Frugal Friday...the September 27th Edition on Monday

 There are very few Frugal wins over the past week.

*  I got this lovely iv in the hospital.....

Which left this even lovelier bruise....

Luckily the bruise is almost gone at this point so I don't look like a dumb illegal IV drug user who doesn't know to inject themselves between their fingers or toes to hide the fact that they use illicit drugs.

*  I did a bit of rebate shopping last week, some via Hubs and then some in person, and some of which that was for the food bank.  Sorry no picture as it's all on it's way to said church food bank in Hub's car.

*  I had five doc and dental appointments last week(one every day).  All the doctor appointments were no cost to me but the two dental ones(I lost a filling)cost dearly as we don't have dental insurance and we self-pay.  I can't believe I had to pay a dentist to just look in my mouth and say, "Yes, you lost a filling" and that cost $128!!
Then I went back two days later to have it actually filled and that was almost $400.  And get this....the practice has multiple locations and they made the initial appointment and when we showed up they had no record of the appointment so they sent us off to another location, with an opening, in another city for that appointment to get my mouth looked at.  Unreal.  How about reducing that $128 fee to defray our time and gas to run all over town?  Not a chance.

I had my PT assessment appointment for my right hip and thigh pain, that was the day after I got the nerve block from the pain management doc(which magically got moved up 2 weeks after they were adamant they had to wait 2 weeks since the Ortho had given me a steroid shot in my hip bursa....so were they lying or just "preferred" to wait 2 weeks?)  I guess not being able to elevate my legs in a bed for a month was causing more harm to me than their protocol of waiting 2 weeks?
Getting the nerve block injection in my back was problematic in itself as it required me to lie flat on my stomach on a metal table(there was much yelling and moaning on my part during this procedure and if you know me, I have a high tolerance for pain, so that was torture.).  

Let's not forget a trip to the Urgent Care and then they sent me to the ER a week ago Saturday as I had backed into the footrest on this wheelchair Hubs bought me while I was in the Rehab Hospital and caused a nickel sized wound on the back of my calf.  We noticed it was bleeding and cleaned it up but still went to Urgent Care just in case as I am on a biologic drug that impedes healing.  At the ER the doc(who we now knew from 2 of our previous ER trips before being admitted for the afore mentioned hip and thigh pain)saw it was now draining clear fluid(which is the body's way of flushing a wound/opening in the skin out)so he gave me a prophylactic antibiotic Rx and sent me home with instructions to keep it clean and open so it could heal.  The pain management doc on Thursday heard I has on an antibiotic and almost refused to do the nerve block because of that.  We laid ourselves prostrate and pleaded with him and he relented only if we promised to make an appointment with their wound care department, which we did on Friday.

When we walked in there, they took one look at the size of my lower legs(they were swollen because of not being able to elevate them and/or lay in a bed since Sunday when I got out of the Rehab Hospital and pronounced I had lymphedema and began to wrap both legs in bandages to such a degree it was impeding circulation and causing me pain to walk.  They hardly even took note of the small wound I was there for!  Of course trying to explain I hadn't been able to elevate my legs since Sunday and I have always had "meaty" calves fell on deaf ears as we aren't trained medical personnel and "they" know it all.

After one night of uninterrupted sleep on Thursday, and Friday, with those painful bandages on, I got very little sleep so by Saturday evening I had Hubs remove the outer wrapping so I could sleep Saturday night and we covered the inner bandages with the  compression socks I wear when flying.  Home health had been ordered for me too so we are awaiting their visit today.

*  This is the best thing that happened for me last week..........

The arrival of my hospital bed so I can bend my body into a "V" and sleep. Hallejuliah!!! 

On the other hand we had to cancel our Alaskan cruise due to all this medical crap and today we should be in the port of Juneau and going on my much anticipated Dog Sled and Husky puppies cuddling adventure.
The cruise line only refunded us 1/4 of what we paid for the cruise and is making us go through the travel insurance we paid for to recoup the rest of the $$$ we shelled out.  So I am in no mood this week.....

*  I found money!

I found a penny going into Walmart last Friday.  This may be the same photo I shared before.  Sorry about that.

I found this dime at the ER on Sat.

I found this quarter in Kroger on Thursday. 

Total Found last week..... .36¢

Grand Total Found this Year.......$8.44 & 5.30 Euros

That's all I got and all I can do right now.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy  

Not A Political Blog....But Pay Attention!

I know I've been posting political stuff but it's timely and important to have the facts before you go out to vote in November.  This election will affect us all in so many ways for the next 4 years and beyond.
The facts are inflation is rampant and the Feds are printing money like it's going out of style, making your dollars worth less every day.  Going to the grocery store is more painful to our pockets every week.  Our borders are not secure(and now the Powers That Be are flying these undocumented aliens in, using your tax dollars to ports of entry other than the Southern Border and sticking them in small towns where they are overwhelming those towns services, not to mention many of these undocumented peoples don't speak the language or share our culture.)  Add in that we are on the brink of war with world powers that are at odds with us.  These world leaders do not respect our government officials and it's going to end badly with a POTUS who is essentially non compos mentis.

I am a registered independent.  Political parties are onerous and the Founding Fathers went so far as to warn us all against them but then again, nobody studies history anymore.  I do my research and that doesn't mean just listening to the mainstream tv media who are in the tank for the Harris and the Democrat party or just toeing the party line at Fox News or other outlets to defend Trump no matter what.   I read a lot of political news, opinions and reports of what is occurring in this country and the world from sources within the US as well as reading papers from think tanks from outside our borders.  What are other "friendly to our country" reports and reporters saying about our leaders and would be leaders and the resulting miasma hanging in the air here.  I also research candidates past positions which many people don't bother to dig into.  Does the candidate change their ideals depending on how the wind is blowing?

I may be an old, presently sick woman recovering from a cascading amount of illnesses, but I have a brain and no one is going to bamboozle me with their political agenda that will cause our Republic to crumble.

Do your research, ask questions, pay attention to what's going on in the world around you.

*This took an enormous effort and most of an evening to type as I am still having horrible side effects from this Focused Ultrasound procedure and typing is very hard for me.  This is why I have posted only periodically and/or some YouTube videos since cut and paste is easy.   Now I am going to bend myself into the shape of a pretzel so I can lay in my bed for a few hours while on painkillers and then end up sitting up in a chair with my head on a stack of pillows on a table for the rest of the night when the drugs wear off.  I don't wish what I am going through on my worst enemy.*

Sluggy

WTF?!?

 Is this the kind of person you want running our country?  While AG in CA, putting a devoted mother in jail because her child with Sickle Cell Anemia misses school?

Take a look at her debate in the 2020 race and the charges Tulsi Gabbard levies at Harris and you'll see what sort of prosecutor she was in California.

The more I dig into her background the more she isn't fit for office.

Sluggy

Frugal Finds This Week.....Sept.13 to Sept. 19th

 There are very few Frugal wins over the past couple of weeks.

*  While in the Rehabilitation Hospital I noticed the side effect of the Focuses Ultrasound where I can't write seems to be getting better.  I still have a way to go and my keyboard skills are still lacking(retyping everything I type is so tiring).  But I'll take any improvement win I can get.

*  I had Hub do some rebate shopping for me since I was in a rehab hospital until last Sunday.  Didn't hit that big 2 week bonus and Ibotta didn't give me a Weekend or a MidWeek Bonus either last week so I really wasn't motivated to spend money on anything.

*  I got out of the Rehabilitation Hospital and the Hospital Hospital(This was after 3 trips to the ER) Back home and had a visit with my Orthopedist Wednesday and my PCP yesterday.  Suppose to start more  outpatient PT on Wednesday, see a Neurosurgeon on the 1st and then get a nerve block injection on Oct. 2nd with the Spine & Pain doc.  Still can't lay down in a bed flat(I can lay down for a few hours bent up like a pretzel before the excruciating pain starts again))and then I am back to sleeping upright in a chair with my head on a stack of pillows on a table still in pain and the Rehab hospital doc only sent me home with 3 day of pain meds so we had to jump through hoops to get the Pain Management doc to relent to give me enough pills to get to the Oct. 2nd injection(thank you Federal Government and Opioid Crisis!!).  

Not that I want to be ill in this way but in a way it's good we couldn't go to Idaho as Kim & Sissie are dealing with a death in their family and aren't home now. 

That is terrible and my prayers are with their family and I am bummed  about having to miss our Alaskan cruise as well due to my continuing health issue.  At least we bought the travel insurance so we'll get back most if not all the $$$ we spent on this cruise.

*  I found money!

Went to Walmart(with electric carts)on Thursday and found a penny leaving the store.  That's it.

Total Found last week..... .01¢

Grand Total Found this Year.......$8.08 & 5.30 Euros

That's all I got and all I can do right now.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy 

I Should Be on an Airplane Today

Today was the day we were suppose to fly to Idaho to visit Kim and Sissie.  Right now I should be in Houston waiting to board the flight to Seattle and then a puddle jumper to Idaho.

So I am feeling very sad that we aren't going.   This trip had been a long time in the making and something I was really looking forward to so needless to say I am quite let down and sad today.

Instead I get to go to doctor appointments tomorrow and Thursday.  My hip is no better and I can't lay down in bed without being in pain.  I was back to sitting up in a chair resting my head on pillows piled up on the table to sleep.

Maybe the Orthopedist will have some ideas/solutions tomorrow.

Sluggy

A Crappy Week

 Trying to keep sane here in this rehab place.  They are trying to kill me with their food.  So bad and stuff I can't eat or don't like.  I don't want to regain 160 lbs.  but I'm sure chicken fried steak smothered in gravy will do that.  Don't ever get sick in the deep South.

I'll leave you with this inspirational  video of 17 Jean Val Jean's singing "The Song of Angry Men" from Les Miz.

https://youtu.be/gpDbvlAI_A0?si=lvHSqDmq8xGJi9Ee

Sluggy