We're back!

We just finished a 19 day road trip . 13 states, 12 different hotels and 5270 miles.
Didn't have enough time to see everyone we wanted.
Will post about the trip when I get some time.

doctor and insurance rant

Good morning.

This is a bitch post about doctors, so if you were looking for something interesting to read, you might want to leave now.
Craig goes to Healthcare Partners. He sees a NP called Matthew Espinosa.  NP stands for Nurse Practitioner. He's fairly close and our neighbor Gary goes to him. Anyway, they can't seem to get Craig's prescriptions straight. Twice now he called to have  a particular prescription refilled and and they called in tablets instead of capsules. You'd think it should be no big deal as long as they were the same strength, but the tablets cost $130 where the capsules cost $8.  :-/   So, he has to recall the office and have them change it. Don't they write this stuff down?
But an even bigger issue........
So when I needed a doctor, I called his office, confirmed they took my insurance, and made an appointment.  About a month later, I received a notice from my insurance that the office visit claim was denied because they were out of network. So, I called the office to find out they indeed do not take my insurance. Long story short, They apologized and forgave my bill. So, Then I had to find a new doctor. This time, I went online to my insurance company website, and used them to find a doctor.  I decided on Dr Fihn at Well Health. I've seen him twice now and I like him. But for some reason, Health Partners has been billing my insurance company for office visits. One in April and one in June.  I  called health care to find they don't bill the insurance, the individual doctors do. I'd need to call my insurance to find out who was billing them. I was sure it was Mr Espinosa, so I called my insurance company to make sure. Well, it turns out it was Dr Fihn doing the billing.  Long story short, Their practice has switched over to Healthcare Partners as of May 1st.
They apologized and said they were trying to negotiate with my insurance company.
So, now it looks like I'll have to look for another doctor again! But, I also got an e-mail from my insurance company stating that they are not going to make as many plans available next year on the health exchange. I'll find out later this summer if mine is one of them. And then, if Obamacare does get repealed and replaced, I may not be able to afford any insurance. Time will tell.
Okay, I'm done now.

A new look for now.

I'm sure your seeing my blog a bit different today.
When I started my blog w-a-y back in 2006,  I altered the standard template so I could have the planet header and stars background. Well, My pics were hosted on Photobucket all these years. Recently Photobucket stopped doing 3rd party hosting unless you had a paid account. Well, I'm one who doesn't pay for anything I don't have to so while I'm trying to figure out how I changed the template and find another hosting site, I'm using blogger templates.

A catchup post

Good morning.
The heat continues, but so does the sunshine.   :-)
I've been walking every morning, and we've been going to the fitness center nearly every afternoon.
Here's a not so great pic of a full moon I took a couple of days ago on my early morning walk.

And yesterday, when I went to put out the trash, this Road Runner was at the end of my driveway.

But by the time I got my phone out and camera on it was already half way across the street.
Craig had his last PT appointment Monday. His finger is doing very well. He still has a lot of scar tissue that the therapist said would take up to a year to get better. But it's now straight, and he has good flexibility with it.
And even though the neighborhood has been very quiet with so many neighbors gone, I've been busy helping. One neighbor I've been getting their mail while they are in Alaska. They'll be home this Friday. Another neighbor I was watering their pots while they spent a week in Flagstaff. Another neighbor I've been going in once a month to run their water down drains and flush the toilets while they are gone all summer.
Also, we actually had some rain yesterday. Mid July through August, I believe, is our monsoonal period. We can get these sudden heavy downpours. Yesterdays only last a couple of minutes.
Well that's about it. I'm taking another bag of 2 liter bottles to the Farm this morning after I do my walk. So time to get.

hot and cooking

Good afternoon.
We're under another heat wave as temps today are forecast to tie a record at 114. That's pretty hot! But I went out this morning and did my walk in a nice 87 and 1% humidity.   :-)
 After my walk, I blew out all the dead leaves from the stones in the front yard and bagged them up. We have an African Sumac as our main tree in the front yard, and apparently in the early summer, it 'sheds' much of it's older leaves. I'm assuming it's a response to the heat. Kind of like when back in Michigan, pines lose old needles in the fall as a means to preserve moisture in the winter.
So despite the heat, I'm still able to enjoy part of the day outside. And, I still have yard work to do.   :-)
Here's a new dish we did last week.

Slow-Cooker Spicy Cheddar Chicken Cornbread

It was really good! Got it from the Betty Crocker website.
You can see the recipe here.....here
And here's a couple of pics from my walk this morning.... 

The pic didn't turn out good, but it's a light pink Crape Myrtle. Most I've seen are dark pink

And 3 flower stalks on these Desert Spoon Yuccas.
And now it's time to go over to the fitness center.    :-)

a nice walk.

Good morning.
Just got back from my morning walk. Took a few pics.....

The orange flowered bush is a Bird of Paradise. I have one in my back yard, but it's pretty small right now. This one is planted next to a 'Casita'. A casita is basically a detached tiny home in front of the regular house. It has no kitchen, but does have a full bath, closet and living space. There are many in our community. It's nice for guests as they have their own place to retire to after visiting. I've also heard that there are a number of adult children that also live in them with their parents in the main house.

It was very pleasant out this morning with temps at 81 and 1% humidity.
I've been making numerous 'dates' for when we go back to Michigan. I've gotten a number of calls and e-mails. Our schedule is filling up. But it will be nice to see everyone. I've been writing everything down so I can keep track of who we're meeting, when and where.
Not doing anything special for the 4th. I've read that the strip hotels will be at 95% capacity. That is a lot of people!
Well everyone have a great 4th!