Expensive Drugs, Cheap Taxis, Horrendous Shoe Prices

I was horrified, yesterday, to pick up a prescription which cost us 5 times more than usual. On enquiry it seems the government have introduced new legislation which is causing such increases. This is of major concern to us as we are both on a lot of medication and this will seriously impact our finances. I am not totally sure what the legislation is and I will have to do something to find out, but of course, the major thing, is the impact on our pocket. I do know it involves generic drugs and the pharmacist told me it has become less profitable for drug companies to make generics. Not that I approve of generics in the first place, but pensioners can’t be choosers.

I went to have an assessment for Mobility Plus, run by Grand River Transport, yesterday to see if I qualified for taxi cabs at $2.50 a ride. The trouble is, I don’t really appear to be immobile, so Matt thinks I won’t get approved. Its not as though I am in desperate need, I was thinking of using the service more as a kind of emergency thing than on a regular basis. We do have a car, after all, and generally Matt can drive me. I just thought it would be a convenient back up. This was not something I was aware of until recently and I wonder how many others don’t know about it. I am told you can travel as far as Cambridge (that’s at least a half hour drive) which would help if I needed to go to the doctor and Matt or the car were not somehow available. Then there was the time when someone accidentally walked off with Matt’s coat with the car keys in it. Our cab ride was $20 something that day.

Good Morning America were advertising ABC’s new app for iPads today. Looks pretty good, if you happen to have an iPad in the first place of course. It never ceases to amaze me how some of my favourite sci fi writers, in this case Isaac Asimov, so accurately predicted the future. Asimov wrote about Multivac, a giant computer, and everyone having hand helds to access it. Well, what is the world wide web but something like a giant computer, except it is not just one computer of course and we certainly have handhelds to access the internet from anywhere. Even in his own lifetime Asimov saw some of his fiction come true, I remember reading an intro to one of his collections of short stories where he pointed out that he had written about some of this more than 20 years ago. We had friends who’s idea was that sci fi writers dreamed something up and scientists then invented it.

Another thing on GMA this morning, they were talking about women being ripped off when buying shoes on line. They apparently believe they are buying cheaper versions of designer shoes but of course, when they get them, it isn’t true. The picture shows a real designer shoe and a false one. What particularly got me was paying $1,800 or more for designer shoes and even the ones bought cheaper were $400. $400 for a pair of shoes????? I know I don’t buy fashion shoes any more, its just as well, I cannot, in my wildest dreams, imagine paying so much. In this picture I think it is easy to tell the difference, but if you were looking at just one of them on the internet, it could be difficult. It tickled me that they described some of these shoes as “come talk to me” shoes, we used to describe them with a much more obscene phrase “come f…. me shoes”. In the GMA article and expert said you would have to be drunk not to see the difference (he had both pairs in front of him) I think you would have to be drunk to pay these prices.

Matt and I have been having simple salads the last couple of nights and really enjoying them for a change. Matt doesn’t eat salads very often, we have had them with canned salmon, shrimp and hard boiled eggs. However, after 3 nights running I guess that’s enough, although it is still really too hot to want to eat a big meal. However, this one from Eating Well might be well worth trying for a change. It says serve with chicken, but the black-eyed peas would be plenty of protein on their own.

Cucumber and Black-Eyed Pea Salad

From EatingWell: May/June 2007, EatingWell for a Healthy Heart Cookbook (2008)

An easy salad to serve with grilled chicken or steak for supper or on a bed of greens for a satisfying lunch. Substitute white beans or chickpeas for the black-eyed peas if you prefer.

6 servings, about 1 cup each

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tsp chopped fresh oregano, or 1 tsp dried

Freshly ground pepper to taste

4 cups peeled and diced cucumbers

1 14-ounce can black-eyed peas, rinsed

2/3 cup diced red bell pepper

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup slivered red onion

2 tablespoons chopped black olives

Preparation

1. Whisk oil, lemon juice, oregano and pepper in a large bowl until combined. Add cucumber, black-eyed peas, bell pepper, feta, onion and olives; toss to coat. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Have a great day