Lhunpaurwen's Ramblings

Exploding Butter

Thu, 29 Sep 2016 23:04:12 GMT

Have a laugh at our expense. I was in the kitchen talking with my aunt while dinner was being made. She put some butter in the microwave and set it to defrost to melt it. She turned it on and we were talking. All of a sudden.... BOOM... and splatters inside the microwave as we watched in horror. The butter exploded in the microwave. It was literally dripping from the ceiling of the microwave and off the door when we opened it. On the bright side, now everything smells deliciously of butter.

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Grandma's 90th, Roof Repairs, Ceramics Stuff, Chakotay Stuff

Wed, 28 Sep 2016 04:43:54 GMT

Busy busy busy this month. Working on ceramics and other art. We recently had a surprise party to celebrate my Grandma's 90th birthday. The whole family and Grandma's friends got together to celebrate. It was nice seeing so many people I have known since childhood. Lots of laughs and smiles were had.

After that we had a roofer out doing repairs and rebuilding the back deck's roof. Needless to say with all the construction sounds starting early AM I got no sleep, on top of getting no sleep because I have been sick. So I ended up even sicker and ran out of Gaba before insurance would cover the refill. Never fails that I always get really sick during the hottest of the summer.

Despite that, I was able to finally get a glaze load fired. I was trying to wait for the weather to cool off a little before I did, but that's not going to happen around here anytime soon. Just going to keep running the loads I have and vent with fans, try to time the hottest part for evening and early AM when it is a little cooler out. A small piece I made for my aunt's birthday came out perfect. I'll be sharing it and others on Patreon and eventually on DA and LWD page.

Nothing much has changed with Chakotay. Taking things slow and staying home. He barked at the roof repair guy when we tried a casual introduction, but at least he was okay after he got used to the noise of the repair work and realized it was not a bad thing. He curiously sniffed at all the tools and supplies and willingly investigated things he was unsure of after I touched them and showed him they were safe. Will be so happy when he gets past this phase and I get my confident puppy back.

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Am I back yet?

Wed, 27 Jul 2016 03:37:38 GMT

Just when I thought I'd be back and be able to catch up with online interactions, something else comes up. Dealing with things as best as I can. Most of it doesn't warrant expending the energy to mention. Some of it meh. Some of it sad. Most recent being the loss of one of my aunts to medical complications. It was sudden and unexpected, and still hard to accept. The circumstances around it have made me reflect on my own health issues. I have been in some bad mindspace, so I chose not to burden others with it. Not any different than any negativity I have shared in the past, so why sound like a broken record.

In better news, the Medicaid expansion finally hit. I got everything with it straightened out, I think. I went and saw my eye specialist and my rheumatologist. It was finally decided since we'd tried everything else with limited results, it was time to try adding immunosuppressants. I have been taking Plaquenil and Restasis since then. I wasn't able to until now without insurance, because the Restasis alone would have been over $500 per monthly supply out of pocket, similar to the problems I had with getting my Cymbalta before it went generic.

There is no generic for Restasis, so I am having to fight for a prior authorization for it. The insurance allowed the first month purchase to go through so I would have it, so kudos to them for thinking of the patient in these situations. Now I just hope they are reasonable to approve the prior auth since it is literally the only medication of its class and kind so there are no alternative treatments available to substitute. I also saw my new primary and she seems pretty awesome. A lot like my awesome Mayo doctor was the first time we met. Getting referrals for lab work and to see an orthopedic specialist, neurologist, and endocrinologist finally, after waiting an eternity. Here is to hoping I can get approvals for a bone density scan and MRI real soon.

Finished gathering, compiling, and submitting all the information for my Disability appeal. My rheumatologist and I sat down and compiled a whole slew of things to throw at them, based on their own listing criteria, and directly quoted those criteria and offered detailed information for a functionality report based on models they use, which should be more than enough medical evidence to support my claim and get approval. Now it is just a matter of waiting again. It could take a year or more before the case is even issued to a judge. Unless someone in the processing department reviews it and sees how blatantly it is that I meet listing level criteria and should have been approved the first time around. Jump. Through. Hoops. Makes my fur bristle the more I have to conform to their inadequate process.

The benefit of waiting is that it gives me that much more time to research and be thoroughly prepared for the hearing when the time comes. I did speak with a helpful woman in their support department who sent me some information for legal assistance for low/no income individuals. I plan to utilize it if I am able to. It's not the same as retaining a private attorney, but I'm sure I can learn something either way if I qualify to use it.

Back to catching up on things I missed.

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Holiday Update

Sun, 27 Dec 2015 08:16:23 GMT

Christmas was nice. Got to visit with mom and grandma and had a nice dinner. It just didn't feel like Christmas though, in a lot of different ways. It was 80F here. In December. Up where Mike is in the mountains in NJ, they have always had snow by this time of year, but not this year. It was around 50F and Mike said he had the windows open. It's so warm there were tornadoes in Texas, in winter (bless those poor people ). I distinctly remember Decembers down in the 20F range with freeze warnings and wearing heavy coats as a kid even in Louisiana. I don't understand how people can keep denying global warming or climate shift. Anyway, hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.

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Happy Father's Day

Mon, 22 Jun 2015 02:47:44 GMT

Happy Father's Day to all the awesome dads out there.

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Birthday Wish

Fri, 08 May 2015 02:47:48 GMT

My birthday is coming up on May 21st ( two weeks from now).

I have one big wish I am asking for this year, and hope to somehow make possible.

I want to go visit my dad.

I haven't seen my dad since I was about 3 years old. We recently reconnected with each other this past December, when he found me online.

He stayed in touch long distance throughout my life. We lost contact and track of each other after Katrina. I searched for him online for years and never managed to find anything solid and all the contact info he ever knew for us changed when we lost our house. The one address I did find and send a letter to, was returned by the post office as "undeliverable, address not found". I was worried I may never find him.

Then he found me. I have been so overjoyed with being able to catch up after all these years and have a chance to get to know him better and share stories and memories of childhood.

Our only form of contact has been via phone calls, texting, and online chat sessions when he can get online through the local library for a few hours at a time. He is a telecommunications contractor and having a hard time finding large steady jobs, so his money is extremely limited or else he'd happily be paying part of the expenses to have me come visit.

It would mean so much to me ( and him ) to be able to go see him and would hope to spend a week or so visiting. He's not getting any younger ( no offense dad ), and I want to have an opportunity to visit with him in person while I still can. Many people never get that opportunity. I don't want to be one of them.

We'll need around $1,600 USD for this to happen.

My PayPal: leopardwolf@gmail.com

I am estimating for round trip travel expenses, for having someone take care of my marine aquarium while I am gone, fuel, possible need for lodging (not sure I can make the full drive in a single day with my health issues ), food expenses for the trip and while I am there, and some extra spending money to be able to take my dad to do some nice things and for any unseen circumstances.

I'll be documenting the trip along the way, so you'll get to share in the adventure and the reunion through pictures and video.

If you have a few dollars to spare, I would be eternally grateful if you'd consider contributing to giving the gift of spending time with my dad in person after so long apart.

I'd create a crowdfunding thing for this, but didn't have a lot of success with them in the past outside of friends helping ( thanks again you guys! ). I'm not sure if it's the kind of thing people would care about enough to help, since it's not a medical necessity ( sure it is! ) and I really don't have a lot to offer in return besides art and creative things or my supplies and materials for such things. I could do dog and cat training and behavior consults in exchange. Website and graphics stuff too.

While this doesn't have to happen by May 21st, I am hoping to make the trip within the next month if I can raise the funds.

Thank you for taking the time to read.

You have permission to share / repost / reblog this to help spread the word so more people might see it and want to help.

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Holiday Recap 2014

Fri, 26 Dec 2014 19:30:13 GMT

Hope everyone had a bright and Merry Christmas and happy holidays all around.

We enjoyed a nice day with family at the farm. I cooked dinner the night before to take over, since there isn’t a working full size oven at the farm and the kitchen is super tiny.

Turkey with veggie and stuffing casserole concoction of my own creation, home made cranberry sauce, and home made candied yams.

Journey and the cats helped, supervising and cheering me on as I managed to avoid any serious bodily harm in my adventure.

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OMFG!!!!

Fri, 19 Dec 2014 00:51:32 GMT

BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER!!!!! I found my dad!!! Or, he found me! I’m too elated right now to think straight and crying happy tears. I have been trying for YEARS to get in touch with him, I haven’t seen him since I was a little kid and lost contact years ago, and was afraid I’d never find him after Katrina since we no longer live where we used to.

I have searched online for years for him and never could find him. I even sent a letter to an address I thought he may have lived at, but it was returned to me as “undeliverable”. I was thinking just a few days ago about doing one of those things you see where people make posters and hope the internet can help find loved ones. Or asking anyone in Arizona if they could try and go to the address I had and see if it was there, sort of wishful thinking. And he just messaged me tonight!!

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