Author: Laura Lee Carter
Bad ER behavior in small town USA!
We have needed the services of the only ER in this rural Colorado county twice since we moved here almost one year ago.
The first was within a week of arriving here. Mike developed a nasty reaction, with extreme gut pain, nausea, etc. The doctor who assisted us that time was kind and seemed to want to be helpful, but could not figure out what to do.
Then this past Thursday morning, Mike was writhing in extreme pain from a recently diagnosed neck vertabra injury. Apparently he had turned his head the wrong way in his sleep even with a neck brace on. Even though he was on a very strong opioid for pain, it was still completely out of control.
The young doctor who came in to “help” us had the worst bedside manner I have ever witnessed. He seemed to immediately jump to the conclusion that we were drug shopping, and said he could not prescribe anything.
Come to find out, all Mike needed was a strong dose of anti-inflammatory (Aleve) and a muscle relaxant to go with his other pills. So that stupid young doctor pissed us off for no reason at all!
I for one did not know that you can take Aleve along with opioids. If I had we could have saved hundreds of dollars and all the shaming that doctor had to offer us!
Why blogging isn’t as much FUN
I started out blogging in 2007 over at MidlifeCrisisQueen.com. At that time I loved the freedom blogging provided me as a writer. Rather than write a piece and then try to get it published somewhere, I could publish it immediately.
Back then blogging was new and free. I had over 90,000 views in my first year.
I wrote about the emotional trials and tribulations of deciding to change everything in midlife. It was a blast. I found my people, new friends from all over the world!
Then things became much more technical with too much social media involved. I learned that I needed to find somewhere else to “self-host” my blog. In other words, lots of time and money to upgrade and maintain my sites.
Then there was Facebook and Twitter and Google+ to join and post on. Then there was Pinterest and one very nasty letter from the legal department at Getty Images, charging me $800 for using one of their images by mistake.
The last straw happened last fall when an update from WordPress screwed up my main site beyond repair. After that it became impossible to post on Midlife Crisis Queen.
This week I was hacked and then charged $100 by Blue Host to clean it up…. and we’re done! I got into this gig for fun and to reach others with my writing, but the Internet is becoming more and more expensive and hacked, with less and less fun in it for me.
I now plan to maintain this site for as long as it is still fun and trash the rest of my sites. Too bad it has become such a hassle just to express yourself, because:
Freedom of the press is only available to those who own one!
Please check out my books here! I have a new one about building solar!
Boomer Blogs: Springtime in the Rockies Edition
Welcome to the longest running boomer blog carnival online! I have been involved in this activity for years now over at my old “midlife” site MidlifeCrisisQueen.com. Here we bloggers take turns hosting links to some great posts relevant to boomers.
First off we have Meryl Baer who was once again on the road, but in Seattle this week, where she had the opportunity to connect with a fellow blogger in person, Rita Robison of The Survive and Thrive Consumer Blog. Read her remarks in Connecting With an Internet Crony.
On The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide, Rita R. Robison, consumer journalist, this week writes about how older adults can stay safe online.
If you’re retired is it still possible to skip a day at school, or take a “mental health” day from work? For one answer, take a side trip over to Playing Hooky, and see what happens when Tom Sightings’ mind begins to wander.
Right Tom, and especially if you’re going through the strains and stress of having a foothills home built in rural Colorado! Yesterday we took a vacation from our daily life by driving around the Highway of Legends loop southwest of here. There we found a couple of gorgeous high altitude lakes like the photo of North Lake at the top of this post, and some…
fantastic views of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range! We stopped by Stonewall Lodge where they have a very nice set-up with cabins at 8,000 feet. Then we drove over to Cokedale, near Trinidad to see the coke ovens.
On the way back we found a few astounding views:
One was a delightful field full of Rocky Mountain Wild Iris and Golden Banner!
We found this to be a day well-spent, appreciating the benefits of this wonderful place we now call home… not bad for a three hour drive with almost no traffic, eh?
Click on photos for full-size views, and follow us on TWITTER!
A Magical Afternoon at Bishop Castle in Southern Colorado!
Yesterday one of Mike’s best friends visited, so we made the effort to finally visit Bishop Castle north of here. It’s only 24 miles west of I-25 and well worth the trip!
Deep in the woods, young Jim Bishop began constructing a stone castle at age 15 in 1959, while also working in the family ornamental iron works business. He quit high school when one of his teachers told him he would never amount to anything.
There this dramatic monument to Jim Bishop’s skill and stubbornness rises up near Highway 165 at 9,200 feet, enclosed on three sides by the San Isabel National Forest.
There are no tours so you just have to figure out how to get inside of the moat and find some circular iron stairs that take you up to the second floor…
Where suddenly you enter the cathedral room, full of stained glass windows, skylights, and gigantic glass doors…
This is a close-up of some of the stained glasses.
You experience towering stone walls, bright colors, light, and lovely iron work everywhere!
This is one of my favorite walls of stained glass!
The decorative iron walkways will take you to the very top of the castle if you have enough courage, but all explorations are at your own risk!
They also have a GREAT gift shop next door. One of the signs I almost bought said: “Lord give me patience… and I want it RIGHT NOW!”
