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Big $$ Scare

April 19th, 2016 at 08:06 pm

No sooner did I receive a letter in the mail from state of Connecticut acknowledging my payment of $7,000 from my mother's estate did I get another unwelcome surprise in the mail, this time from Medicare.

The document ("This is not a bill") indicated I owed $17,000 to Masonicare for my mother's care. This money would come out of my pocket indirectly, since it would be deducted from my mother's estate.

Needless to say, I was very alarmed but I also knew there were some much smaller doctors' payments owed, according to the Medicare statement, but when I called the doctor's office, they said it was covered.

These Medicare statements are also very confusing in that they often seem to cover overlapping periods of time.

Anyway, I was able to quickly confirm that I don't owe Masonicare anything more than I've already paid (which was a lot)! Really big phew.

Today I got my new TD Bank card. It was very nice that the rep, without being prompted by me, confirmed that after spending $1500 in 3 months I'd get $200. I was glad she did this becus usually I take a Print Screen of the offer in case there are any issues upon redemption, but this time I forgot and for the life of me I could only find $150 offers online. So anyway, it should work out okay. Time to spend.

The strangest thing has happened to me. Yesterday morning at work I realized I had a very itchy right side of my nose; it felt like I was going to sneeze. All day. And since then, I've had a stuffy nose. I had heard you can develop allergies any time during your life, and that was my first guess, because the tree pollen levels are high right now.

But it's also very upsetting becus, while my mother and sister have always had allergies, I never did, and to think I've gone my entire life blissfully allergy-free only to develop them now, in my 50s??

It's kind of depressing because it's not that enjoyable. However, today I'm wondering if I actually just have a cold. I say that only because from yesterday's itchy and occasionally sneezy nose, it's now more stuffy, probably on both sides.

Yet it seems odd to get a cold now, and besides, I always start off with days of just a sore throat, and then it develops from there. This time, it started off with a very itchy nose, just the one side, but now today I am feeling kind of tired/achy.

So which is it? I'm actually not sure. I'm not aware of any other symptoms.

For those of you who might be interested, I thought I would share the link to the little art blog I helped my mother set up while she was alive; she never really got the hang up making posts on her own, but since she's been gone I have been trying to keep up with it occasionally when I have news of an exhibit. Here's the link; I encourage you to "follow" us!
http://paulareneemulti-mediaart.blogspot.com/

One bit of encouraging news...after actually being turned down TWICE by non-profits who weren't interested in donated art (who knew this could be so hard), I connected with one that is interested.

It's a very special kind of place, a healthcare center right here in town, run by a doctor and nurses who volunteer their time to provide free healthcare tho those who could not otherwise afford it on their own. I believe they are moving into larger quarters soon, still in town, so perhaps that is part of the reason they are interested in art!

They haven't actually seen mom's art yet; i just inquired via a phone message. I was reluctant to email jpgs this time around because my photography skills aren't that great and I don't feel my photos really did the art justice. I wasn't really given specific reasons why the 2 other groups weren't interested, and I did feel bad, wondering if they had a personal negative reaction to the particular pieces I'd earmarked.

The woman isn't around this week but hopefully next week we can schedule a time I can come in and show her a few things in person.

I think my mother would love the idea. I know she wanted me to donate some art, but a not-for-profit medical facility is something especially worthy, I think.

I made a bunch of phone calls this morning for someone to mow my lawn this summer and an electrician. There have been some communication problems with the guy who mowed for me last year, and he billed me for a mowing I'm not sure they did. In October, I left him a phone message, sent him an email and wrote on a bill I mailed payment for that I wanted him to stop mowing. The reason being that I like to run my own mower with its mulcher blade on it over the fallen leaves so I don't have to rake. His mowers didn't mulch.

However, his mowers still showed up and luckily I was home and told them they weren't supposed to mow anymore and sent them away. I also remember there being an issue where they kept scalping my lawn, and after pulling up tufts of grass, weeds would grow back in their place. I asked them not to mow so low and they kept doing so...i think there was a language issue as he's Latino.

Finally, i found him through Angie's list, where he offered a 5% discount. I assumed this would be applied all summer long; he didn't say otherwise. About halfway through the summer, he stopped deducting for the 5% and I paid the bills without noticing until toward the end. When I brought it up he said that was for new customers only.

Anyway, he's feeling disgruntled becus he thinks I owe him for one last mowing, and I'm unhappy for the reasons listed above. So I'm hoping to find someone else who will do it for about the same price as it comes out to about $1,000 for the season, which is a lot to spend on lawn mowing.

3 Responses to “Big $$ Scare”

  1. LivingAlmostLarge Says:
    1461097802

    Ugh on lawn care. I love the blog of your mom's art

  2. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    1461169936

    Ugh! Medical bills! You have my sympathy.

  3. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1461192287

    I hope the non-profit takes you up on your offer of your mom's art.

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