Nothing in the Bank But Love #10

If you read my first post in this moving to the prairie series, you'll remember I said we were retiring with nothing in the bank but love. (well Frank retired - I work hard at writing) Anyway, a bit more on that.

Health care cost is a huge consideration when anyone thinks of quitting their job for a different lifestyle, especially if you aren't old enough to get medicare. I've been told by quite a few people that they would love to retire or do something different but can't afford to because of their health insurance. This is how we are lucky: Frank has VA and I have Indian Health Care. This works much better for Frank than for me. His care is free due to his hearing disability. And it follows him everywhere, sort of like health insurance. There are quite a few VA facilities, but he can also be seen at any medical center, if needed. If we should be traveling and he gets sick, he can see any doctor. All he has to do is notify VA within a certain amount of time, and they will take care of the cost. This is not how it works for Indian Health Care. I don't have insurance or health care coverage. If I get sick and can't get to the Indian facilities in Camp Verde or Phoenix, I'm on my own. It's something I just have to deal with. We can't afford the $465 a month I was paying for major medical. That's the policy I had when I got melanoma last year. I still owe over $5,000 in doctor bills.

How to hide a hole in a door

I now pay attention to peak use hours for electricity. Lance intends on installing solar, but in the meantime I'm a clock watcher for clothes washing, dish washer time and bathing. This is pretty easy. We have to avoid high use of electricity from noon until 7 p.m. Pretty much a piece of cake. Turn off lights when they aren't necessary and have the thermostat on a program.

When I was a teenager, buying used clothing was very cool. Wannabee hippy that I was. I remember a suede jacket I bought for a few bucks that cost my mother a pretty penny to get cleaned. LOL I'm back to used item stores now for monetary reasons. We needed different bed frames for our beds. Okay, personal information here you may not need but hey, I promised in that first post to spill. Frank and I like to spread out when we sleep. He has a full size bed and I have a queen. Our bedroom is big enough to accommodate both but not with the old decorative frames. We needed plain metal frames. I found the most wonderful used furniture store in Chino Valley, Mary's Cozy Home Furnishings. We got two metal frames, a wood-framed mirror and a teak salad bowl for $100. I was thrilled. I'm hooked on used.

It's coming together

All the boxes are unpacked. Pictures are on the walls. Nic-nacs are heaped on every available surface. This move is different. We've had to buy a couple of semi-decorative things - needed curtains on the Arcadia door and wood blinds on the living room windows. But as far as shopping for those things that are the right color or size to decorate - not going to happen. Considering we've gone from a 2 1/2 story, 3 bedroom, 3 bath with separate living room and family room to one story, one bedroom, one bath and no family room (remember the rest of the house is Lance and Christie's area), you'd think there would be no problem finding just the right picture for that space. Right? Nah. Not for me. But my new motto is make it work. I'm not acquiring anymore "stuff". What doesn't work is left for Lance and Christie to go through and if they don't want, I'll see if any other family members do.

Love our kitchen

The next task is to get this place painted. All the walls are white and dirty and driving me nuts. But that will happen in due time. I need to write now. My romantic mystery has been stalled. I have a publisher appointment in April - eekkk!!! I intended to have this book done at the end of this month in order to get the editing done before the appointment. Not sure how I'm going to make this happen.

Leave you with a few random thoughts:
Does it seem a bit weird that the animal hospital is next door to the taxidermist in Chino Valley?
We can burn our paper trash out here - this is a new experience and oh so convenient.
The Paulden post office is open 9-noon and 1-4. Closed on Saturdays.

Remember the mirrors around my tub? I look better after I get out than when I get in - red skin vs pasty white.