The Howdygram 2: Medicare open enrollment starts October 15. Oy.

I know, I know. It’s been a whole week since my last Howdygram post and everybody’s pissed at me. I get it. To help explain my absence, the past seven days have been filled with the following activities …

VISITING WITH MY COUSIN BOBBY. He flew all the way from Chicago to spend two days here with Sam and me. We reminisced, laughed, cried, ate barbecue from Shorty’s and an assortment of Szechwan things from King China … in addition to latkes with sour cream, real Kosher pastrami and challah. Also yellow mustard. (Bobby was especially hysterical about the yellow mustard.)
REVAMPING THE HOWDYGRAM STORE. I put together some new collections (check them out here), redesigned my store graphics and continued to plow ahead with new designs for Christmas and Hanukkah cards, party invitations, mugs and spiral notebooks.
FIGHTING OFF ANOTHER URINARY TRACT INFECTION. I won. I can’t believe it.
CONSULTING WITH MY HOUSECALLS SOCIAL WORKER. Marie surprised us yesterday (we forgot she was coming) and spent about an hour here trying to round up a primary care physician on the HouseCalls program who’d be willing to write my 5 mg Hydrocodone prescription every month … in addition to my 10 mg Hydrocodone prescription. Yes, I take them both. I can’t help it. I have a lot of chronic pain, and 10 mg isn’t always enough! In any event, Marie didn’t have any success because nearly every HouseCalls group she called won’t accept my insurance … they only accept traditional Medicare. This means I might have to make some changes during the annual Medicare open enrollment hoo-hah that starts October 15. For 2018 I might have to drop my Medicare Advantage Plan and just use original Medicare with a Part D drug plan so we won’t spend our life savings on my prescriptions. However I’m still doing research and comparing my options. This is fucking HUGE, people.
LABELING MY NEW PILL BOXES. I finally decided it was time to reorganize my meds because I’m taking a couple new ones that look a lot like pills I’m already taking, so I ordered and labeled more than two dozen teeny Tupperware containers and arranged them neatly in an elegant black pastic storage bin that measures 10" x 8" x 4". In case you’re interested, the only med that doesn’t really fit in my new teeny Tupperware containers is Gabapentin because I have to take nine of them every day (at different times). That’s 810 capsules for a 90-day supply … so I just keep them in the jug I receive from the pharmacy. It’s the same size as a 32-oz. jar of Hellmann’s mayonnaise.

I haven’t shared any free fonts for a long time so I’ll make up for it now with the fabulous faces illustrated below. I LOVE THESE! Some of my favorites include “Rustical,” “Citrus,” “Vidiz,” “Hallo Twin” and “BW James.” “Oldser” and “Sportsball” are layering fonts that include fabulous outlines, inlines, shadows, stripes and textures. Download links will appear after the graphic.

Rock On • Rustical • Maggie Mae • Oldser • Mouron • Aberdeen • Citrus • Slender

Vintage Bundle • Hallo Twin • Organika • Pineapple • BrideChalk • Sportsball • BW James

In addition to free fonts I also have lots of free botanical wreaths, doodly frames, splattery background patterns and nautical zombie-themed clipart.

I also snagged some really nice background patterns (dozens and dozens of them!) in a variety of color themes, such as peach, silver and ivory, copper and quartz. This is only a small sample. And all of them were FREE.

Last but not least, here’s a sample of the golden paint backgrounds I downloaded today. Some are dry-brush patterns, some are crazy splashes and splatters. I love these! I you want any for your own collection please send me an email and I’ll be glad to send the files. (Be sure to mention my October 7 Howdygram post.)