Yet another data breach compromising my personal info, except that this time I don't even recognize the name of the company that apparently had my info: Change Healthcare.

I will call them Monday to find out who this is and what my relationship with them is. As is par for the course, all they can offer is free credit monitoring.

My new dentist came through with a $52 refund in the mail. I am now officially a senior, and they are the first dentist to offer a 10% discount to seniors, but I hadn't gotten it when I was there. I was also quoted lower prices for their services over the phone than what I was charged when I was there, becus they recently raised their prices. Good thing I keep notes. So that's what the refund is for; they volunteered to honor the prices I was given over the phone. The original bill (assuming a full set of x-rays and without the senior discount), was $280.

The reason I had left my last dentist is becus 1) they are a further drive, and the only reason I was going to them is becus they bought my regular dentist's practice when he retired, 2) but also because I didn't like their aggressiveness in pushing me for x-rays all the time.

My new dentist did the same thing, but we finally agreed on a set of 2 bitewings, or 4 x-rays all together. Instead of the full set of 21!! I am not a believer in getting annual routine x-rays when there is no discernble problem. X-rays have never revealed any problem in all the years I've seen a dentist, ie, all my life. At most, they look at them for about 30 seconds before consigning them to a file somewhere.

Radiation is cumulative, after all. She wants to do them every 2 years, more than I would like, so it's either fight those battles, which can be unpleasant, or try to find a dentist who doesn't push so hard. I mean, it is my body after all. I get really tired of the same argument from them and I suspect their insistence comes as much from a financial motive as a real concern for my dental well-being.

They did compliment me on my teeth (which others have done), and this totally surprises me since I have a lot of fillings from my childhood and I never wore braces. But I do take care of them. In fact, the dental hygienist, after looking at my teeth, said Oh, you know what you're doing...

I wasn't crazy about the hygeinist though. She just seemed a little heavy-handed. She was older and had plenty of experience, but I prefer someone who's more careful introducing tools to  my mouth and so on.

I still remember years ago my mother telling me how extremely painful it was when she had to have scaling (cleaning below the gumline) was. After that, she was absolutely fastidious about her teeth becus she didn't want to repeat that experience. And neither do I.

In other news, I've already begun my holiday gift shopping and am well on my way. I pretty much know what I want to get for everyone except my cousin, the man who has everything. Having visiting him last month, I could see for myself the many, many boxes of unopened items he'd purchased online and never opened...terrible! How wasteful! Lately, at a loss for what to get him but feeling obligated becus he gets me very, very nice presents, i wind up shipping food to him from Omaha Steaks or similar companies.

I need to have my other cousin's gift all buttoned up by Thanksgiving since we've gotten into the habit of meeting for Thanksgiving at a restaurant in Westchester, and that's when we give each other our presents (not to be opened til later) to save on shipping.

My father complains each time I buy him something, saying I shouldn't have and otherwise undermining the joy I derive from giving something nice to a person I care about. That is why, ever since my mother passed, I like to buy little things for others. I would also like to make charitable gifting more of a regular thing, but I'm unsure how much I should put aside for this or what i can "afford." There are so many wonderful, deserving causes. There was a time I was donating $100 a month to a different group each month, and I enjoyed researching new-to-me groups as potential future recipients.

Two chickens have been hanging out in my yard the last few days. I posted their pictures on my town's facebook page and I was urged to call the animal control office asap so they could come catch them. Umm, don't think so. Then a woman way across town was hoping they were the chickens they lost and she came over, 3 little kids in tow, expecting they could catch them, but the kids, maybe 5 years old at most, seemed more interested in kicking my plastic watering can around and playing in the bird bath. I am more interested at this point in finding someone who can get them and add to their own flock more than I am in finding their rightful owners, but no one else has stepped forward and I'm afraid predators will get them any day. The last I saw them was yesterday, when the children frightened them and they kept their distance.

Another rite of passage: I got my one-time pneuomonia shot last week. It hurt a little more than other vaccines I'd gotten, and that was not my imagination. The nurse said the viscosity of Pneumococcal shots needs to be thicker, for whatever reason. Still, the more I read, the more of a supporter I am of vaccines in general.