Monday, July 15, 2013

Jack of All Trades, Master of None

My Grandpa used to say this about people who "did a little bit of everything and not much of anything." It describes someone who can handle most projects but were not experts in any one particular field.  My weekend made me feel like that.  

Ted brought the kids back to the park when he was done shooting.  They wanted to swim so we took them to the beach.  In no time they were playing with a group of kids and had a good time.  


We were going to church at 4:30 so we had to get them back to the RV to get dressed.  We attended St. Joseph Church in Lake Orion.  There was a newly ordained priest who needs to shorten up on his sermon.   I was getting concerned about my meatloaf cooking in the trailer.  There was no harm done to my meatloaf and it was actually very good.  Afterwards Ted drove us to Romeo to Dairy Queen for an ice cream.  

We have a 4 disc set of 1940-50s cartoons that we bought long ago for about $5.  The kids love to watch them and that is what they were doing until Ted wanted to watch the news about the Sanford trial.  This city was the one just south of us when we lived in FL.  Our daughter still lives there so I texted her to be careful.  I didn't want her unwittingly driving home through Sanford from somewhere.  No one knew what would transpire.  Thank goodness all remained calm.

Sunday I got the kids breakfast, had them get ready and put all their stuff together for Kara to pick them up.  Sam went with Ted to scavenge the wood left by the weekend campers who have departed.  They brought back quite a bit.
  


Bill and Kara arrived to gather up the youngsters and all their belongings.  It gets pretty crowded in here with all their stuff.  I asked Ted how we managed in a 23 foot trailer with no slides and 3 kids all those years.  He reminded me we "threw them outside" as he put it.  Now the two of us enjoy 38 feet with four slides!


We still had Pat's birthday present and made plans to meet him, Kelly and the girls for a late lunch.  However Cassie had a party to attend which is way more fun than lunch with Grandma and Grandpa.  We will see her later this week.  We lingered for some time after Ally had to leave for work.  Pat had a soccer game (47 years old and still plays) so we said our goodbyes and came home.

In between all of this running I was able to get Karen and Ron reservations for a cruise out of Port Canaveral the day after Kristin's wedding.  We will drive them to the port and keep their car for the week.  Then we will pick them up when they return.  So now they have their cabin number, reservation number, a deposit down and a final "out the door" price, the remainder of which will be charged automatically in December.  They are happy campers.

We are meeting my best friend from Florida and her husband in two weeks.  They bought a motorhome and we are spending two weeks together in Williamsburg in August.  She called all flustered because they have a high school reunion to attend in West Virginia and a visit with his sister in Roanoke before meeting us.  She said she had no idea how to find places to stay.  I used my Trailer Life and Good Sam books plus my Camping Allstays app to get her campgrounds to stay on the way up and while there.  They are now going to meet us in Staunton VA which is our second night on the road to Williamsburg.  She breathed an audible sigh of relief!

While we were eating lunch I received a call from another friend asking me to help her daughter with their medical enrollment for this year.  Despite what Washington wants you to believe, premiums are going UP.  She sent me a 17 page enrollment brochure and I immediately enlisted Kara's help.  She needed more info on what their normal usage is - any recurring things, illnesses, etc. - and Kara explained their options and why she was recommending one plan over the other.  I hope this helps them in their decision making but it doesn't make it any cheaper.  Kara said anytime the government pushes down on reimbursement to doctors and hospitals for Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, etc., the private sector contribution increases to make up for the loss.  Thus, premiums are going to increase.  I dread getting our Supplement increases this Fall when we both turn a year older.  But I know it is coming.

Ted built a fire and we sat outside talking to some folks still here.  They are from Virginia and sell at art fairs around the country.  When the bugs started biting, we came inside.  Another great weekend where I did "a little bit of everything, but not much of anything."

Refusing to ask for help when you need it is refusing someone the chance to be helpful. ~ Ric Ocasek 




2 comments:

Rick and Brenda said...

We can already feel"Obamacare".
The hospital that we used while in the Memphis Area is no longer in our supplemental plan.
I never had to pay a copay at the doctor we use here, but now I have to.
Our premiums for Customcare went up 90% in January. That is unbelievable.
Hope yours doesn't go up too much.

Carol said...

I don't even want to know what will happen when we get our new insurance plan from the county - (our insurance through the school board is "self insured" but is handled by BCBS). We have had an increase in premiums every year since we have retired - so there is no telling what will happen in August.