Po' Me Another Glass of Whine(y Ass)

Christmas is almost here.

Typically I stress each and every year around this time...will we be able to give Savana the things on her list and still stay up on our bills.
This Christmas, I am happy to say 'yes' to all of the above.

That is if you don't count the mounting medical bills for Rick's shoulder surgery.

I am not counting those bills. We received a check for $10,000 from the boss lady's insurance. I figure that Farm Bureau sent it to us to divvy out because so many different places were submitting bills to them. So, we cashed it and paid the bills. That $10,000 didn't go very far, however. Just a couple days ago we received another bill in the mail for a whopping 5 GRAND.

....and it looks like there is no end in sight.

Rick quite possibly tore some soft tissue in his shoulder recently. We will know for sure when we have another MRI done. The doctor took x-rays and all the metal works are still intact. Thank goodness.
Okay, so now you're wondering how he may have re-injured his shoulder, right?
Long story short....a dog food sack was falling over and it was just second nature to Rick, he went to stop the sack from falling over with the wrong hand.

Dang it!! He was doing really well in physical therapy and his shoulder was getting stronger. Now, it hurts, again.
But wait....I haven't even got to the best part yet....

The boss lady called yesterday. She has Rick's paycheck ready for him and she needs to talk to him. We know what's coming and it ain't good news.

January 15th is my birthday. It is also the day of Rick's last paycheck. See, even though nothing has ever been said about it, the boss lady has been paying Rick every week without fail. She says that she can no longer afford to pay him (remember, all she has to live on is her little ol' social security check...yea, okay whatever).
Don't get me wrong, we have been very grateful to have been receiving his paycheck ($200 per week is all, there, I said it. We are po' folks and I have learned to make it work for us) even though he hasn't hit a lick since June this year.
We also will be able to stay living in this house until May next year, rent and utility free (Thankfully. Rick asked her if she was planning on just leaving us out in the cold.) I wonder what, if any rights we have....Rick has not been released from the doctor. The boss lady's $10,000 is long gone but she is still liable in some way, Rick was injured on her property. Then there is the matter of our personal insurance...Since that ten grand got used up we have been taking care of Rick's medical bills using our own insurance. Here's the deal. If Rick isn't bringing in a paycheck our insurance is no longer available. You have to maintain employment to qualify. That's just great!
No money, no insurance, Rick can't work and we are moving in May 2011. I hate to whine and moan, but even though we knew this was coming it doesn't make it any easier. The thought of me getting a real job outside of the home....not looking forward to that.* More whining and moaning*
I guess all we can do is take each day as it comes (and slowly start packing, lol). Whatever happens is gonna happen regardless. It's all in how you respond, I guess.

I know we will make it. We have to.
Come on May 2011, show me what'cha got.

Merry Christmas y'all and I hope everyone has a healthy and happy 2011 !!!

Watching the Drapes Fade

Things on the home front have not changed much. Rick starts physical therapy next week. It was supposed to start last week but due to the quick and painless death of the old refrigerator, a trip to the city was out of the question.
We woke in the wee hours (2:30 a.m.) to the smell of burning rubber. Searched for the source to no avail....the whole house smelled the same. Unable to figure it out, Rick went back to sleep.....I, on the other hand, could not sleep.....I'm always scared the house is gonna catch fire while we are in our beds. Irrational, I know. So, I stayed awake til morning.
Morning came. We determined that the horrible smell was the fridge and promptly unplugged it....smell gone!!! I called the boss lady to see about replacing it since it was here when we moved in. I figured she's the one to replace it. I figured wrong.

She is broke, remember.....and she tells me that she does not replace appliances in any of her rent houses either.

So there!

Rick told me to expect that....he knew what she was going to say. I told him that I had to hear it from her for myself.

We got a nice used fridge from our local furniture store but after the down payment, we could not afford to fill it much less make the drive to Oklahoma City bright and early that Monday morning!

That's not the best part either.....the best part is that we've talked to the boss lady twice since the fridge went out and she has not once asked if we found us another one. Come on! Wouldn't you ask if it were somebody that worked for you for 7 years??




Here she is. A lot of stuff was still good even after the fridge sat unplugged for like 9 hours.....and I only opened it twice, maybe three times. For one of those dang Pepsis!!

All in all, I guess I am glad we had to buy our own refrigerator. CUZ WE ARE TAKING IT WITH US WHEN WE LEAVE THIS GOD FORSAKEN HOLE!!!!

See the refrigerator was all we lacked in having ALL our own appliances. That includes a fancy new riding mower that Ricky husband is so proud of. When the fridge went out we only owed $89 on our account with the furniture store and the mower was part of that account. I guess things work out how they are supposed to even if we don't feel that way at the moment, huh?

That is pretty much all that has been going on around here lately.

Rick is still sleeping (if you can call it that) in the recliner. His range of motion is getting better but he is still in a lot of pain at times.
One day runs right into the next for me. If it were not for having to get Savana up and ready for school, well.....lets just say.....my drapes are fading. I know this because I've had lots of time to sit and watch it happen!

OKlahoma is sure pretty

For you, Laurrie.

I have you to thank for giving me the inspiration to take all these sunrise/sunset pictures. Yours are always beautiful, and I got to thinking that I could do that....Oklahoma has some of the prettiest sunrises and sunsets. Though I never noticed them before in the way that I do now. When Ricky found out I was taking so many, he said "That would make a great book! " It would, and since I know nothing about how to go about something like that, I'll just start snapping away behind the camera. Maybe one day.......when I have amassed a large portfolio.....

Here are some of my favorites


This is what I call 'burnin' daylight' !!!!!












Simple easy feeling













Some mornings we get a fog that lasts for what seems like forever....especially if we have to drive in it....at night.....a long ways....in the dark......you get me. I don't care for fog













Just magnificent !!













A peaceful morning











Love the oranges....this one looks intense and almost like it's on fire













Beautiful sunrise here














This is my favorite sunset, I think. The colors are amazing!!


This looks like a good place to stop and rest awhile.....until next time.....

The Apple didn't Fall far from The Tree

Back in 2005, when my grandma passed away, I got a few of her things. They are pretty special to me. I didn't know my grandma real well. I grew up living too far away to visit her regularly.

Among other things of hers I received, I got a tin box full of some of her recipes. Some were handwritten, while others were taken out of the Sunday paper. Though, the handwritten ones are my favorite, I find the ones clipped from the paper are little gems in disguise. It's what ends up being on the flip side of the recipe that can be so cool! I thought it would be kind of neat to share some of the recipes in that little tin box...so from time to time, I will.

This is a lovely bread! Sorry it's sideways. Don't have a clue why.

Here is the flip side....what a great little gem! He sounds like he was an important man.

This one is another great find. It says at the top "Happiness is like potato salad...Share it and you have a picnic." It has a recipe for potato salad that is unlike any other potato salad recipe I've ever seen. Pretty cool!

Here's one in my grandma's own hand. It's a recipe for persimmon bread. I don't even know what persimmon is.

Here's the backside of the persimmon bread recipe.

I had to add this one in here just because I thought grandma made a great use of space...she got a lot of words down on that little 3x5in. index card! That's for sure....

And finally this one...they don't make 'em like this anymore, as far as recipe cards go. This is a recipe for Friendship Cake from my uncle Roscoe.


My uncle fancies himself a chef, I think. Though not professionally trained. Don't get him started talking about food....he's a big bragger. I guess it ain't braggin' if you can do it! Right?

In a future blog I am gonna share this recipe, too, for those that can't make it out on here. It takes 30 days to make!

Rick is surgery bound.........

Yippeeee!!! Thank goodness!!! Great news !!!!

Rick is gonna get his shoulder fixed....we're looking at a surgery date about 3 weeks in the future. The doctor says that we will be receiving a call soon about the actual date. What a relief! He can't sleep and he is miserable.
When he ran out of pain medication we went back to our primary physician....only to find out now that she has decided to work for the new clinic in Wal-Mart and that because she is only a Registered Nurse Practitioner, she is not allowed to prescribe any narcotic medication. That is a Wal-Mart policy.....that just stinks! We have been to the emergency room 3 times since being released from the doctor's care who was going to preform the surgery originally, before it was so conveniently canceled by Ricky's boss. Each time we've gone to the ER they don't prescribe much. I can understand....with prescription drug abuse being so rampant.

So, now we sit by the phone and wait....as usual, they will most likely call us when we've gone to town real quick for something. Guess I should make Rick stay home, but he is so sick of being in the house that now we'll just go for a drive if nothing else. He has lost his farmer's tan....terrible thing!

Well, I guess we were wrong. After talking with 2 attorneys and being told by the second one, who specializes in agriculture law, that the boss is not liable for anything more than her $10,000 dollar injured worker policy, we are still going to get the surgery done. That is most important. We will use our insurance. Our insurance, we are told, does not cover physical therapy. The boss's policy can cover it. Whether she will or not, remains to be seen.

Thank goodness we have some kind of insurance. I know exactly how things would go for us without it. We went through that when I broke my foot in '05....not fun. Torture comes to mind!

I am so grateful for all the many folks who are praying for us. It means a lot.

I'll post more when I know more. Right now we wait....there is a lapse in coverage where our insurance is concerned. We will be covered again starting August 1st. I intend to have surgery rescheduled soon as possible.

Some of my "pretties"

About 10 years ago, right before my daughter came along, my little brother and I lived in Great Falls, Montana. He worked for a company that did fire and water damage restoration. A local museum/art gallery type place had flooded and they lost quite a bit. My brother, knowing I liked oriental and asian inspired art, came across these two pieces. They were going to be tossed! I could not believe my luck!! They were hardly touched by the water.....still had their price tags attached. They were each going for $375.00!




This one depicts music........


And this one depicts dancing.....I was told by an unreliable source that there is a third one that shows the figures sharing in a meal. I have been unable to find out anything about them so I can't confirm that. They are made entirely of fabric with the center area encased in glass. There are chinese symbols on the back. If the pictures were not so dang heavy, I would have taken them down and snapped a picture of the backs to put here (thinking maybe that would help identify them if the right person popped in here and saw it, LOL)

I have even checked the Antiques Road Show's website. Hoping they might one day be in our area so I could bring these and at least find out more about them. I would never part with them, though. No matter how much they are worth.....unless it's some ungodly amount, of course....and then again maybe I'd still keep them. They are priceless to me.