Sunday, Mar 25. Quiet day as we just had the usual chores and then off for a birthday (#89) dinner party for our neighbor. We carried along some of John’s Red Rome applesauce, two different packages – smooth and chunky, then mixed.
Monday, Mar 26 I stayed up (after John left at 7:30) working on emails, mostly, and then decided to take another hour’s sleep. Once up I worked a little in the kitchen, with the animals, ate, and got back on my computer, doing more tax entries. Found some more figures I needed from hospitals and medical insurance providers, and called for them. Spent more time organizing and searching for receipts. Found out I can deduct mileage for all the driving to volunteer music to nursing homes and other such events. I also found I can deduct 14.5 cents/mile for all medical travel. Boy, that adds up. I skipped going to exercise class today because (and I have said this before), to drive to town at the 4 bucks and up price of gas, I want to have more to do than one 45 minute event. Spent a little of the evening before dinner setting up a timeshare in Oct for our friends from Atlanta to use for their honeymoon.
John got home and brought me the mail. Interestingly, there was a bill from Yakima Memorial Hospital from June 1, 2010. It was the same bill I was told last Friday would be forgiven. After more time on the phone, it was forgiven. Then I had a call in for the local hospital accountant. She called back late afternoon, and I asked my question. I couldn’t figure out why I had $550 of payments (I supposedly paid) at the first of the year. Turns out they were for physical therapy co-pays. I remember paying $25 for 45 minutes and not being happy, but at $550, that means 22 sessions, and I really don’t recall going that many times. [John says: ‘memory loss’ – need to watch her more closely!] I need to go back and look at my car log journals and calendars, and perhaps credit card accounting because I do not have checks written for them. Meanwhile, I put it into my Turbo Tax program because I have in writing that they received the payments from me. Once the last of the calls were in, I got the new long distance prepaid calling card and we called and talked to John’s sister. She said we sounded like we both were shivering. I called a friend in Atlanta and she had the same response. So, perhaps it is the towers of the card ? We used to use Verizon, but they are undergoing changes and come Apr. 17th seem not to want our money, at least on the prepaid long distance cards. I did call and complain and the company said perhaps it was the weather. A call later this week showed that indeed it was clear. John put in a blade-roast beef, with carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes, and we had a late dinner that was scrumptious. [That’s a technical term for edible.]
Tuesday, Mar 27. Got up early again for John to do the chores, before we called over at 7:20 a.m. to see what the weather was at the vineyard. We thought last night it would be all right because the incoming storm appeared to have broken up. Sadly, John left but was in rain all the way and it was raining when he got there so he had to turn around and drive home. Good way to waste 2 hours plus of time and no mention of the gasoline. It is 66 miles (depending on the route) over and back. We can go the Interstate or the old Vantage highway. I tried to reach his cell phone 1/2 hr after he left when the vineyard owner called to say not to come. Three tries but John did not answer. [Because he didn’t hear a ring.] I worked on the computer and on taxes more, and he got home, and then we both left to take me to my afternoon massage and by a friend’s house for a microphone and stand he picked up for me at the CWU surplus sale, and then after my massage, we went to the bank, and I cashed a check so we’d have some cash on hand. While I was in the massage, John went to the grocery for lemon juice to dry apples. Today was the first day of classes for Spring Quarter, and I’m so happy I do not have to be preparing for new classes. I’m really spoiled now that I’m retired. I certainly would have to cut back on all the volunteer activities and medical visits (those are slowing down considerably). Now it’s just a device check every 3 months (in Yakima), and annual exams by my cardiologist and by my family physician .. and lung function tests for the one med I’m on for atrial fibrillation. An occasional (once a year now) echocardiogram, chest X-rays, and EKG.
Wednesday, Mar 28 Spent the morning searching rci.com for hook-ups with my friends in Michigan to use a timeshare. Left to play music at the Soup Kitchen part of the Food Bank. Boy, a good offering today again. Baked chicken, garlic mashed potatoes with milk gravy, corn, tomatoes (fresh and cut up into wedges), with peaches for dessert. Picked up some cereal, eggs. and bread for my neighbors and some bandages. Then off to exercise class. We had 23 there today. I think that is the most in my two years of attending (I started going there after losing interest in paying physical therapy at the hospital $25 for 45 mins .. mentioned above). Rushed home by way of the neighbors to drop off their goodies. Back home to work with timeshare stuff; still no luck. Then tonight two more people responded and are interested in a time share use in Cuzco, Peru. I don’t know if that will work or not, but I’ll try a search in the morning. I have another search going on for the Michigan/Indiana folks, and likely will have another start for Klamath Falls, OR–that one isn’t usable because it is not available for exchange but only by rental for the week ($800). I think not.
Thursday, Mar 29 This morning I worked mostly on the computer but took time out to clean up the mess in the kitchen from days of neglect. John got home 1/2 hr early because they got rain late in the morning. We played at Mt. View Meadows today, where we only play when there is a 5th Thursday in a month (only happens 4 times/ year). Relatives of two members of our group are there, and so it is special. They’d like us to come more often, but there are not enough days in the month for all the Ellensburg facilities where we volunteer. We both had eye appointments.. John at 3:00 and me at 3:30. On my way there after playing, I dropped by Wendy’s for two coupon specials for our supper tonight. Came on home and started back on the computer. Now I have finished all that and need to enter more medical mileage receipts in my Excel spreadsheet. I brought some more in from my 2004 Subaru, this afternoon. I had been entering trips in the 2009 Subaru. Now I’m set for tonight. It is still raining and John had to go feed horses (ours and the neighbors’) in the rain. I forgot to say that John found Big Sue in the back of the barn with 5 orange kittens, without their eyes open yet. This set is the wrong color, but almost this age:
http://desicolours.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/09new-born-animals.jpg
He took her feed and water out there. He figures we can go in and handle them so they won’t become wild, and hopefully she won’t move them on us as she did with Woody and Little Sioux, last year. She knows him better now from feeding in the “cat house”, so she crawls up the bales of hay onto the rafters and looks down on him when he is looking at and handling the kittens. We’d like to capture her somehow and get her spayed.
Friday, Mar 30 John got up early and it was raining but it stopped and he left. It started again just as he left. He got to Vantage (30 mins – once on I-90 at Kittitas there is not a legal place to turn around going down the hill) before he decided it wasn’t going to be nice. He called from his cell phone and I gave him the phone of the vineyard owner, and they decided to cancel for today. We had talked early in the morning and thought it was going to be all right over there. I stayed and did more tax input (mileage for medical and volunteer trips). Also petted Rascal several times in my lap, watched him and little Sioux (yellow cat) out the back door, when they climbed the ladder trying to get to the bird feeder. Of course, when the birds see them coming, they fly away. John and I went to town today, and he shopped while I went to exercise class. He also picked up 5 Ponderosa pines and 5 grand fir trees (little ones) at the Conservation District. Total price was $17.20. Most of the trees along our driveway came from there, over the past decade or more. They have grown to be big and beautiful specimens.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Fir
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponderosa_pine
The Ponderosa fits best in our location when starting with bare-root plants 18 inches or less. They don’t do well in shade or against competition from grass but, once they become established they can grow 2 feet in a year. Some like to double-crown as shown in this photo:
http://spot.colorado.edu/~mitton/images/Ponderosa%20Bear%20Lake%20CA.jpg
Grand Firs are found in our area but more to the west and higher in elevation.
When John and I got home, he took me to show me the new litter of kittens in the back of our barn, in the hay. He reached down and pulled them all out. A couple don’t have their eyes open yet, and another has only one really open, and a couple have opened eyes–slightly more than slits. They are all orange but sexes unknown and unknowable. We couldn’t tell with Rascal and he was much older (even our vet wasn’t sure). At least one has a little white in special places, on the tummy and chin/neck, but not much. Sunshine (last year’s now deceased kitty, had the same mom, who is also the mom of Woody and little Sioux. Sunshine had white feet plus white elsewhere. Different father? John’s favorite pastry from our grocery bakery consists of old fashioned donuts with chocolate frosting and nuts on top. They had their old fashions on sale today for $3.98/dozen. Our friend in the bakery pulled a whole box of them for John. She might have doctored them up because normally they don’t make more than 4 chocolate covered ones with nuts. Normally donuts there cost $5.98/doz.
Then we had a nice long talk with John’s sister Peggy. My right shoulder/upper arm is hurting — guess I need to take another couple of acetaminophen. Probably exercised it too much today and it was used a lot the previous two days playing my fiddle. Oh, I got a “thank you volunteer” award (certificate) today from the Adult Activity Center, and an invite to a Lasagna dinner, but I already had been invited from service to the community (nursing homes, etc.) for our music group, the Kittitas Valley Fiddlers & Friends. As you have heard, I also play music once a week at the Soup Kitchen of the Food Bank, with only our banjo player and occasionally a lady who sings with us. What’s cool is we have a fan club and they join in singing while eating their lunch and sometimes stay after they are done eating. The servers also chime in, so it’s really cool. We often get applause from a few people in the room (there were 40 there this week), and we even occasionally have requests. Mostly, they like the fast tunes.
Saturday, Mar 31 We woke to an inch of wet snow, mist, and clouds. And mud. With 10 trees to plant we were hoping for a nice weekend. But hope is a poor plan and this time it didn’t work. We have NOTHING this weekend, so we will dry some of these huge honey crisp apples (they weigh a pound each). John has done the morning chores (in the snow). It has stopped now, but still overcast and drippy; after I wrote that, it started snowing again. He will have to drive to town for gasoline for the old farm truck (he uses for feeding all the neighbors’ 10 horses and bull.
Hope your week was a good one.
Nancy and John
still on the Naneum Fan