Slow sabbath

Dear Friends and Family,
I've joined Face Book which is putting me in touch with some friends and family, friends from many years back, even high school days. It's interesting to see how others have aged and matured.
Keanna and I went to Sabbath School this morning, she dressed in a very cute pink outfit with shoes that lit up when the foot goes down. The program was good and she did well, she then made a beeline to see Sylvia who was just winding up as leader of a slightly older group of kids and then Keanna said it was time to go. We loaded up in the bug and she chose Sonic for lunch. She was happy with orange juice and tator tots, feeding the little birds and enjoying the cool winter sunshine. Then we drove home where she had time to rest before an afternoon birthday party for one of her special friends at school. Conversations with Keanna are always a hoot. She brings up things one would never think of. This morning she wanted to know what habits her mom had when she was little. I wasn't sure how much to say as moms really don't like their kidos to use their past against them. She talked a lot about her grammy as we were driving and wondering if Grammy was an angel, resting or just what. She did not seem to concerned about it but basically was just unhappy that her grandma was no still here. Pappa was OK but not the same as grammy which I certainly agree with.
When I got home I found the mail had brought no money once again. Things are once again critical on the financial front. Since I've not yet reached the $1,000 deductible I have to pay full price for my meds and now I'm out of three. That is becoming a problem since there is no money to pay the hundreds of dollars each for the meds. Fortunately I have enough of all but one to make it into next week when hopefully the financial bank will burst and I'll see money again. It sort of weighs on the back of your mind, to know that you have absolutely no money in the bank, that's when the mind starts to run, you need bottles of drinking water, tomatoes, fruit, you know the basics. Actually I have plenty in the pantry to last for weeks if need be, its just mind games that work on you.
Just now I've tired of resting and watching rather boring late Sabbath afternoon programing so i faced a task, getting the boat winterized. Its just 20 feet long and sits on its trailer beside the house behind the fence. The canvas cover that Steve bought a couple years ago fits well but has pockets that fill with water and then the water ends up in the boat. Since the seat frames are made of wood constant water is not a good thing to just be there. So I pulled the cover back, placed various items across the opening as supports and then installed the cover back on, now the water will just run off and not pool. To keep the boat dry I run a small wattage light bulb inside the boat below the cover and that single light bulb will keep the boat dry all winter. So now its done. One project under the belt and I had intended to trim a bottle brush bush by the front window that had grown half way to the roof line but then I looked again. LeAnn had taken pity on my front yard and trimmed it all back. Thanks LeAnn, you do great work.
Tomorrow I intend to travel over to Pleasant Hill to attend a funeral for a friend's mom. He's had tough breaks the last couple years and certainly does not need more sadness.
Today I read some comments in the Liferaft daily posting regarding universal healthcare. There were well thought out comments on both sides of the issue and I sent a personal email to one of the people sort of saying how strongly I feel that had we had universal health care when GIST was discovered in Nan that it would have much harder to get the care we needed since the same number of doctors, hospital rooms and even nurses will have to contend with another 45 million people and the only way to really handle that increased load is to ration what is available for everyone. It happens all the time in other countries where everyone has government sponsored access to healthcare, you wait for care, for scans and needed surgeries. I have felt that we would have lost her years sooner under the proposed ideas that are floating around. Well my email was not received well. She wrote back and said, don't bother her again, she and her husband were in the health care business and knew much more than I did. I think she had every right to say she did not want to discuss it but the way she did was so shocking, I just did not expect that from someone wrestling with GIST, wow it made me want to speak up again, NOT. Having lived for years as a family under self insuring and then getting health care at great expense I have experienced both sides of the equation. There are no simple answers but I sure hate to see a system that is sought out by citizens of the world made weaker instead of stronger. Perfect, no way, I've got my stories but that imperfect healthcare system was responsible for 5 very major surgeries, two trials, hundreds of scans and tests and excellent support for Nan as she struggled for life. I'd sure hate to see GIST rationed out as a disease that is too expensive to treat and it could happen.
I feel so blessed tonight as I sit in a warm comfortable home, at a 10 year old computer that still functions fine, later to watch a big screen TV handed down to me by the kids, it works so well.
So I wish you a pleasant evening, full of blessings and people.

love

tim