MontanaMama
MontanaMama's JournalIt's 8:45pm here in western MT.
The snow is flying, the wind is howling and the UPS truck just pulled up. These folks work so hard. We expect lows of -21 tomorrow with wind chills below -40. Our roads are a shit show. Letter and parcel carriers don’t stop. If you see them, please thank them.
Maybee update. She just turned a year old. A Scorpio like me.
She is a gamer. Anytime, anywhere. I curse the snow but she doesn’t…she will fly to catch a frisbee in any weather. She keeps me moving….such a great friend.
Just got the health insurance premium increase for 2023
for my family of three. Drum roll.......My new monthly premium is $2201.00 per month with a $4800 per person deductible. I'll pay $26,412 per year plus the deductible ($31,212) before insurance will cover anything but a single well check or mammogram. This is criminal but this is what small business owners are in for in Montana. I went on the Healthcare.gov site to see if there was anything there...nothing. Premiums and deductibles are more. I'm not eligible for tax credits so this is where we are. This monthly premium is more than my mortgage, power, water, internet and garbage combined.
To pour salt into the wound, I just found out through our insurance broker that the repuke State Insurance Commissioner, Troy Downing denied a 4% premium decrease by Pacific Source (my insurance plan) because he thought there should be more parity between the companies offering insurance plans on the individual market. More parity? The other two companies offering insurance are all far and away higher than what Pacific Source is offering. I would be money this is a sweetheart deal between the republicans in power in our state and Blue Cross Blue Shield which is known for screwing people over in Montana. I called Troy Downing, our State Insurance Commissioner, and was told someone would call me back. So far, no phone call.
I am livid. I'm fighting tears and I don't know what to do. This feels like extortion.
Question for you all regarding holiday celebrations and covid safety.
So my mother in law has an annual party for family a week or so before Christmas. She didn't have the party the last two years due to Covid. This year she says she's going ahead with her plans despite the guidance that indoor gatherings in small spaces with people who aren't vaccinated are not recommended. My MIL's home is beautiful but quite small...it might be 900 sq feet in total. My brother in law, his wife and two of my adult nephews will be there and they are un-vaccinated and vocally anti-vax.
When my MIL told me about her plans, I asked if she would consider a lunch celebration outside as an alternative...I would bring our fire pit, a pile of wood and a bbq grill and my outdoor kitchen set up...we could go sledding and have hot toddy's around the bonfire. She said she was absolutely not interested in anything of the sort. I did my best to let her know that we are not comfortable meeting indoors in a small space with un-vaccinated people and she told me that she was aware that we felt that way but she was going ahead regardless. She said she works very hard to decorate her home for the holidays and she wants her family to appreciate it....all the while I am thinking to myself that I would not enjoy one minute of her party if I was worried about getting sick. Sigh.
Am I overreacting? Am I being unreasonable? I may ask her if we (my husband and our 17 year old kiddo) could come a few minutes ahead of the crowd to admire her decorations and wish her a happy holiday and leave before the antivaxxers arrive to if that will suffice. I'm waiting for my husband to get home from a back country trip to talk with him about this. Does it do any good if I stay home but my husband and son attend?
I'm at a loss.
Earthquake in western MT at 6:47 am.
3.7 magnitude. Epicenter was near Ravalli, MT just north of Missoula. It woke me up…my wooden blinds were rattling. Anybody else feel it? It also looks like several quakes have occurred near Cokeville, WY.
Voting As Fire Extinguisher (a poem)
When a haunted house catches fire:
a moment of indecision.
The house was, after all, built on bones,
and blood and bad intentions.
Everyone who enters the house feels
that overwhelming dread, the evil
that perhaps only fire can purge.
It's tempting to just let it burn.
And then I remember:
there are children inside.
-Kyle Tran Myhre
The larch trees in Montana are doing their thing!
Yesterday was my birthday and most years it’s a cold rainy day on 10/29 but yesterday was a stunner of a day. My birthday wish was to go out for brunch (I hate cooking breakfast) and have a mimosa and go for a hike with my husband and my dog to see the larch trees. They’re only lit up like this a couple of weeks a year and yesterday did not disappoint. It was a perfect day.
Caught these two fur balls
strolling past my house last night. My trail cam doesn’t take the best photos…but you get the idea. Paw Patrol! 🐻
Profile Information
Gender: FemaleHometown: Montana
Home country: USA
Member since: Mon Oct 31, 2016, 02:23 PM
Number of posts: 23,301
