30 December 2008 and counting.....

It is almost midnight so I am writing to say good night~~~~~~

We had another stimulating day.......it is rest time so we can get better.  Brett is coughing a bit so hopefully he won't get too sick.  He usually doesn't but this is Eureka.  We went to pick up some medicine, get a few staples and a Subway sandwich for supper.  It was a beautiful, sunny but a cold day so we didn't want to be outside too much.  

On the way home from the store I mentioned to Chet that I really wanted to see the kids.  Within a minute I get a call from Jon nudging me about not seeing them....joking, of course.  Jack proceeds to tell me that they had just taken Lilli Mae to the hospital for some stitches.  Conversations are difficult due to hands free California and in the background I hear my darling son talking about all of them betting how many stitches she would get.  Then I hear 50 and I let out a yelp.......she had 6.  She cut her foot on some rolls of barbed wire fencing that was near where we were parked when we were at the ranch.  Of course they had no shoes on and were bouncing on a big ball with a handle and Lilli Mae hit the edge of the fencing.  They said it was pretty deep but missed the tendon, fortunately.  Jack was so cute telling me how brave she was at the hospital and how she watched them stitch her foot.  Erin stayed with her and Jon took Jack home as they were finishing the bandaging job.  I called to see how she and especially Erin was as I was remembering being okay during the visits to the ER and then falling apart when we got home.  I'm sorry they had to deal with that this afternoon.

I am so lost that I didn't even realize that tomorrow night is New Year's Eve.  It was a surprise and I have no idea what we are doing~~~~~~probably celebrating a Newfoundland New Year at 7:30 and calling it quits.............or we could celebrate an Irish one at 4:00 p.m.

Mitch and Andrea are having a great time and he sent a picture of the cookies that Andrea's mom made.  He said he has never seen so many cakes and pastries in his life.

I hope you are going to enjoy your last day of 2008~~~~~~~~~~~~we enjoyed the year!!!!!

 

29 December 2009

I started to write yesterday but was plain wiped out.  My rib cage is so sore and my scapula is in spasms....not fun.  The inhaler is a wonder and I think I am on the mend.  I just rested all day yesterday.....didn't even knit!!!  Chet is still feeling punk, too.

Right now we have Jack and Llli here for a visit.  Poor Moose is on the run as he is the main attraction.  They are sooooooo cute and I love having them here.

Erin came by and it was nice having her here.  We love company in our wheel home even though it is close.  Jon popped in for a minute when he dropped off the kids.

I can't say I have much news for you......we hear from Mitchell often as he emails us and is having a great time in Germany.  Maybe they can come to T'gate on their next trip there.  It would be a good thing if it is in the summer when we are there.......

We keep in close touch with Nina and John, Marilyn and Gordon, Bonnie Rogers, Joyce and Don, Cal and Jose.  Randy is watching the house again this year and it is in safe hands.  We see pictures and wish we were able to experience the raw beauty of Twillingate but Nina is doing a great job of keeping us apprised of the weather.  We have things to do here, though.  First and foremost....Jack and Lilli Mae.  So very beautiful.....do I sound like a grandma?

Chet heard from Don Bradner and he asked to get together but we have to get well first.  He said Joy was going to pass on the "Q" this year.  I have the same sentiments but we will see.  We do need to go and dry out some where.  Visiting Eureka, in the future, may have to take on different times next year as it is too hard to come every year and be under the deluge of rain and getting sick is a drag.  We will check the weather better in the future.

We are going out for a little while as we are stir crazy....

A joyful day to you!!!!!!!!

 

27 December 2008

For 5 more minutes it will be the 27th.  We are in bed and it is raaaaaaiiiiinnnnnngggggg for a change here.  We had a nice morning, woke at 9:45 and then showered and went to the movies.  We saw "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and it was oh, so good.  It was so good and I shed lots of tears.  

Afterwards we went to "Old Town" for a coffee and I had a look in a store.  I have been so tired that I haven't even wanted to go check out the after Santa sales.  We went up to the kids and I literally had Brett take my hand and pull me along as I couldn't breathe.  We all went out for Chinese food tonight and Shirley Temple's and Roy Rogers for the kids.  We had a nice time but I was wiped out.  We had to stop for milk and then I asked Chet to take me to the ER.  I couldn't get enough air and I was getting so exhausted from it.  After a breathing treatment of Albuterol and oxygen and steam I started to open up.  I have had shooting pains in my chest for a couple of days and my lungs hurt.  I just couldn't make it any longer.  They were going to give me another treatment but I had an awful case of the jitters so they opted to send me home with an inhaler and antibiotics.  They did an ekg and took chest x-rays.  The doc said two weeks was too long for me not to be getting better and he had a suspicion regarding pneumonia.  I only have to wait for 3 more hours to use the inhaler.  I am tightening up already.  Brett and Chet were super and we got on our way home at 10:00 p.m.  It was hard to move....guess oxygen deprivation does that....poor Mitchell has suffered from asthma all of his life and he has to feel like that a lot.  It is an awful suffocating feeling.  I should have gone 3 days ago but thought it would go away.

I am in my bed and ready to go to sleep as I am really tired.  

Marilyn called today but we were in the movies so I will call her tomorrow.  Nina sent some amazing pictures of ice on the rocks and in the water in T'gate.  We SKYPED Carl earlier and he showed us all of the snow in his back yard in Portland.  It is a cold winter everywhere.  We heard from Mitchell and they had a great flight to Germany.  Thanks for your well wishes...I told him I asked and he giggled and thanked me.

Hope you had a nice day...................nighty!

 

25 December 2008

Merry Christmas..................

Hello all, another Santa day gone by.  It was a very low key day for us, today.  We woke around 9:45 and had a quiet morning and then all three of us had to shower, which is just a little more time consuming than in a regular house.  All in all, it isn't bad, we just have to make sure we have enough hot water and not to fill the holding tank.  We dressed and then went over to Jon and Erin's around 1:30 to give the kids their presents and share our holiday with them.  We were like ships passing in the night with Jon as he was leaving to go where we just came from.........

The night before last, Jon forwarded a weather warning to us and I just happened to look at my computer before going to sleep.  It was a warning for enormous top breaking 30 Ft. swells and a 7.4 tide and possible flooding in King Salmon.  Well, that is exactly where we were in our one coach, gated, RV park; on the canal and 1/2 block from the beach in the bay that is directly across from the mouth of one of two of the most dangerous inlets on the West coast. Sooooooo my eyes were wide open and everyone was fast asleep.  I had visions of floating down the canal..I do get a bit dramatic and Chet told me I am like having two people instead of one person.  He also told me he loved me exactly the way I am, so there.............   

Yesterday morning we packed up our wheel home and moved up to the Lilli J Ranch and will stay for one more night before heading back to King Salmon.  It is 1/2 hour from here to the house and 15 minutes farther than King Salmon.  It is more convenient time wise there but if he had the electric, water and sewage here we would stay at the ranch as it is just beautiful here with Sparky and Gladiola goats!!!!!  

The roar of the surf was so loud when we returned home tonight.  It was pretty wild.  This morning we heard the biggest, longest thunder roll across us that I have ever heard.  It has hailed and rained pretty much all day.  We went to the jetty around 5:00 p.m. to watch the waves.  It was beautiful and large and high tide wasn't even for 4 more hours.  I wish we could have stayed.  I said wished, 'cause if we wanted we could have trekked to the South jetty from the ranch tonight but we were all warm and snuggly in here.  

We gave Brett two games called 'Scene It' about the series Friends and Seinfeld as he has the series on dvd.  He can sit and answer the questions about the series.  We played the board game and then Chet went to bed and I played with him once more.  It is fun as I love both of those series.  He also got a new watch and a magnetic Elvis for his refrigerator from my brother and wife.  It is so cute I might snake it.............

Jack didn't sleep a wink last night and it was hard for Santa to do his thing......mostly kissing mommy under the tree.  He came downstairs when Erin was filling the stockings and they told him that Santa left and had to come back to finish.  Jack told them there were so many presents under the tree that Santa didn't have to come back so the stockings never got completely filled.  It was so cute to hear the excitement in his voice when I called this morning as he told me about all of the things they got.  It was sweet to spend the time this afternoon having more christmas with them as they had a chance to calm down a bit.

Christmas Eve we had a deeelicious prime rib dinner with all the trimmings and two of Erin's sisters and the cousins were there.  We didn't get over as early as we wanted to because we had to change locations.  It's neat to be able to drive ones home anywhere it needs to be.  Sometimes it is difficult to impart that this is our home and not just a place to stay.  We love our lifestyle.  We are in close contact with our T'gate friends and that is nice.  We do miss our stick house but we will return soon.

Mitchell and Andrea are off to Germany tomorrow night.  Maybe we will go the next time they go.  Everybody think good thoughts for Mitchell as he is freaked about flying even though he has been many places in the world I will probably never see from when he modeled.  I hope they have a wonderful time.

We hope your holidays are grand and we miss you...........   

 

23 December 2008

I sometimes, probably too often wonder what is it all about.  I guess if I could answer that question I would earn a fortune and could share it all with you as it would be a BIG fortune.

It is 7:35 and way too early for me to be up, but I am, so I thought I would take the opportunity to say hello.  There is nothing like a little aggravation to rob one of sleep.  I am so exasperated that I choose not to spew it all over you.......so how do I compensate?  It follows............

Ablution was the word of the day, yesterday.  Taking care of the things one needs to do in order to get prepared.  I have to take care of my ablutions before I can leave, fully fluffed and folded, in the very mid morning; mid morning being about 2 minutes before 12:00 noon.  Soon I shall go through the ablution of getting the decaf made; that being, waking Chet so he can make it.

The grandchildren are just a little excited about Santa Claus coming.  They are beside themselves.  It is so cute to listen to Jack whittle away the days until the wondrous night arrives.  "How many days is it now, grandma?"  I count the days on my fingers and he tells me that today doesn't count and the night he comes doesn't count so, let's see, if today, Monday doesn't count and Wednesday doesn't count then he has it worked out that it is only 1 day until THE day.  It is really cute how when we were young, we were able to wish away the days and years, always wanting to do something in the future.  I remember doing exactly the same thing and now all I want is some way to slow time down.....man made time.

Brett is supposed to be here today but at this point I have to put that into God's hands as I have absolutely no control over the LALA Land traffic on the roads and in the airport, or even if the plane will take off or not.  Needing to board at 8:55 a.m. and not being picked up until between 7:30 or 8:00 just sends shudders up and down my spine.........Hey, I tried.

It is amazing as it is not raining at this particular moment.  We seem to go from hail to rain to hail to more rain and then a bit of sun just to have it start all over again.  I shouldn't complain as Carl, Jeff, and my friend Caroline have ben pretty much housebound for the past 5 days in Portland and the end is no where in sight.  Carl said this will be his first white christmas in his life.......he sent a little video yesterday showing his house and cars and the several inches of ice they shoveled off the front walk that is under the snow.  It sounds like fun to me.  Nina wrote from Newfoundland, yesterday, and said they were expecting 100 km/h wind with 190 km/h gusts in the home wrecker area.  You can figure out the math....I know it is a BIG wind and we are in the same area!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I hope I hear from her today and that they didn't blow away..........

TA DA.....announcement, Brett is at the gate in the airport and the plane is supposed to leave on time.  According to the news that, in itself, is a miracle as they were reporting for the past two days about the lines of traffic just to get into the airport and then only to have to get in a huge line to go through security.  Brett breezed through....does that tell you anything about the route to Eureka?????????  Maybe I should go back to bed!

I have to get back to my knitting as I am trying to get Jack's blanket finished before we we have to leave our little RV park for one.  Someone parked in front of the gate last night, which makes it a bit difficult to maneuver getting the car inside of it.  I guess we will have to get a No Parking sign to put up.

We went to Costco to do a little shopping for the kids yesterday as we were planning to get them 2 goats but that fell through so.............  After shopping Chet went to the bathroom and I was at the soda fountain filling our cups.  I kept looking for him and thought maybe he fell in.  Finally, I see him walking from the exit area of the store towards me and I started waving my arms so he could find me because I am so inconspicuous anyway.  The problem being..........I didn't have on black.  I wore a beige sweatshirt and brown pants and I disappeared as I very infrequently deviate from my black clothes.  Erin met us there and she didn't recognize me at first, either.  I guess I'd better get with the program and not deviate too often.......I may get lost...........

I just SKYPEd Nina and the house is still attached to the ground but she showed me the waves and snow out the new back doors and windows.  They are the test case as we want to do that to the fish market in the summer after their selling season is over.  That would be wild as Nina and John are about as far back from the water as we are but on the other side of the street; waterside.  We would be right on the edge of the water in the fish market and it would be quite a sight.  It sounds exciting.  

Have a wonderful day!

 

 

18 December 2008

Hi, it is 7:56 a.m. and I'm not sure why I am up so early other than we are sick and it somehow feels better to be in a sitting position.  I figured before I hit the knitting needles I would jot off a muze.

There are a lot of sea gulls here and they are usually perched on the roofline of the 2 houses east of us.  It sounds like they are all on top of the motor home or we are having some strange sounding rain as there is an awful lot of noise above my head and I can't see any drops coming down.  We have lots of them in T'gate but for some reason they stay on the other side of the street which I think is a great idea.

We didn't do much yesterday as we needed a down day to hopefully help us fight the crud.  We did go to the bank and post office as that was a must, but back home after that.

The rain is back, not the sea gulls but the real rain and it is really coming down.  We were thankful for the 2 days of sunshine.  I think people have webbed feet who live here....

Twilly got out last night just before we went to bed and it took a while for Chet to get him in.  That cat is as thick headed and stubborn as a rock.  He is a beauty tho.  I'm sitting on the couch with Freddie, Moose and Spotty practically on top of me.  They're all a kick to have.  Moose is growing up too fast.  Tomorrow he is going to the vet to get "clipped" and I feel like a rat.  I don't like leaving my kitties at the vet.  After we drop him off at the ungodly hour of 8:30 we are going to Jack's school to see his Christmas performance.  That will be fun to see.

I never mentioned Lilli Mae's birthday party on Sunday past.  It was really sweet and pretty darn low key.  I guess that is the difference between boys and girls.  They all played quietly and then we had cake and it was funny as each one wanted a very specific part of the birthday cake which was chocolate with cream cheese center and chocolate icing.  She picked out a christmas cake and it was really cute with a big tree and a bear on it.  She is so adorable and has quite the mind of her own.  When she was opening the presents, it was like any other present opening experience for any child.  Let's see what is in the next bag!  She got a Hannah Montana cap and a little thing that plays her music that looks like a keyboard.  She had it hooked to her jeans later on that evening and she looked like she had gone from 5 to about 9 in a matter of hours.  I asked her if she knew who Hannah Montana was and she said no but she sure could cut the moves as she was dancing to the music.

When she came to the big plastic bag that had her blanket that I made her in it, she slid it across the room to me.  She looked up to me and said, "I know you knit this for me, Grandma", and I melted into a pool of mush.   She asked me to help open it and I did and it was so sweet to see her appreciation.  It is so heavy that she said she couldn't even drag it.  That is exactly why I have to stop typing now and get back to work on Jack's blanket..................

Check her out  on her blanket on the home page of the web page.

 

16 December 2008

Let me see......we are here 4 days and already have the HUMBOLT CRUD.  I don't know if it is all of the moisture, 38 inches of rain a year, mold, or what.  Today was a beautiful day, about 44 degrees and clear and sunny.  It was cookie baking day with the kiddies after a great, long walk at the Lilli J Ranch with Jon, Erin and Lil Lil, Chet, me and Sparky and Gladiola-the goats.

We went back to the house and we made a right fine mess in the kitchen with cookie dough, cookie cutters, flour and decorating icing.  It was fun and Chet had to take me outside to dust the flour off of one of my many black outfits.

We had a deeeelicious beef stew dinner and then we took our tired bodies back to our wheel home.  We did some cleaning today and yesterday.  It is nice to have my washing machine working again.  It is my favorite toy in the motor home and when we have water, sewer, and electricity I can use it.

Not much else to report......just want to keep you up to date!  

 

14 December 2008

This is a first.  I’m having my Chet type this for me, as I am furiously knitting.  If I typed it, it would take me at least an hour-sort of hard to believe but it’s true.  We spent twelve hours on the road Friday going from Sequoia National Park to Eureka, CA and Jon’s ranch.  We heard there was a pretty big storm coming and we didn’t want to hit any snow.  He drove 589 miles and I drove 40!!  That’s the second time I’ve driven the beast in a year, and I can’t say I enjoyed it any more than I did the last time.  There were cars and trucks on the road, and that does not fit in my list of requirements to drive.  I seem to get instantly sleepy and yawn the whole way, but I did pull into the RV fuel island all by myself-and no scratches.  Ahh yes, I am a lucky woman……..   My husband loves to drive and LOVE to knit.

We pulled onto the ranch and right behind us came Jon.  Oh my Jon, it felt sooooo good to hug him.  Nine months is a looooong time.  We chatted for a while as it hailed, he left and we got to bed around one a.m. on the night of the fullest moon in many years.  We could see the waves crashing in the distance as they were ginormous.  We stayed next to the barn, up on the bluff and the wind was howling. 

The second thing on our agenda for the morning was to go to the jetty and watch the waves which were absolutely HUGE!!  First of course, was to have a visit from Jack and Lilli Mae and to walk around the property.  The walk took place only after many, many five minute sessions of who got to hold Moose.  Chet had to do a little nail trimming on the cats to protect the little ones.  It always amazes us how a kitten will let a small child carry them and carry them.  If it was an adult, the kitten would be out of there in a flash.  Twilly was like that too.  The Newfie cats are as sweet and docile as the people we’ve met in Newfoundland.

It seems we ran in circles a lot yesterday, trying to get settled in.  We’re staying in a little area south of downtown called King Salmon, which you can Google.  Jon has a rental house here and made it into an RV park for one-US!!  We face a little canal that leads out into the bay.  Ohhhh for that living near the water.  It’s seems to be our calling.

Seeing the Pacific and all of its fury certainly gets the adrenalin going.  We’re talking about thirty foot swells passing right by us and breaking right in front of us as we stood a safe distance from the jetty.  We like to tell ourselves it was safe, but my anxiety level was pretty high.  There’s something about that excitement that draws us both to the water.

Excuse me, I was told I had to hurry up or I’d have to type this myself… :)  I was trying to make some kind of comparison between the Pacific here and the Atlantic by Twillingate.  I haven’t done a very good job of it so far.  To us the Atlantic looks calmer and certainly much clearer, at least where it hits the shore.  My heart always goes back to the Atlantic because that was the ocean I grew up on and in while living in Miami, FL.  It was also the ocean I almost drowned in as a child.

Chet says this is not a Dictaphone, so I have to wrap it up!!  Just wanted to say hi and let you know what we are doing.  It’s raining again and there isn’t a clear day in the forecast as far out as we can see, but this is Eureka in winter.  We have Lilli Mae’s birthday party today.  By the way, I almost forgot.  We went to the annual truck parade last night, and I must say it was pretty darn elaborate and very, very cute.  The kids were at the Nutcracker and didn’t get out in time to meet us.  Maybe you can Google ‘Eureka CA Truck Parade’, I don’t know.

Hugs to you all.  My fingers will be back in the next Muze.  I just got three and a half rows knit thanks to my hubby and no it’s not a scarf!! :)

 

11 December 2008

It is 7:52 p.m. and we are at Sequoia National Park.  We had the entire campground to ourselves last night and it was a little eerie but great.  Trust me, it was such a relief not to be under any pressure what so ever.  Leaving LALA land is such a relief.  I could feel the tension and icks just leave my body.  We actually went to bed at 8:40 last night and slept for 12 hours.  It was amazingly wonderful.  

Today we went for a drive and saw the largest tree in the world.  The General Sherman.  It has died at the top but still gets fatter every day.  The Sequoias are really amazing to look at.  We took several little walks and stopped at the lodge for lunch.  After that we went to Crescent Meadow and took a hike and then to Moro Rock.  There was a 1/4 mile stairway to the top of it.  We walked about 1/3 of the way up and the view was spectacular.  I am not a lover of heights and let me tell you....my legs were hurting and not from the stairs; it is the sensation I get when I am in high places.  One couple, much younger came down from the top and the girl was leaning against the rock.  She said she did not like the hike up to the top as she doesn't like high places either.  Then we met another couple, about our ages and he actually had to sit down before he even got to where we were.  When they got up to us he sat down again and she went on.  She didn't go to the top as she said it got so skinny that she just couldn't do it.  She was a skinny person so it wasn't that she wouldn't fit.

We left and went from almost 7,000 feet to 2,000 feet where we are camped.  It is hard to hike at 6,000 feet when one is not acclimated.  We're tired but are not going to bed so early tonight.  We have company in the campground tonight and where are they parked??????? right smack across from us.  It's pretty funny as they had the whole place to choose from.

On the way down we saw several deer, one with a full set of antlers.  It is obvious they have very little fear or people.  We saw a coyote and thought it was eating road kill but all it wanted was a hand out.  We slowed down and it came right over to the car.  We moved slowly forward and it followed us.  We told him sorry and went on.  I was knitting; imagine that, and Chet saw a bear sooooooo I decided to pay more attention.  A momma bear and her cub crossed the street in front of us and of course I couldn't get the camera on fast enough to get pictures.  Probably due to the fact that I shut it off instead of on.  Oh well, I have my memories.  They went over the side of the road into a tree and sat there for a minute and shoved on.

It was a beautiful ride and talk about switchbacks.  They were one after another and it was wild coming down the mountain and seeing them below us.

All is well with us and we are really looking forward to seeing Lilli Mae and Jack, Erin and Jon and their new goats, Sparky and Gladiola.

Have great moments until I hit the computer again...............  

 

9 December 2008

Hello everybody!!!!! I received an email from my friend Carl and he told me I hadn't written a muze since 3 December....that's hard to believe.  I didn't even dedicate a page to my son Mitchell and to my grand daughter, Lilli Mae, yesterday for their Birthdays so here goes.......

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MITCHELL AND TO LILLI MAE......HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!!!!

What have we been doing?????????  

We arrived at Mitchell's house on the afternoon of the 3rd after a lot of dollars being spent at Freightliner.  We still have a few issues plus we have to buy tires this trip.  UUUUGH!

We parked in front of the house I used to own, the one I raised my sons in.  It is for rent so we had run of the place.  I say that as if alI was really okay.  We did get to see Brett and Mitch on alternate days.  We got to see a couple of movies; one of them being fantastic.  Milk, was soooooo great.  Sean Penn really shone as an actor as he depicted the first openly gay man elected to office in San Francisco in the 70's.  He was amazing.  I got to go to American Girl TWICE!!!!!!!  

It is the next day now.....

I fell sound asleep and woke only to get fuel and go to bed.  The way I always seem to leave LALA land is by sleeping......it is the separation from Brett and Mitchell but this time it is just plain retreat from the energy that circulates throughout the area.  It starts as one first enters from Arizona and descends down the pass under the blanket of smog.  It starts with the energy emanating from Palm Springs and permeates ones being wherever you go in the Southern California.  I will only address Southern California at the moment as that is where we were.  The energy is frenetic, aggressive, not particularly friendly and just plain an entity unto itself.  There are more face, boob, hair, lip, on and on jobs walking the streets.  Chet has coined the phrase of a whole culture of "lizard faces".  The "elderly" whose faces are so tight that a smile is difficult. The horns blaring everywhere as each person deserves to be exactly where they want to be at any given moment.  It is tiring and I feel sooooooooo fortunate that I am not part of the whole "scene" anymore and wouldn't go there but for two of my sons and our yearly doctor visits. Ick, ick, ick............

We were parked in front of my son Mitchell's house in Pacific Palisades.  I owned the house from 4/68 to 4/98 and it has gone from one brother to another.  Jon had the good sense to take hs sweet family away so they may get some kind of upbringing besides the one they would have had had they stayed.  Erin had to fill out applications for pre schools while the children were infants.............I will say no more.

We were legally parked in front of Mitchell's but still got 2 visits from the police.  We were legally parked but the neighbors had to keep calling the police with complaints from "numerous people" living in the motorhome to it not being there when the officers came out.  AAARRRGH  We only moved it once to comply to the parking laws and that was to drive it a couple of miles and then back.  The "trick" that many who live in their motorhomes have developed is to move from one side of the street to the other every 3 days.  One of the officers even asked me if the street was posted "no phisarking" on the other side.  WC....I said no it wasn't.  Much later I figured out what he was ostensibly telling me....just move across the street.....DUH!  We didn't want park in front of anyone else's place.  The parking people didn't even come to mark our tires as the neighbors knew we weren't parked illegally.  Blah Blah Blah....we are gone and free from the constraints of the "better than thou" neighborhood I lived in for 30 years.  It is nice being at the beach but OMG, what a price to pay...............

I will sign off now as my blood pressure is rising and we are on our way to Sequoia National Park so Chet can see the trees, big enough to drive a car through.  I will tell you about it later as the fog has lifted enough to drive now.  

Breathe in, breathe out and embrace the day........we are OUT of LA.................

 

3 December 2008

The day we spent in the Lower Ninth Ward and were so devastated by what we saw, I called my eye doctor to find out when I would be eligible for my glasses.  They checked and told me no eligibility at all.  They told me my insurance had been cancelled as of the end of September.  I told them I would check into it and get back to them.  I had nothing to worry about as I was told I would be covered until the beginning of December.  I wrote of our experience in New Orleans and stated there were a few things going on.  I couldn't even begin to share this at that time due to my terror.

Have you ever had the experience of being instantly stripped naked.  As if a sense of security that you thought you had was just stripped away from you, taken away from you, your skin being peeled off; hanging from a hook like an animal being aged.  At least they were slaughtered first.  Can you think of what falling into a void with absolutely no protection, in the raw state of nakedness, without any skin to protect you feels like?

Friday 21 November 2008, that happened to me by simply making a telephone call to find out when I was eligible to see my doctor for an exam.  The answer of ineligible, not covered, stripped naked, security all gone, finding out what you were told was not at all true: trusting someone's word and then finding out it wasn't true and you weren't even told that they weren't going to follow through with what they said.  To take the very corner of a baby's blanket that it is tightly wrapped in and pulling so hard that your hand goes straight up and then backwards over you head.  The warm, SAFE, sleeping baby is rolled over and over and thrust into the air; arms and legs flailing, eyes wide with fright.

I am that person; small, terrified, naked, shocked, appalled, horrified, by the action of a company that told me I was were safe until December.  What should that matter to me?  Why should I feel any more special than anyone in this world that is having their security stripped from them in a split second?  I should because I was told my health insurance would be in effect until an appeal hearing in on the first Monday in December.  I trusted, I trusted .  I didn't even receive a specific letter stating my situation.  All of a sudden I was nonexistent, a page to be thrust aside because I turned 65; the nerve of me.....

I turned 65 before my husband so I am not eligible for Social Security until he is or is that Social INsecrutiy OR Medicare.  Please give me SOME rational explanation for that....stop existing until he is of age.  I think it fair that people be warned of this.....BE VERY CAREFUL IF YOU MARRY SOMEONE YOUNGER...YOU WIL BE PENALIZED IN AMERICA.  CAN YOU NOT SAFELY BE A STAY AT HOME MOTHER...YOU GET NO CREDIT; NONE, ZERO.  It is evidently considered a non job; better to work to be valid...better to send your children to daycare.

I worked hard, I tore my insides out raising 3 children, one of whom is a special needs person, but that is NOT considered work in the eyes of our society.  Trust me, it would have been easier if I did have a job as perhaps for a short, few hours of the day, I would be distracted from something that NEVER sleeps, not for one second.  Not for a second is it off my mind.

In our society we aren't given any work credit for the biggest job there is, raising ones children.  In the eyes of our society it doesn't count, you get NO credit, Social Security, zero if you were a stay at home mother and by the off chance married to a man who is younger than you.  The hammer has dropped; doomed......INELIGIBLE!

What do I do?  Where do I turn?  I have just become part of the 50 million+ Americans who have no health insurance.  America, God Bless America.."I will take care of your sick and your poor".  Give me a break.  Go visit the devastation of hurricane Katrina in Mississippi and Louisiana.  Go see WHO gets to rebuild and who doesn't.  Shame on America.  What did the immigrants read as they sailed into the harbor past the Statue of Liberty?  "You become void at a prescribed time of your life; an instant, with no help!"  I don't think that is what it says.

I WAS NOT TOLD, I WAS NOT FAIRLY TOLD THAT I HAD BEEN TERMINATED; I WAS LED TO BELIEVE I WAS SAFE UNTIL THE APPEALS COMMITTEE MEETING.  I was not notified that the Appeals Subcommittee didn't even meet as they hadn't received any information about my ineligibility for Social Security.  All they had to do was ask me.  I would have provided the information.  All they had to do was simply ASK.

"AND/OR"; am I safe?  

I am raw and terrified.

The appeal was granted yesterday and I have my insurance.  I wrote the following letter to the Board of Trustees of the Health and Welfare committee.  Chet was a trustee on that board for 7 or 8 years.

Dear Trustees,

First I want to thank you so very much for what you have done for me.  I have been taught never to pray for things for myself, but only to pray for others.  I kept saying, "God, please help me".  During these past several weeks, I have lived in some of the most horrible terror that I have ever experienced.  Chet and I were led to believe that my insurance would be effective until the appeal was heard.  I called to make an eye doctor's appointment and was told that insurance was not in effect.  I have never felt so naked and unprotected in my life.  That nakedness permeated every ounce of every day and into everything that I did.  The fear of being so unprotected didn't leave me for one single minute.  The fear of getting hurt, needing to go to the hospital, and starting to cut my prescription medication in half was a haunting feeling.

Chet kept trying to reassure me as he explained the position that the Trustees take to protect the members and their families.  I know he was trying to ease my fear, but there was still the possibility of not being reinstated.  He had the faith in you and truly believed that the good of the members was always first and foremost in your hearts.  It finally dawned on me yesterday, as I was asking God to help me, that I was asking for the wrong thing.  I prayed that Chet not be let down, as I could not take looking into his eyes if he had to tell me that the appeal was turned down.  I couldn't have handled his pain.  It would have gone against everything that Chet is; the most honorable person I have met.  I can only think that the board he served on was made up of people with the same mores as my husband.

I must share with you that I sobbed for hours last night.  And my eyes are getting wet today.  I can't tell you how afraid I was.

I am humbled.

Gaye Flyer

      

Now that I have shared this with you, I am going to share this with my Congressman, Senator, and our President-elect.

 

 

2 December 2008

Wow, soon to change to 2009.....it's always hard to remember to put the right year on things for a while when the year changes.  Remember all of the fuss about the change to Y2K.  I remember the easy transition as we watched on tv as the change happened around the world.

It's 7:44 a.m. and we are in the waiting room at Freightliner waiting for them to hopefully find out what is wrong with the electrical system and to check our airbags.  One dealer for the chassis, one for the coach, one for the engine.  Here it is a flat rate of $i20.00; 1 minute or 15 minutes up to an hour......ouch!!!!!  We got here yesterday around 6:00 p.m. and waited until they told us they couldn't look at it until today.  We had to park on the street outside of the fence.  I laughed and said that is a really strange to conduct our lives, as we do, parked almost anywhere.  We are inside the walls of the MH and the world keeps changing around us as we go from place to place.  It is a funny feeling.

I watched the CNN "Heroes of the Year" show on Thanksgiving night.  It was very touching and poignant as one woman was a lady who has helping to start to rebuild St. Bernard Parish in New Orleans. She had the help of thousands of volunteers.  It struck me as we were there and are so profoundly moved by what we saw.  Each of the 10 received $25,000 to further help them and one would receive $100,000 at the end of the show.  It was the lady who was helping in New Orleans that won the big prize.  We are going to see if we feel we can volunteer some time on our trek back to NL.  

We are listening to the tv in the customer lounge right now and Brad Pitt was being interviewed on the Today Show about his rebuilding program in the Lower Ninth Ward.  We were seeing on tv the houses we saw with our own eyes.  So few, but a start.

We came over the pass from Arizona into California and saw the cloud of smog spread as far as we could see as we descended under it.  Oh for the clear air in Twillingate; the peace, quiet and beauty.

It will be so sweet to see my family today........I can feel my hugs already!!!!

I'll sign off as I have a blanket to try and make for Jack......time is of the essence!

 

30 November 2008

Tomorrow, the first of December; where does it go.  At my age it seems like I am standing still, blinking, and days have passed by.  Time, what does it mean......something that man put some structure into.  It could just be one large second......that is what it feels like.

We area at a rest stop east of Tucson, Arizona and we just took a 20 minute walk around the area.  We can both tell we are in some altitude; 4,490 feet to be exact.  It is better than being in attitude!  Our hearts are a-thumping as we haven't been in altitude since last winter.....funny, it seems like summer right now........

It is gorgeous outside and the temp is perfect; clear, cool, and brilliantly sunny.  The rock formations are beautiful.  We found several that looked like big animals; a whale, turtle and a lizard.

Chet, who is a real trooper,(and fears for our lives) has driven the whole trip as the electrical system is malfunctioning somehow and the batteries won't stay charged.  They are fine so it is something we have to have looked at by Freightliner.  Chet is looking for someplace we might stop to have it looked at.  He has to keep his eye on the battery light and then turn on the generator or hit the booster switch.  Seeing that my fingers are glued to the steering wheel when I drive and my eyes won't leave the road I probably wouldn't do so well....the coach would roll to a stop in no time fast!!!!

We finally left Texas last night and stayed in a really nice rest area in New Mexico.  There was a marathon of the tv show Dexter on so we watched 3 1/2 episodes.  We are caught up as it is on at the same time as a different show that I like.  We can watch them both now as we have east and west coast feed on our tv.  I don't know if you watch it but I really got tired of his sister's character.......she is a real garbage mouth and it gets a bit tiresome.......that is from someone who never swears..........ha ha............

We have to add a kitty photo section to our web page.  They get into some of the most bizarre sleeping situations.  We have been taking a lot of cute photos of them.

We are going to get on our way so happy day to you; or second................