getting home

Brother and family signed the papers

and have the new house!

They were going to just paint some walls first.

Men at Work

Then it was, might as well do the floors . . .

re-tile,

paint,

Sand, stain, top coat 3 times.

no place to "GO"

Then . . . let's replace the toilet, the sink, and . . .

and so it goes

The move in date has been changed again, but they have the Help now and it will be ALL done.

Now they just NEED the house in Louisiana to sell, instead of paying TWO mortgages.

eyes of wonder

why I feel like Mary Poppins?

Have I said . . .

 I Love my new patient,

I Love his family and friends,

and

I Love my hours and nights I work?

In a word . . . I Love this job.

And best of all . . .

the family,

the friends,

and

the nurses,

(whom have been there for the last two years),

seem to Love me!

They have made it clear

that they truly believe 

and 

"thank God for the Day HE sent me."

Wow,

I'm an answer to several someones' Prayers.

Golly-Gee-Whiz!

what more can I say, gosh?

the wind blows

Strong gusting winds, from an unusual direction, mean the planes are coming in for their landings overhead.  (The dogs don't like it.)

everyone wave

And with the change in direction, "Mary Poppins" mood has plummeted.  It seems an "ill wind" has arisen.

Contrary to what I was told, (HR was mistaken), my benefits will not kick in this week. 

It was the straw that broke the camels back,

namely mine. 

Next Tuesday is a month, and they had to be reinstated before the month was up.  Next Thursday, when the HOME Office recieves this week's hours, will be too late.

I sobbed.

Last year I did everything I could, with the help of my former job, to maintain my benefits without a break.  (Pre-existing conditions and other  such concerns.)  We did vacation, sick-time, donated vacation time, family leave, and COBRA, the last two of which I paid into myself . . . all to bridge the gap until I could get my Nursing license from the State of Michigan and then a Job with benefits.  6 months, we managed this.

Three people at the HOME Office benefits department I spoke with, all with the same out come.

I must have sounded really pathetic,

because they ALL kept saying,

"I am so so sorry, please don't cry."

The COBRA Department e-mailed me the form again, since they destroyed the last one I filled out after they mailed back the $680 check.

deja vu

I called my local HR again just to ask when I REALLY can reinstate my benefits.  She was horrified, and said she would talk to the Benefits Dept. herself.  She called back two hours later . . . triumphant.

 

"Call them next Thursday, ask for XXXXXXX Head of XXXXXXX, he knows everything and will reinstate your benefits, and they WILL be retro active."

Gee, I've been on this high wire before.

This is it,

a break will appear

if this goes wrong again.

So, I've tossed caution to the wind, and stepped onto the unicycle, and am pedaling blindfolded across a swaying wire.

Personally, "Mary Poppins" would rather pop her umbrella and fly home . . . the wind is even blowing in the right direction.

thick and fast

It's 51 degrees out, (really), the snow remains, but for now, the ice on the road is gone . . . that means . . .

I GET TO RIDE MY BIKE!

I have missed the wind in my hair, the sun on my face, the feelings of speed & freedom,

and . . . I just plain miss the exercise.

Rusty, slogging through the weeds and too much junk in the trunk

I only went for a mile, since my knee still does not quite wish me well.

It's been three months since I clattered down that hole, but I'm pretty sure I knocked the knee cap a bit askew.  (Since my knee caps were congenitally a touch to the sides then the norm, I suppose tendons are learning to stretch to where they should have been all along.) 

Hopefully, I might get another chance today, and then maybe tomorrow, if it holds off on the rain.  (February 18th, and it's suppose to reach the 50s again!)

THIS is how I want to feel!

SPRING IS COMING!

snow, as they lay in heaps

Home is where most of the snow is . . .

Here in So'east Michigan

we've had quite the winter,

Home, in New England,

they've been dumped on

and then dumped on again.

My beloved neighbor called to say he was looking for someone to shovel off my roof.

Apparently,

the local pricing is

$300 for a trailer and

$600 for a ranch.

He was able to get his fishing buddy and favorite "second story man" to shovel my roof
. . . for $200.

I love these guys.
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.



PS
By the way, there is a 4 ft. picket fence attached to that arbor.

air of great relief

Ahhhhhhh

The $680.00 has returned to me uncashed . . .

hallelujah!

Can I hear an "AMEN" . . .

my Brothers and Sisters!

Okay, so that was a little dramatic . . .

but I am HAPPY,

who wouldn't be?

great art

I just thought they came out rather nice.

Evening

Light

Just the glass block windows at the Pool

no jury or judge,

I love this sign, so apropos

January was a tough month.

Covering the one client . . . adorable,

the parents . . . not so much.

Then I get a letter mailed the 21st,

received the 22nd,

saying my benefits end the 22nd.

After everything, hmmm.   And it's a weekend, with no one to call.

Monday I called the HOME office,

"The COBRA packet is in the mail and it will be retro-active."

whew!

That afternoon, it did indeed arrive.

I immediately began filling it out, and called the # to check I was dotting ALL the i's and crossing ALL the t's.  To make sure it activated ASAP, I went ahead and mailed a check for an insane amount of money as recommended.

Ok, it's only for a month at most.  Right?

The next day, (Tuesday), I got the call to meet my new client, home from the hospital, (hooray).  Worked two nights right off, and went into the office with my paperwork Thursday. 

Mentioned to the HR person that I had received and sent in the COBRA paperwork along with a check.  I asked when I could get my benefits reinstated, since I did not want to keep paying THAT.

She said . . .

"You work full-time the next 2 weeks

 then call the next Thursday,

 and

they will be reinstated . . .

and

it will be retro active to the 22!"

I kept mulling over this, and looked up my pay stubs on-line.

They are still tapping my pay for my inactive benefits.

Monday, I called the head office, and I was ping pong balled all over the place, until they finally transferred me to the Company doing our COBRA. 

Richard

the new Love of my Life!

"No problem, I have your check right here,

send me an e-mail with what you want . . .

and I will mail it right back to you."

I e-mailed

 and he e-mailed me right back. 

Gosh, that was easy

I will breathe normally now.