Best on a raw, cold, wet day in Louisiana . . .

I asked P&D’s Pop to find us a movie we could go to today because the weather is a bit misérable but he couldn’t find anything even close to worth our time. He was looking at me askance as I was checking out Amazon Prime on the TV because, for some reason of his very own, he doesn’t seem to like the shows or movies on Prime one iota! I pooh-poohed him and continued to search until I found something that I bookmarked. I had to save it because he came in from The Shed and said ‘We just have time to go to The Birdman Café before they stop serving breakfast.’ What a perfect trip we had up I 10 to 110 to 61 in 45 minutes to St. Francisville.

The Café was busy as all get out and we had to sit at a table instead of the counter where I love to sit and watch the cook cook. Their River Road Coffee is nice and rugged even in the decafe mode for moi! Grampa had his usual breakfast of eggs, grits and biscuits while I had the superb Sweet Potato Waffle with lots of butter and cane syrup. This was a heavenly breakfast plus I did myself a very good deed too. I spoke with the lady owner and offered to buy a painting she had done years ago if she ever decides she wants to sell it. I was told by one of the waitresses last year that it is the iconic art work that embodies the spirit of the Birdman and is not for sale even though most of the art on the walls  by local artists is for sale. As I was enjoying my waffle I had a brainstorm so as we were leaving I spoke with the owner about my idea: she should have her painting copied and made into note cards to sell in her unique breakfast  café. She liked the idea so much that she said she is going to do it! I can’t wait to buy boxes of the finished product. I’ll never have to buy note cards again! I’m so brilliant I scare myself!

Before we left St. Francisville we stopped by My Mississippi; I had to feel the water and enjoy its wonder. 

Quote:  Knowledge is the consequence of time, and multitude of days are fittest to teach wisdom.  ____Collier

A couple of observations . . .

Red-headed Woodpecker

We’ve had medical insurance problems since the Connecticut Teacher’s Retirement Board changed to Anthem on July 1st. They seem to have corrected themselves as we haven’t received any extra doctors’ bills in a while! But now the dental insurance is cause for concern - well, not exactly Cigna rather the dental office we usually go to has changed hands since our young dentist died a few months ago after returning from his daughter’s destination wedding in Cancun. So . . . P&D’s Pop and I went for our routine cleanings with the new dentist and his technician in Zachary, LA; we were told that we both needed crowns. The visit cost us $125 ( cleanings, extra fluoride and deductibles etc.) I knew that Dr. Mackey in Groton, CT had one more crown to complete for me but we moved to Louisiana before she could finish our plan of action. The same held for P&D’s Pop. We were given estimates for what it would cost us out of our own pockets - I’ll round up to $1000 for each of us! We both declined to set appointments other than for our routine cleanings and said we’d get back to them.

I called Cigna and spoke with a woman who went through our estimates; she said that if we had the work done at the dentist’s home office in Denham Springs we would only have to pay $500 each because they are in network while the Zachary office is out of network! We had not realized that the new dentist came from our home town! I called the Zachary Office and they changed our routine checkups to Denham Springs and we made appointments for yesterday morning to speak with Dr. Mindy Moore about the crowns. Well the new paperwork for the crown at this office said we would have to pay $800 each. So I explained to Dr. Moore's technician that the lady at Cigna said it should only be $500 each. Back to the drawing board she went and returned with her corrected figures - yuppers, $500 each. This is crazy! We can’t trust the dentist’s office to calculate things properly? I guess I’ll have to question every medical office we go to from now on and ask for itemized bills and call the insurances myself to make sure we are not being charged improperly. I find this outrageous. No explanation was given except that if we had paid the $800 then they would have sent us a check for the over payment! I am flabbergasted.

Okay - rant done for today!

Changed my mind. And another thing, neither Dr. Moore nor her assistant, Trish, ever used right or left when they gave me any directions as they worked on my tooth. The Dentist said, 'Turn toward Trish.' or 'Turn toward me.' Now I know I'm quibbling here but Ms Trish explained this to me as she did the preparations for the tooth repair. What was funny was that she was telling me how they would be giving me directions such as, 'Turn toward me, but I'll be on the other side of you then and Dr. Mindy will be on this side.' (which was the right side for the Dentist and the left side for the technician.) Are we really so dumb now that we don't know right from left? Holy smokes!  What a disgrace.

Okay - I guess that's it.

Quote:  Every one desires to live long, but no one would be old.   ____Swift

Eureka . . .

We found the wayward right hearing aid! At P&D’s Pop’s suggestion I slowly shook out everything we brought with us for our sojourn in Natchez and there with the laundry, on top of my walk-on-the-room-415-floor-socks was the hearing aid. Wow! It must have fallen on top of them when I moved the book. I’m still crying copious tears because although they are insured I’ve been so angry at myself for loosing it I’m almost in shock that it showed up. P&D’s Pop figured it would. He really ransacked the hotel room looking for it and was positive it was in the suitcase. Thank goodness he was right - AGAIN! I called the hotel and called off their search too! Life is just fine once again!

Heartbroken . . .

We  had the best time yesterday meeting our Big Kiddo and his wife at Lake Cocodrie for a fantastic boat ride and fishing spree in their new catfish boat. The weather was perfect and P&D’s Pop caught a nice sized catfish before we docked the boat. We ate some fresh shrimp and gumbo; also tested out the brisket and barbecued chicken from the cookoff at the campground. We stayed at a great hotel in Natchez overlooking the Mississippi River Bridge and went out to dinner at the Magnolia Bluffs Casino where we were to watch the best show on Earth - Sunset on the Mississippi. After we said out good nights we got a good night’s sleep before all hell and stupidity broke out before 7am this morning

I had placed my hearing aids on top of my book on a little table in our room. I picked up the book to pack it and the hearing aids fell off. As crazy as this is I immediately picked up the left hearing aid and put it on; we never found the right hearing aid. P&D’s Pop and I looked everywhere and moved every piece of furniture at least three times and we never found the hearing aid. We went through the trash, the suitcase, the medecine bag, the clothes I was wearing, the bedding. Nothing! Absolutely nothing turned up except a pen that was under a bed. I spoke with the gentleman at the desk and asked him to notify the ladies who clean the rooms to be on the lookout for my right hearing aid but I don’t see how they can find it if we couldn’t find it after thoroughly looking everywhere possible. The only plausible reason for the disappearance is P&D’s Pop’s - the hearing aid must have gotten caught in my clothes and when I used the bathroom it fell into the commode! Man, I hate to agree with that assessment but it certainly seems to be gone, never to return. So when we get home I have to get out the paperwork and see if I have some sort of insurance coverage for a lost hearing aid. Incredible! In retrospect I should always put the hearing aids in the box I have to protect them when I have to take them off for any reason. Yes, heart broken to tears.

Long ride but an excellent weekend . . .

Sweet rides

Slept at our son’s home last Wednesday and Thursday so I could take care of his 6 year old grandson while his Mom and Grammy brought his younger brother to the Children’s Hospital in New Orléans. Our son is at a job site in Texas for another couple of weeks so it’s a good thing I could help out. I really didn’t have to do much as P was in school during the day so I just had to bring him to school and pick him up at the end of the day. We did homework together, made puzzles, walked the dogs and ate a delicious Chicken Alfredo my daughter-in-law made for us before she left. P&D’s Pop came for lunch one day and we ate at Lagniappe’s in Zachary. I hadn’t heard anything great about the place but we found it to be quite good and not too expensive. I love the name! It means ‘a little something extra!’ Very Cajun, I think. After I dropped P at school Friday morning at 7 I drove directly home so P&D’s Pop could remove the back seats in the Hyundai and then he could pack three Control Line planes for our trip to Glen St. Mary, Florida. It’s about 555 miles from home and took us nine hours with stops. I’m pretty good with 8 hour trips but any thing longer than that makes me squirm! I can’t sit still easily; I fidget a lot! We ended up staying at a Red Roof Inn for $59 a night. The price was right but the place had definitely seen better days about 60 years ago! But it was clean; there really were not any snazzy places to stay in Macclenny, the nearest town with any hotels not too far from the flying field. Macclenny is an old town and certainly isn’t booming. It’s main road was 6th Street and we were please as punch to find a very good breakfast place that also had beer and excellent dinners; The 6th Street Steakhouse was just perfect for most of our meals. At the field a lady in a lunch truck came and cooked up burgers, hot dogs etc. The field used to belong to a church that ran a home for wayward boys and I guess straightened out quite a few of those boys over many years but some do gooders took it upon themselves to say the church was too harsh for the kids. The church was forced to give up its mission and somehow or other the Shade Tree Flying Club got themselves a nice flying site. They had three well mowed circles for the contest. There were not as many contestants as usual because Hurricane Florence was attacking the Carolinas and keeping people away! As a matter of fact I think that all three of the vintage hotels were filled to capacity because of the number of families who had to evacuate before the storm hit.

P&D’s Pop flew well and won Third Place in Profile Stunt even though on his second flight half of the wing went flying off of the plane! I helped out by running the scores from the judges to the score keeper. I got in 4 1/2 miles of walking Saturday! That kept me busy along with taking a few photos of some wild flowers. We finished around 2 pm and P&D’s Pop agreed to bring me for a ride to Atlantic Beach on the other side of Jacksonville, FL so I could walk barefooted on the sand and get my toes wet in the ocean. It was an experience that pleased me no end! I’m not sure what possessed me to want to walk on the beach but it was enticingly comforting to walk along and enjoy the beauty of the clear, bright day with the water rushing in, the few children playing, a few fishermen, and the little shore birds scurrying about. There were very few people which made it seem even better. The people that were there were sweet couples with little ones or older couples walking in the sand. Best of all it was free! Yes! Free! I may be wrong but I think that all beaches in Florida are public beaches and as long as you can find a legal place to park you can walk by the homes near the water and enjoy the wealth of natural charm. So the hour ride through Jacksonville was worth it for me. P&D’s Pop has been favoring his right knee for about a week now so he kindly waited for me to enjoy my stay and then calmly drove us back for a superior supper at Pier 6 Seafood in Macclenny. I enjoyed coconut shrimp, fried okra, rice pilaf and Key Lime Pie while Grampa had his favorite Salmon and mashed potatoes. The following day after the contest ended we went to visit the Heritage Museum in Macclenny. I shall post some photos as the days go by. There was no charge because the buildings are only open for special tours if you make an appointment. So we strolled through the reconstructed town and peeked through all of the windows! It was interesting.

We left to come home at 4am Central Time and since we hadn’t had breakfast we stopped at a Pilot Truck Stop and ate an excellent meal at a Denny’s. I was impressed; it was better than a Waffle House and much better than iHop. There are only three Denny’s in all of Louisiana, I think and the closest is about 75 miles away! Phooey!

I went to see the neurologist this past week and he gave me an excellent review! He did tell me that the numbness and pain I get in my left foot and leg is neuropathy and there is nothing to be done about it.  I didn't want any pills but I was hoping for some exercises!  He did tell me to continue to walk and stretch as usual - so I guess that's what I'll do. It doesn't bother me all of the time but I swear it makes me tippy! Oh well I suppose my body and mind are both aging as they're supposed to do! Not much to do about it but enjoy living! I'm a whole week behind getting this entry completed. It's been busy and I've been lazy too.

Quote:  Delicacy is to the mind what fragrance is to the fruit.   ___A. Poincelot

Exhausted . . .

I feel as if I’ve put in a 50 hour week! I helped out at the Early Learning Center today, my first day back to school since summer vacation, and I’m beat. I only helped out in two classes but in the first class the teacher was not there so a school runner was holding the fort. When I got there she had already gone through all of the materials the teacher had left for her so I read at least three books to the 4 year olds and then we had them make a self portrait! When the teacher arrived I helped out in a class of three year olds. Not sure why I ended up pooped but I was. When I left I went to North Park and walked in the gym for 45 minutes listening to Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I wanted to listen longer but I just quit walking and came home to eat some mac and cheese and drink a Root Beer Float. I think my pep is returning. P&D’s Pop has been making up big batches of hummingbird food. We have more than a dozen at a time diving in to eat at the five feeders. We’ll be leaving for a flying contest next week and he will add about three more feeders and hope that the nectar lasts until we get home!

I returned a couple of videos I had borrowed from the Baton Rouge Library on Goodwood Wednesday and I decided to walk around the Botanical Gardens and take pictures. I was surprised with how many pretty decent shots I got. The gardens are not at their best at the end of the summer but it was still a nice walk.

I had lots more to write about but my brain is in slow motion at this time. I had a good long conversation with an Oneco friend last evening and I felt as if we were in Connecticut! I’m all caught up on the the goings on up north! I think we’ll just have a pizza for supper. That’s my old standby for Fridays.

Quote:  The great fact is, that life is a service.  The only question is, "Whom will we serve?" ______Faber

Lunch with a Hummingbird . . .

South Park neighbor

P&D’s Pop and I usually have lunch on the back porch and today a male Hummingbird joined us! Yesterday I talked P&D’s Pop into putting a feeder on a place mat on the table across from where he usually sits and sure enough a couple of Hummingbirds found it but we were not sitting outside at the table. I knew it was only a matter of time before we would be out there and one of them would be brave enough to fly in for lunch! That really was exciting - both Grampa and I just froze while the bird was deciding if it was going to land; we only relaxed after it had finished its drink. It came back about four times! That was very cool.

I picked up my brand new hearing aids and charger yesterday. I’m hoping these work well, no glitches, because I like them. Tiffany asked if she could connect them to my iPad for me. She had never done that before so I acquiesced. She was mentoring a grad student today and they were both pleased as punch to be able to connect to the iPad. I must admit that it is pretty cool to listen to music, podcasts and Audible through my hearing aids. I should be getting an iPod in the mail today that will work the same way.

Kiddo started High School today. It’s so hard to believe that he’s so grown up; that has to mean that Grampa and I are also pretty darned grown up! We feel great and have no medical complaints. I expect it to remain that way! Our new medical insurance, Anthem Blue Cross, called today because I did some big time complaining on an email survey they sent me after I had called to ask some questions about the charges we’re getting for Out Of Network. Sunshine, yes, that’s her name, spoke with me at length and said she’s pretty sure they are not supposed to be charging us Out Of Network prices because we have no choice about which doctors we choose to go to. Everyone in our Parish is actually out of network! She will be calling me back by Friday to let me know if she is correct. That would be wonderful. I don’t want to pay the bills we’re getting unless I’m certain we owe them. Sunshine agreed!

We went to South Park today and I was surprised to get a few decent photos of a Great Egret and a Juvenile Little Blue Heron. I played with my camera almost all day!

Quote:  Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.   ____Moore