Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Baymule]

I hope you can get some rest tonight.

16’ gates when we fenced this place 6 years ago were $169. Now they are $300! Posts are insanely high. I knew stuff went up, but had no idea how high things are.

 

[farmerjan]

Had an okay night for about half of it, then woke up and not very good the rest. Aggravating...

37 this morning and not as sunny as they said it was going to be. Thought we would have a nice day today and partly cloudy tomorrow. DS didn't get the hay raked yesterday and has been fiddle farting around waiting on GF to come up to the tree farm next door to get the Christmas tree so not getting much done. I am not saying much as I am just tired of her and her daughter always making these plans and then always being late for stuff and things not getting done like they should. It is his sq bales and his loss of money if they don't get baled like they should.

Fencing has gone through the roof. I am looking at some electric netting to maybe get some of this temporarily fenced; and then be able to use it for dividing in the future. There is a bunch of grass that should be getting eaten here.

Going to go hang some more clothes, and then will bring in the stuff I hung yesterday. These are delicate fabrics so ought to dry fairly quickly I hope. Yesterday's was jeans and stuff and they ought to be dry; it was nice yesterday. There's not alot so I might just hang these in the house instead. That is probably a better plan.

We are very dry, some drought conditions on the maps now, so hoping that we do get the rain they are calling for the middle of the week.

Going to try testing that farm this afternoon too....hoping it will go okay.

Hope that @Baymule and @Devonviolet have a good time and good visit at the auction today.

 

[Bruce]

I have used the bait poison, but don't want them to go off and die in the house somewhere either.... so for now I will just use the traps.

I can see that in the house! I was using rat traps in the barn .... until they got wise and avoided them. Nothing like seeing rats on the game camera running right past the baited traps.

Can you believe that the subway; in the convenience 24 hr store; closed at 3 p.m. due to lack of help?????

I can. Lots of unfilled positions everywhere!

I've paid $800 over two yrs for Rx penalty.

Ouch.

But if you start with something like the "advantage" plans, the chance of you switching to a more comprehensive plan is less and the price will be way through the roof.

Can you explain why that is? It is all very confusing. I went with the Vermont Blue Cross Advantage plan, costs exactly $0/month and covers drugs, dental & vision (at least to some extent). I don't have any issues at the moment that would require a more expensive plan.

 

[farmerjan]

I am not sure of all the reasons for the different plans and the switching. My ins lady at work, who I consulted in depth about medicare plans before I took it, said that they go by some of your current health records when they first sign you up... I had no major claims or problems or health problems... like diabetes or high blood pressure or anything chronic... so I got a good rate on a supplemental policy. But I knew I was looking at replacements, so she said that is the way I should go. She said that if I went with the advantage plan, the co-pays, and the deductibles would be higher. and that I would pay out several thousands for the replacements. She told me there is a lot of fine print that people don't realize and that if they develop problems, it can get costly. For people that never have any problems, then they work great.
But if you develop problems down the road, the cost of a different plan, and the cost of the supplemental ins will be very high because then you are higher risk... and that many times they either will not allow you to switch, or the cost will be so high you cannot afford to switch. I would rather pay the monthly payment of my supplemental ins which is about $115, and it covers EVERYTHING over my $300 deductible for the year. Except my drug plan that I have, and it covers quite a bit although I have a minimal plan because I do not need to take much except like for the surgery required drugs and such. If I had to take anything, like blood pressure meds or something, I would have gone with a different type of drug plan coverage.
Just the hospital cost of 27,000 makes my $115/month cost well worth it. It will take years of the supplement cost to pay back for that. And there are no restrictions for any doctor, specialist or anything and I do not need any referrals or anything.
But other than what she advised me, I could not even begin to tell you how to navigate it as it is SOOOO confusing and complicated. I may be paying more than I need to in the future... but it is worth it to me to not have to budget for any other medical expenses. If it was 200/mo it would only be 2400/yr and to me that is worth having everything paid for with no co-pays or anything. And it does go up... I started out paying 87/mo. then 105/mo. and now up to 115/mo. It will probably continue to go up but it covers so much completely, it is still worth it to me. There may come a time when it is not cost efficient but right now it is.

 

[Baymule]

BJ was on an AARP traditional supplement through United Healthcare. It started out under a hundred dollars. He had a lot of surgeries and we never paid out anything. It was up to just under $300 per month, but still so worth it.

And yes, had fun at the auction today with @Devonviolet and her husband. I recognized mine when they went through. Out of all the white sheep, I knew mine. LOL

Saw a real pretty blue roan snowcap Appaloosa go for $650. Tempting but just not now. Never register a buyers card!!! No!

 

[farmerjan]

Sunday morning. Partly cloudy again today. I didn't get the clothes in yesterday but will get them in today. Not supposed to get any rain until maybe tonight and we are on the fringe of the possibility. Tues-Wed is our best hope for some real rain. And the models are showing that there might be some cold air and maybe a "wintery mix" ????

So, I am trying to get myself up and going. Testing went okay. 2 hours was about my limit but no problems. I got tired towards the end. We went to the house and I did the computer work and refused the offer for supper as I wanted to come home before I got too wrung out. But of course, I couldn't get a decent nights sleep... up every couple hours. This is driving me nuts and this morning I have a headache.

So, I am going to sit and look at the herds and see if there is one or 2 more that I can do in the next week that don't require too much more work than this one. There is the one that requires set up but they milk pretty fast and the parlor is no bigger than the one I was in yesterday... I could just get there an hour or so earlier and take my time to set up...... I'm going to think about each one. I can drop the meters off for the farm that does their own and get themout of the way maybe this week.

Nothing else much new. Going to bring the samples in the house and get them packed to go out UPS tomorrow. Need to go take something for the headache since it has been bothering me since about 6 or so. Thought maybe if I dozed off again it would go, but NOPE..... Going in to see about making some breakfast. Then go out and see about getting the clothes in.

 

[Baymule]

Smart move on your part-do the easy ones. Then you can slowly ease back into work. Hope your headache goes away.

 

[Mini Horses]

2X @Baymule .... IMO you're doing great! You want instant -- I know . But think about it. They cut you, ripped out and put back....that alone takes time to heal. Then, you're using what's only partly healed! Yes, take your time. When you rode, you wouldn't expect a lamed horse to be at FULL USE in a few days, or weeks, so respect yourself the same way. Ease into it. Then, sorry, but not being 25 now slows down healing.

Headache?? Probably tension. Take an aspirin, relax and rub your temples.

 

[farmerjan]

Yep, I am guilty of wanting instant----with these knees.
And we are not going to talk about the "age" factor....

So today I am sore and achy.... but not too much more so than any other day. A little more in the quads across the front and top of the legs. Probably from getting up and down from my "cane seat" in the parlor yesterday in between groups of cows.
The headache finally went away. I did hang the clothes that I didn't get done yesterday, and then later this afternoon I took them all in. The delicate fabrics were a little damp so are spread around in the LR for the evening...you can smell the little bit of dampness in the air, nice to have the extra moisture in the air...... the others were dry so in the house in the basket... Got the samples in the house to pack into the shipping boxes.

DS called me and I went to take him back to the tractor and round baler after he came up with the truck and sq baler and a packed to the top, wagon full of sq bales. All the hay that was on the ground is baled. He is talking that he might get one more 9 acre field cut but now they are calling for some possible snow/wintry mix mid week... and he said these last couple of fields made more than he expected so that he may or may not get to the other one. And the GF is having the lumpectomy or what ever surgery in 10 days so then she will be unable to do anything as far as lifting etc and will have to undergo 30 days of radiation he said... So I think that the hay is done. We will have to see about getting some of these cows moved home from pastures too.... He said he is going to move one group to the final field in rotation at the one place either tomorrow or Tuesday and they will be ready to come home by the weekend.

Have seen or heard any more mice. I guess they had just moved in and I got the bunch. Traps have been set and nothing has touched the peanut butter on them. Boy I hope that's the whole group. I am sure there will be more over the winter but glad to have stopped that many all at once.

Saw another cat crossing from my side to the other side of the road yesterday... it ran when it saw me so I doubt it is very friendly. But if it comes over some maybe it will help to keep the population down some.

Christmas tree lot next door is done for the year. They were open 3 days. Sat/Sun and Sat. It is a small operation, but the place was packed and they can only sell so many each year of certain sizes or they won't have any for the next year. He did tell me last year they were having trouble getting enough seedlings to replant with too.

I am going to go in and get a shower and settle in and watch a movie I think. I have been cold all day, probably the dampness seeping into these "old bones".... .
Then maybe do some cooking the next few days that are supposed to be cold and all. I am thinking I will get a chicken stuffed since I never took it out for Thanksgiving.... and then maybe put some sort of a stew or something in the slow cooker for a few meals too. Warm up the house and all kind of meals. Really not wanting to think about going out to test much either.... this colder weather has me thinking staying in the house.

 

[Ridgetop]

I am so sorry to hear that you are having so much pain from the knee replacements. Particularly since you were expecting such good results. Some people say they have instant relief after the surgery. I guess it depends on exactly what the problems were. If the ligaments and tendons are needing to be stretched out more, it makes sense that there would be more pain than just the healing of the incisions. I spent several days on my feet all day shopping with DD1, then cleaning, cooking, and finally putting up the Christmas tree with all the up and down that entailed. My knee was really hurting and I had just about decided to have the darn replacement but after hearing all you have gone through I might have second thoughts about it. I am supposed to get some sort of injections (not steroids) that are supposed to cushion and relieve the pain. I will try them first.

About Dilautid (sp?) - my cousin had that pain reliever in the hospital one time and it caused her to have hallucinations!

Try taking the muscle relaxers right before bedtime with Ibruprofen to see if you can sleep. It could also be stress over healing that is causing you not to sleep, along with worrying about getting back to work, not being able to help DS, etc. Stress is a funny thing, and without knowing that we are even stressing over anything it can cause us to lose sleep, cause pain that isn't there, and also stomach issues. Also consider post surgery depression - which would be natural since you are having so much pain with your knee replacement surgeries when you expected to feel better right away. Depression can also cause sleeplessness.

Hopefully you will start feeling better soon and the pain will diminish. Once you are healed up and able to get around more, you will start to feel better. For an active woman like you are being house bound, not to mention bed bound, was torture.