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One saving grace is if our current President wants to cut Social Security, Medicare, and cut funding given to the States for Medicaid, it would take an act of Congress.

I wonder how many of our Congresspeople and Senators would be saying "yeah, great idea" when a large percentage of voters are senior citizens.
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It depends how many of their voters have paid substantial long term care insurance premiums, FF.

And, how successfully they can present the concept that these benefits will be withdrawn or withheld only from the Undeserving. Cheats, idlers, scoundrels, the feckless, smokers, illegal immigrants (obviously). You know, the usual suspects.
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A letter came in the mail, I am doing my happy dance.... not happy in the meaning of gleeful but in the mean that the project is finally done.

The letter was from the County Probate office, my Dad's Probate was finally signed off.... heck we started the Probate back in late 2016 a couple months after Dad passed. Yes, Dad had a Will as in my County even Wills of a certain asset amount has to pass through Probate.

Finally I can distribute funds that my Dad asked me to do to my cousins who were so sweet to write, call, and send greeting cards to my parents over the years. They aren't expecting this :))

Whew, I thought the Probate would out live me, and would have created a whole new complex issue.

Why does getting old have to be so complicated :P
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FF, have you read "Bleak House"?

It might make you want to send that Probate Office flowers and candy.
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It made me want to look it up anyway, so I'll explain.

When Bleak House was published as a book in 1853, it had been serialised before so Dickens wrote a preface. He explained that he had been taken to task in a jocular way by a judge who accused Dickens of greatly exaggerating the problems of the Court of Chancery, for which in any case (the judge said) the court was not to blame.

Essentially retorting "have I buggery exaggerated! - if anything I've downplayed it" Dickens mentions some cases from real life including one "not yet decided, which was commenced before the close of the last century, and in which more than double the amount of seventy thousand pounds* has been swallowed up in costs. If I wanted other authorities for JARNDYCE v. JARNDYCE, I could rain them on these pages..."

* = £8,365,544.90 today, or $11,217,191.85

If you haven't read Bleak House and you've plenty of time on your hands this summer, I do recommend it. But don't drop it on your foot.
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CountryMouse, i just read some of what the story is about on Wikipedia. Oh good grief, now that case is complicated. Makes what we do a walk in the park :P
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It's the people who get sucked in to it and what happens to them that makes the story; and it is the brilliant thing about Dickens - you can see exactly the kind of characters he describes walking around today.

"Hard Times" is just as relevant - and a LOT shorter! :)
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Speaking of Bleak House, I've been feeling kind of bleak these days. I went for a job interview on Friday. Before anyone says "way to go Gershun", it wasn't exactly Rocket Scientist material. I got so stressed out and over prepared for it. When I actually sat down for the interview it was such a let-down and I've been depressed over it all weekend. Minimum wage..............I don't know what the minimum wage is for you all in the states but here it's low. The job would be permanent part-time, so four hours a day. I don't know. Four hours a day at minimum wage is hardly worth getting out of bed for. I don't mean to sound like an ungrateful snob but I believe I'm worth more than that. I'm so overqualified for the position.

But getting a new outfit for the interview and rehearsing answers and all that to find that it's practically an entry-level position. I know I shouldn't but I feel like such an idiot. Going downtown all excited in my new glad rags. Now I feel let-down and depressed. Partially cause I've been out of the workforce for a while now and I just don't feel like I fit in there anymore. Not that I ever really did but you know.

I'm not a caregiver anymore so what am I now. Just an unemployed 56- year-old woman with nothing to do and no money to do it. I think my Hubs would like it just fine if I were to just stay home and clean all day. And our new place needs cleaning all day cause we made the mistake of buying a place right across from railroad and a recycling plant. We go out and scrub the balcony from top to tail and two days later it's filthy again. We have this system in our place that recycles the air from outside to inside to outside again. Sounds wonderful in theory except we are dusting all day every day it seems. I don't mean to sound ungrateful but I think I would rather live in an old place that is lower maintenance.

Anywho, that's my gripe for the week. :(
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Gershun;
What you are wanting right now is a track record. I think that when we re-enter the job market, whether it's after childcare leave or eldercare leave, if we don't have special qualifications or certifications, there is sometimes a bit of catchup to be done.

I'm not saying you need to take THIS job; it's just that you might need to lay down a couple of months of a track record at being employed before you get to jump a couple of rungs.

No, DO NOT stay home and clean. Cleaning in an honorable profession. But it should be done by a professional. The rest of us really suck at it. At least, I do.
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I totally get what you are saying Barb. I always make sure to state in my covering letters that I was a caregiver for several years etc., so if I am called to an interview that part is common knowledge.

I know I can't expect to just start back where I left off but to be honest with you I don't want that anyways. I really just would like to have somewhere I need to be and having my own income so I don't have to ask Hubs for money when I see something I like would be nice. I'm not a shopaholic by any means but it would be nice to occasionally buy myself a new lipstick without running to Papa, so to speak.

I felt so old and dowdy when I went downtown too. I know it's something that most of us have to face eventually but it sure brings your self-esteem down a notch.

I know that most of you are dealing with things that are so much more important than this and forgive me if I sound like a cow. I don't mean to.
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Gershun I wish I could find some kind of work too, just $1000 a month would make a huge impact and it would give me something to do and somewhere to go. Unfortunately I'm discovering that I would have to put in way too many hours and work way too hard to earn that money and I'm not willing to do that anymore at my age, I'd rather live under a bridge (not that it will ever come to that).
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I hear ya willie. I've got insomnia as a few of you might know so I think I'd need to straighten that out first before I could tackle a job anyhow. I could definitely handle four hours a day but..................I don't know. My self-esteem is so low right now and the child that was interviewing me and yes, she was not a child but seemed so was picking up on it, or maybe she wasn't and I just thought that cause...............my self-esteem is so low. LOL
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I've been working part-time, and it gives me a reason to get out of bed in the morning and going somewhere. Just being around other people is great. I am in my early 70's and I refuse to retire. Commute is only 3 minutes unless I get the red light at the entrance of my subdivision, then the commute is almost doubled :P

Retire to what? How many times can I vacuum the rug? Or wipe off the kitchen counter? Oh joy, what excitement !! I know my Mom did this for 75 years as that was her "job" taking care of the house and pampering my Dad. Not my cup of tea.

But I do have to admit, modern technology as flashed by me too quickly. I use to be an expert using DOS. How time flies!! Our office recently hired a "social media" person to keep us on-track and getting the business name out there. She makes it looks so easy. Heck I still can't remember how to answer my cellphone :P
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So many women go thru this. I’m fortunate that I’ve been able to Keep on working. Even when I was with my Mom I was able to work at home.

One of my friends dropped out of the work force when she had children. She then took care of her MIL and her parents. Ready and able to go back to work at 68. She couldn’t find anything. Her accounting and computer skills were totally out of date. She started volunteering with RSVP helping seniors do their taxes. Within a year through people she met at RSVP she got a good job as an accountant, now has her CPA.

PJ and I plan on working as long as our health and bodies hold up.
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Getting back to a paying job. uGH. I really thought it would never happen. But, it did. I looked in my home area for seven months after caring for mom for four years. I got to the point that I just wanted to find something in my profession. I had completed my masters degree soon after starting care for mom. It was a bit of help, but the care time was an overriding factor. I had to push my boundaries, think outside of the box and found a position... 450 miles from home and my kids.

I went with a good attitude and was so grateful even though it was not perfect by any stretch. Within six months I knew I would be looking again. My supervisor was a complete a$$. He even wrote me up for having a shoe untied. For crying out loud!

So a year later I moved again, much closer to home, 120 miles now, a couple of hours in the car to see my kids. And in spite of it being a challenging political position, you can NEVER make all the people all of the time, I am enjoying it. Those elected officials want everyone happy always. Life just is not that way.

So, Gershun, think outside the box, push your comfort zone. I had to be willing to go to a less competitive market, I did, it was very difficult and emotional, but it served a purpose. And now I am comfortable with where I am.

Do you have a work force center type service? Ours here offer courses to update skills. They have job hunting strategies and would help you. Good luck, I know how very hard it is. The right thing will come along. Get your foot in the door.
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gershun,
Until you can sort through where you'd be a good fit out in the work world, is there a charity or other organization that could use your help a few hours a week

When I was unemployed for an extended stretch, I reached out to a children's foster care group - I not only made a connection which helped me find a job but I made some new friends

Maybe take an adult community class and brush up on some computer skills or take something just for fun like a language or art
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All good ideas and I will definitely consider them. Thx everyone!
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temporary jobs worked for me for a long time.
word of mouth, not an agency.
in my field of medical assistant.

but look at me now, i cannot even capitalize properly at my age.

but once you get out into your neighborhood for a day or two,
you might find everyone else is having the same struggle, or worse.

promising myself to hide out at home more, it is a crazy world out there!
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Willie and all, I get the extra money issue. Hubs lost his job a few years ago,, it was not great paying,, but you really miss it when its gone! He now stays home with mom and takes care of her, and our property and the river home his dad owns, and has lately started for mowing/snow removal for a neighbor or two. My job paid more, and I had the benefits.. but it's been a challenge! And yes as freqflyer says,, I am not ready to retire yet! I could,, but I'd go crazy and I know it! My hubs temperament is better suited to stay home.. I plan to work 2 more years,, but I may work longer if I feel up to it.
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When I was in college or maybe high school, my dad always told me never quit a job until you have another one in the bag. In some part of my brain, I still hear him saying that. I come from a part of WV along the Ohio River valley where most people worked big farms, plus had a day job in Charleston. My mom worked full time, even past retirement age. I have all of that floating around in my head and I’m where will I work if I retire. What’s my next job?
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Gershun, I, too, thought I would go back to work in offices, since I had done Real Estate, managed a Best Western, secretarial at the Nat'l Park service, etc. etc. - boy had office work gotten past me! So I asked at the local AL if there were any residents whose FAMILIES might like a regular (paid means regular, as opposed to volunteer, which can mean when you feel like going) visitor. Guess what? It just so happened that someone's daughter was going away for 6 weeks and they would love to have the mom (Alzheimers) visited 2x a week while she was gone. This was private pay, a very good rate, only 2 hrs, which I put together with my shopping, visit to mom, lunch with a friend, or any other reason to get dressed and go to town. The job ended up lasting 2 years; half way through another daughter asked if I could visit her mom weekly - she'd like 2x a week, but can't manage that right now - and that is still happening - 2 1/2 years later. At only once a week, it pays for a housekeeper (Yeaaah!) and a day of handy person helping hubby outside (so I don't have to). Well worth it, and we have fun; out to coffee, lunch out or at the facility, drive to the river and sit with a DQ, sort her medicine cabinet, read to her, sit in the sun/shade and talk.... I always come back in a better mood, and always manage to make her laugh! What would a caregiver or relative who could afford it pay for that? Also, I'm another pair of eyes and ears if there are any problems.  What do you think?
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It's a beautiful Friday afternoon

Yaba daba do
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Had tooth surgery, been on amoxicillin. I remember as a kid getting penicillin shots. So nice just taking a pill.

Well, this sounds crazy, but my mind has been clearer and I am quicker on the recall than I have been in years. Hey I liked this :) I will be seeing my primary doctor next week for a routine check up and will ask her about this.

Yet I just checked on the internet and found medical reports that antibiotics can cause mental confusion. And here I had just the opposite. Oh well, I have always had some opposite reaction to meds, like pills to calm me down would make me nervous. Go figure.
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Has anyone had the shingles vaccine?

Dr suggested it today

I told him I had never had chicken pox as a child - he found that odd and asked if I was sure
Yes I'm sure
He said I should get it anyway
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"It is not possible to have shingles if you have never been exposed to chickenpox or the varicella virus that causes it.

"Once exposed, the virus can lay dormant for years. Most adults with the dormant virus never experience an outbreak of shingles or any further problems."

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154912.php

I guess it's possible you have been exposed to the virus without actually breaking out in chicken pox?  I imagine that's what your doctor is thinking, anyway. Is it possible to have NOT been exposed? Like, did you have a really isolated childhood?  Otherwise, you could've been exposed a hundred times at school and just not had the actual pox.

I've been thinking about getting the vax, but I'm not quite 50 yet....


Edit:  I just read that chicken pox is way more serious in adults - adults are more susceptible to complications like pneumonia, joint inflammation, and encephalitis, among other things.  Maybe you should get the chicken pox vax!

https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/chickenpox-varicella-vaccine-guidelines-for-adults#1
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I did a google about taking the shingles vaccine if you never had chicken pox. They do recommend it. Even if you had shingles, they recommend you still get the vaccine. Seems the shingles can re-occur.

Sis invited us to dinner at a Chinese restaurant. The chicken cashew was such a disappointment. It was darker color than it should have been. And very salty. Good thing I also ordered beef brocoli.

Anyway, on the way home around 6:45pm, we were driving down the side of the high hill (or small cliffside). I looked out towards the ocean and gasped. I said, "Look! The moon is so beautiful! It's so big and round! And it's orange!" I said that we should take a photo of it. {hint, hint} Hint was not taken.

As we continued driving down the cliffside, I said, "That is awfully big for a moon. I've never seen a moon that big. Maybe it's the sun????" Sis and hubby couldn't tell if it's the moon or the sun... Hubby said maybe it's the sun because it's setting on the opposite side of the sunrise. Wow... I didn't know we can stare right at the sun while it's setting. I mean, my eyes weren't hurting from looking at it directly. It was Orange!!! I mean the whole circle was orange. No other color in it... It's too bad sis and her hubby are not into natural beauty. I'm going to write a reminder note to myself to try to leave tomorrow around 6:30pm and find a beach where I can take a photo of the sun setting. FYI, someone on FB videotaped the sun setting behind the ocean line. The sky was purple, red and orange! Beautiful!
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My eyes landed on my cholesterol pills. I saw the issue date: 04/11/18... I have a 3 month follow-up with the blood test referral already given to me for it. I haven't been taking the pills for weeks. I opened it and counted how many pills are left. 20 pills out of 30. I haven't even finished the original bottle. If I was taking this faithfully like I should, I would be on my 1st refill, soon to be 2nd refill on June 11th... I have a feeling that referral blood work will be expired by the time I complete the 3 months trial basis to see if the cholesterol pill is working.
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I was hoping to find out that the shingles vaccine might also protect you from the worst of chicken pox but no it doesn't. Dang.

You really don't want to be getting either of these, they are both utterly miserable; but unless your GP is going to recommend you get both vaccines, and will tell you what order to do it in, I'd at least get the shingles one.

Any suggestion that you might check your immunity? I don't know if you can, or how, but I'd have thought it worth doing.

Daughter 2 was four months old when chickenpox visited our household, and exclusively breastfed (sorry if TMI). She got a total of nine poxes, not very long lasting, and it would have been quite easy to miss them altogether; whereas Son was wretched for days and Daughter 1 got cellulitis on top and gave us some serious heart-stopping moments.

BUT Daughter 2 then got shingles *aged 5* - we had paediatricians and infectious disease specialists poking their heads into the consulting room just to gawp at her - and has a mildly peculiar immune system in other ways too.

It's a really mean and horrible virus family. Be as fussy and demanding as you like, and whatever the doctors decide in the end make sure they've thought it all through properly.
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I got the shingles vaccine a few years ago. I know a few people who have had shingles. Very nasty - no, thank you!
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Speaking of shingles........don't want to scare anyone but my eldest brother died due to complications from shingles. It wasn't diagnosed early enough and the virus went into his brain which caused encephalitis which led to pneumonia. Scary.

So, better safe than sorry in my opinion.

Bookluver, I agree. We should all appreciate more sunsets. Due to my insomnia, I appreciate sunrises as well. LOL
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