Yard Sale, Medical Insurance and Politics

One of the days whilst walking Lulu on the soccer field, I heard loads of screaming. So…it’s baseball season (that’s rounders for the English) and on the corner of the field there was a little league playing with children around the ages of 8 to 10 years old. It was like something out of the movies. The seating stand was filled with parents all screaming and cheering loudly. I was so over the top for what the children were doing. Clearly it was very competitive and somewhat embarrassing. It was in the afternoon so I ask you, don’t these people work?

Mark was away in Paris for four days. On Friday evening I went to Bridget’s (one of the choir ladies) house in Thousand Oaks to help set up for her yard sale which was raising money for future competitions and events. I was keen to see how these things worked having never been to one and only having seen them in the movies. On my way there I drove past the biggest trailer park Ive ever seen, with rows on rows of static homes, some with really pretty picket fence gardens, some not so pretty. Thousand Oaks is a relatively new development in that the whole after was wilderness until the 1980s, so the houses are very spaced out with new outdoor shopping areas, no older houses and it all looks very Milton Keynes-ish.

When I arrived, I parked on the road and saw all the Yard Sale signs posted around the place. I had searched my house for a few bits and pieces (there wasn’t much after my massive clear out before I came here) and had brought two bags of clothes, a few pairs of shoes and some IKEA kitchen bits and pieces. The whole front drive was packed with boxes, the triple garage doors were open and also rammed to the rafters with ‘stuff’. Yikes!

There were around five of us there poised to get it all ready for a 7.30am start. Needless to say I was coming to help later the next day, as you well know that I don’t do mornings that early if I can help it. In fact I remember many a morning meeting which started at 8am, where I just nodded and smiled hoping they wouldn’t find out I was still half asleep. It worked for many years!

Anyway my heart sank as they had hardly started when I arrived. A lovely lady called Tina introduced me to her equally lovely Mum, who was sat by the garage. She was the only person pricing anything, somewhat frustrating, especially as she stopped every so often to look the item up on ebay on her phone. It was a rather slow process to say the least.

We worked for 2 ½ hours putting things in category areas such as Garden, Kitchen, Christmas, Electrics, clothes, shoes and hats! These were on trestle tables and on the front drive, as well as hanging things from the garage doors and a tree. In that time we put a little dent in the goods, but only cleared half the garage. Some of the items were actually dirty and when I pointed this out, I was told this is normal. There was even a bag with dog grooming brushes in it and they still had hair in them. I remember doing my few car-boot sales before I came over and spent ages making sure my items were gleaming, even cleaning shoes within an inch of their lives. I left just after 9pm feeling knackered, but having had fun with new friends.

The next morning the sale had started and was well under way when I got there with Elaine at 10am, but it wasn’t massively busy. In fact, there were more choir lady helpers than shoppers. I am amazed this way of selling is seen as profitable. Still, I saw American yard sales in action. People drive around in their open topped trucks from sale to sale and when they arrive, some of them drive past to see if they can see anything of worth. I had fun haggling prices and chatting to some of the buyers as well as the Choir ladies of course. I really enjoyed it, although it was hellish hot and I had forgotten to put sunscreen on. At the end Bridget and a few others bagged up the clothes and I dropped them off at Goodwill in Woodland Hills. Unfortunately, we found out later that a few boxes of costumes had been picked up from Choir Master Monica’s garage by accident and that was the boxes I’d dropped off at the charity shop. When I dropped it off there had massive blue plastic wide wheelie bins at the back of the shop for donations and the bins I put them in were next to several other massive blue bin filled to overflowing, so it’s highly unlikely that we will be able to track them before they get around to unpacking them. So, I will need to go back and ask them to look out for it all.

I was so hot when I returned home, I leapt in the pool fully clothed. Lulu jumped in too and we had a lovely swim together. She is getting so much more confident and loves her bright orange swim jacket.

On Sunday I went with Neighbour Marla to one of my favourite places, Topanga Vintage and Flea Market. It is filled with lovely Americana, with item as diverse as old ceramic bottles with medication decoration and garden ornaments made from recycled metal, as well books, vinyl and huge ranges of vintage furniture. A feast for the eyes. I bought a working 50’s record player for $20. Bargain!! It was hot as hell again and I ended up buying yet another hat, although by the end I think I had sunstroke of sorts as I had to lay down when I got back. My hat collection is getting even bigger here. I left half my collection at home too.

On Monday I became a domestic goddess of sorts. After having a cleaner for the last 10 years +, it feels strange to build it into my week. It still feels like a holiday home here, so it isn’t a chore yet. Marla says she has a cleaner even though she doesn’t work. I don’t know that I could do that, as it wouldn’t feel right, especially as it’s only the two of us. The only thing is that I detest ironing with a passion – now if someone could do that for me…

The news this weeks was shocking at times….

CNN News reported that children at the border are only supposed to be in detention for 72 hrs then should go back to parents or sponsors. Clearly this isn’t happening. Independent monitors said conditions are disgusting for them with no toothpaste, no showers and children looking after children. Shameful!!!!

After the report 250 moved to a different facility, but then the border control disputed the findings and moved 100 children back- how those kids must be feeling? Traumatised I am sure! There was a call from Democrats for millions of dollars from congress and for voluntary money, but in my mind it is a government cock-up and they shouldn’t be relying on voluntary funding!!

A Republican senator on the news talked about how this should be seen as a legacy looked at by the world and it needs to be sorted... he explained to the news anchor what he felt an example of what was a good legacy. He described his recent visit to France and how President Macron literally bowed down to the USA saying France wouldn’t be the country they were without wonderful America. That is the legacy they should want. What the hell has that got to do with migrant children. It’s so arrogant in my opinion!

At WW I unbelievably lost 3.8 lbs . I am really not sure how that happened.

We had some very sad news in that Norm had died suddenly. He had felt very unwell and gone into Urgent Care (which is an in between facility one step below ER. People don’t tend to go to ER unless they are actually aware they are dying, because it costs 1000s! Trouble is how would you know…. How I miss the NHS!!!!

Anyway, whilst at urgent care, he had fallen and broken his arm. It was whilst they did the xray and MRI that they found he was filled with cancer and he died within days. It’s so sad as he had been telling us all about his new cat Philippe and how much joy he had brought into his life. He said he had been the happiest he had been in many years. So sad.

Needless to say WW was a little subdued. We discussed what we do if we don’t lose or put on weight one week, and I probably overshared in that I said I get depressed and not want to go and want doughnuts, thinking what the hell….. the room went quiet and I vowed never to speak again, so I didn’t share my weight loss. Mind you, I’m never sure if they understand what I’m saying, especially if I speak quickly.

At Choir that evening it was as if the lead section had been reading my blog, moaning that Monica always has a go at the Leads saying we had it easy….Well….when Monica said we were too loud at one point, Linda (a lead)piped up with ‘no that was the baritones’, to which all the leads laughed. It happened several times after that as the leads seemed to find confidence in taking the piss out of the telling off – it was a Lead rebellion and it was glorious and hilarious…I wonder if Monica found it as funny though. Still, she actually praised us at one point. 😊

So after doing nothing for two weeks apart from swimming in my pool and walking Lulu, neither of which is very strenuous I ventured to 24Hour Fitness to take a Zumba class. It was again hot and humid at around 35 degrees with a single large ceiling fan, which I wasn’t under as I prefer to stay well away from the mirrors at the front of the room – the last thing I want to see is me getting red faced and sweaty whilst catching my Mr Blobby body wobbling up and down. I’m in denial thank you very much! It was good to see Marla there. After ½ hour of the class, I’m ready to be hospitalised (only Urgent Care of course). Marla had to leave ½ way through as she had a hospital appointment. As I was massively struggling, I snuck out with only 10 mins to go, but I felt like my head was going to explode as I was soooo hot. I swished my face with water and made to leave. Marla caught me at the exit and she shouted ‘busted’ which made me jump out of my skin! We had a really good laugh about it. It’s great to have met someone so like-minded. :-D

Latest news was so difficult to watch as it was the drowned bodies of the refugee father and daughter - so shocking!

I was singing The Times they are a changing – the Bob Dylan song and as I sang, the lyrics made me think… roughly its saying…move over old gits and let the caring youngsters take over….of course the young people it’s referring to are now some of the people running this shit show and full of hate for refugees – again I say shameful!! Sorry to be so angry.

I recorded my choir songs for my choir group leader Sue Ham, who is a Brit, but has lived here for 50 years. She is lovely and so supportive. Apart from sounding a bit too British at times with my pronunciation (‘t’s instead of ‘d’s), she passed them and was complimentary, so I felt pretty happy.

Wednesday brought my new Aqua class at the Woodland Hills 24 Hour Fitness, which is a bit more difficult to park at than the West Hills one. Stephanie is the class leader and she is a breath of fresh air in that she is so positive. She also is great at bringing in a young crowd as well as us oldies. The class is filled with great music from Carwash to Queen which we all sing loudly to and is hilarious filled with jokes. Also, it is cool, so far more my thing and has a really good vibe. We had a race from one end to the other which was hilarious. There was an old man next to me who had no idea what was going on and was just going round in circles. Betty who had received a big cheer when she came in (that happens each week), unfortunately went under and people round her scrambled to make sure she was OK. I also swam past another older lady who was spluttering then also went under, until Stephanie had to pull her up. It’s certainly not boring!

Mark got back midweek and on Friday we went out for a meal with Elaine and Mike. They had discovered a great Indian called Anarbagh which even looks like a UK Indian (if you see what I mean). Despite having to wait ¾ hour for our wine, (which I think they had to rush down to Trader Joes to buy as Mike asked for Pino Grigio) it was great restaurant. The waiters realised towards the end that we were from the UK and came over to tell us that they had lived in Bradford, Liverpool, Bradford, Birmingham , Basildon and…… Bradford !!! – go figure

For the first time I saw Lamb Balti on the menu – magic!!!!😍

I managed to finally get around to making practice watercolour sketches for my large A2 Watercolour of West Hills in the style of Van Gogh Starry Night…it is lovely to finally have time to do these things. Bit nervous about starting it though as I may have been a bit over ambitious with the size.

On Saturday night we had Marla and Alan round and Mark cooked Salmon En-Croute, which went down well. Marla showed me a picture of a coyote which she had seen in her garden this morning. Her neighbour had a rattle snake in her garden….

We played Jack Box on the TV and Marla showed her true colours with rather a number of rude words – hilarious!

Alan and I then played our guitars and sang. My guitar playing was no-where near as good as his, but after a few wines, it doesn’t really matter does it. I do feel I’ve reached a ceiling with it though… but actually know that I may have to start learning more theory to improve.

It was great fun. I feel so lucky to have met them purely by chance. They are off fishing and river rafting this week for the 4th July holiday…rather them than me!

Even though we hadn’t got to bed until 1.30am, I was still keen to go to the Animal Shelter in Chatsworth to take part in the volunteering orientation meeting at 9.30am Sunday morning.

I drove over the LA river which is a concrete channel passing under the roads – not at all pretty and into Chatsworth which looked a slightly older neighbourhood than ours. I drove on into what looked like an industrial estate.

The LA Animal Services is a government lead organisation in a very large Industrial Estate building. I parked and got out, joining a queue of people diverse in age and race. I had booked a place online so was able to go to the front of the queue with a few others, while the rest of the queue were ‘walk ins’.

We were shown to the back of the complex to a meeting room after signing in and getting a pack of documents. It all looked very professional. She said that legally they weren’t allowed to turn any volunteer away, so by the allotted time the meeting room was packed with over 50 people. I cant imagine that happening in the UK, but Ive never actually seen the same volunteering opportunities as here. It seems to be just the thing you do.

Many of the teenagers were accompanied by their parents, some looking keen, but others looked a bit bored. I was in my element and chuffed to have the opportunity. I got chatting to a lady next to me, who had travelled from North Hollywood for the meeting but would be volunteering in a unit closer to her home in future. The lovely lady who ran the shelter talked to us about the role which included 35 rules, which we had to initial by each one. They ranged from what you would expect to some legal stuff about what you put on social media etc. it also mentioned diseases you may get, rabies included. She had a good story to tell about a lady who had handled a puppy in Spain and then got rabies….

There were dogs barking one side of the building and cats meowing on the other and somewhere in between there are rabbits and other small animals. One of the jobs you have to do is make up enrichment activities such as filling over 300 Kong Toys with peanut butter and dog food and freeze them each month. They will also offer handling classes for all the animals including dog training classes which will be wonderful to do. There is a Saturday morning playgroup where they want you to play with the dogs and walk them – heaven for me. We will need to be able to understand the coding they use on the dog cards which says if they are safe to walk/play with which is good they are looking after your safety. Some of the volunteers got out a couple of kittens which they put in a small blanket like a baby and handed her round for us to hold. It was so cute. She said that this time of year they are inundated with puppies and kitten….whilst sad – how exciting for ME!!!!

She then brought out Paris the Pitbull who had sadly been in the shelter for a year who was gorgeous. She showed the clicker training they had been doing with her and then Paris was brought round to say hello to all of us. I have to be strong and remember that the landlord wont allow us to have another dog……

My application is being processed and I should hear back by mid July…. I then hope to go there twice a week at least. Hope there isn’t too much heartbreak.

On the news again….

It’s all about the Democrat race. It’s interesting that donations are big news and they publish how much money they are getting in as if the policies are secondary. Its already begun with the back biting and I’m amazed they don’t concentrate on the common enemy of Captain Farty Pants and not criticise each other. Father like son, Don Jnr. had questioned Kamal Harris about her race. Its beyond me as to why she shouldn’t call herself a black American if she is 1/2 Indian and 1/2 Jamaican. Crazy that someone like him could question it and that it would be big news. We also have had the wonderful pictures of Fart face in North Korea after a very friendly meeting with Putin, who he had a joke about not interfering in the next election and the problems with the media. You just couldn’t make it up could you?

It’s a gloves off race as the Fart campaign are now after Joe Biden’s son Hunter as he has a last of addiction. What a country... let’s stick to policies!!!

On the Democrat TV debate, they all talked about making the country better and looking after people and giving equality back with Medicare and education for all, out of debt – now tell me Republicans, what on earth is the matter with that????

Speaking of Hospitals, we finally applied to join a medical practice. I arrived at a building which looked more like a 5 story office block, well truth be told, I had gone to next door and wandered round for 15 minutes before I realised I was actually in an office block and the building only had 3 floors, when I needed to be on the 5th floor.

I then arrived at the right building and I went up to the 5th floor and went to the reception. I was given a multitude of forms to fill in and I had to give my medical Insurance details to even see if they would be prepared to take me on. Luckily, I had enough cover and had a good meeting with the technician and the doctor. The doctor told me I was overweight – duh! And needed to drink ½oz of water for every pound I weight – OMG that’s bloody loads!!! I’m never going to be off the toilet. She has also put me in for loads of tests, hopefully covered by my medi plan…. Ill keep you posted.

All different companies - more like business

There are no referrals here. You are given a t of specialist doctors and you are expected to call them to make the appointment and then make sure they will accept your insurance again. If they don’t I was told I would have to call my insurance company customer service -to argue my case. They also had to see how much my HRT patches were going to be as they could be anything from $10 a month to $200, so I have to pre-order them through the pharmacy and then they will tell me how much I owe - what a palaver.

In the afternoon I went to my first Bitter Root Pottery session in Woodland Hills – so much nearer -it was a pleasure to drive there. As it a drop In and not designated classes, there was hardly anyone there and I have to say I did feel really out of place – a fish out of water. And with that and after the doctors, I felt a bit homesick….

Still onto next week…..and lots of lovely things ahead……