Ron received his meds from Humana today and put me through the wringer while I explained the sequence of events.

Stop & Shop received a prescription from the weekend covering doc.   I believe it was ready two days ago, but we didn’t pick it up until yesterday because Ron didn’t call them to see if it was ready.  I happened to be in Stop & Shop and talked with the pharmacist yesterday.  Humana refused to pay, so they hadn’t filled the script until I told them we’d pay for it out of pocket.  They told me that they have a discount program.  Not bad: we got the script for $27.

The meds from Ron’s original prescription with Emerald arrived today from Humana, which was astounding.  They said it would take up to 10 days.  It was mailed “Parcel Select Lightweight” from a facility in Providence yesterday at 11:24 PM (!), was received in Wareham in the wee hours (3:23 AM) and arrived today a little after 1.

He also tormented me about his van, which Portside towed to Battles this afternoon.  I tried to explain to him that a) he didn’t need to go with the AAA tow truck; b) the dealership MIGHT have a shuttle and c) if the dealership didn’t have a shuttle and he wanted to go with the van to the dealership, I’d give him a ride back.

We went through this at least 3 times, and maybe as many as 5.

Turned out, the dealership was expecting the van because he’d made the appointment last week, had it written up and only needed the key.  He didn’t have to go at all.

Portside got here around 1:15.  Battles told us not to expect to see it until the weekend, which is fine.  We didn’t hear from them today; maybe tomorrow.

He was able to start the van, but it stalled shortly thereafter, and he couldn’t get it started again.  I’d found a post online that described the same thing.  Ron thinks it could be a short.

Third torment: his iPhone.  It had a setting that was forcing him to log in to Apple every time he wanted to install an app, even a free app.  He insisted that there was a coordination problem involving his email, that Robert wouldn’t look at it unless he made an appointment, that the Apple store couldn’t solve the problem, blah blah blah.

I was able to install the app on my phone, then found the difference in our settings.  He switched it off, and the app installed fine.

He did make a giant pot of veg chili and hung up the shadow box for his buffalo collection.  I made cornbread.  Hope we aren’t poisoned by the eggs that I left out for two days.  Then again, cooking at over 400 degrees for 20 minutes should kill anything.  So they say.

I did a run to the transfer station, more or less because I needed to move the truck and it annoyed me to waste the gas.  Got rid of our recycling and the junk from the furrows.

We are so, so, so broke.  Have to delay paying one of the mortgages, and borrowed to pay the real estate taxes.  We are owed many thousands of dollars from three different sources.

Meanwhile, Trump is talking about how you have to “gestate” a turkey to prepare it for Thanksgiving.  And his supporters cheer.

Completed the last of the furrow clean-up.  We sifted through the pile and came up with about 3/4 of a bucket of soil.

Did the CSA pickup and a light shop.  Dropped off a small bag of produce to Robert.

We can’t afford to renew our membership for the Fall.

Stop & Shop Pharmacy rescued Ron.  He ran out of Tramadol, called Humana Friday afternoon around 6 for a short-term refill.   He got a prescription from Emerald, but Humana wouldn’t cover it.  The pharmacy gave him a break on the price: $27 for a 10-day supply.  Thank goodness.  I wish there were a better way.

Long conversation with the people at Panda about my subscription.  Waiting for a confirmation email that it’s been extended past October 2019.

Watched two hummers fly through the sprinkler!

We took Peter and James to lunch at NYAJ in Hyannis.

Ron finished mowing the lawn and I raked out the furrow around the herb garden.  Also cleaned most of the paint tray.

One out of four people who live in Barnstable County are of Irish origin.

Forty percent of the people who live in Barnstable County are Catholic.

They grew up believing this, which explains almost everything that’s wrong with this place:

I knew from my catechism book that following the wishes of authority figures was a way of “showing God how much we love him. We show this especially when we obey in something we do not feel like doing.” 

This reader’s comment pretty much covers the rest:

The Catholicism at home, which was based on social justice, was different from that at school, where we were taught obedience through fear and an unearned sense of superiority (as long as we followed the rules).

I agree with this reader’s comment:

Anyone who stays now, after all the truth that has been revealed is an ENABLER and complicit in the catholic church’s crimes against humanity.

There must have been a cataclysmic fold in space/time on November 8, 2016 that brought us back to the fifties.

Did more weeding and loaded up the truck again.

Finished drying out the last paint can and brought all of it to the transfer station.  Ron organized household trash.  Picked up the rest at Edgewater.

Did laundry, changed sheets.

Ron hurt my arm and shoulder at the transfer station.  I was trying to lift the tailgate, and he was holding it down.  It was a damned stupid move on his part.

He did make pancakes and cleaned a couple of window sills.  Showed me a slick way to cook corn, too: microwave in the hulls and peel afterwards.

We had a light supper of hummus and seeds.

Opinion

To 40B or not to 40B: That is the question

We got through hazardous waste collection and shredding pretty fast today at Mashpee HS.  Very well organized crew.

I participated in the MTR standouts in Falmouth and Sandwich.  Sandwich is full of haters and I lost it.  Will not be back.

On the way to Sandwich, stopped at the transfer station to unload a pile of recyclables and leavings from yesterday’s furrowing.  Quick stop at South Sandwich Stop & Shop on the way back; people were nice there.

Picked up scotch and vodka at Liberty; good prices!  Ron mixed two drinks for me.  I certainly needed them.  Paul phoned and we had a good conversation.

Pasta with mushrooms and pesto, with salad, for supper.  Gorged on candy afterwards.  Hard day.  I hate Cape Codders.

Weeds have started to flower and even seed, so I rented a cultivator from Taylor Rental late yesterday.  Unfortunately, it didn’t work – it kept stalling, and Ron noticed that some of the tines were broken – so Ron exchanged it for a killer machine with two sets of tines and a better motor: a Mantis.

He plowed deep furrows around four gardens.  I started raking out the grass and weeds and gave up after a while, but Ron worked three and a half to four hours straight until almost 4:30 in 95 degree heat.

He found another problem with the second machine.  The person at Taylor Rental was great, told Ron he appreciated the feedback.

Meanwhile, we installed the lamp harp, which arrived today.  Had to take the lamp apart and rewire it, but everything seems to be working.

After dropping off the cultivator, we stopped in North Falmouth for ice cream.  I bought a finial at North Falmouth Hardware.  Ron treated us to ice cream next door at Holy Cow.

I’m glad we got all that done.  Big day tomorrow: hazardous waste collection and standout/standouts for MTR.

Loathsome chore: drying out latex paint cans with cat litter.  I was able to toss most of them, but there are a few holdouts still drying in the yard.

Loathsome chore: weeding.  On the way back from getting the truck at Falmouth Toyota, I picked up a cultivator at Taylor Rental.  Ron, of course, was dubious and insistently rude even when I threatened to slug him.  He did show me how to start it, though.

Ron got the front mowed.  Hope to work on the back tomorrow.  Got him a bag of bulls eyes from the Country Store.

Ron took two of the cabinet doors off so I could scrub them with Murphy’s Oil Soap.

Dropped off cherry tomatoes and blueberry soda to Robert.  Listened for a while to a pop music band at the Commons.

350 newspapers around the country published “we are not your enemy” editorials today.  Good for the Globe for getting this going.

Saw signs that toxic waste disposal is happening at the high school this weekend, so we put old acrylic paint cans in the small shed and latex paint for drying in the big shed.

Dropped off the truck early for its appointment.  Am gobsmacked by Falmouth Toyota!  Far superior to Hyannis Toyota.  What a setup.  Mentioned that vH referred me.

Turns out it needs a fairly minor repair, under $300.  Asked them to add a stopper to the driver side seatbelt and check out the foldout window on the passenger side.  They say the fluids are fine: big relief.

We did a shop at Market Basket, needed cat litter for the paint disposal project and ended up buying coffee, cereal, broccoli/cheese soup, custard pie on sale, swiss cheese, yogurt, no-salt pasta sauce and vegetable broth that have become difficult to find, and one or two other things.  Dropped off a strawberry rhubarb pie on sale for Peter.

Soup and egg salad sandwiches for lunch.  Really hit the spot.  Rotini with pesto-enhanced tomato sauce and salad for supper.  Custard pie for dessert.