren't solid.

 

[MRG]

+1

We have two older dogs 12, and 13. The older one is really showing his age. I see him getting older by the day. I know one day, too soon, he's going to have a one way trip to the vet's office. They used to be anxious about local trips but I've started taking each of them on breakfast runs to McDonald's and it's improved their anxiety over travel.

We received a charge card bill today with a $25 late fee on it. WTH? According to their records we paid one day late. WTH? DW started a nice conversation with the representative; mentioned how long we'd had the card, 31 years, and her willingness to cancel it today. They wanted to speak with me and got the same willingness to cancel the card. Not surprisingly they backed off the fees.