24/7 Chat About Anything

[travelaround]

Oh, that sounds like fun, Maki. Wish I could have annual prescriptions. I've heard the pharmacy here in town buys Rx drugs in Mexico then resells them to us at US prices. Must be less expensive to buy them there than to get them at US wholesale costs. I hope the border stays calm and happy and that I'll someday be able to take that trip down there.

Rain all day... no let up. Heavy rain. I wanted to make my end-of-month book video today but the rain is too noisy on my trailer roof. My sister called me during a rainstorm not too long ago and asked what was the tapping and was I playing a game online! LOL.. no, it was just the rain. I'm used to it now but I don't want that sound on my video. The propane may run out but I'm not going out today. If I have to, I'll use the electric heater later on. The propane furnace is more effective.

 

[crofter]

....They do seerm to target women a lot...

Most people will go with a friend or in a group, check in travel plans with a friend in case you do not come back. 

Nice that you had a good experience. 
-crofter

 

[maki2]

I went to Los Algodones wirh a friend. Of course I let others know I was going. My phone was also on as my phone plan includes roaming.and I have a friend and family with tracking permission for it.

When I say women are targeted by street vendors in Algodones that is because most of the vendors are selling earings or small necklace pendants as the are small, lightweight and easy to secure to a small display backer board. The otner thing that was being agressively marketed that way were face mask but that was of course a unisex sales opportunity. I commented to my male friend I was with that he was likely experiencing more vendor approaches because of being with a woman. The other large amount of vendors are ones who hand out cards for dentist or pharmacies.

I feel perfectly safe going into Los Algodones on my own for a dental appointment. It is not a dangerous neighborhood. Even in the US I don't carry a purse. Ii use a travelrs money belt with zippered pockets for my cash, cards and ID. I am not a helpless female type, never have been, never will be.

 

[nature lover]

Hello fellow nomads. My mind is so screwed up I can’t tell which way to go. When I was transferred from the hospital to the rehab “they” said 20 days maximum on the Medicare coverage and I had to be out. So as I’m preparing all sorts of different things to leave tomorrow morning. I got my friend who owns the place I camp to take a day off of work to bring my van to me. I got the surgeon to give me a prescription for a knee walker so I have something to move around on. And then I spent several hours on the phone trying to find that knee walker from a vendor that would except the Medicare payment. I got the infectious disease doctor to give me an oral anabiotic prescription so that they can take the pick line out and not give me anabiotic by IV. I spent hours calling around to different campgrounds seeing where I could get in where it was level and had handicap facilities of some kind. I had the laundry folks digging Through all the laundry of 175 people to find all my clothes that had my name on even if they weren’t clean yet so I could take them with me. I spent two hours packing everything to move into the van. The nurse was going through my medications and packing up what she could send with me and canceling the orders with the pharmacy to continue. And there’s at least a 1/2 dozen other things I’ve been working on end preparing and worrying about. So at 3 o’clock this afternoon “they” say hey there’s this program that Medicare has since your doctor still thinks you need to be here you can extend the stay for a whole month. OK so now all those things that we’re doing aren’t necessary and many things need to be undone.

So while I am very thankful that I will have more time in rehab (at least two weeks from now to the next surgeons appointment) I wish I had known before I had to go to all the worrying and messing around to make arrangements that weren’t necessary. Murphy’s Law right?

Now if I could just figure out who “they” are then maybe I can settle things a little better. I don’t even recognize half the staff here because they all have at least two masks on their face, their heads covered with plastic bonnets and are all wearing the same type and color protective gown. “Everybody looks alike”. They have a name tags on inside their gown so I can’t even read who is an RN, a cleaning lady, a PT, and OT, an office worker, a laundry person or.... I guess this all sounds stupid to you all but it sure has me running around chasing my tail. But thank God I’m getting the care I need and I’m not gonna get kicked out for a while. Until “they” Change their mind again. I’d like to say something for nursing and cleaning and others here. I found a Lotta good people who care About their work and their patients.

 

[jacqueg]

I for one am very relieved to hear that you will get another few weeks of care. Yes, it would have been much better if you'd known this even yesterday. there's a reason people hate bureaucracy, but there doesn't seem to be much we can do about it.

You are entitled to grumble about it, just don't let it get in the way of the main point - you will have that much more time to heal and this is a GOOD thing.

 

[bullfrog]

Told ya! Lol!!! Glad they figured out a way! They lost me once over a weekend once just to give me some more time to heal. Looks like you have made some friends, thank them for us.

 

[Sofisintown]

I'm glad you are getting some extra time and care nature lover.
I hope you will be well enough soon, to go out chasing Florida girls, other than the nurses!

 

[maki2]

Nature Lover it was just all staged, it was really part of your rehabilitation plan.

 

[travelaround]

Wonderful, two more weeks of being waited on hand and foot, I hope.That's good news.

I spent the afternoon doing laundry and shopping. It was a lovely sunny day. Now it is raining again. While I was shopping a neighbor came in and shared that she's planning to rebuild with an A-Frame kit. That got me thinking about doing the same and she showed me where she found it online and all that and how much it would cost for a nice two-bedroom A-Frame - though one of the bedrooms is a loft with a ladder, which isn't something I'm going to want to use when I'm 80, I suppose. I prefer one-story spaces at this point in my life.

 

[jacqueg]

there are lots of small kit homes out there. Most of them are not A-frames. Were I in your position, I'd be looking at SIP kit homes.

(SIP - Structural Insulated Panels)

 

[bullfrog]

First place to visit is the county zoning office to see what the requirements are for a legal structure and what types of utilities or improvements are required for you to rebuild on your property. Get a copy of them and make sure what you want to build will meet their standards. Then you might want to check what the the taxes will be by visiting the tax accessor’s office. Don’t assume anything and if you can get the information in written form.

 

[maki2]

Travelaround you have a lot of hours of research to do on the advantages and disadvantages of different types of housing.

But of course you are going to very much limitected by your budget if there is a match to the dollars for what used to be there. Dont go falling into any dream houses until you can nail down what funds you have to spend on a new dwelling.

 

[travelaround]

Thanks for the great advice, friends! I will definitely do that. I've heard someone else mention the SIP homes... and they may be more cost effective. I love insulation because this place is too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer, guaranteed. I have some money to rebuild, but might have to wait until the lawsuit is settled and that may be years from now. In the meantime I can keep this trailer for as long as I need it.

 

[bullfrog]

Just for fun take a look at the new Boxable house. Comes complete with everything. Can be set up in as little as 2 hours and taken down as well. Uses external hook ups so only needs a concrete pad.

 

[travelaround]

I love that Boxable house! 49K . . . not sure I like that, but it seems like the minimum for any kind of home I look at.

 

[bullfrog]

When you consider all the appliances and fixtures are included and I believe it even uses a mini split I think you will be hard pressed to find new built housing cheaper although since it is movable I believe you may in the future see many used ones for sale if say we have a large surplus after a natural disaster. If you like thick foam insulation that looks like an old Spanish adobe you could heat the complete house with your 1500 watt ceramic heater check out Green Rino building systems in Scottsdale Arizona. They may come out with a kit in the future for small homes. Much less work than an earthship but almost as well insulated.

 

[Random Painted Highway]

Just for fun take a look at the new Boxable house. Comes complete with everything. Can be set up in as little as 2 hours and taken down as well. Uses external hook ups so only needs a concrete pad.

Wow! That is incredible! I didnt know about them.

 

[maki2]

It will be several years before you could get ahold of one. They said the have several billion dollars of pre orders. So far they have only produced a prototype. They have a empty building identified to put a factory in. But no equipment and of course no workers.

Good idea just to hang onto that free trailer and try to get the property cleaned, graded and get the utilities re.established on it. Then you can move out. Of the RV park.

 

[GypsyJan]

travelaround:

Instead of a loft you climb up to, you could install storage bins that lower to the ground floor for access and return to the loft space when not accessed.

 

[nature lover]

I don’t nomad friends. I’m still here in the rehab for at least one more week. I have a doctors appointment next Wednesday and hopefully he’ll allow me to put weight on the foot fully. Then it’ll be out here, and back in the van, which I can see looking out my window. Interesting that yesterday one of the occupational therapy staff was trying to talk me into getting on a waiting list for senior citizens housing because she pities me being the kind of person who hast to live in a van. I guess she has seen the “in a van down by the river” skit. Some people are so ignorant I can hardly believe it. Just for fun I’m going to ask her for a list of food pantries and soup kitchens tomorrow. Maybe some free clothing places too. God bless the nomads each and everyone, “you poor people”. True. nomads are the richest poor people I know.