24/7 Chat About Anything

[Sofisintown]

My cellphone buzzed and started yelling "Tornado Alert" and "go to the basement NOW" and the sirens went off, before 2 am in the morning. I called my neighbor to wake them up, and I checked outside. Wind and rain and lightning like it was daytime.

Fortunately, it passed 5 miles west of here and went south. Tomorrow we'll see the damages, as it did touch down at the next town. 39K people without power because of downed lines and trees.
Still raining, but the hoopla is off, and the warning expired... Phewww!

 

[maki2]

Nature Lover you are for sure an optimist, older rich widows have no incentive to get married. They have long since had men- on-pause which results in no desire to get married again. That leaves men with no choice but to go find themselves a much younger woman. But that takes money so sorry you are no longer eligible in the dating game. It is of course not a fair game.

 

[maki2]

Sure glad I got my screen room packed up yesterday while it was pleasantly sunny. It is a drizzly morning which is not the usual monsoon pattern I have seen here in Northern Arizona. Usually it is dry mornings and rainy in the afternoon. That is a better pattern for solar input.

 

[user 30781]

Using an expert to understand the options on medi-gap plans is a good idea.  I have plan G.  I can use it anywhere, which I want as I plan to travel outside of local doctors and hospitals.  Beware of going with an advantage plan at first as you probably won't be able to transfer out to something with better coverage after the initial signup period.  I went with the best, and can drop down to cheaper coverage if I want later.  Can't go the other way.

The guy I talked to today is the representative for one of the two Advantage plans that are available in my area.  This one covers only the clinic where my PCP is, the other covers both the clinics in the area.

I asked him about what you mentioned above about not being able to get better coverage if you change your mind later and he said that's not the case.  You CAN, but you can only do it during open enrollment in the fall.  So if I get Advantage now (and it sounds like a pretty good way to go for me) and change my mind later, I can get a better plan fall of next year.

He also said that if I sign up in September which is when my 7 months enrollment starts, I can change my mind as many times as I want up until my birthday.  After that I have to wait for open enrollment in the fall to make changes.

edit: Oh yeah, the Advantage Plan that I discussed with the man today also covers prescriptions and so much of dental and vision (I think) so I wouldn't have to get Part D.


Something really cool happened today!  About 5 days ago I searched out Mr Least Heat Moon's FB and sent him a short message about how much I liked Blue Highways and how brilliant I though Roads to Quoz was.  Didn't expect to hear back because the page is run by an admin, I just asked whoever to pass along the message.  Today I pull into the parking lot at the clinic, get a FB message notification ding, look at it and IT'S HIM.  He sent a very nice message.  Made my day.  I have never contacted an author like that before although I have left specific 'messages' in a few reviews on Amazon.

 

[user 30781]

As long as the sunglasses are rated as being for UV protection and are not just cute looking....

I was at Walmart today and went to the display and it says they are 100% for both kinds of UV.

I need to get a habit going though, I keep forgetting to wear them.  Maybe I should dangle them off the steering wheel instead of putting them in the overhead sunglasses holder.

 

[shadowmoss]

What I was told, YMMV, is that acceptance.is only GUARANTEED the first time you enroll.  After that you have to go through underwriting, slang for if you have any chronic or pre existing conditions no one has to insure you.  I'm a cancer survivor, so for me changing to better insurance would be a no go.  Part D prescription coverage is the only one that has to take any subscriber every year at open enrollment.

 

[user 30781]

Ok, I will be asking the broker lady too when I talk to her.

 

[maki2]

I never forget my sunglasses, I can see to drive without glasses but have less eyestrain when I wear my glasses plus my lenses are made with extra magnification at the top to give me better than normal distance vision. And they have the lenses that darken when the sun is shining into them.

 

[user 30781]

^^ I had those sun darkening lenses twice. The second time I got them, we went up to Hurricane Ridge one sunny day and they darkened so much in all that intense UV that I couldn't see a freaking thing. I walked the ridge trail with my kids, who had never been up there before, half blind. I was FURIOUS. Haven't had them since. lol

 

[user 30781]

A friend needed a remedy for a bruise on her face (she got whomped on the bridge of her nose and bruised around her nose and the inner part of her eyes) so I gave her a little dropper bottle of the oil blend I use on my wrists when they're aching which has an infused oil in it that's very good for bruising.

She like the way it made her skin feel so much that she's been begging me for more. But it's a medicinal blend, not a beauty blend. So I made her a blend with the two infused oils in it that are good for skin (calendula and helichrysum), added some fractionated coconut oil to thin it a bit and a drop of chamomile essential oil and two drops of damask rose absolute and it smells.like.heaven.

 

[shadowmoss]

Medicare insurance is confusing.  Talking to the brokers helps.  My mom is on an advantage plan.  It works very well for her as she seldom leaves this town.  The primary reason I went with a G plan is that I travel, and hope to do more.  My plan lets me use doctors anywhere.  I pay extra for that in the more expensive plan.  Your needs may well vary.  I wish you the best of luck finding a plan that works well for you.

 

[user 30781]

^^ Thank you and yeah, it's insanely confusing.

 

[travelaround]

Hello again - writing at almost midnight! Just got home after driving more than 8 hours today. I went to Klamath Falls and got the rest of the lumber I needed. I'm so happy to have that done. Not sure what I'll need to get next for the build but there's a lot more that still needs to be purchased - and my van is full of packages, wood, etc... almost everything in there is for the build.

Anyhow, carrying on . . . I have to say that Hwy. 66 from Ashland to the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is one of the worst roads I've ever been on... very steep and winding road on an extreme cliff. I will never take that road again (I hope) . . . I'd like to spend time at the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, but will approach it from the Klamath Falls side.

I was telling that to the very young man who put the lumber into my van and he said he's from Guatemala and there they have roads like that, but no guard rails! At least Hwy. 66 has guard rails, right? I still won't go that way again, if I can help it. No way! Scary!

After dark on the Klamath River Highway between Yreka and H.C. where I live, I go very slowly... about 30 miles per hour for about 65 miles... I have to pull over and let faster cars go by... but I don't want to hit a deer! My daughter hit one this year and my friend did too... both cars had 2 or 3 thousand dollars damage. Anyhow, I only saw two deer on the way home - a doe and fawn that still had spots. So glad I didn't hurt them. The fawn was having a hard time getting off the road.

Nothing much else to report. I think I remember RV Guy saying he has to take his wife to see a doctor tomorrow so I don't expect anything to be done on my van right away.

 

[maki2]

Camping by Flagtaff again as I had a dentist appointment. The dentist in Mexico did not fully fill the root canal he created and that allowed infection to enter. My bad tooth will get will get extracted next Thursday. I am not in extreme pain so have to wait for the first available appointment. Fortunately it is a simple tooth to remove so no referral to a surgeon required. Also the gap wont show or interfere with eating. No hurry to get an implant or bridge made,  I can do that later in Mexico....at a different dentist!

 

[user 30781]

^^ Same thing happened to my daughter. Now she has a hole in her smile.

 

[user 30781]

After dark on the Klamath River Highway between Yreka and H.C. where I live

I just now figured out that Happy Camp is really a place and not the name of your property. lol

 

[travelaround]

Happy Camp is a small town in the middle of a big forest. There are about 1100 people here. We have a market, post office, New 49ers Gold Prospecting Club, liquor store w/food/gifts, a gift shop should reopen soon with coffee/espresso bar, best pizza place ever, cardlock gas station, deli, three RV parks, a Forest Service campground, three parks and two playgrounds, Klamath River access site, two bridges, 30' wide dreamcatcher, and a variety of Bigfoot statues. I've probably forgotten something important in that list. Oh, schools... and the Karuk tribal offices, dental clinic, medical clinic... and Karuk People's Center which is a museum of Karuk culture, and the Forest Service office, and a small airport.

Just heard from RV guy - he said he'd be here Monday. Maybe they'll get started then... I don't know. Some of the lumber I bought was for another project they're working on here in town so they might want to finish that before starting on mine.

Yesterday the Tribe texted me to say they got a grant for all the people living in their travel trailers to get a screen house to help with social distancing when we have guests... so I got mine - still don't know what it looks like but the box is heavy! I was just so happy the young woman who was giving them out knew my name!

My daughter brought her skoolie back to town yesterday. I'm excited because I have a lot of things stored in there. I need to buy a shed to put my stuff in now that we're about ready to move back onto the property. They went over there and dug up the plumbing/sewer... that should be fixed soon - I will let them use it and keep my trailer here in the RV park for a while. I think they'll appreciate the privacy over there.

 

[user 30781]

^^ Is there a library? I was over on the OP driving from Ocean Shores to Forks and went by a town called....um....Amanda Park. There was a grocery store, a gas station, a post office and a library. I thought "I could live here."

What kinds of trees are there where you are, ta? I think I remember that area being a lot of pine.

I got my magnets from Amazon, took them out to give them a try. I'm using net curtains from Ikea, two huge panels for $5. They work fine and they're so wide I'll be able to use them folded in half for less bug invasion.

Yesterday on one of the van life FB pages a lady posted a pic of the net curtains she found at the thrift store she's using for bug netting. They were beautiful old lace ones. I'm kinda jealous. lol

omg I need to win the lottery. It's right on Lake Quinault. Sauna time!

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/102-Shari-Ln-Amanda-Park-WA-98526/55083073_zpid/

 

[travelaround]

Yes, forgot to mention the library! It is open one afternoon each week so we can get books ordered from Yreka where the main library is. It is right next to the cemetery. There's free wifi. You can park in front under the shade tree, use the computer, and look at the cemetery all at the same time.

Also forgot to mention a very nice feature of the town - there's a Computer Center right next to the high school ... it was closed for covid but I think it is open again now. Anyone can go in there in the afternoon and use the computers - there are about 30 of them. Also scanner, printers, etc. There's a classroom there that's used for video extension classes from College of the Siskiyous. I've done that - but at this point have promised myself not to take any more classes, as I don't like the stress.

Let's see, what else. Well, there's a sheriff sub-station, a couple buildings from the 1850's, lots of blackberries, volunteer ambulance service, preschool, and an art gallery that offers dinners with live music for the creative crowd. Also every Thanksgiving and Christmas there have been free community dinners. There's a senior lunch almost every day too - the Karuks run that. I used to like to go while I was living in my van. It was nice to have a hot meal with friends.

There's a nice hiking trail that goes up the mountain to where you can get a view of the entire town. Every labor day weekend there's a big celebration called the Bigfoot Jamboree. It includes a parade.

Okay, I'm running out of ideas of what to say.. but yes, there's a library. At one time we had a librarian but when the county needed to cut back on services (around 2011) they fired all the branch librarians and now the only reason our little library is still open once a week is because volunteers are there. It does have some books... but is very small, maybe about the size of someone's living room.

 

[travelaround]

Forgot to mention churches! The Catholic church burned in the fire last year. This is the second time it has burned and last I heard, they might not rebuild it.

There used to be a Kingdom Hall but I think they're not planning to have another one. They sold their properties here a few years ago and I'm pretty sure that building burned in the fire. All JW's are expected to make the 70 mile trip to Yreka for Sunday services I guess.

There's a nice brick LDS church building right next to the new elementary school - I don't know if that's actually used on Sundays... I've just never noticed. The only person I knew in town who was Mormon has now left the area.. but I saw the light on in there recently, which surprised me.

However, the very old log "Bible Church" is still having Sunday services, and there's a nice Assembly of God church building that survived the fire and just recently starting having services again - and a church that meets in the Community Center.

Photos are of the old log church. It must be around 100 years old now and is still used every week.



We also have an old log high school building here.