Kaiser

Good Lord...I've been with Kaiser since 1953 and have had almost no complaints whatsoever, but they have stopped you being able to email your doctor and when my prescription ran out, the pharmacy wouldn't let me refill, so I had to write my doctor a letter, which it took her several days to answer.

She called and said she would get the prescription filled right away. That was 6 days ago. They always mail it out immediately, so I tried to contact the pharmacy, but I can no longer sign into the web site, so I had to call.

Someone connected me to the pharmacy, which said that yes, they have the prescription but they can no longer mail prescriptions and i will have to come in to pick it up...or have it mailed from Sacramento. I've been about a month without it, so we will pick it up today.

Walt went to get the prescription and I got an e-mail from the pharmacy saying I could sign in and get the prescription faster, but to "sign in" I had to sign into the web site, which won't let me sign in! so Walt will have to sit and wait, I guess.

This whole thing is just so damn frustrating.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Simone Biles

I watched the gymnastics last night.  Everybody was surprisingly good (well...it's the Olympics, is it surprising?...) but Simone Biles was amazing.

She has been having problems with her leg and her foot and at one point they had to bandage it and she crawled and hopped to where she needed to be.

Despite that she did an incredible vault, adding a somersault before the actual vault, which no one has ever done before.

Needless to say, she came in first and it was such fun watching her.

This morning I watched skateboarding and discovered that one of the contestants, he was first for most of the event, but ended up 3rd, was from Davis.

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More Olympics

 I spent most of the day Sunday, after watching Sunday Morning watching the Olympics.  Saw a lot of sports I have never seen before, like archery, canoeing, mountain biking, and fencing.  

(The medal fight was between two USA contestants, one won the gold and the other the silver)

Also watched tennis, surfing, gymnastics, volleyball, diving, swimming, mountain biking, table tennis, skateboarding and equestrian--horses jumping over objects.

The canoeing event was pretty amazing.

It was a pretty interesting day and tonight I'll see Simone Biles' events.  I've heard she's pretty amazing, especially since she is doing everything with an injured leg

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Marta asked for shortbread.

Sunday Stealing

 

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. This feature originated and published on WTIT: The Blog. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves.

Stolen from League of Extraordinary Pen Pals

1. What are your plans for August
I have a lunch date on the 6th and a dental appointment later.  Otherwise, nothing.

2. Your mid year resolutions or goals
I don't have any.

3. Are you good at taking care of plants
I was at one time, but gave up.  Now I take care of artificial plants.

4. What makes you feel nourished
The dinners Ned makes...he makes sure I get my greens eaten.

5. Which animals do you see most in your area
Squirrels!  They beg for nuts at our back door.

6. Books on your summer reading list
I am finishing "East of Eden" and reading 

7. Projects you want to tackle this summer
Keeping my pen pal letters answered.

8. Do you have weddings, graduations, summer celebrations
We celebrated our son's 54th birthday over the 4th of July weekend.  Otherwise, no.

9. Which summer snacks are you excited to enjoy again
Corn on the cob

10. How much time do you like to take for vacations
When we take a vacation, 3 weeks is definitely long enough.  2 weeks is probably better.

11. Where are your favorite picnic locations
Davis has nice parks that are good for picnics.

12. Something that would be out of character for you
Exercise!

13. Which summer movies are you excited to see
I don't now which are coming out.  I'll probably see them when they get on Netflix.

14. Your favorite free / cost effective ways to have fun
Watching TV, reading

15. Who do you trust most to house & pet sit
Our pet sitter moved, and when we went to Santa Barbara recently Marta (our daughter-in-law) stayed home with the dog.  If we all go away again, we'll have to find someone new.

  

Saturday 9

Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)

Welcome to Saturday 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Saturday 9: Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You) 1969

Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Liza Minnelli acknowledges that she may be "taking a terrible chance." Have you done anything risky lately?
No.  My life is pretty boring these days.

2) In 1969, when Liza recorded this song, she was 23 and her career was really beginning to take off. She was a sought-after guest on TV talk and variety shows and received her first Oscar nomination. Give us a quick overview of your life at 23.
I was married and had given birth to our first child.

3) Also in 1969, the first Gap store was opened in San Francisco. What have you recently added to your wardrobe? If yes, where did you buy it?
A t-shirt that says "San Francisco -- It's where it all began" (because I was born and raised in San Francisco).  I found it on line.

4) Liza says she always has apple juice in her refrigerator. What's something you're certain to have in your frig?
butter, mayonnaise, eggs, milk, salad dressings...

5) Liza's favorite card game is poker. What's yours?
It's called Five Crowns.  I used to play it all the time with my mother and cousins.

6) Though Liza recorded the song in 1969, "Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)" was written way back in 1931. It has been recorded more than 50 times by artists as diverse as Bing Crosby, Andy Gibb and Bob Dylan. Before today, had you heard it?
I believe so.

7) "Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)" is credited to Bert Kalmer and his partner, Harry Ruby. Another one of their hits was "Who's Sorry Now?" Do you owe anyone an apology?
Can't think of anybody,

8) Together they also wrote "Hooray for Captain Spaulding," sung onscreen by Groucho Marx in the movie Animal Crackers. There were five Marx Brothers in all. How many can you name?

Groucho, Harpo, Zeppo and 2 more

9) Random question: Do you believe talking to plants helps them grow?
I had a violet plant that I  talked to until it bloomed, then I stopped talking and it died. Could be just coincidence!

 

The Olympics begin

I spent most of the day today watching the Olympics opening ceremonies.  I have all sorts of feelings about it, but the finale, Celine Dion singing Edith Piaf's song, "Hymn to Love" had me in tears. From what I've read on line, a lot of other people have had the same reaction.  Dion has been struggling with "Stiff Person Syndrome" for a few years and has had to stop performing.  I watched a documentary about it and it was so sad, but she said she was learning to sing again, and this performance certainly proved that she has her voice back again.  It was amazing.

I won't say the ceremonies themselves were amazing.  There were great things.  The arrival of all the teams is always great, and the view of them in boats floating down the Seine was great fun, but the boats were all too far apart and it took forever for all the boats to make the 4 miles to the Eiffel Tower.  

In the slow spots there was entertainment.  Starting with Lady Gaga singing in French with lots of pink feather fans.  I read later that the thing was recorded, so I'm not sure why they showed it.  There were can can dancers, ballet dancers, a strange fashion show, and musical numbers by people I never heard of.  I just wanted to see the athletes, not a can can at the edge of the river!

In all of this, it was pouring rain the entire time.  One guy played a solo on a grand piano that was covered with water, and you could see the rain coming down on it.  It was amazing how little everyone on screen seemed to notice that it was raining.

There was also a weird guy carrying a torch across all the roofs of Paris that seemed really stupid, but the final carrying of the torch was amazing, as it kept being passed from one Olympic star to another, including a guy who was now 100 years old and in a wheelchair.

I'm glad I watched it, but I sure had problems with it. But it was probably worth it just for the Celine Dion song.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Homelessness

I had a great Swap Bot to fill today.  I've been frustrated at having so many wonderful new postcards, and nobody to send them to.  This swap is called "Piles of Postcards" and you are to send a postcard to ten partners.  What fun!  I read the bios of each of my 10 partners and was able to find the perfect postcard for each of them.  I had such a good time filling out and mailing those postcards.

I'm reading about the governor issuing an order to remove all tents, etc. from the homeless and that it will be against the law to sleep outside if you are homeless.

I've heard this before.  Please tell me where homeless people are supposed to sleep if they have no home?  The governor says they are going to build homeless shelters.  Swell.  But what do they do between now and the time the shelters are built?  Do they just sleep outside anyway, be arrested, and taken to jail where they will have a bed?

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PHOTO OF THE DAY