Good morning to you all! Jack has his second dr appt this morning and she said to get there when they opened because they are very busy on Saturday's so we are going to be there before they open at 8 so we don't to sit forever. At least,that is the plan.

We have been fighting with the dr's office over a bill that we shouldn't have to pay. It isn't large, under $20, but now they are threatening us, even though we have talked to them and the insurance company at least 6 times. My problem is giving in when the dr's office is wrong. The thing is, Jack has been seeing a dr that at the time he first started seeing her, she was not "certified" whatever that means and so Tricare wouldn't pay for the dr visits. We always pay our copay upfront and that is all we are responsible for. The bill show the copay, but they continue to bill us for this one appt. Well, the last time, Jack called Tricare and they said they are not going to pay this appt because she wasn't certified at the time. The doctor's office wants the money and now I am afraid they will send it to collections if we don't pay it. I am being stubborn because WE don't owe it. It doesn't seem like anyone wants to budge on this. I imagine I will just pay it, but it rankles me that we should have to pay it. I find the dr's office to be the culprit because they shouldn't have let an uncertified dr practice or at least "bill" until they were certified. Also, if I do pay it, will that give them license to come back some other time and refuse to pay something? I am going to write a letter to them and try one more time to make them see reason.

Susan: I saw a breaking bulletin that Chile had an 8.8 earthquake. I wonder if there is any of that area left after something like that. The Bible warns of end times where there are floods and earthquakes of great magnitude. God is only going to put up with so much from us. Wow, what restraint, pencil lead! If you are like me, I can't go to a yarn shop and leave it without some beautifully colored yarn. Hence, I have been staying away. I haven't knitted in a couple weeks and have projects to finish I just can't get into again.

Jean: Thank goodness you and your family are back home from Hawaii. This Chilean earthquake is causing tsunamis and they have a tsnami warning out for all the Hawaiian islands. Maybe you will be bypassed by this huge snowstorm they are predicting the east will get around the first week in March. It was nice enough for us yesterday I could open the sunroof and drive in the sun, which was great. I just want it to get to 60 so I can start wearing sandals again. I went and got my nails done yesterday and saw a couple ladies with sandals on. One woman had a pair of beautiful purple knee high boots that looked like they would absolutely kill your feet. They had a pencil size heel at least 4 inches high and the toes were razor edge pointed at the end. There is only so much I would do for beauty and that ain't it!

Maggie: Jack and I thought of getting one of those upsidedown tomato plants, but I think the squirrel would take all my tomatoes and tear them up. He sure can't stay out of my garbage. He even clawed through the plastic lid of my can and put a hole in it to get into the trashbags. Now that we have a small freezer, I would love to have meat from a butcher. When I was a kid, my great uncle owned a small grocery with his own butcher shop and I remember getting yummy natural casing hotdogs for my mom or just ground burger. It was the best. We also had root beer and I sure do miss the drive in root beer stands. A root beer and hot dog, what could be better than that!

I am off to go get a shower. We need to leave in about an hour and a half. Have a wonderful Saturday all! Faye

Good Morning, Flowers! The sun is shining brightly and I'm waiting for the heat wave to move in. It's supposed to be in the high 20s today and tomorrow with 30s next week. I want to go back to Sioux City tomorrow; they are having a home improvement show and I read an article in today's paper about a construction company that "consults, repairs, and connects with what the homeowners want." I thought I wanted to paint the fireplace brick but am wondering if we could install new stone, whether real or fake, over the old for a whole new look. I have lots on my "to do" list for the day: laundry, vacuum, sort through the clutter on the counter, and pitch old magazines. Since the hospital gift shop is nonexistent for a few months I haven't been good about taking my old magazines to the cart.

Maggie -- I know you will enjoy having your meat supply replenished. Both of us have HP printers and mine is my original one so I know it's over 10 years old. It works like a charm. Bob has a fancier one that will do photos. My haircut is ok, I guess. My hair has a mind of its own since it has turned gray. I have some natural wave and would like to try going w/o a perm but don't like it totally flat either. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Susan -- I had to chuckle at you buying lead at the quilt show. I couldn't imagine that you would buy a quilt. There's nothing like the original A&W rootbeer! We have an A&W connected to a gas station in a nearby town and often stop there coming home from the lake in the summer. I hope the change in meds will work well for you. It will be interesting to see if you ever remember where you met your doctor. Would he have had any connection to Stan?

"Gma" -- I'm guessing your insurance will never pay the bill since the doctor was not certified to practice medicine, and that is their reason for not paying. I think the clinic should drop the charge personally. What gripes me here is that each doctor can charge what he wants for an office visit. I'd say a $47 difference (between Bob and I -- different docs, same clinic) is a bit much for the same "visit" regarding lab results! I also saw the news about the earthquake in Chile. I suppose we will also be sending people, supplies, and money there to help out. I hope the Hawaiian islands don't get hit since there isn't much room to evacuate all the people. I hope Jack gets a good report from the doctor this morning.

I'm not getting much done by sitting here! Have a super duper day . . . remember that the choice is yours!

Jean -- from Iowa!