Day five of the November challenge

Before I say anything else, I want to tell you all how very much I appreciated your wonderful, wonderful comments and advice on yesterday‘s post. It was very helpful and just knowing you all care means a lot to us. There is nothing new today except... I had my six month check up with my new cardiologist as mine retired this year and I don’t have to go back for another year! That is such good news. I also have about 5 1/2 years left on the battery for my pacemaker if I continue to use it at this rate. That would just get me into Medicare! Apparently I’m still having quite a few bouts of tachycardia and then my heart slows down and stops. It’s like it doesn’t quite know what it wants to do.  Go fast or not at all!

Anyway, I haven’t been able to go an entire year between appointments since I got the pacemaker a little over five years ago. So this is good news indeed. I asked him about weaning off some of my medications and he said absolutely not. Apparently I have had multiple episodes of tachycardia with my heart rate well over 220 bpm and I didn’t even know it. One of the medications is supposed to help with that and obviously I can’t stop it if I’m still having episodes while I’m taking the highest dose I can.

Today’s subject of the challenge is to SHARE YOUR FEARS.

Oh boy! I have always been a worrier, so I have a lot of fears. I guess one that has been with me my entire life is the fear of being homeless. It makes absolutely no sense because I have never been homeless. Well, until now and technically our RV is our home.

I have always been afraid of snakes and other creepy, crawlys.

I guess this year a big fear that a lot of us have is this virus.  I know I’m not alone in that. It’s the unknown, I think, that gets to a lot of us. How long is it going to last? Will anyone we know get it?

For those of us in the US another fear right now is the election and everything that goes along with it. I am not exactly afraid but I do worry about possible violence by one or the other side when a decision is finally made. We are supposed to be the UNITED States of America and it saddens me to see what’s happening to and in our beautiful country.

Every morning when I read my Bible I asked God to deal with my fears and to help calm them and take them away. And it works! He is so good to me. There is no reason to really fear anything if you put your trust in the Lord.

I made a hat today for a Christmas gift but it was pitch dark before I finished it. I’ll take a picture of it tomorrow and put it with DAY 6 of the November challenge.

Again, I just want to thank you all for your friendship and your love. I hope you all have an absolutely wonderful Friday wherever you may be. I’m taking Chloe to the vet at noon for her six month check up. Fun times!

Blessings and love,

Betsy

November Challenge Day Four

Day four of the challenge I’m supposed to tell you songs that I currently love.  It would be easier to tell you groups that I currently love. Let’s see. In the cars we typically listen to 50s, 60s and Christian music on Sirius radio. Inside the RV, I have Pandora and I have lots of my favorite groups in my playlist. We listen to the Carpenters, Fleetwood Mac, Bread, Alabama, the Oak Ridge Boys, the Statler Brothers and lots of different Christian groups. I’m sure many of you have heard of Pentatonix, an acappella group. We enjoy their music.  I have recently discovered another acappella group of five young man called Home Free. Their fans are called Home Fries! Ha! Typically they take country songs and they remake them. They have a beat boxer who is just plain amazing.

If any of you ever watch YouTube, Pentatonix has a version of Mary did you know, which is one of my favorite songs ever and I think they have the best video of it I’ve ever seen.  Home Free also does a lot of YouTube videos. They have been releasing a new video every Friday for their fans since they can’t tour due to Covid. They also have some hilariously funny videos set to music.

I was able to finish two pair of mittens yesterday. Nita has graciously offered to keep the mittens for me as I make them for next year’s delivery. I don’t have much room in the RV to store a big bag of mittens!

I received this book yesterday from Amazon. One of you had it on your blog recently. Sam, was it you? I’ve been watching Amazon and I didn’t want to pay $28 for the book and then this one popped up for $7. It said it was in fair condition, but it arrived and it looks new to me!  I can’t wait to sit down and read it.

I frogged the shawl! The balls are safely tucked away in a plastic bag for me to knit again someday soon. I have a few Christmas gifts to get done first. Thank you all for your most excellent advice.

Also, I thank you all for your prayers after my post yesterday. I didn’t mean to be so vague, but I didn’t have permission to share the details yet. The news is that the company Dennis works for is being sold or closed. One way or another, within 3 to 6 months the company will be no more. The business was mainly international and since there is no traveling due to Covid, that pretty much put the company under. The owner has said that Dennis can stay with one of his other companies until he retires if that’s what Dennis decides. That will mean learning an entirely new job at 65 years old which is a bit scary. However, we are very, very grateful for that opportunity. Others are not so fortunate and will be losing their jobs.  Dennis has been there for 27 years. A head-hunter came to Omaha and hired him from his former job and brought him out here.  He has been very happy at his job and has a lot of respect for the owner of the company. It is just one of the unavoidable results of this pandemic. A year later and it might not have affected us so much as he would have been that much closer to retirement.

The biggest problem is me. Dennis is eligible for Medicare in January, as he will be 65. However, I will just be 61 in February. That means I have four more years before I can get Medicare. With having a pacemaker and a possible battery replacement in the next couple of years, there is no way I can be without insurance. I also take several prescriptions for my heart, so we need prescription coverage. I told Dennis tonight that I could just stop taking those pills or wean myself off of them, but he said absolutely not and that we would figure something out. I will probably have to go on Obamacare, so we have contacted a broker to see how much the cost would be for me. I have been told by other people it could be over $1000 a month premium and that doesn’t include out-of-pocket and co-pay expenses or prescriptions. They can’t turn me down for a pre-existing condition, but they can charge anything they want. 

This year just keeps getting better and better. First I lost my brother to Covid. Then Dennis lost his sister to pancreatic cancer. He also lost an aunt and uncle earlier this year.  We sold our house that we had been in for almost 20 years, which was very stressful, although it is a relief to have that behind us. Now this. Add the stress of the elections and the pandemic and sometimes it gets to be almost too much.

I have my semi annual cardiologist visit tomorrow and maybe I’ll ask them if they have any ideas of where we can turn for insurance. 

So now you see why I asked for some prayers yesterday.  Every time we think we have plans made, something comes along to change them and they are not always good things.  However, if there is one thing I’m sure of, it is that God is still on His throne and none of this surprises Him. He wants only what is best for His children and if we put our faith in Him, He will see us through. I appreciate each and everyone of you and all of the support and love that you show me all of the time. I’m sorry to bring negative content to my blog, but I do share my life with you and these are all parts of it.

I should be back tomorrow with day five of the November challenge.  Take care my dear friends.

Blessings and hugs, 

Betsy

Day Three of the November Challenge

Today I’m supposed to share with you three ways to win my heart.

1.  You would have to be honest. My father-in-law used to tell our children that you are only as good as your word. The first time you are caught in a lie, even if it’s the only time you ever lie, you can never get that total trust back with the person you lied to or were dishonest with.  I know without a doubt that my Dennis is the most honest person I have ever met in my life.

2.  You have to be a kind person who cares about others. I believe that this one is self-explanatory.  You would have to try to the best of your ability to never knowingly hurt someone or something.

3.  Chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. 😍

Thank you to those who gave me advice about the shawl. To those of you who said I would never be happy unless I rip it out and knit it again, you are probably right. I think what I will do is knit it it using each skein of yarn for alternate rows. That way there should be a consistent color change throughout. Thank you for all of your wonderful advice.

I was asked a question about my post yesterday regarding the fact that the little town that I grew up in that was part of Iowa, was in the middle of Omaha, Nebraska. The flood that changed the course of the Missouri River and left that bit of Iowa in Nebraska, happened long before I was born. I honestly don’t know what year it was, but it wasn’t the horrendous floods of 1993 that damaged a lot of things along the length of the Missouri River.

Another thing I found interesting as I read through the comments was how many of us can’t swim! And here all of these years I thought I was alone out there. Ha! It’s good to know that I am in such wonderful company of non-swimmers!

I have started knitting mittens again for next year and I made two pair today as the rain pounded down on the roof of the RV. I was so glad it wasn’t snow. In fact, snow isn’t in the forecast until next Tuesday. Hallelujah! That gets us through one more week without the white stuff on the ground as almost all of the 7 inches that fell last Friday has melted.

We have had some unsettling news that I am not at liberty to share right now, but it could affect our retirement plans in a big way. Please keep us in your prayers as decisions are made in the next days and weeks. I’m sorry to be so mysterious and I will definitely share details with you as soon as I can.  Don’t worry, we are both healthy and it has nothing to do with that.

Blessings and hugs, 

Betsy