Hi Nancy!
I'm baa-acck! Lost power early Monday afternoon due to that derecho
system that went through Iowa; power restored around 5:30 p.m. Friday
(yesterday). Minor damages at the house -- neighbour's tree did fall
into our yard -- they volunteered to cut and remove so we gladly took
them up in it (and helped). Tree missed everything except snagged and
broke an electric transmission line (not the proper name -- the several thousand
volt line feeding the transformers to the house). Somehow
missed the (tool/garden) shed essentially under the tree and landed
between the statue and bird bath; broke a few branches of some shrubbery
and dented the yard -- big deal!
Did loose a lot of food: two refrigerator/freezers plus a small freezer.
Filed a food loss claim. If the person writing the check is as friendly
as the person I talked to to start the claim is we'll be satisfied.
NB>>> Right... don't want to treat unnecessarily, but also don't want to
NB>>> ignore a true problem... Saw my GYN last week, BP was normal enough
NB>>> there, so added it to the list for my PCP to see... ;)
BM>> Yes: white coat syndrome, slight anxiety leftover from that car almost
BM>> not stopping in time on the way to your appointment, etc., could cause
BM>> a transient fluctuation.
NB>> Mine seem to be more from looking for a parking spot in the garage,
NB>> or having to watch the waitingroom TV... ;)
BM> Some of those daytime TV shows will elevates one's blood pressure!
NB> That's for sure... :)
Ah-HA! You DO watch TV!!! Of course almost impossible to not see when
out in the world.
BM>> From my sitting at the Computer Desk vantage point it seems the slow-
BM>> but-sure opening (25%, then 50%...) makes more sense as easier to
BM>> control gatherings just because less numbers. Of course that does
BM>> assume compliance.
NB>> Indeed. And states that do have the compliance are able to move
NB>> forward.... ;)
BM> Which of course is a good thing, just still have be cautious, if not
BM> additionally cautious because of increased potential for accidental
BM> contact/transmission.
NB> Hence the continued masking and distancing...
Hy-Vee is now requiring having a mask on when in the store, Think I
mentioned I started wearing my mask the week it was announced they were
going to require -- may as well get used to it and not an unhealthy
thing to do. (My lower face and neck get hot from breathing!)
They also restarted the can and bottle returns. Iowa charges I think 5¢
as a bottle deposit and at the start of the pandemic stores stopped
taking bottle returns. Originally the bottle returns were done at the
Service Counter; now being done outside: using the entrance where the
liquor department entry was before the remodel and sort of looks like
there's a table set up on the sidewalk (under the permanent metal
awning). Helps to keep the service counter and area free.
BM>> The financial side of things -- <head spinning>. LISB4, fortunately
BM>> I/we are retired and so our incomes were unaffected. Those working,
BM>> relying on paychecks to come in... <wince> Fortunately many creditors
BM>> are letting payments slide - for a while - but that money will have to
BM>> be made up.
NB>> As businesses reopen, and workers get back to work, things should
NB>> improve... and the true loan forgiveness programs (as opposed to
NB>> the scams that pop up as well) should help some, too.... :)
BM> True: more working, more money. One item that will be interesting is
BM> Illinois had passed a bill some time back to increase the minimum wage
BM> effective July 1. Great for the workers, not so great for the
BM> employers, especially the small businesses who had expressed concerns about
BM> being able to pay before the coronavirus issues.
NB> Had they been paying even a little more than minimum before, the
NB> new rules wouldn't have been so onerous, though... I realize that
NB> often businesses are operating on shoestring budgets, but the
NB> place to balance things shouldn't be the wages paid to
NB> employees...
No: definitely the wrong place. Before COVID-19 news snippets had
segments where Illinois restaurants might/were going to have problems
because Illnois was raising the minimum wage in a rather steep stair-
step fashion and so the interviews had potentials for laying off
employees and/or raising prices and/or having to close. (The Iowa side
either isn't putting in a steep increase or none at all -- I'm not
remembering right now.)
OTOH it will probably be required to raise prices to cover the wage
increases. That's OK, but the increases prices also take money out of
the take-home wages trying to be increased, so somewhat causing the same problem
had originally.
NB>>>> They'd have to be revising rates across the entire spectrum of
NB>>>> customers in your area, to do any sort of rate increase, I'd think...
BM>>> The insurance companies might want to think twice as I'd guess at
BM>>> least 50% of the houses in this area have had new roofs in the last
BM>>> month. Semi-unrelated is there have been ads on TV stating the Iowa
BM>>> Attorney General will prosecute price gouging due to COVID-19 and based
BM>>> on what he and his office has done in the past probably at least thirty
BM>>> years wouldn't have a problem investigating unnecessary insurance
BM>>> increases.
NB>>> It could well be argued that these are extraordinary circumstances,
NB>>> and rates shouldn't be raised... also that the houses in question
NB>>> have increased their value and decreased their liability... ;)
BM>> That's true!
NB>> So you should be ok... ;)
BM> We'll see next month. This month is 'make-up' month for the mortgage:
BM> we have the taxes, insurance, etc., combined with the mortgage and
BM> this is the month any corrections are made.
NB> Probably too soon for any increases to be processed anyway, I'd
NB> think...
Probably. And now with the state-wide claims due to the derecho wind
storm. ...And back to the 'make-up month' above -- payment was about $8
_less_!! (I spent it on ice the last few days! <g>)
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