Thanks, @Rosie_0801 and @Faith-manor.

I have a dilemma. I don't want to be at my workplace, because I have no desire to be in the middle of the party atmosphere of a campus, and I'd really like to just sit out in the sun for a couple of hours and quietly watch it come and go. However, my campus is also probably a primo place to see it, given the geographical features of the area. A colleague has invited people to her farm, an hour drive away, but I really worry about getting there, as she is on the centerline of totality, along country roads. I'd feel like I might want to get there at 8am, and then I'd be sitting there on her driveway, trying not to look stupid for 3 hours since I'm such an overthinker. (And I loathe to sit in traffic.) If I take the day off, my house will be in a place where there is coverage, but I'm surrounded by tall trees, and I'd like to "see it from a vantage point" or across an empty field, and that's pretty much the opposite of my neighborhood. Sigh. Decisions, decisions!

This tickled me, @Rosie_0801. My FIL and his older brother were born in the twenties, came of age during WW2, and were from that generation that verbally appreciated a woman, yet without being creepy. Both of them, in their later years, always took a pocket full of some wrapped hard candy or a pack of gum to share with staff at doctors' visits. My own kids, as teens, were wigged out about this, and I told them to knock it off. The nurses and healthcare team generally seemed to appreciate being genuinely complimented, and I never saw my FIL ignore someone who was plain. He had a cute, non-suggestive comment for pretty much everyone.

What will you do when you need to withdraw or deposit cash? (Don't answer; it's a hypothetical for you to consider, if needed.)

Kassia, I'm wondering if there isn't something else going on, in addition to trismus. I couldn't open the jaw very much, but I wasn't in excruciating pain. The reason I remember it being a month is because it was such an accomplishment to eat a burger at one month out! What you're experiencing sounds like another visit is needed, right away. I'm so sorry!

I'm so sorry to hear this. My first time was after having wisdom teeth removed. I wasn't in pain after the normal healing, but I couldn't open my mouth wide for a month. (Angling in small spoonfuls of food...) I had it again after something major, but it resolved more quickly. The third time, I knew and discussed with the oral surgeon, who loaded me up with 800mg Advil (for the anti-inflammatory benefit) prior to the procedure, and then gave me frequent close-your-mouth breaks. Also, if possible, schedule work so it's done in stages with time in between. (Some procedures can be done that way, others not.) Best wishes!

Faith, this is such a wonderful opportunity for him. I wonder if he could connect with an NGO or faith-based org with local boots on the ground who could show him what they are up to and connect him with someone in their orbit who would like to show him around? What a shame to spend his down-time in four walls. It never hurts to ask.

That is a very, very cute cat. (And I'm not a cat person...so that's saying a lot.)

We are capable of having two thoughts at the same time. These two thoughts are the opposite ends of a Venn diagram, and the need for pajamas is the center overlap.

I don't think I can part with some of these things that were so dear to me. I may want to read them in my 90s. Seriously, though, the way things are going, I wonder if it wouldn't be helpful to hang on to core items: graded readers, math manipulatives, my Lial math workbooks for pre-algebra through algebra ii, the great history resources, timeless children's lit, the Ralph Moody series, STOW, nature guides and other treasures. Sigh. A former colleague's daughter is raising her two in such a wonderful way, meeting the 1000 hours outside challenge, hiking frequently, raising explorers and nature lovers. I wish mine had caught a bit of that from me, but they never seemed interested. Sigh.

This isn't quite on the OPs topic, but someone else raised it in the thread. If you are self-employed or the owner of small business, and you want to be in a group plan: https://www.nase.org/request-insurance-quote I have no idea what the cost is.

So this is what I said, in totality: Back to Samaritan: their requirement is that you be a church member in good standing. That doesn't mean that you have to "have your butt in the pew every week" 🙂 just that the people on staff know you, and you have a relationship as a member of the church. If you're not a church member type, this would not be for you. I can't remember if there is any wording about "in good standing" on their website, but that is a reasonable approximation of the intent.

I didn't want to drive as far to the mammography place I had been using, so I switched to a branch office closer to me -- same company -- that happened to be in a professional building on a hospital campus. I was charged a $400 hospital use fee in addition to the cost of the mammogram. I was able to get insurance to disallow the fee after a lot of wrangling, but I shudder to think how much Medicare pays to have seniors get their mammogram at that location!

Find out what the doctor wants ordered, go to the lab website, tell them where you are going to have your labs drawn, and then pay for the labs. Download the order, have the labs drawn, and forward the results to the doctor's office. DirectLabs was one of the companies, but there is at least one more.

Sometimes doctors prescribe progesterone tablets to break an uncomfortably long cycle. I'm not sure if that's what you're dealing with, but I"m wondering if that would be worth looking into. ??

I have heard some bad experiences with the first company on the list, and I used Samaritan Ministries. In the two years I was covered with them, I did not have to file any claims. I did have to pay for all minor medical costs out of pockets, because there was a $500 deductible for all claims related to a single condition or accident. For example, if I had broken an arm, I would have paid for $500 of the claims out of pocket, but any further claims related to the care for that injury would have already met the deductible. I did have healthcare providers who were willing to reduce the cost of office visits since they knew they would be paid, by me, without the insurance paperwork. Finally, I had a doozy of a pre-existing condition, but I was six years out from the illness, a year off of treatment meds, and it was not called out as a pre-existing condition. I have a paper copy of my file (a report of sorts) with them, and it's on the intake form, but it did not was not listed in their account report under pre-existing conditions. They have all kinds of services to help members access reduced price care such as databases of actual pricing for services, and recommendations to mail-order labs. I now have a high deductible full-featured health insurance plan through a new employer, but I'm still using some of their cost-cutting strategies. For example, I order needed labs from a lab company on my own and save $$$, then I submit that to the insurance company to have it denied as I haven't met the deductible, but it whittles down my remaining deductible, in case I have something catastrophic happen. And then I get it reimbursed from my HSA. Back to Samaritan: their requirement is that you be a church member in good standing. That doesn't mean that you have to "have your butt in the pew every week" 🙂 just that the people on staff know you, and you have a relationship as a member of the church. If you're not a church member type, this would not be for you.

I just saw this and I'm so sorry you're going through this. Sending a virtual hug and prayers for you and especially for the kids.

I don't know if it still exists, but there used to be a group called NASE, National Association of the Self-Employed, and one could purchase group insurance through them. You might use those search terms and see if there is something similar now. ??

Not to derail, but not being able to get warm can also be a symptom of adrenal and/or thyroid issues. If someone did all the SAD mitigation, but the coldness persisted, it might be worth looking into. Hugs, @Indigo Blue.

I had tilled a foundation bed filled with black clay and added a skiff-load of coarse compost (lots of wood chips) last May and let it decompose til now. It's all clay now! Uggh. Black clay = the Borg, it assimilates everything. 😑 I'll have to dig down and pull out all the clay and replace with 8 inches of garden mix and compost. That's my sunniest bed, and I wanted to grow potatoes and onions in it. What a disappointment. On a happier note, my brussels sprouts are living their best lives. I hope weather continues favorably. All the early seedlings are a week old...dh is fascinated.

We've got the testing dialed in. The weirdest thing is that pasta with ground beef and marinara or spaghetti sauce drops his blood sugar. Yep, drops it. It's the weirdest thing.

We'll cheer for you, either way, Elizabeth! But your story reminds me of my first period after bfing #2 for many months. I felt sooo tender everywhere, so "heavy" in my uterus, very much like I was pg, but the doc said he was almost certain it was that I was getting ready to ovulate for the first time in ~18 months. He was right. And in the next few months I started learning about NFP and the subtle cycle indicators. (I just had no exposure to it prior to that time, even though I had fabulous midwives.)

The October deluge!

Oh, sorry, Chris! I wasn't implying anything about your experience. My FIL definitely had the hallucinating when he tried it! So I have firsthand experience with that side effect. But elderly and kidney disease patients are among those who have worse effects on the med, because it isn't cleared as well. However, there are also quite a few case reports of people sleepwalking and doing other activities while medicated, to the point that there are Ambien memes.

Not even that, with mine. "It was like a mobile caller ID, kids. You just knew to go to a phone and call that phone number back."