We have a new sand filter for the pool. Big expense, but not as big an expense as repairing the broken manifold and replacing filters in our old cartridge-style unit (mainly because those parts are no longer manufactured and are hard to find). Our pool guy did a great job with the installation and everything’s working perfectly now.
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Funny how you pay off a second mortgage, think you now have a little slack in your budget, and whammo … expensive things suddenly break or wear out. It isn’t just the pool: Donna’s car needs tires, and oh by the way she cracked a tooth and needs a crown. It doesn’t stop there. See the creepy-crawly in the pool? It decided to break too, and a replacement will cost over $300 (minor miracle: our pool guy was able to wrap the crack in the old one with waterproof tape, but it’s a temporary fix and won’t last long). Fingers crossed our old air conditioner lasts out this brutal summer.
Because we order prescription dog food from Chewy.com and have our dachshunds registered there, in addition to changing the food order online I clicked a box to let them know Mr. B passed on. They sent a nice sympathy card, and then a day later delivered a vase of flowers to the house. That is touchingly nice of them.
My AFib journey continues. No, it hasn’t come back! I underwent an ablation procedure in May and so far my heartbeat has been regular. I know this because I wear a smart watch to track it. But the electrocardiologist who did the ablation told me that at some point she’d put me on a heart monitor, one that works with a cell phone to send minute-by-minute data to her clinic. Well, the time has come. The heart monitor has been shipped and when it arrives I’m to wear it for 14 days, then send it back. With luck, my heart will continue to behave over those 14 days and she’ll be able to take me off one or more of the medications I’m currently taking. So it’s good news.
But here’s the gooder part of said good news: there’ll be no reason for me to wear the smart watch while I’m wearing the monitor, so I can go back to wearing my beloved dumb wristwatches all day, every day. Yay!
Speaking of medical needs, after our initial Covid vaccinations in 2021, we’d go in for boosters twice a year. After our last shots in September 2024, we sort of decided to let it slip to one a year (not sure “decided” is the right verb … mostly we just got complacent). Anyway, we plan to get Covid boosters and annual flu shots this September. Where? Where we usually go, the Walgreens on the corner near our house, where shots are covered by Medicare and our supplemental insurance.
But I know Republicans, and while they always claim they only want the freedom to decide for themselves whether or not to get vaccinations (or have veto power over what books their kids get assigned in school, etc), they always — always! — wind up trying to force their personal choices on the rest of us. I worry Trump and RFK Jr.’s next step in the war on public health will be to threaten chain pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS with penalties unless they agree to stop offering vaccinations. I can totally see that happening, and soon. Why would they do that? Because it’s who they are. Because vaccinations are woke. Because.
On that cheerful note, I’ll sign off. Stay fresh, cheese bags!