A Little Bit of Controversial Rumination

So... I'm not talking about gardens, or flowers, or hiking, or home improvement projects. Or even the most recent scrumptious meal the philosopher has created. I'm going to rant - just a little - about health care.

Back when Obamacare was about to get passed, I read an interesting article about Whole Foods Market and their approach to employee health care in the Wall Street Journal, written by Whole Foods CEO John Mackey.   A couple of things caught my eye: they have two companion plans that most everyone uses: a high deductible catastrophic coverage plan plus a well-funded health savings account.  That forces employees to think hard about the choices they make when deciding on health care options.  (This article from the Harvard Business Review talks about their other health care initiatives that go along with these two main plans.)

I admit I was dubious about Obamacare, and it looks like my concerns are well-founded.  (But actually, I'm not going to rant about that, not directly, anyway.)  So I read this article today written by Walter Russell Mead, talking about the *wildly* variant pricing for the same procedures at hospitals around the country - or even hospitals in the same state!

Now, my two readers know that I have several chronic illnesses, and I do spend a good bit of time in doctors' offices and labs.  After I read the Mead article, I thought about the appointment I had this past Tuesday.  My primary care doc had referred me to a specialist due to an abnormal reading.  It turned out to be nothing - a common "blip" for women my age - but he wanted me to have a couple of baseline imaging tests done so if anything changes over the years we'll have a "normal-for-me" scan to make a comparison.

So, you might think that an HSA-plus-catastrophic-coverage plan would not be the way I'd want to go.  I benefit a lot from the free or almost free stuff I get through my conventional HMO.  Paying out-of-pocket for my several prescriptions (including insulin which doesn't have a generic equivalent - but that's a rant for another day, those darned biologics!!!) plus my every-three-month doctor visits would eat up an even well-funded HSA in a hurry.  But it would also make me think harder - and more importantly, ask my doctor more questions - about recommended tests.    Do I need both an echocardiogram AND an aortic ultrasound just to run a baseline for heart rhythms?  Do I need to see a specialist every three months for diabetes, or can my primary doc cover things unless something goes wrong?  Do I need to take a prescription drug if ibuprofen will do the same thing?

I already ask a lot of these questions, and have made decisions accordingly.  (yes, no, no)  But if I were paying out of pocket for prescriptions too, I might *also* ask: Do I need to go to a lab and pay $50 or more for an A1C test, or can I buy one of those new off-the-shelf versions for $20? Can I use a cheap glucometer, or are the name-brand ones that much better? 

So why don't more people ask these questions?  Certainly Obamacare isn't going to encourage folks to ask questions about cost.  If we give people more control over their medical dollars (with a fall-back plan for major events/issues) two things would happen.

1) People would know and understand more about their health and their health care.  They would talk to their doctor more and have more input into what happens.  And they would spend less.


2) Doctors and hospitals and labs would start to be competitive on pricing.  If someone can choose any doc they want, they're going to look for a good physician of course, but also someone who has reasonable office visit pricing. Think Angies's List, or Kudzu, or any of those other sites where people can review businesses and the service industries! We can't really use those sites now because we have to look for in-network docs, or docs affiliated with a particular hospital. If we could, we'd find a doc who got great reviews, and had pricing we're willing to pay.  If someone can choose where to buy their medicine or have labwork done, they're going to look for the lowest pricing (labs and medicines are the same wherever you go!)

All that would reduce costs.  And that would be a good thing, even if it meant that I had to kick in more dollars for my health care.  Because I think I agree with Walter Mead:

What’s becoming clearer and clearer is that the US health care system is more distorted, less transparent, more dysfunctional, and packed with more perverse incentives than most people realized. Right now, it’s about as far from a functioning market as it can be. If we fix health care, all our other policy problems get easier. If we don’t, we’re going to go totally broke in a few decades.

The "Making the Front Yard Less Scary" Project (and other news)

So what have we been up to?  Well, lots!  Not all good news, though.  The full time teaching position for the philosopher did not work out, alas.  But he has picked up two classes for the summer, and he's on the books for two classes in the fall, so we are certainly not as bad off as many people these days.  We still need to figure out where God is leading us, tho.  All we can do is wait and watch and pray.

And in the meantime...

We can dig in the dirt!

No, seriously. That's what most of our front yard is.... dirt.  Well, dirt and gi-normous tree roots.

See?

You didn't believe me, did you?  Dirt and roots.  (Wait, can you call Georgia red clay "dirt"?  Pleh!)

The trees are swamp poplars, and have thick waxy leaves almost like a magnolia.  Which means that three of the four seasons every year it's so shady under the trees that nothing will grow.  When we moved in there was this very untidy ring of wall stones (improperly used and executed) in a huge circle around the trees.  The circle was filled with... yeah ... mostly dead leaves and trash.  So just by clearing that mess out we made it better!

But this spring, I was filled with the ardent desire to look at something nicer every time I peered through my front windows.  So I proposed taking those dreadful, poorly used wall stone to ... actually make a wall!  (I know, shocking, right?)  It's hard to tell from the photo, but the yard is pretty sloped, so by building a retaining wall at the low end we could backfill, level things out (burying some of the worst root offenders at the same time) and make enough space to do a little bit of planting.

So...

I started with this:

We brought the original "circle" in, because that low area in front of the wall should actually get enough southern sun to support grass.   The wall is four levels high, but only for about a quarter of the length.  I half-buried the bottom level, so I'm hoping it will withstand the weight of fill and water down the road!

A week or so later, I conned... I mean, I convinced the philosopher to go fetch dirt with me!  A load of fill and a load of topsoil later and we have this:

 Plus I added the edging all the way around.  And I *refused* to make it a circle.  (The philosopher has taken to calling it the front yard amoeba... I'm not sure how happy that makes me, but at least it isn't a circle!)

This past weekend, I took my grandma's hostas (which you can see stuffed into the big pots in the picture above) and divided them, putting some in the new bed right by the wall and leaving one in each of the pots.  (I also have lots of babies that I'm hoping to keep alive long enough to deliver to their new homes!)  

I also had a bunch of heucheras (coral bells) that I transplanted, creating a pretty shade bed!

 Our next step is to lay down landscape fabric over the rest of the amoeba's interior (now look - I'm doing it too!) and add a layer of mulch.  That will tidy up the roots, and if I can talk the philosopher into it, I want to add a bench for a nice peaceful shady spot!

This fall, when it's time to plant grass, we're going to go get another load of topsoil, a bag of Atlanta Blend fescue mix, and some erosion mats.  Then we'll see, this time next year, if our hard labors pay off!

The March wind doth blow....

Wow.  Looks like life (again) got in the way of blogging.  ::heh::  So, what's been going on since mid-February? 

The philosopher and I have been busy with projects, including finishing up the foyer project. (What?  You thought I was just joking when I said we'd finish during spring break?)

So, anyway, here's the final result:

Looks a little better than before, right?  And now we can even open the front door all the way!  (Yes, the door used to hit the newel post....)  Have I mentioned how proud I am of the philosopher and his DIY skills?

We also dug our second raised bed garden (or third, if you count the herb bed too) and just recently I got onions, sweet peas, and spinach planted.  This weekend, if the weather holds out, I'll be planting kale and lettuce!

Our back yard is pretty sloped, so we went with a long, narrow bed this time:

 Yummy yummy - can't wait until harvest time!


There's really no other interesting news.  The philosopher had a phone interview, and we're praying hard for an on-campus interview.  (The signs seem promising, but you never know.) 

So we wait more-or-less patiently for the signs of spring to start warming things up, and then the house projects will really start taking off.  This summer we're hoping to use a special paint on our decking to avoid the expense of having to redo the whole mess.  We've also got some more crown molding to rip down and reinstall properly, along with some more painting.

But spring always brings dreams of house projects, even though the summer heat saps the energy we need to do anything.  So who knows what will actually get done!

February Jobs Updates

Blessed Ash Wednesday!  Or as the philosopher likes to say, "Have a suitably penitential Lent!"

Yeah, so Ash Wednesday is February 13 this year.  Tomorrow is the day of chocolates and roses (not that I usually get either - I prefer live plants and a home-cooked meal!)  But it's been a busy six weeks since my last post... holy moley!

____________________________________________________________
MY JOB

The campus library where I work is *almost* done.  It's been two years in process, and now I'm just waiting for the computers to be installed.  Maybe even as soon as next week I'll be able to throw open the doors and welcome the students! 

This is what it looked like just before Christmas:

This is what it looks like now:

WOW!!!!!!!  Ok, yeah, I am super pumped and excited.  ::grin::
______________________________________________________________
THE PHILOSOPHER'S JOB

So what else is going on?  Well, a job has posted at a (local-ish) university where the philosopher would dearly love to work.  It's a great fit, teaching logic and critical thinking.  He's got someone on the inside singing his praises.  This someone also helped design the curriculum which prompted the need for this new position.  I know higher ed is a nightmare for jobs.  They're hard to find and harder to get.  Trust me, I know.  How many jobs have I seen the philosopher apply for, only to be rejected?  If he is meant to be a professor, this is it.  This is the job he need to have. It's a great Christian school and everything that can be is in his favor. 

So I'm praying, and praying hard.  Trying not to pray for our wills, but God's will.  But it can't be wrong to still hope (and pray, yes) that this really is where God wants him.  So if you're so inclined, would you pray with us?  That's my Lenten discipline this year - to pray, and pray hard, and pray focused - for the man I've been married to for nearly nineteen years and who remains the love of my life.  I'm praying for a job, and if that door closes I'm praying for peace, and guidance, and a renewed sense of purpose.

So Blessed Lent, and Happy Valentine's Day!

A December DIY Project

So, I've got lots of pictures from the work we did this break.  Those of you who've been to our house probably remember the wretched foyer.  You come in the front door, and are immediately forced into an up or down decision.  Down leads to the philosopher's study, and the laundry room, and storage, and the garage.  Up leads to the main floor of the house.  Both sets of stairs had cheap crappy carpet on them.  Like this:

 (looking down from the landing of the main floor)

You can see that the landing is really beat up.  What you *can't* see is how scratched and dinged the banister is.  Yuck.

So we stripped off the carpet, and ripped out the old, damaged hardwood.  We discovered the treads underneath the carpet were simply 2x10s.  Yeah.  Treads are supposed to be 11 inches deep.  ::sigh::

Over the course of two days I stained and polyurethaned all the new oak treads we purchased, and painted the new risers a lovely white to match the rest of our trim in the house.

THEN....

The philosopher pulled out his sledgehammer and proceeded to dismantle the whole shebang, right down to the stringers!

Oh.

Did I mention that this staircase is the only way to get to the basement without going out onto the back deck, walking around the outside of the house and coming in through the garage?  Yeah.  And did I mention that the storage room in the basement serves as our storage for most of our kitchen stuff?  Yeah.  And did I mention that the day we ripped out the stairs was cold and rainy?  So there was that.

But actually, we moved pretty quickly because we'd done so much prep in advance.  Just a few hours later we were here:

You'll notice the landing already looks better, right?  To give us a nice level floor we covered the old OSB with a sheet of luan plywood before topping it with a new laminate.

By bedtime we were finished - well, at least with the staircase. 

The banister?  Welllll...... that's another story.  It started when we removed the newel post and the half-newel and decided to sand them down and restain them.

Before                   and                  After

(If you look carefully at the after, doesn't the top look a little like the Eye of Sauron?  I hope that doesn't mean anything....)

And I have to say how proud I am of the philosopher.  We needed a stairnose to connect to the laminate for the down-stairs bit.  The stuff Pergo wanted to sell us was obscenely expensive, so G took a chunk of oak and routed a beautiful stairnose for the landing going down.  It looks better than the one we could have paid $60 bucks for!

If you zoom in, it's the bit right by G's arm, just at the edge.  So when you come up the stairs from the basement, you see this lovely bit that matches perfectly with the edges of all our new treads.  Yay for the philosopher handyman!

And here's a look up from the front door:

SHINY!!!!

Erm... what?  A handrail, you ask? 

Well... that's yet another story.  We actually have the handrail installed, but no shoerail (the part that attaches to the whiteboard) and no balusters.  That's because the big box store didn't get our special order shoerail in time.  It's supposed to come in today, but there's a day of staining before it can be installed, then a day of polying the whole mess, then another day of installing the lovely white balusters.

So I'm thinking y'all will get another post with the "after" pics.

How does Spring Break sound???

December? Not possible!!!

As I sit here rejoicing in the quietness (on this last day of finals there are very few students on campus), I started thinking about all the things going on in my life.  I decided I needed to write a new post, and hit the highlights of the last few weeks.

THEN....

::shamed face::

I noticed that the last post I made was in September.  SEPTEMBER!!!!

::sigh::

I have been busy, I admit.  But I shouldn't be so busy that I don't have time to write a little!  Deepest, abject apologies to my one or two readers.  Erm... hello?  ::crickets::  Hello?  Given up on me as a bad job?  How can I blame you??

So... highlights.

September:

• We paid off our car!  Our only debt now is our (very small) mortgage.  No credit cards, no nothing.
• I started working full time on "my" campus - no more long commutes!  (This, of course, does not mean I actually have a library yet.  I'm working in a computer lab, and Still Waiting for them to start the courthouse renovations for the real library.)
• We ate lots of late-harvest greens, and I rediscovered my southern heritage by making vats and vats of collards and freezing them to serve up this winter with joy and deliciousness.
• I celebrated the 25 year anniversary of "Princess Bride" - the Best Movie Ever. "As you wish!"  (The philosopher gave an appreciative nod to the special occasion, but declined to watch it yet once again....  Inconceivable!)

October:

• Discovered a new favorite librarian quote from Neil Gaiman: "Google can bring you back 100,000 answers, a librarian can bring you back the right one."
• Said goodbye to the Ponds as Doctor Who (Season 7) came to an end. 
• Hiked Horn Mountain in the Chattahoochee National Forest.  Remembered the boots.  Forgot the camera.
• Had my deepest hopes dashed when Florida State lost to NC State.  (Boo, hiss!  But we still won the ACC Chanpionship so Orange Bowl, here we come!) 
• Made huge headway clearing the brush and bramble (and trash) on the back of our property.  Goodbye old tire!  Goodbye dead stump!  Goodbye prickly thorny nastiness!  Hello, poison ivy.  (sigh)
• Did some work in our front shrub bed - moved the unhappy plants to better locations and replaced them with nandinas and gumpo azaleas.  What?  You want pictures?  You'll just have to wait until spring!

November:

• Started my Christmas shopping.  (No, really.  I did!  Really!)
• Of course, said Christmas shopping actually involved filling up shoeboxes for Samaritan's Purse and Operation Christmas Child.  (But that counts, right??)
• Experienced an earthquake.  In Georgia.
• Actually beat the philosopher in a game of Scrabble.  (This will likely be a highlight for the year!)
• Celebrated Thanksgiving with my mom (we did Cornish hens instead of a turkey)
• Celebrated Thanksgiving Saturday with my dad, watching football and eating black bean dip.  We did have a bird, tho... wait, what? Don't buffalo wings meet the criteria?) 

 December:

• Fetched our Christmas tree from Sleepy Hollow Farms.  It's beautiful.  And we haven't taken a single picture of our lovely decorated house.  Boy, I really AM a slacker!
• Celebrated the start of Advent at Trinity Anglican Church.  (Your humble blogger is the webmaster so maybe that's where all my online time is being spent, rather than here with you good folk?)
• Planned our Christmas vacation - three days of peace at Navarre Beach! 

I also taught 30 classes, participated in a hiring committee, did a gazillion other things for work, repainted the living room and dining room, and even washed the car once or twice.

And over break we're actually going to tackle the front foyer.  You know how the door only opens halfway because of the banister?  Yeah.  That.  We're going to fix it, and put in a new floor, and replace the carpeted stairs with oak treads.  And if we're Very Very lucky, we'll get it done before Christmas! 

Keown Falls and Johns Mountain

Sunday was a gorgeous day.  Highs in the 70s, low humidity.... a *perfect* day to get out for a hike!  So we packed up the car with our hiking boots and poles, and a backpack stuffed full of all the important things you might need on a trail.  Peanut butter sandwiches.  Water.  Chap stick.  Hand sanitizer.  Compass.  Pocket knife.  And the camera!


We headed north up I-75, and went to the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest (about a hour's drive north).  It's near Resaca, or Armuchee, or Calhoun, or Dalton... depending on which direction you want to drive.  This is from the top of the mountain looking back towards the east (towards Dalton, I think).


Keown Falls is actually near the top of Johns Mountain, so there's a 700 foot elevation change from the trailhead to the observing point.  Not nearly as bad as our last steep hike (these trailblazers at least appreciate the notion of switchbacks) but it was strenuous nonetheless.  And there was a section of stone steps going straight up... Indeed, if it had not been a bright, cheerful, sunny day, images of Cirith Ungol would have easily spring to mind.  The steps were twisting and uneven, slippery with loose stone and alternating from bring in bright sun to the deep shade of enormous boulders.  Fortunately (again, three cheers for the trailblazers) a rough but steady rail has been added to the side nearest the dropoff.  In fact, the National Forest Service added signage to some of the more treacherous areas: "Danger - Do not pass beyond this sign.  A fall from this area could be fatal."  And they weren't joking!

Had the rails not been there, it would have been a terrifying climb, and even more horrifying on the descent, with tired, rubbery legs!

Also near the top it was obvious a fire had raged sometime in the not too distant past.  Perhaps five years ago?  It wiped out a swath of trees, and left barren crags like this near the crown.  Beautiful, but also desolate.  Does that make sense?  Yes, it was lush and green with all sorts of wildlife, but there was this deep sense of loss because of the fire, and the mountain was struggling to regain its canopy.  It allowed us some beautiful vistas that would have been tree-filled several years ago.  Maybe that recalls another Tolkien reference - Treebeard's lament.

The path up the side was windswept indeed, because of the fire.

Once we got to the top, we took the 3.5 mile trail that essentially looped the mountain.  On the far side, facing west, we snapped this:

 

This is looking southwest towards Rome.  Living close to Atlanta we forget that the north part of Georgia is beautifully mountainous!   The loop trail was deeply shaded and often overgrown.  It stood in stark contrast to the area around the falls, with its scraggly pines and exposed boulders.

It was a most excellent day!