Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Wednesday Album






Twas a feeling of  total ecstasy this morning when no weather bombs or atmospheric rivers appeared to hanging out in the area. 


We've had a little spitting snow this morning but hardly any cause for alarm or for groaning. 

Yesterday our daughter Annie took a day trip to San Francisco with some colleagues and returned to Seattle when the weather bomb was blowing around that area. 

She said the landing at Sea-Tac was a bit unnerving but successful. 

Other family members over that way told of trees down and power off, so, I guess----so far---we're pretty lucky. 

Yesterday afternoon here turned out to be nice and sunny with a little chill in the air. 

Plus, the wind was blowing when I spent some time at City Beach. 

Overall, it was gorgeous around the boat docks, with willow trees, still filled with golden leaves, fluttering in the breeze. 

Lots of geese, some ducks and seagulls were hovering in the water not too far from the jetty. 

Most didn't even fly off as I walked closer with my camera. 

Just a lot of squawking among the species of water birds. 




Happily, I was able to scoop up some more leaves south of the house. 

I told Bill that yesterday's pickup could be my last for before winter because the poplar trees have just a few hangers on as does the oak tree. 

If it snows much more today, those that fall might be covered. 

This morning also started with some good news when we learned that Willie's girls basketball team defeated Post Falls last night, giving them a 2-0 record.  

So, that's really good. 

I also have some sorta good news in the long saga of trying to get my nearly $400 drug bill from September reimbursed by my Humana pharmaceutical insurance policy. 

So, far I've accumulated a small booklet of letters from Humana, including some blank pages, two permission slips to use the drug I've already used, and two reimbursement rejections.  

In the past couple of weeks, I've been told three different reasons for having my reimbursement rejected.  This information has come through phone calls with agents and letters. 

In one case, I was told by the agent that rather than going to Super Drug as directed by the pharmacist at Wal-Mart when they did not have the meds I needed,  I should have, instead, gone to the local hospital pharmacy and then the company could reimburse me. 

I'm guessing that most patients when they are sick and need drugs don't know such protocol nor do they have time to go through a primer on what to do procedural steps.

Like me, they probably just do what they are told at the time. 

When I balked at the reason over the phone, the agent named Henry asked me to hold again and he would come back with some more information. 

He came back and told me that I was only allotted so much to pay for the drug that had been prescribed and he was wondering why had Super Drug charged me that much. 

Again, I said that I was not privy to drug prices because my insurance is supposed to pay the cost. He then said he would call the local pharmacy, ask some questions and then call me back the next day. 

That was last week.  

Still no call back from Henry. 

Yesterday, I received two letters from Humana in the mail.  The first told me that my reimbursement had been rejected because I purchased the prescription twice in too short of a time. 

The actual fact:  I purchased the entire prescription in two parts because of a clerical error on the original order. This was also clearly noted in the reimbursement form that I had sent to Humana via certified mail. 

So, it seems strange that three different reasons for rejection came up over a period of time. 

The second letter said that my reimbursement had been approved and that in so many days I'll be receiving a check.

 BUT,

it also pointed out that, for a variety of reaons like co-pay and deductible, said check which I should receive in the mail could simply amount to $0.00.  

That information made my day, and the fact the both letters included appeal forms did not bode well. 

So, I'm waiting patiently to see if that check gives me my money back or if it's the nothing amount that the letter suggested. 

This saga to receive a reimbursement for an out-of-pocket drug payment started in early October, and the stories continue to unfold. 

My question:  why is it so difficult for a company to send a reimbursement form for the patient to fill out and send back and then simply pay the reimbursement. 

The company has yet to send me a promised reimbursement form.  I used one sent to me by my insurance agent. 


In this process, I have talked to six or seven Humana agents who have all told me different stories, and my paperwork (my own and Humana's) could fill a book. 

It seems like there's something wrong with this picture. 

Yesterday, after showing Bill the correspondence I had received in the mail, I once more reiterated that, yes, it's about getting the money back but more importantly, it's the principle of paying for insurance and then having to claw and scratch every inch of the way to receive what the insurance promises. 

For some reason, I suspect that many patients in the situations similar to mine simply grow weary and give up and keep paying that premium.  

Seems like a good deal on someone's end. 

Okay, that's enough ranting for this morning. 

The snow is still falling, and because of warnings of atmospheric rivers, I do have some indoor projects to do and will get at them. 

Happy Wednesday.  

Enjoy the photos. 




                                            ---Jason Duchow Photography. 


https://bonnercountydailybee.com/news/2024/nov/19/prep-girls-basketball-sandpoint-cruises-to-win-over-post-falls/
























GAME DAY

Gonzaga (4-0)  vs Long Beach State

tonight in the Kennel

6 p.m. pst on KHQ or ESPN+

GO, ZAGS!

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀








Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Tuesday Tidbits

 




Bill says an "atmospheric river" is on the way.  

You don't want to hear what I say about that. 

For today, however, it's okay out there except for the appearance of one of the scariest parts of winter:  ice. 

Twas no fun walking on the new pavement when I went out to get the paper this morning. 

And, the walk back through the driveway involved a lot of weaving and winding to miss the slick spots. 

Slowly but surely, the elements that make us old people feel really old are adding to the winter mix. 

The good news is that we can still walk through the fields, even though each step feels like we've added lead weights to our boots. 

And, as far as ice is concerned, avoidance and sometimes taking baby steps are the only safe strategies unless you have strong ankles and a pair of skates. 

Anywho, thoughts of an atmospheric river flowing and leaking through the area do not make me smile. 

Fortunately, I was able to outrun the snowflakes and pick up most of the leaves that had fallen during all that rain we had on Sunday. 

Hmmm.  That seemed pretty much like an atmospheric river.  




On a brighter note, I'm thrilled to add a story about a former student this morning.  

He's a Facebook friend, and when he announced several days ago that he was leaving the ministry to go full time as a puppeteer in Colorado, I thought that was pretty intriging.  

So, I asked Dave Nickodemus for the scoop.  

He was generous enough to send me a little summary of his life events and how his new career has evolved. 

I'm sure a lot of locals remember Dave and his family and especially his dad Steve who served as minister at Christ the Redeemer Lutheran Church. 

Wishing Dave lots of luck in this new endeavor, and it's easy to see that he's a positive force, especially with young people. 

Here's a link to his website:


Check out his story below. 



". . .  it all started over 20 years ago when my wife, Beth, and I, were missionaries and teachers in Taiwan. We were asked to do presentations at Taiwanese churches for kids, but very few of the kids spoke any English and our Chinese was pretty basic.

"We would do these hour-long presentations and found the best way to share Bible stories with the kids was to use puppets with very simple English. 

"The shows were nothing fancy, just usually me with a couple of puppets behind two people holding up a sheet, but the kids seem to really enjoy them. 

"Fast-forward to several years later, after a year of teaching high school English in Oregon, we moved back to Sandpoint to work as the family minister at my dad‘s church at Christ Our Redeemer. 

"The church had Little Lambs preschool and kindergarten, and I found myself doing weekly preschool, chapels, and lots of other kids, activities.  

"Since I didn’t play a guitar and didn’t have great musical skills, I figured why not bring the puppet tree back, and started doing puppets and also magic tricks.

"I had learned magic when I was a kid, but hadn’t really used it much until I started working with kids at the church. 

 "I also was leading the youth group at Christ Redeemer, and we were doing lots of plays and drama shows for fundraisers and for mission trips.

"After one of the plays we did, a dinner theater, the children’s librarian at East Bonner County library attended one of the shows and asked if I’d ever want to do something like that for kids at the library. 

"She suggested that maybe I could dress up like a pirate and do a show for the kids. I thought that sounded fun, so brought some puppets, some magic and a pirate costume and put on a pirate show. 

"That one show ended up with Beth and me doing more puppet shows for local libraries and schools there in Sandpoint just as a very part-time thing. 

"The whole time I continued to use puppets with the kids at the preschool and kindergarten, and also in church services for kids’ messages. 

"When we moved to Colorado Springs in 2014, I took a job as an associate pastor at a Lutheran Church, and every Sunday would do kids’ messages often using puppets. 

"Several years into that job, they asked if I would take over the church’s children’s ministry program on Sunday mornings, I ended up putting together a team of about 20 volunteers, writing puppet scripts each Sunday and doing about a 30 minute Puppet show with costume characters each Sunday. 

"In 2020, I left that church to plant a brand new church. From the very beginning every Sunday, we would do a kids message and I would do puppets. The pastor with the puppets was a rather novel concept!

"Since we were planting a church, and new income would be tight, I started advertising to do Magic and puppet shows for kids at libraries, schools and private events. 

"Unfortunately, with Covid, not many people were looking to have live events, and we figured that business wasn’t really going to take off here in Colorado. 

"Well, God had other plans. 

"Out of the blue in the summer of 2020 I started getting calls from local organizations asking if I’d be willing to do a show for them. Well, that just kept growing and growing. 

"Last summer, my two teenage sons, Jacob and Noah who have become quite expert puppeteers, Jacob and Noah, and I did over 30 shows for local libraries all over Colorado. 

"This past year has just a part-time side hustle, we’ve done over 100 shows at schools, daycare, libraries, and private events. 

"With my wife’s job as an operations Director for a financial investment company, it was getting too difficult to balance both being the lead pastor of a church and her job and our puppet business: Puppet Tales. 

"This last month we made the decision to go full-time with Puppet Tales as I now have stepped down as the pastor at Grace Mountain Church. 

"As I make this move, besides creating and performing shows, we are starting up a YouTube channel called Sunday Puppets that will feature Bible stories and kids’ messages to help kids grow in their faith and God. 

"The whole thing has been pretty crazy, just taking something that was done out of necessity to help kids learn, and finding a true passion and career out of it!







Mike Rosenberger, Ralph Alderman, Judy Finley Christensen, Jim Holt and Judy Chronic, members of the Sandpoint High Class of 1965. 

Two classmates, Susan Stark Tate and Karen Martin Rolf, had already left when these photos were snapped outside DiLuna's Restaurant. 


Judy Finley used to wash milk bottles at the Harney Dairy. 

Jim Holt vividly remembers when the Method barn burned down on Colburn Culver Road.

Ralph Alderman retired his guitar and put it under the bed several years ago.  He may just get it out and take it with him when he heads south this winter. 

Judy Chronic remembers when her mom had a garden and never had to put up a fence to keep the deer out because there were no deer to be seen on their family farm south of Sandpoint. 

Just a few of the tales we heard yesterday while enjoying lunch and doing some planning for our Sandpoint High Class of 1965 reunion.  

It will be the 60th when classmates get together next September.

We are in the raw planning stages, but our two meetings have already reminded us of all we have in common and how happy we are to still be here. 

We are all looking forward to upcoming meetings and our gathering next fall and feeling pretty confident that with each event we can say, "a good time was had by all."

If yesterday's gathering was any indication, we're set. 




The best ever Reuben, even better than the last time I had a Reuben sandwich for lunch at DiLuna's Restaurant.  

I distinctly remember that time proclaiming that it was the best Reuben ever.  

Yesterday's version may have been even better.

I saved half for Bill to sample.  He thought it was pretty tasty too. 
 

Happy Tuesday.  

May the atmospheric river take a "slight detour" on its route through the area. 




Monday, November 18, 2024

Nice Escape

 


A High 5 to our dogs this morning. 

They allowed us to escape the slop and attend a Gonzaga women's basketball game yesterday. 

It was a last-minute plan after Bill learned his tickets would be available for the Gonzaga-Wyoming game. 

So, with past great behavior, we decided to test Bridie and Foster on a new adventure. 

We would drive them into Spokane, park in an area with lots of open space, take them for a walk and then leave them to hang out in the pickup for two hours while we attended the game. 

It worked, just fine.  The dogs had basically slept during our absence, and they were just awakening when we walked back to the pickup. 

After that, another nice walk in the area next to the Spokane River, and we all headed home. 

We also missed a full day of looking out the window at ever-increasing slop. 

That was a good thing, especially for me, an unapologetic hater of slop. 

In short, Love dogs and Bulldogs, who defeated Wyoming, had a great day yesterday.  

















It was lovely walking through someone else's carpet of leaves and NO SNOW yesterday near the Gonzaga campus. 





I've put my blog on Speed Mode this morning because every time I look out the window, I see more snow falling. 

Bill pointed out to me just a few minutes ago that most of the leaves fell from the oak tree yesterday, which is rather unusual. 

This morning, the bulk of leaves now on the ground are not yet covered with snow. 

So, my plan is to get out there as early as possible to beat the crowd on whatever additional snowflakes intend to fall today. 

If I do pickup soon enough, bags and bags of slightly snowy oak leaves will go to their winter piles. 

Today's schedule also includes a 60th class-reunion planning meeting, so it's a busy day ahead. 

Happy Monday. 
 


GAME DAY Today

The undefeated men play tonight at 7 p.m.

GO, ZAGS!!!

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀