I got to spend a few minutes in the garden this afternoon. The sun is setting in the west, and the whole yard is washed in gold. I refilled the bird feeders, cursed the blackbirds and grackles (who eat up ALL the food) and made a mental note to go get more suet for the woodpeckers. We have every kind of woodpecker in the yard. Something chewed down my Korean lilac (I hope it comes back) and did me the kindness of trimming the raspberries while they were at it - this year's canes and last year's canes. Oh, well. They'll return. If whatever's eating them doesn't come and eat them again!
I ordered 2 yards of compost for the garden (which will be more than I need, but I'll use the difference for my earth boxes and plant pots.) I opened the garden shed to see if anything had taken up residence this winter, and all was neatly in place. Grabbed the wheelbarrow and some hand hoes. I'll put in some of those spring onion seeds, and see if anything happens. Swiped at a few dead green bean stalks (those go in the yard this year - they were a mess on the deck). I'm getting all fired up...the smell of the damp dirt, paging through a book on tree diseases at the garden center.
Last week I noticed the first of the chives pushing through the debris (the garden is full of leaves). Our first and favorite meal from the garden...potatoes with butter and chives...I can taste it now!
I plan to spend most mornings in the garden, before I write each day.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
What Are They Thinking?
Having negotiated the roundabout of government social services - and I want to say up front that folks I dealt with were kind, courteous, informed and helpful - I still have to shake my head. How does someone without funds or resources manage to get what they need?
If you have a pay-as-you go cellphone - and limited money for minutes - how can you call in and leave a message and be available - and hope your phone won't die? If the car you've got is broken down and works sporadically, how can you drive to a job interview? If you need the high-risk health insurance but you don't have $$ to put in a down payment (it stands to reason if you're losing your health insurance you probably don't have an income, so where in the heck are you supposed to find three months' worth of insurance premiums?) what do you do? Not to mention the complexity of it all.
I called yesterday on my Social Security "ticket-to-work" - to find out if I qualified, through DVR, for assistance with tuition at Lakeshore Tech. All they offered was a list for me to go through (they put it in the mail); now I have to figure it out. Honestly! How does someone without an advanced college degree manage to sort through all this????
I literally spent the entire day yesterday dealing with insurance and health and income issues. It's practically a full-time job in and of itself. I apologize for whining, but then I think someone not as privileged as me, or as educated, would have a really difficult time with all of it. It needs to be simplified. (And I will testify that the Social Security Administration does a much better job of keeping house than my "for-profit" disability insurance company. Mutual of Omaha could learn a few things.)
If you have a pay-as-you go cellphone - and limited money for minutes - how can you call in and leave a message and be available - and hope your phone won't die? If the car you've got is broken down and works sporadically, how can you drive to a job interview? If you need the high-risk health insurance but you don't have $$ to put in a down payment (it stands to reason if you're losing your health insurance you probably don't have an income, so where in the heck are you supposed to find three months' worth of insurance premiums?) what do you do? Not to mention the complexity of it all.
I called yesterday on my Social Security "ticket-to-work" - to find out if I qualified, through DVR, for assistance with tuition at Lakeshore Tech. All they offered was a list for me to go through (they put it in the mail); now I have to figure it out. Honestly! How does someone without an advanced college degree manage to sort through all this????
I literally spent the entire day yesterday dealing with insurance and health and income issues. It's practically a full-time job in and of itself. I apologize for whining, but then I think someone not as privileged as me, or as educated, would have a really difficult time with all of it. It needs to be simplified. (And I will testify that the Social Security Administration does a much better job of keeping house than my "for-profit" disability insurance company. Mutual of Omaha could learn a few things.)
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