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Does This Make Sense?

I have been on a medicine for diabetes for several months. Not only is my HbA1c down, but I’ve lost a lot of weight.

OK, it’s Ozempic.

I was informed by the pharmacy where I have acquired all of my prescriptions for more than 10 years that they could no longer fill it. Apparently my health insurance company will let you refill a prescription 4 times at the pharmacy of your choice, but then it requires specific providers. I could go with a mail order company and worry about expensive drugs sitting on my porch when I travel. Alternatively, I could use a local Walgreens.

Huh?

Apparently they have cut a deal with Walgreens for this specific drug. 

The copay is the same as before, but I have moved a single prescription to another pharmacy. Does this make any sense? One of the good things about having all scripts at one vendor is checking for drug interactions and other issues that may arise for those of us on numerous medications. 

I’m sure Walgreens thought that any extra discount they give BCBS is worth it. It’s a diabetes drug, and we people with this condition tend to have other health issues and lots of prescriptions. I’m sure a lot of folks just move all their medications over to Walgreens. I’m not going to do that. I know all the people at my other place. It’s a CVS in Target, and I like going to Target!

So every 3 months I will have a minor inconvenience that serves me no benefit. I wish it made sense.

Posted on

Does This Make Sense?

I have been on a medicine for diabetes for several months. Not only is my HbA1c down, but I’ve lost a lot of weight.

OK, it’s Ozempic.

I was informed by the pharmacy where I have acquired all of my prescriptions for more than 10 years that they could no longer fill it. Apparently my health insurance company will let you refill a prescription 4 times at the pharmacy of your choice, but then it requires specific providers. I could go with a mail order company and worry about expensive drugs sitting on my porch when I travel. Alternatively, I could use a local Walgreens.

Huh?

Apparently they have cut a deal with Walgreens for this specific drug. 

The copay is the same as before, but I have moved a single prescription to another pharmacy. Does this make any sense? One of the good things about having all scripts at one vendor is checking for drug interactions and other issues that may arise for those of us on numerous medications. 

I’m sure Walgreens thought that any extra discount they give BCBS is worth it. It’s a diabetes drug, and we people with this condition tend to have other health issues and lots of prescriptions. I’m sure a lot of folks just move all their medications over to Walgreens. I’m not going to do that. I know all the people at my other place. It’s a CVS in Target, and I like going to Target! It’s also a national chain with all the benefits of that arrangement. Ever forgotten or lost a drug while you traveled? It’s much easier to survive when you can walk into the local branch and they look up your records. Yes, Walgreens could do the same, but I like my current people!

So every 3 months I will have a minor inconvenience that serves me no benefit. I wish it made sense.

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Power Pivots

March Madness just wrapped for 2022, and the temptation to use basketball analogies is fierce. 

When a player catches a pass or a rebound, they can dribble and keep moving. Or, they can stop and decide to pass or shoot. While they stop, they are not immobile. One foot is a pivot point, allowing them to turn in a new direction.

Life provides a number of pivot points. When we graduate from school, we have options. Every year we get a clean calendar in January, inviting resolutions and other changes. Some of these events we create ourselves; in my case, a new tool has made some changes.

Other events are less in our control. Retirement and deaths can give us major choices that we must make. 

I guess I could try to stay the same forever, but that would not be natural. Everyone should be growing and changing until they die. I believe that’s why we are on earth. I hope to start sharing some of my pivots and the lessons they have brought me.

I cannot promise a smooth ride, but it should be an adventure!

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Superficial Signals

Autumn has almost descended upon the Northern Hemisphere. Influencers and stores are pushing different styles and colors. 

four brown leaves on textile
Photo by Kristina Paukshtite on Pexels.com

Oklahoma, of course, still has temperatures pushing 100 degrees. While not conducive to cashmere or leather clothing, fall colors can come out to play in clothing and makeup more appropriate to the weather. Cranberries, plums, and greens can mix with grays and blacks in lightweight fabrics and short sleeves. 

A rich berry or purple lip can also signal the transition. A new lip product costs less than clothing as well. 

There are also food choices that come with autumn, especially pumpkin spice everything. I’m not a fan of pumpkin stuff, but to each their own. 

How are you adapting to the change of seasons? 

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At least it isn’t 3 years

The last time I posted, it was January 2021, and I have been absent from the site for 3 years. This time, the gap is only 8 months.

I have been in survival mode a lot. My workplace is making major changes. My parents are having issues in their mid-80s. Not exactly shocking, but still something to deal with. 

I have decided to start small with a goal of a post once a week for now. 

I suspect there will be a number of posts about what I have been reading (I do have a backlog of worthy books to discuss). And, of course, more about being a Glamma!

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When Life Intervenes

I have not posted here since 2018. I knew I was ignoring the site, but I didn’t realize it was that long. A lot of stuff has happened to keep me away, but I will only highlight one.

Athen Grace Blevins

In December 2018 I became a grandmother (or Glam-ma, in my case). Yes, she has occupied parts of my brain, although not necessarily my blogging/writing areas.

I’m going to try and get to writing again just to keep my sanity.

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Books and Booze

Lady Rample visits Hollywood in her latest adventures. While there, she tries a delightful cocktail called the Southside. Of course, I had to join her.

First, bruise a sprig of fresh mint in the bottom of a cocktail shaker with a muddler. Top it with ice, and then put in 3 oz gin, 1 tsp simple syrup, 1 Tbsp water, and the juice of one lime. Shake until cold and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with more mint.

This drink is barely sweet and dominated by lime and gin with just a hint of mint, a perfect refreshment for a summer evening!

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Too Hot to Blog?

Temperatures have soared above 100 degrees Fahrenheit* this week, with even higher heat indices. The only activities that I deem tolerable are binging TV with appropriate AC and hanging out in neck-deep water in the pool.

It’s summer; why are you reading blog posts anyway?

*That’s above 38 degrees Celsius for those in other countries

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In Training

Many years ago there was a bored little girl who needed entertainment. Grandma to the rescue! She wore a silver cuff that she slipped off, placed it between her palms, said “shake ‘em up,” and then hid in one hand. The child had to try and guess which hand hid the bracelet.

Sounds like a snooze when I describe it, but the game could keep me giggling for quite a while.

Details from the cuff

A few months ago, my mother announced she had something for me. I had to take it, even if I didn’t want it. I could dispose of it, but she didn’t want to know. It was the bracelet, Shake ‘Em Up.

Trial run to warm up the bracelet

I wore it for the first time today with a rather bohemian dress. Some friends of my mother’s parents went on a vacation to the west and brought her this cuff as a gift. Until my mother handed it to me, I remembered it as copper, probably because it was chronically tarnished.

I wonder if she ever dreamed of that young grandchild wearing that bracelet, anticipating the birth of her great-great-grandchild? That’s what I’m doing. I’m warming up Shake ‘Em Up for the next generation.

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Cocktails by the Book

Last week I needed some distraction, a light fiction read. Amazon suggested a new mystery series that I downloaded and dug into. Lady Rample is a vicar’s daughter whose Aunt Butty rescues her from village life and brings her to London. She married an older Lord who has expired, leaving her rich. His distant cousin is the only male heir, and the former Lord left only the entitled country estate that is falling apart to “Bucktooth Binky,” making sure that the London townhouse, Riviera escape, and all fungible cash assets went to his wife. It is 1932 and she has just completed a year of mourning as we begin book 1, Lady Rample Steps Out. 

She and her gay BFF, Chaz, end up at a secret Jazz club, featuring an Amerian band. Murder ensues, and our heroine solves the case before the police, of course. Throughout the mystery, she imbibes a variety of cocktails, but her favorite is a highball, basically whiskey and ginger ale.

The second installment, Lady Rample Spies a Clue, sends her to a country estate to escape the unseasonable heat in the city. Of course, her eccentric aunt, Chaz, and a variety of other characters familiar from the first book attend. Of course, someone dies (English country manor homes must be the most dangerous places on earth), and Lady Rample solves the crime. In the heat of the summer, they switch drinks in the country, imbibing Aviation Cocktails, something I had never encountered.

The color of the wild, blue yonder…

I googled the drink, and it was as beautiful as described in the book. The link above will take you to the recipe. It presented two challenges, since I always have gin and lemon juice in the house: Liqueur de Violette and Maraschino Liqueur. Lucky for me I had to stop and pick up some stuff at shoe repair, right next to my liquor store*. They had both in stock!

After dining and finishing my work-related reading, I got out the shaker and made a batch of this lovely stuff. Blue is such an underused color in food, don’t you think?

The liqueurs are both sweet, but the gin and lemon keeps the cocktail on the correct side of candy. You still feel like you’re drinking dessert, but not in a bad way.

These mysteries are fun diversions. Aunt Butty is like a British Auntie Mame, and Ophelia Rample is a 30-something widow enjoying a well-funded life with few restrictions, thanks to a title and enough money to shut people up. Love interests hang about, but she really doesn’t want to give up any freedoms to be a “Proper Wife.”

I look forward to sprinting through the next installment. If I find a new cocktail as well, what a bonus!

*Yes, I found a liquor store and shoe repair center next to each other. Fate is kind, huh?