Coffee and...Part 24...! :-D

Have been out of touch with DG for a few days - Darius, your thinking is so clear...glad to see such wonderful support and advice for you here...also wish I could make things easier for you.

I wish, speaking for myself, clarity were as easy to bring to emotions as thinking. I'd love for my emotions to "have their hair done, makeup on and clean undies on a more regular basis". Well put, Sarv.

But, this afternoon found us on a log on a riverbank eating peaches and being buzzed by a hummingbird, who is going to have his own personal juicy peach when we return. By the time we reached that log, we were reeking with Off!, sweat, grime and noseeums embedded therein. Physically, makeup etc. is not on my list of requisites for happiness.

Happy birthday Julie and a belated one to BetsyBug - have you two tried physical therapy for your orthopedic issues? It has helped my arms and back considerably - wouldn't have made it to that log today without it. We put a plywood board under our mattress which helps. Am wondering about those pillows that keep you from turning in your sleep into positions that aggravate orthopedic issues, too. For all our birthdays, I wish us continued optimism which is one thing making us gardeners anyway - even if only in spirit.

M5, hope you feel better...Mary, that the fire comes under control soon...Defoecat, keep us posted on your carpal tunnel...

Kooger and Blooms - buried in tumbleweed? We've been buried in weeds, too - live ones when various obstacles kept us out of the garden - but what a pickle. So, if someone could make a business selling them, I wonder what use the folks made out of the tumbleweed they bought. Many years ago, I read in the old Organic Gardening magazine that tumbleweed originated with a type of alfalfa we imported from Russia back in the 1920's in a breeding program for livestock fodder.

I know I've missed some people here - have enjoyed all your posts and will try not to get so far behind.

Karen

Hi everyone. Oh, I know most of you are probably in bed by now. It's still light here, sun is down behind the mountains now and it is still almost 90, inside and out!

Happy birthday Julie, hey, you are not old! Quit saying that stuff. It's all a state of mind, so think young!

I had a busy day starting with going up to the neighbor's field and loading my pickup with broken hay bales, supposably before it got hot..... but I slept until 6 and I wanted to get up at 5. The sun was up and getting pretty hot already so by the time I got back home (about 7:30) I was already in need of a shower. After that we went to town and had breakfast, that way hubby can order anything he wants and I don't have to cook it or clean up the mess. When we got home I started irrigating the garden and mowed the lawn between trips up and down the hill, trying to work on the cool side of the house. The garden of course was in full sun and it was hot. Every now and then I came inside to cool off and drink a big glass of water.

Our neighbor brought us a load of hay which is about 3 1/2 tons. It comes on a stacker truck that picks up the bales in the field and stacks them on the truck which tips like a dump truck and pushes the load off in our barn all neatly stacked. We don't even have to touch it until we take a bale off to feed to the horses. He will bring another load or maybe two when he gets it baled, and that will last until about this time next year.

The garden irrigation and some weeding took the rest of the day so then it was time for dinner. The dishes are still waiting to be loaded into the dishwasher, it is just too hot to wash them by hand! I usually wash them by hand since there are only two of us, but there are times when the dishwasher makes more sense. I think it takes less hot water and soap to do them by hand, and I guess so many years of being broke has made an imprint on me like folks who lived through the depression and the rest of their lives felt the need to save every penny. Well, I'm not that bad but I am a saver.

The fires are staying away from us. The one we have been watching is still active but not spreading too much. One of my neighbors is working on it, he says the biggest problem is lack of humidity, and probably just about as bad is the lack of roads in the area for access to fight the thing. We saw more hot spots last night. It isn't a real big fire but sure is persistant. The way the winds blow around here it isn't likely to come our way even with a wind change. We aren't even getting any smoke from it. I am glad we don't live in the woods, some places that is nice but around here it is not a good idea.

It's time to call it a day.

I tracked you down ~ Happy Birthday!

Hi Moby! Have a good birthday, Julie. Gotta run.....I owe...I owe...so off to work I go...

What a wonderful start to 'another' birthday! Thank you, everyone!! (...and the "old" part will stick with me until I can look back and say..."Gee, I wasn't *that* old after all!" Sorta like looking back on my weight and appearance as I was 20-30 years ago. MAN do I wish someone had told me how GOOD I looked back then! LOL)

Kooger, my SIL was born Dec 25th (same year as me) and she has always delighted in being "younger" then me. (I was always happy when she got to the same the age. hehehe

DH started my day off with the cutest little carrot cake slice WITH one lit match on top. Said he couldn't find a candle. :-D I was just glad he didn't try to stick a BIC on top and tell me to light it myself!! (He can be SOoooo funny at times.)

Hey Moby! Hey Karen! It's so good to see you guys! And thanks for the bday wishes!

Marcia (BB) and Sarv...Maybe I'm just getting sympathy pains in my arm for you guys. (I sure hope mine won't stick around much longer. It's still a little hard asking for help getting into that 'upper body contraption. LOL However...I *did* discover last night that I can get OUT of it with using only my left hand!! I'm either GOOD *or* DETERMINED! :-D)

I can't think of the 'upper body contraption' without remembering Robert's comment (Still chuckle with that one!) and when I think of Robert, I think of outdoor construction and arbors. (How's your's doing?) And then I think of DH has on his list. We sat on the patio a lot yesterday...and (believe it or not) DH decided it was time to put the 'privacy' fence, arbor and gate between the front and side yards. YEA!!! (I think he's doing it for me as a birthday present - he has trouble trying to figure out what to give me. ;-)) So, Robert, if you don't have anything else to do today, you can come help with the construction. Then the next time you have a project, I'll send Eric over to help you...how's that for a deal? :-D

Darius...just wanted to let you know you're in my thoughts. And that I hope you're doing well.

I don't know what the day holds for me, I've got no particular plans at the moment. So, I'll sign off...wishing you all a GREAT day...and I'll be counting my blessings, Mary. :-)

~julie~

Julie, from the ripe 'old' age of 66+, I can tell you it doesn't really feel any different. And soc sec is a nice benefit to offset the owie part. so:

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JULIE"

LOL...Blooms, :-D I'm already making SS a part of my future goals and aspirations. hehehe (Just two more years...and I'll...uh...have a *little* more money to spend on PLANTS!!! LOL)

Thanks for the "no difference"...I was hoping it would get BETTER! ;-)

~julie~

Julie, I took my SS at age 62, after a worker at SS went over the numbers with me. This fall mine goes down nearly a hundred bucks because I will be elgible for Medicare insurance. Not that Medicare pays so great.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:)

Susan

Thanks Susan...

Darius...*ouch* a hundred bucks a month for the medicare? That's a PITA for sure. Glad you told me...now I can look forward to getting LESS plants with my SS. ;-)

~julie~

Julie, this year Medicare is $78 as far as I can tell, but it's sure to go up. Plus, if you don't take it right away, the penalty/payment really increases with each month you wait. If you are sure of a stable long-term insurance coverage for as long as you live, Medicare isn't the best deal.

Julie, my DOB is the 26th (Boxing Day in Canada - British Commonwealth countries) so it was always a holiday! My cousin's was the 24th so he always bragged that he was older and more mature than I -- we were best buds -- lost him and another friend at 17.5 yrs. to drunk driving -- he was the driver. But your mention of ur fun rivalry with ur SIL brought back some great memories of our growing up days together. :)

Julie-- ditch those "upper body contraptions" - I bought a dozen of those tanky tops with the built in bra and I seldom wear anything else. I wear them under everything!! Have one on as I type - much more comfortable. You can put them on over your head or up from the legs and take them off the same way. Can't say enough good about them.

Hey Darius - how come SS goes down? Doesn't seem fair. Just hope there's some left when I am ready for it. Just went to get gas and it was $2.55 - man did it take a leap!! I am on empty, so I had to fill up!

Hopped on the scale and the new diet starts TODAY. So far, so good - I am having fresh tomatoes on toast- yum. I could eat half a dozen of them tho. Also have a nasty headache from caffine withdrawal.

MIL called this morning and said "I have to go to the hospital on thurs" - not could you take me... grrr - her monthly blood test is due. She complained that her heart rate is way up and she is stopping all her heart medicine - the doc doesnt' know what he is doing. I didn't try to fight her on that one- she won't listen to me anyhow - why waste my breath! My folks are coming out this afternoon to rummage in the garden. I send them home with a load and they give it to all their friends - which is fine with me. Gives them some pleasure to tell everyone that they picked it themselves. They actually stand at the end of the row with a bag and I bring the stuff to them.

Weather is cloudy here, but the hot/humid stuff is here. Can't remember a summer like this..Very unusual. I wonder if the winter will be as strange. We haven't had a bad one in years and I wouldn't mind one again = just for old times sake!

Gonna go out and brew some alfalfa tea - I did the fish emulsion last week. Cat caught a mouse this morning and spent hours throwing it up and pouncing on it- then had it for breakfast. Now he wants to lick me - YUCK>>>

I'm in the midst of my fourth hot flash today - I'm keeping track of them to tell the doc. I've had enough of this!!

take care all!!

Sarv, I wish you luck on dieting. The one and only thing that works is discipline! That means NO cookies, cakes, candy, pies, ice cream and junk food in the house. Hard to do even when living alone, much less in a household.

It gets easier after a week or two, as long as discipline lives within you. I strongly suggest you go to the AHA site that Howie and Gardenwife recommend. http://www.deliciousdecisions.org/cb/rec.html I have found lots of tasty recipes there. Their mainpage gives guidelines, and although you may waive it away saying you have no heart disease, this will help prevent it. http://www.deliciousdecisions.org/

Crude oil hit an all time high yesterday so I guess all of us will face higher gasoline prices almost immediately. $27 to fill up my mini truck with a 11-1/2 gal. tank if I'm not quite on empty.

SS deducts Medicare Part B payments monthly from your SS checks.

Hospital stays are covered under Medicare Part A, which is free. This includes:
A semi-private room
Meals
Nursing
Hospital services and supplies
Inpatient mental health care (lifetime limit of 190 days)

What You Pay
Days in Hospital You Pay
1-60 Up to $876
61-90 $219 per day
91-150 $438 per day
151 + All costs

Medicare Part B is Medical Insurance Rather Than Hospital Insurance. It Helps To Pay For:

* physician services
* outpatient hospital services
* emergency room visits when you are treated and released.
* outpatient surgery
* diagnostic tests
* clinical labe services
* outpatient physical therapy
* speech therapy
* medical equipment and supplies
* rural health clinic services
* renal dialysis
* other health services and supplies


http://my.webmd.com/content/pages/16/98769
http://www.themonroetimes.com/m0803med.htm

Then there's Medicare Part D which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2006. Haven't seen yet what that will cost.

Medigap ins. policies can run to several hundred dollars a month.

Darius, thanks for the sites. I gotta look into this more thoroughly to be sure I did the right thing.

Sarv, BITE your tongue.

>>>I wonder if the winter will be as strange. We haven't had a bad one in years and I wouldn't mind one again = just for old times sake!

Thanks, Blooms. I really need to read up, have to make the decision SOON about Medicare Part B, and Part D. I could end up choosing health care and reduced to eating dog food.

I have Medicare Part A and B. I also have a Medicare suppliment through AARP that I pay 175.25 per month for. I know that seems high, but it covers all the deductibles. That $860.00 up front for a hospital stay is a killer. It also pays the difference between what Medicare pays for your doctor and what he charges. There is also a discount on drugs at certain drugstores. I might not have chosen to pay for the extra coverage, but at my age it just seemed fairest thing to do for my children.
Pati

So, you are paying over $3,000 a year for various health insurances. Would your bills be that much (assuming no catastrophe)?

Wow Darius - you have all the stats! All this health coverage makes me nervous and crazy. I just want SOMEONE to tell me what to get!! I do have health coverage with my retirement, but they are trying to take it away. I feel so fortunate to have it, but that could change overnight however. When DH got the boot at age 50, he was left with nothing- nada. He is covered under mine and I remind him often how lucky he is. He hasn't been to a doc in years and is never sick, but all it take is one illness and he would be on skid row. I took a much less pension so that he could have coverage for his lifetime. He better appreciate me!! LOL

Nother question - how do you know if you should take SS at age 62 or wait until 65. Is there some magic formula that I should be looking at?

Out moving the hoses again. Things are so dry. I have a huge brug with over 100 buds, but it totally wilts each day. It is in a far out part of the garden that seldom gets water. Sink or swim I guess.

As far as dieting, I know what to do. I've been a weight watcher for years - I just fall off the wagon often. I am starting back to contours the end of this month- that will help me. My body just craves sweets and I cannot say no.

I need to make a run to the bank - gotta move some $$. All this wedding booha rah left me considerably poorer. Thank goodness it is a one time thing - I refuse to do weddings number 2.

AH, therein lies the rub! At my age I can't assume no catastrophe. I can only do this because I live rent free in my little apartment in my son's house, and only pay the telephone bill. He pays all the rest, cable, electric, yard service, pool service, etc. He has a new wife and step-daughter, so I just figure this is my contribution to their future.

So, you see, this isn't the answer for everyone. It's just what I think is fair.
Pati

Sarv, make an appointment with a SS clerk near you. Have her/him tote up waht amount you might for the next XX years, from both age 62, and age 65. Mine came out about even if I lived to 80, and although I don't get as much a month, I was able to have a couple of years (62-64) with an income, some health, do gardening and still work on the side a bit.

Pati, maybe I should have gotten pg when I was playing around with all those handsome boys in my youth... one child might have given me a place to live, LOL. (Probably not.)

They changed thew SS rules a few years ago. Used to be your income was based on the XX highest quarters of reported income. Now it's based on the last quarters. Bummer for me because I was self-employed after about age 52 and after allowable deductions for expenses, didn't have much reportable income. I get about half what i would have if I had continued to work for corporate america in a comprobable position until age 62.

WHAT???? It's based on your last quarters??? So after working for 33 yrs, I am retired, and am getting a measley income from a buy out for the next 8 yrs. until my SS starts. My SS can't be figured on that paltry sum is it? Man I need to look into that. DH worked in tool and die and made ok wages, but got the boot at age 50 and hasn't gotten a good job yet (6 yrs) He works for minimun wages practically. Will his be figured on the min. wage job? Man, I hope NOT!! Oh dear.....something more to worry about.... say it ain't so!!

Well, Sarv, that is the information have. Maybe you need to schedule an appointment with the local SS office now, and figure it out for both you and DH. At least that will help you plan ahead.

I was happily trudging down the road thinking I'd get around $1800 a month, then Reality kicked in.

won't sleep tonight for sure.....

LOL, I haven't slept well since I started getting my checks and doing a budget to make ends meet. Not fun, and not what I expected.

My mother worked (part-time) at Medieval Times (tourist place) in Orlando until her stroke at age 81, just because she couldn't make ends meet. I'd still work if there were jobs.

Darius, just an added note.....I took SS at 65 but continued to work until I was 70, so for 5 years I was still building my SS. My husband took his at 62. At his death I had the choice of taking his figure or continuing with my own. Because I had worked the extra years my SS payment was more than his. When SS is the only income for two, it really makes a difference when one is stopped.
Pati

Oh super! (that was a sarcastic "super") Here I thought SS was based on the income average of a worker's lifetime. Oh well...mine wouldn't have been very high no matter which way they looked at it. So what happens to the amount they tell us on our SS statement every year? Goes down *if* you don't work the last three years before claiming?

Thanks for the info on the AARP medi-gap insurance, Pati. I was wondering about that. I know I'll *have* to figure on something because my regular lab and check-up would easily eat up the premiums I'd pay for it.

Thanks to *everyone* for this topic.

~julie~
Be back later

Yes, it's a sad awakening for all of us who are close to, or ready to draw SS.

Julie, it generally goes down every year you don't work and pay SS taxes.

Pati, I didn't know you could increase SS if you continued to work and pay in. I sensed that if I worked with reportable income, my SS check would drop. Don't know what the current limit for other income is...

Darius, DH was told he could make 11 or 12 K before losing any of his SS money...and after that amount he would lose 1 dollar for every 2 he made *over* that amount. Hope that helps.

~julie~

Thanks, Julie.Since I don't have a job, it's rather a moot point right now.

BTW, I had to switch Browsers to read this thread... usually doesn't happen until many more posts. May have just been a fluke.

To the rest of you: I had NO intention of this discussion on SS being a downer, just wanted to share what I knew.

Gee Darius...we don't even have that many pictures in this thread. Maybe it really was just a fluke.

How is everyone else doing on the loading? Is it time for a new thread?

Darius...the SS discussion isn't a downer for me. I'd rather be prepared knowing what I have to plan for than have it surprise me when I turn that corner later on. (Thanks again for the info)

~julie~

Julie, I wish I had had some forewarning too. I would have done a couple of things differently, and I'm only talking 3-4 years ago.

Darius, I'd rather outsmart the surprises that accompany ignorance, too - I really appreciate this input from you and other GOBs on retirement SS and hope to see more discussion on related topics here.

Since being laid off, I had spurts of health that enabled me to pursue old dreams and was entertaining the idea of finishing college in those areas, which would require at least 2 years full time in school, as opposed to working full time.

We consulted a financial adviser who told me that at my age - 59 years now - it was definitely wiser - financially - to forget pursuing any degree requiring full time study and to go back to work full time as soon as possible and to make as much money as I could till retirement age (I did - ack - secretarial work).

I think I'd rather live on dog food if that becomes necessary to pursue the dream, but given various uncertainty factors in my situation, again, thanks for this information and impetus to dialog.

And pass the ketchup.

Yes, that was a very rude awakening to find they are not using your "best" 40 quarters. I put a good solid 10 years in back in the 80-90's. Made real good money paid in nearly to the maximum. Then I went into business for myself and of course the income went down. Periodically I get SS statement updates and I can see what they did.

The 40 quarters only qualifies you. Well, I decided I shall collect on my ex's account. He worked solid, made good money up until he recently retired and we were married long enough to qualify me for wife's benefits. I have no plans nor intentions of remarrying, so why not?

BTW, it's still a ways down the road for me to be collecting, some 14 years. Hopefully the plan will work out.

Molly
:^)))

Molly, he has to die before you can collect on his SS.

I know someone on disability - other than Darius - who, after rent is subtracted from her monthly allowance, has a ridiculously miserly amount of money with which to buy groceries. You'd think, that - especially for people so sick they have to go on disability - our system would make some provision for their special dietary needs, let alone staying alive.

Does anyone have any comments or ideas how to meet this challenge?

No, he can just retire. I think.

At least, I started collecting on my ex-husband's before he died. He was the one to help me find both marriage and divorce certificates. He said he'd paid in all those years and he wanted me to have the benefits. Makes it so I don't have to work., which pleased him mightily. LOL I think it felt like a small revenge to him.

This message was edited Aug 8, 2005 5:59 PM

Blooms, my mother could not collect on her last husband's SS until he died (and they were still married). Then she had the option of his SS or hers. His was higher, so she took it. Also she gets a pittance from his Carpenter's Union pension. You have a chance to collect on any retirement they may have privately, though.

Karen, it's a large challenge, with no answers. A new DG friend has suggested I apply for Sec. 8 housing and try to get my apartment certified. I had planned to do that today but lethargy set in. I tried last fall but they had no funding.

Medicaid in NC allows you to keep $125 a month for living expenses including rent, food, utilities, etc. before they will fund you for Medicaid/Disability. Which is my $4,300 deductible every 6 months.

Tomorrow I have an early eye appt. with the only eye doc who takes Medicaid in the area, and then in late afternoon I have my last WRAP class and a small "graduation" celebration afterwards. (I'm NOT taking anything sweet, just to offset what others will bring!)

Karen, you should look into WRAP, and if you take it and then a 2 month class of 2 days a week, there is gainful employment available. I'll send you the website.

Maybe in between the eye appt and class, and working around cooking, I can contact someone about Sec. 8 and see if they have current funding. Man, I hate being on the dole, even though I paid in the max for many years.