Thursday, September 21, 2017

This and That


Yes, I survived my dental appointment.  In the end it only cost $200 for a checkup with xrays and a cleaning.  I absolutely hate it though, hubby thinks it might be my fibromyagia but it is like they are scraping away at every single raw nerve in my body when they are polishing and cleaning.  I really don't know how I lasted through the root canal last year but maybe that was because I was in major pain already and just wanted it to go away.  I have no fear, just alot of sensitivity and agony in the chair.  At least it is sorted for another year. I take good care of my teeth so luckily no new issues to deal with.


Next I have to get my vision tested (6 years since the last) and get new glasses.  Since I have a Costco card I have made an appointment in 3 weeks time to get both the test and to potentially buy glasses there.  I have looked at their frames and have seen several in the less than $100 range that would work well.  It costs $110 for the test but seniors get the same test for $60 - why such a big difference!  Mom was with me, that is how I found out about the senior rate.  Usually senior rates are only a little bit cheaper.  I am happy for seniors but don't really want to pay so much.  This is a proper Optometrist versus Optician.  Optometrists can also spot things like major health issues when they look at your eyes, definitely worth the extra $20 over the Optician at Walmart which I've researched is the next cheapest.  Before I buy my glasses at Costco though I intend to check out some online options.  Have any of you ever ordered glasses online?  Hubby orders his contacts through clearly contacts and has had great luck but glasses might be a different story.  Mom is scheduled to have cateract surgery in both eyes this winter (they keep setting the date back though) and is happy not to have to buy any more glasses at that point.

Hubby has come down with a terrible cold/sinus infection and had to cancel a lot of his appointments this week.  That is tough as it just makes future weeks all the busier.  He doesn't do "sick" well, so I have been trying to be patient with him.  I am also trying not to catch whatever he has.  I've sneezed a couple times but feel fine so am hoping I am in the clear.

Tonight we are having chicken in mushroom sauce over rice, one of our comfort foods.  In the slow cooker I put 3 skinless boneless whole frozen chicken breasts,2 cans of mushroom soup,  add cut up carrots, celery and a can of whole mushrooms to the sauce.  It cooks for 2 hours on high and 1 hour on low then at the very end add a cup of frozen corn and leave it in there only long enough to heat up the corn.  I will make extra rice so we can have fried rice later in the week, another of our favorite dishes.

It is our 12th wedding anniversary this weekend.  We decided that rather than go out to dinner we ordered a pasta machine on amazon and will be making pasta.  That is if he feels better. If not I will make him dinner and we will make pasta together the weekend after.  We have been wanting a pasta machine for a while, primarily to make fettucine and for pasta for perogies.  He has made perogies before but has fought with the pasta part of it.  He is Ukrainian but although his mother made a lot of perogies he never learned before her Alzheimers set in.  We normally don't do much for our anniversary, just supper out.  The cost of the machine was almost the same as dinner for two with wine at our favorite Greek restaurant.

Does it seem like a lot of our life revolves around food?  It is a love of ours, especially home cooked meals so something we look forward to.  We are often disappointed when eating in restaurants so it is fortunate that we are both good cooks.   I am still doing my 10,000 steps a day every single day so I don't regain any of the 10 pounds I lost.  I have started to plan for our Canadian Thanksgiving in a few weeks as we have invited two of our friends over to share our meal along with Mom this year.  I need to buy a turkey pretty soon, they have just started going on sale so will scope the flyers out this weekend.

The weather this week has seen a lot of rain.  They've taken the fire ban off our area and many of the forest fires in the interior of BC are now out or under control.  Just this week they finally lifted the state of emergency for the Province as nature has stepped in to help with cooler temperatures and rain.  Between 200-300 structures were lost in this year's fire season.  Those are homes, businesses, seasonals and outbuildings.  Very sad but almost all of those were insured.  I haven't heard of any loss of life, which is a complete miracle based on all the fires that happened, over 200 different fires at any given point in the summer burning at one time.

My heart goes out to all those affected by the hurricanes and the devastation of the earthquakes in Mexico. I cannot even imagine what they are going through.  As we live in a major earthquake zone there has been some talk of us buying an emergency tent (in case we had no where to stay) and backup generator.  We already have  a fully stocked medical kit, water, candles, 2 extra cell phone battery chargers that we keep charged up, food stock piled, and cash kept on hand.  I guess being over prepared is better than being under prepared so we will likely make the investment.  We also have the best earthquake coverage possible through our home insurance, although it has a very high deductible (percentage of loss) it is best that we can do to protect our asset.

And that's what's shaking in our world this week, no earthquake pun intended.

22 comments:

  1. Bloody hell! Last month I'd broken a back tooth and had that repaired plus a scale and polish and it cost just shy of £50! Both Jon & I's annual eye tests are free as both of us have a family history of glaucoma. Some people moan about the NHS, they don't realise how lucky they are.
    Happy Anniversary for the weekend. Hope the Mr's feeling better and can enjoy his pasta. No harm in talking about food, it's one of the joys in life and well worth savouring. Some friends are cooking us a five course feast tomorrow night - they're both amazing chefs and even though they both eat meat make it vegetarian just for me!
    The Black Country had an earthquake 15 years ago, only minor but I'll never forget waking up terrible noise, feeling the house shaking and thinking a train had hit the house. xxx

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    1. Our vision and dental in Canada is not covered but medical is, almost 99% of all tests unless you ask for a medical test the Dr doesn't feel is required. At least we have the option of paying. Medication is also not covered but all of the DR and hospital visits are covered with exception of private rooms. I still think we have great medical coverage, just wish it covered more though

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  2. Glad you survived your dental process with minimal financial damage. I have begun taking advantage of Sr. discounts and they do add up.
    I have also begun upping our emergency supply items . All of the fires, hurricanes and earthquakes have made me rethink not only what we have for emergencies, but where everything is.

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    1. Hubby is 55 now but I haven't seen any discounts that young except hotels. You are right, I have an emergency drawer with passports and money and photo drives. Everything else other than the dog we can live without and he is usually glued to one of our legs so no leaving without him lol

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    2. Here all the theaters, grocery stores, and several retail places as well as some chain eating joints (mostly fast food) have 55 + s their discount.

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  3. I've got a semi-annual dental check up next Monday. I am hoping they find nothing that needs filling.
    We discontinued the vision insurance on me as I no longer wear glasses(just cheaters for reading from the Dollar Store)so it just makes sense to pay as I go once a year for an optometrist check-up(needed for other medical conditions).

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    1. Hubby uses cheaters too, I mainly wear glasses to drive/watch movies at the theatre as am near sighted so reading is good for now but that is also changing. Cheaters are in my future. I've never seen them at our dollar stores here though

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  4. If you are flossing a lot, then you will always be fine. If there is accumulated calculus, your teeth will be sensitive while cleaning. Check if you have exposed roots too. Glad that you have no new issues. I work for dentists. There are plenty of people who have bleeding gums and needs a good cleaning every 3 months. Do you know there is a connection between diabetics and gum disease?

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    1. Funny you should say that, I floss every single day without fail, sometimes twice. My Mom is diabetic and has to have her teeth cleaned 3x per year now. I know I have no exposed roots, just likely part of my fibro as it hypersensitizes nerves including skin and probably teeth

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    2. I floss upwards of a dozen times a day. I may have the answer to the pain. I will post that tomorrow on my blog.

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  5. With natural disasters becoming Routine, one wonders about insurance and insurance companies. Where is this heading to? Even State Treasury won't be able to face the economic consequences of these disasters.
    No doubt, we live in an era which requires a lot of re-thinking and re-planning. May God help us!

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    1. That is so true. I do think the insurance companies still make loads of money, at least here in Canada. They can't go under due to strict regulation about how much money they have to have in reserve in case of natural disaster, I was an insurance underwriter before we became self employed

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  6. Man colds are the worst.��������

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    1. Arent they? You'd think they were the only ones on the planet that got them

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  7. I hate going to the dentist. Have ever since I was a kid. I think it is more the Novocaine shot than the drilling which usually is painless (at least these days with high speed drills). Wayne has ordered glasses online and have had good results. You just have to get the optometrist to give you all the dimensions needed in the prescription so they can be made correctly. Some of the information isn't always included so you have to ask for it while you are getting your eyes checked. - Margy

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  8. Glad the dentist wasn't as bad as it might have been but sorry it's so much more difficult for you. We have great dental coverage here and eyes, too.

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    1. Glad to hear that, you picked a wonderful place to live, I hope to make it back some day

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  9. Check out eyebuydirect.com for your glasses. I have ordered from them many times and they have excellent customer service. You can upload your picture and vertually try on frames... Hope hubby feels better soon.

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  10. I have thought about ordering glasses online as well as my last pair that I bought at my optometrist's office were $534.00!! Yikes! My concern is how they would fit. And getting them adjusted. Let me know what you decide. While going through Post Vitreous Detachment Syndrome this year (twice - yay, so glad that's over and done with!) I was so glad I've been seeing the same optometrist for the past 20+ years. He only charged me $60 and that covered the followup examination as well. But don't get me started on the dentist!! I've started going every 9 months instead of 6 and if my January checkup is good I'm going to ask to only go once a year!

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    1. I am hoping Costco might be the best...but will wait and see what they quote me on the lens cost. My eye appt is Oct 3 so will do the shopping shortly after. I was so glad to get out of the dentist and book an appt 1 year ahead, can't stand it there

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