He's Obviously from Washington

Today I got a bill from Aetna for my Medicare Part D plan. $29.10 per month was supposed to be deducted from my Social Security check each month to cover the premium but somehow Aetna missed the boat and now sends me a bill for $116 and change - they thoughtfully, no doubt for my convenience, added on the April premium too.

So I called them to find out why the premium was not being deducted. They said I had not signed up for it and I asked if I could do so. No, not until I have a zero balance; but I was welcome to make a partial payment and the young man let me know how terribly generous they were....

Aetna: We also can deduct from your bank account so it won't come out of your Social Security.

Me: The only income we have in this house is from Social Security, so, ultimately it will come out of my Social Security.

Aetna: You could also put it on your credit card, that way, it won't affect your bank account either!

Me: Well, even if I put it on a credit card, it would still come out of my Social Security.

By now, it was getting a bit entertaining so I carried the phone in to Hubby's computer room so he could enjoy too....

Aetna: Oh, no! No, ma'am... if it was put on a credit card or deducted from your bank account it has absolutely no bearing on any money you get from Social Security.

Me: Okay, Social Security is the only income we have so any way I go about it - it will come from Social Security.

Aetna: No, absolutely not!

Me: You're from Washington, aren't you?

The Butter Dilemma

It was a nice morning and I was in need of some onions to put in the 15-bean soup I was making for this evening's HopeKeepers meeting so Hubby and I decided to go out for breakfast, that way I wouldn't be making a trip to "town" for just one item.

We debated where to eat as we drove the 8 miles to town and decided to eat at one of the older, full service places instead of a fast-food establishment. It left us with 3 choices: Breakfast Nook, Simms, and Time Out Cafe.

Breakfast Nook has an omelet Hubby is very fond of, but they have a smoking section... More often than not, the desire for smoke free air outweighs the desire for the omelet - and since they are about 25% pricier than the other places they lose out more often than not.

Time Out Cafe has a great breakfast - and it is breakfast anytime - but they don't seem to have comfortable seating anywhere in the place. Plus trying to pay your check to get out of there is very unhandy. However, they have great carry out service and a lot of times on our way home from church I call in a take out order and we pick it up and bring it home.

So we went to Simms. Sat down in a booth, and looked over the menu. Hubby ordered an omelet, I ordered 2 eggs, scrambled - well done, with hash browns, bacon and whole wheat toast.

There was only one other table occupied when we went in - very unusual - to say the least. Normally at 8:30 AM on any day of the week the place is a bit crowded. Not today.

The waitress brought me a cup of coffee that tasted like they had brewed and re-brewed the same grounds for a few days, the non-dairy creamer I was given didn't do a thing to redeem it - it had a slight taste of diesel fuel. (uhmmm, yeah, I DO know what it tastes like!)

But the hash browns were perfectly crispy, my eggs were nice and done and the bacon was great. Then I took a bite of the toast. They had served me dry toast!

Why, WHY in the world would a restaurant serve dry toast?

Then comes one of those Great Debates....

Do I, as an almost-300 pound woman, ask for butter? Hmmm.....

I didn't.