It's ant season...
...which corresponds to Monsoon season, here. Occasionally over the last few weeks I've been reminding myself of this, but only briefly. The reminders are: "Oh, yeah, I'd better sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the inside of our house before the ants decide to come in." Then, I've forgotten about it.
    Diatomaceous earth requires a 48 hour period to take effect. I know this, but I kept deleting my reminders from my memory. This morning the ants were covering one of the cat's food dishes. So, we're using regular ant spray. I hate to do that, but I've just been too occupied to remember to sprinkle the safe stuff. Oh well. We've survived years of using the dangerous stuff. We should be okay this year. Fingers crossed.

Oxylated: Part 4
    I've located a second Hospice company in this area that is also a TriCare Provider. I'm still having trouble believing that my mother's, through the local hospital, is not. I can't imagine why this company wouldn't have applied for TriCare provider status, or, if it did, why it might have been refused. But, you know, if it's not, it's not. I'll probably be fishing out TriCare billing statements for our oxygen company tomorrow, if not this evening. I tried to research wholesale oxygen prices online. Not an easy task. Didn't come up with anything usable.
    I was pretty good about keeping up with election coverage until the evening of 5/14/08. Since Mom came home about all I've done is scan the Phoenix paper for coverage. Maybe my scanning facility is impaired by other concerns, but it seems hard not to notice that the issue of health care in the U.S. seems to have been buried. I think I know why it is so easy for this to happen. When one (meaning me) is caught up in Health Care Hell, it's hard to focus on anything but the concerns immediately in front of one. I have, by the way, stopped watching all doctor shows. It's extremely irritating to watch these things, notice the extraordinary levels of treatment that are lavished on the ill and the injured and not wonder why there isn't any focus on the conversations that are surely going on in the background regarding whether the hospital or clinic is going to be "adequately reimbursed" for such services, thus, should these services be extended to the patient.

    Mom hasn't begun to awaken, yet, but, since she's been rousing around 1100 on her own over the last few days I'm going to try gently pushing her out of the veil of sleep in a few minutes and see what happens. She'll be an hour shy of her 12-hour-sleep-mark, but I'm counting on the angle of the sun through her window to help me. We'll see what happens.
    As for me, I'm agitated and a little under-slept. But, I'm okay. As usual, I'm counting on Mom being up to lighten my mood.
    Later.
- posted by Gail Rae @ 10:32   email  this post