Works of Wonder

☆ January 20, 2015

OriG

Soooo, I was all gung-ho to write, here, more and often…. which quickly got derailed by some health baloney of my own. Facing a health scare is never pleasant, and this has been extra fun thanks to my $10K health insurance deductible.

OriBWSQ

I’ve spent entire days calling every doctor and facility within 300 miles to find the best pricing schedule when I get kicked off to a new person or specialty, since I’m writing checks every step of the way. Thanks, Obama! PS: I still don’t have affordable health care!

OriY

I’m working on not feeling like a victim and not feeling sorry for myself. I have savings. I go to great lengths to live outside “the system” so I can’t really expect the system to take care of me. I give myself little pep talks the mornings I wake up with a bad attitude – and it actually works, though the health care system is still a huge source of anger for me right now.

OriOB

There’s a ton of beauty going on around here, too. The moon has been spectacular, even when just a sliver. The animals are happy and keep me overflowing with joy. I’ve been snowshoeing every chance I get. There’s a lot of good connecting going on – with people and with nature and with myself and with something far beyond myself.

OriBY

And I received these incredible origami spheres that are works of art and wonder. No glue. Just patience and beautiful paper and the fingertips of a fairy. From the artist: ‘each one is made of 30 identical units that interlock and stay together without glue or tape.’ They have me mesmerized.

OriP

Comments

81 Responses to “Works of Wonder”

  1. hello haha narf
    January 20th, 2015 @ 9:11 am

    sending prayers, love, peace, and wishes for health to you.

  2. Patr
    January 20th, 2015 @ 9:29 am

    I’ll not get on the soap box that I carry with me about insurance and our medical care. But the box is huge and is such a burden to carry.

    I hope you are better soon and if we in the community can help in any way, please ask.

    The orbs are fascinating!!! Just the photographs have me pulled in, I would spend hours just looking at each in person.

    Hugs, Love and Healing prayers!!!

  3. b
    January 20th, 2015 @ 9:31 am

    Please set up a ‘go fund me’ or some like account so we can help you.

  4. Scotty
    January 20th, 2015 @ 9:36 am

    hang in there s~. thumbs up.

  5. Marlene
    January 20th, 2015 @ 9:38 am

    Health care system is a failure..I too have been struggling with health challenges and the system does not provide help ..and medical insurance is expensive beyond belife..Obama care sucks….we did not see anything positive with it in helping people and Thier care….it’s very frustrating to say the least!! I hope you are better soon!!

  6. carol
    January 20th, 2015 @ 9:44 am

    beauty is bliss
    briefly
    sometimes for longer moments
    life requires patience
    and mantras
    you will make it but I don’t know how
    is what I told myself years ago
    every morning every morning when I was so sick
    with the unknown
    I’m still here
    as you will be
    till carried away
    gravity free
    into other great possibilities.

  7. Ruth
    January 20th, 2015 @ 9:47 am

    Obama Care is a cruel joke! So many people were taken in by it. Annnnndddddd, wait til you are eligible for SS and medicare. Few doctors will take new medicare patients! Even my current dr. will not take it. They have to wait so long to get reimbursed, and their fees are cut so drastically, not interested in helping a patient! I am not interested in freebies! I’ve paid into this system since I was 17! It is my money! So hope you find first rate help and get on the road to recovery soon.

  8. Vickie Zimmerman
    January 20th, 2015 @ 9:48 am

    I hope you are feeling all better real soon! I agree on the lousy healthcare! It also keeps getting worse, more expensive! I hope you get well soon!
    I love the Charlie photo today! You can see him loving you in his eyes!! He’s concerned about you!

  9. Jo Davis
    January 20th, 2015 @ 10:12 am

    love the origami, the third one looks like a butter sculpture and now I’m hungry ;) so sorry you’ve been ill, I have been too :( Obama care is just wrong!! sending positive thoughts, healing energy and prayers too that you will be well soon :)

  10. Bev in Oregon
    January 20th, 2015 @ 10:21 am

    Patr, I’m right there with you – you’re not alone in carrying that box!

    The health care system is a huge source of anger for me, too – and I have affordable health insurance. We really need more doctors, but we aren’t doing anything to make that happen. I try very hard to be patient and to not get upset, but it makes me so sad to see suffering.

    Shreve, as you already know, you have a huge family out here in the web world, sending you our love. Don’t forget that!

    And thanks for sharing the beautiful paper art. So awesome.

  11. Ron
    January 20th, 2015 @ 10:26 am

    My thoughts and prayers are always with you and the Farmily – and especially now!

    Out under that beautiful Wyoming sky I hope you feel the healing power coming to you from every direction!

    Ron

  12. Debbie wahlbeck
    January 20th, 2015 @ 10:56 am

    Feel better soon Shreve xx

  13. wright1
    January 20th, 2015 @ 11:13 am

    My sympathies for what they’re worth, and thanks for the exquisite images.

  14. 1stepcloser
    January 20th, 2015 @ 11:15 am

    You’re in my prayers. and this is my first year in the Obama care…so not happy!

  15. penny in co
    January 20th, 2015 @ 11:28 am

    Feel better Shreve!!! Obamacare sucks. I am so glad that I have a job with benefits, expensive as they are. Are the origami’s from Montana?
    Take good care of yourself. xox

  16. mj
    January 20th, 2015 @ 11:31 am

    Sending healing thoughts. Wish you were here, lots of great medical care and doctors who will work with you.

  17. Sherri
    January 20th, 2015 @ 11:36 am

    Sending healing thoughts and hugs your way! Take care and keep looking at those wonderful works of wonder.

  18. Maggie
    January 20th, 2015 @ 1:29 pm

    <3 <3 <3 Thinking of you, and I agree with 'b', set up a Go Fund Me so we can all chip in to help you. You shouldn't have to worry about paying for what you need at a time when you need it.

  19. bonnie
    January 20th, 2015 @ 2:23 pm

    wow, works of wonder indeed! thanks for sharing them with us. what’s most wondrous though, are our bodies. and their ability to adjust to change, and to heal and to carry on. i hope you connect with the help you need soon, and that you have a speedy recovery from whatever currently ails you. love to you.

  20. Patricia Long
    January 20th, 2015 @ 2:26 pm

    I am so sorry you are ill. I too have a lot of disagreement with the Health Care System in America. I love the spheres! I send healing thoughts and prayers to you with love…

  21. Theresa Szpila
    January 20th, 2015 @ 2:43 pm

    Shreve, my heart is with you and you are in my prayers. May your health scares soon be behind you. May you soon find a medical team both capable and compassionate – and willing to work with you without bankrupting you.

    I’m retired from a large health-care (hospital and ambulatory care) system, and have witnessed the changes (not for the better) in health care up close and personal.

    Now that I’m on Medicare, it’s no better, and my co-pays have just gone through the roof for 2015. So, while I have access to care, I can’t necessarily afford it.

    Every time I see a commercial for “affordable” health insurance, I wonder “Affordable for whom?” Certainly not for anyone who needs it.

    I’ll stop now. But remember, we’re all here for you. Set up a “fund me” account and let us know how to get to it so we can donate.

    Hugs and all blessings,
    Theresa

    P.S. Thanks for the Origami. Nice to have some beauty in the midst of misery.

  22. Lyn
    January 20th, 2015 @ 3:33 pm

    You’re in our thoughts and prayers, Shreve. May 2015 bring you health, peace, and joy.

  23. Jackie
    January 20th, 2015 @ 4:02 pm

    I am in the same situation – been sick for over 2 weeks and still trying to avoid getting medical care because of my $6,000 deductible. Need new glasses and dental work but putting it off until I can come up with some “disposable” income. I know this Marketplace is unsustainable without raiding other funds and am afraid those funds will be Social Security and Medicare, which hurts everyone not working, especially the elderly who have paid into those system their whole lives. I am a bit scared of what the future holds. But the beauties of the natural world have a peaceful, healing effect and we are all doing the best we can as an on-line community, offering support to each other. Love to you and yours.

  24. StephC
    January 20th, 2015 @ 4:22 pm

    Shreve, just as many others above have stated, our current healthcare system is truly broken; the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare, a name I truly hate btw) was/is barely a passable yet major compromise the administration made in the hopes of offering something…anything – thinking something slightly better than nothing is the answer. I hope this country finally gets its head out of the sand and takes to the streets to demand Universal HealthCare for everyone – not just the uber-rich. Ugggh…enough of my soapbox.

    I agree with the other commenters too, who suggested setting up a GoFund account to help cover some of your medical bills (so you don’t have to go into debt or lose all of your savings); and allow those of us who can/want to gift you some support during this current health/financial struggle. And yes I know, it’s much harder to receive then it is to give. Yet, it allows those who care about you (and your farmily) to show it in this way. Just something for you to think about when you’re opening another stupidly high medical bill or waiting on hold to talk with another doctor’s office.

    Sending warm hugs, a sense of calm and healing thoughts your way.

  25. yokel
    January 20th, 2015 @ 8:31 pm

    Wow. Please get well soon.

    Affordable Care Act saved my family a lot of money, paying 30% of what was paid before this wonderful Act. My spouse and I are consultants, knowing other families liberated by this wonderful Act. Yes, single payer would be much better but some people here contributed to messing up this wonderful Act by failing to understand, and educating representatives, that paying less is less not more. $10,000 deductible was a choice and gamble that insurance will not be needed. Our family was reasonable with $2,500 deductible – very happy to pay that for good care. Please check in with reality; tell everyone repeal of the wonderful Act is the way to pay a lot more.

  26. shreve
    January 20th, 2015 @ 9:01 pm

    Y ~ Not a gamble, and hardly a choice. $300/month premiums = $10K deductible. A lower deductible would mean even higher monthly premiums.

    Everyone else, thank you so much for your words and commiseration!

  27. torre
    January 20th, 2015 @ 9:56 pm

    sending lots of positive thoughts for healing. health scares are not fun.

  28. mlaiuppa
    January 20th, 2015 @ 11:45 pm

    Those spheres are both fascinating and tranquil.

    While I mostly support Obama I am disappointed that the ACA is one of the things on which he caved in to Republicans too much. The only solution at this point is Universal Healthcare. All other modern industrialized nations have it and take care of their citizens. Us? Not so much. The healthcare system knows they can extort any amount of money they want from us because no one wants to die and facing that or intense pain, you’ll pay anything. So they can pretty much name their price and make obscene profits. This is especially true of our pharmaceutical companies. Drugs are developed at Universities using government grants I.E. taxpayer money, then the companies swoop in, buy them, patent them and rake in the money.

    No insurance plan should have a $10,000 deductible. But that is a trade-off for lower monthly payments. It’s a gamble and sometimes you lose.

    Parts of the ACA were a long time due but it was hardly a solution. The exchange is supposed to make obtaining insurance easier with transparency and comparison shopping and making denying healthcare due to pre-existing conditions illegal and doing away with lifetime caps.

    It is a step in the right direction but in the end, the only solution is Universal Healthcare.

    You won’t see that with this congress. They are busy trying to revoke any healthcare you’ve managed to get.

    Personally, I am tired of being seen as an object of profit.

    What is truly tragic? My dog has better healthcare than a lot of people in this country.

    I hope you get well soon. I know you are doing your part. You live the healthiest lifestyle I have ever known. I know you eat healthy and exercise plenty. I hope whatever is happening resolves positively and soon.

  29. Kate
    January 21st, 2015 @ 1:20 am

    I sincerely hope for your health to improve… I also sincerely wish you’d post a link to where I can get one of those orbs. I am obsessed with them now.
    xoxoxoxoxo

  30. Rose
    January 21st, 2015 @ 1:48 am

    I’m sorry that you are having such a hard time with your health and healthcare. I understand that Wyoming was one of the states which did not want to deal with the Affordable Care Act, causing a lot of people to have problems.

    My son lives in Montana, and now has healthcare for the first time since he was 19, and he’s almost 43. If I remember right, he’s paying $76 a month with $1,000 deductible. Of course he doesn’t have vision or dental, but neither do we.

    We’re on Medicare with a medigap plan and a prescription drug plan, since I retired a year and a half ago. So, that’s $105 or thereabouts for Medicare (each), $226.49 for the Medigap plan for both of us, and $103 a month each for prescriptions. Prescription costs vary, one month my husband had over $1,000 of prescription charges that we had to pay out of pocket, sometimes there are no extra charges, until you hit the donut hole.

    I agree, we need a single payer system. Insurance companies are “for profit”, not for the good of their customers.

    The blessing is that you can’t be denied healthcare coverage. Unfortunately you live in a beautiful place in the middle of nowhere, so not too many choices when things go wrong.

    You are on my thoughts and prayers.

  31. GD
    January 21st, 2015 @ 4:50 am

    @maliuppa, seriously…let’s blame the republicans for this one (and everything else -ugh!). No, it lands on Obama and the Dems. Own it.

    Shreve,
    Sending you healing thoughts and prayers. So many of us understand your frustration/anger and the weight of overwhelming debt. Know that you are not alone. So sorry you are going through this. I hope that only good news lay ahead for you.

  32. David
    January 21st, 2015 @ 5:10 am

    Health care in this country was having major problems LONG before ObamaCare. So many foreign countries (think Europe) have socialized medicine that works. Hmmm…

  33. Jamie, Mom of 3
    January 21st, 2015 @ 6:26 am

    Agreed, it’s been a horrible experience for my parents. Ages, 93 and 91. Both went into the hospital just about 2 weeks ago. Insurance sent them to a rehab hospital way before my mother should have gone. Insureance required them to have 3 hours of therapy every day in order for them to continue to pay. Borderline torture in my eyes. My mother, who has MS, COPD, and again, is 91 years old, became sicker and was sent back to the hospital.
    Doctors, Nurses and techs and therapists are all wonderful. But you can see their frustration as well. They want to care for their patients, and now have to take into consideration what insurance will pay for, and the “guidlines” insurance has put in place. knowing the elderly have very fixed incomes. It’s a sad, sad thing. I could go on and on…

  34. Charly
    January 21st, 2015 @ 6:28 am

    @GD, seriously – this is not a political forum, but it is manifestly unfair to claim that the ACA’s shortcomings are solely the responsibility of President Obama and the Democrats. The ACA was essentially a Heritage Foundation proposal, after all – hardly a liberal institution. The best alternative, universal health care, would never have been passed in this current Congress. Put yourself in the place of someone who has a pre-existing condition and could not get healthcare coverage or someone who was bankrupted by catastrophic illness and then tell me that this admittedly flawed program is still worse than no program at all. The Republicans seek to roll back (and demonize) the ACA, but have they any responsible solutions to the problem of the uninsured? No. What we need is universal health care, like every other advanced country in the world, but we will have to be prepared to pay for it. With this present Congress, with it’s “let them eat cake” social darwinism, it will never happen.

  35. Prairie girl
    January 21st, 2015 @ 7:46 am

    Healthcare. Living in Wyoming doesn’t help matters. It’s the worst of the worst. Can you go down to Colorado to get what you need? Even tho it’s further away, the whole experience and care would set your mind a little more at ease. It’s way better, Shreve.

  36. shreve
    January 21st, 2015 @ 7:50 am

    K ~ I’ve no link to share! I did query before putting up this post – the artist creates them as her meditation/hobby.


    Please lets not argue about politics! I think we can agree the system was terribly flawed before ObamaCare and is terribly flawed now. Lots of people were without affordable care before, and that remains true, though some of the wheres, whys, hows, and whos may have shifted.

  37. Elaine ~ TX
    January 21st, 2015 @ 8:02 am

    S ~ Sending love, light and healing blessings to you and strength to get thru this to the other side.

    I want to share this info with all who can use this information to help heal themselves and others. I have been reading a lot as I want to heal my Thyroid naturally and picked up a small book ~ SALT YOUR WAY TO HEALTH, 2ND EDITION by David Brownstein MD ~ he is talking sea salt with 84 minerals in the salt *not* table salt. Since out bodies are mostly water EVERY one of our cells needs sea salt EVERY day! I now drinking 1/2 a teaspoon in a big glass of water, I add 1/2 a fresh lemon every morning and feel great. Then I read ~ IODINE: WHY YOU NEED IT AND WHY YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT IT by David Brownstein MD ~ talk about any eye opener!! The major cause of cancer and child born with autism, ADHD and mental retardation is the fact the mothers didn’t have enough iodine before becoming pregnant.
    Your thyroid, breast, ovaries and prostrate in men are the greatest users of iodine and since we mainly don’t live on the coast and eat lots of seafood, we don’t get enough. Dr. David has done 1000’s of test and has case studies of patients in his books who have had cancer and other issues and by just adding the sea salt and iodine they have turned their lives around. I remember someone once telling me that God put everything on this planet we need to heal ourselves and WE are the ones who need to do the research and experiment with our bodies to get back in tune with our wondrous machines. I’m blessed to have health insurance thru work, but I rarely use it, I don’t trust doctors as they always want to put a “band-aid” on something and not get to the underlying cause of the problem. Dr. David has a whole series of books each detailing research, data and charts, I’m reading his book abut Thyroid now. Due yourself a favor and get these two books for sure and read them and start feeling better and being healthier. Love and blessings to everyone on this site who love and support Shreve and the farmily. And I agree with the Go Fund me idea – I’d pitch in too. XOXO

  38. Colleen G
    January 21st, 2015 @ 8:18 am

    Shreve, I just want to wish you a speedy recovery in whatever it is that you are dealing with. Please remember that you are a bright ray of sunshine to your readers and we want to keep your light bright and shining! Love and prayers to you.

  39. Marg
    January 21st, 2015 @ 9:30 am

    I’m Canadian so won’t comment on your health care BUT….I love origami !!! For a few years I was buying origami gifts for my grandkids and my daughter as well with great expectations of artistic wonders. Turns out none of them liked it so next time I see a kit I will buy it for myself. The photos you’ve posted are exactly what I envisioned, how could anyone not like this craft???

    Get well soon Shreve.

  40. Catherine
    January 21st, 2015 @ 9:31 am

    Democrats or Republicans, no matter, all I do is pay. Paid all my life, my health insurance just went trough the roof and I still have to pay out of pocket….I want a “shingles” shot as I have witnessed what havock the ” Shingles” can cause, well $350.00 later, plus the nurse fee to get the shot and doctor fee to get the prescription….It’s ok, I will make it, I got to…I try to stay healthy, walk,do yoga, eat well…..It has become harder and harder to get by, money flies out the window…Less money to spend, less money to support our local artists….

  41. Julia
    January 21st, 2015 @ 9:44 am

    HI Kate,

    If you email me at (julia16066@gmail.com), I can work with you to send a sphere.

    Cheers,
    Julia

  42. LJ
    January 21st, 2015 @ 11:06 am

    S~ first, no worries about not posting more often. You share so much of yourself with us through your posts and right now you need to focus all that energy back to you. Hoping some of our words are carrying positive energy and strength to you with every keystroke.
    Hugs and love.
    -LJ

  43. Lindsay
    January 21st, 2015 @ 11:17 am

    Sending you love and best wishes xo

  44. Felyne
    January 21st, 2015 @ 12:21 pm

    Much good care to you, S.

    If you need anything, you know where to find us. :D

  45. Jackie
    January 21st, 2015 @ 12:41 pm

    This website is a place to go and get love and beauty – sorry if I contributed to making it anything else. LOVE the picture of Charlie today with his snowball, but what I love even more is the fact that Mike was thoughtful enough to make make and haul a huge snowball for that sweet coyote to play with. He’s a keeper!

  46. Catherine
    January 21st, 2015 @ 2:05 pm

    Elaine TX
    I too take iodine everyday, great change !!!!!!!!

  47. Jennifer
    January 21st, 2015 @ 3:09 pm

    The ACA saved my sister’s life. I’m sad to see political negativity here. The origami is cool though.

  48. Sandy G.
    January 21st, 2015 @ 3:46 pm

    Those origami are very beautiful. They are as fascinating as nature’s own beautiful flowers. Thanks for the photos. Keep that beauty in your mind and heart while you go through your health problems. You will get through anything–you are beautiful in body and spirit and very strong. Blessings to you.

  49. ellen desjardins
    January 21st, 2015 @ 4:13 pm

    Hug Hug Hug

  50. Tom
    January 21st, 2015 @ 7:38 pm

    Sorry you are ill Shreve. I just got insurance last year tru ACA because I had pre =existing conditions. Howevever as expensive as it is to me, we will all end up in a hospital, so I am gratefull..

  51. mlaiuppa
    January 21st, 2015 @ 7:57 pm

    I got curious.

    This form of origami seems to be called Kusudama. It translates as medicine ball, so here’s hoping Shreve is on the mend.

    I’m a big believer in eating yourself to health since so many health problems can be traced back to a bad diet (and other bad habits like smoking or lack of exercise.) But I accept that there are some things that just can’t be fixed with vitamins and a balanced diet.

    Table salt is iodized for the purpose of ensuring we have iodine in our diet. But then you miss the minerals and nutrients in sea salt. We tend to have so much salt in our diets, way more than we need I hesitate to add even more. Right now I’m trying to eliminate salt to help control my blood pressure.

  52. Jane
    January 22nd, 2015 @ 5:41 am

    Shreve, I am sorry to hear that you are having health issues. It is overwhelming even when you are part of the health care system. I work as a nurse practitioner so if you have any questions you’d like to run by me I would be happy to help. I have worked with uninsured and under insured people for the past 19 years which means that I have experience figuring out which tests are being ordered to cover a providers ass and which are useful. Hope you are feeling better! Jane

  53. Holly
    January 22nd, 2015 @ 7:43 am

    Shreve, my heart feels heavy knowing you are going through health issues. I am happy that you are in a place that gives you great solace, animals that give you tremendous joy, and for Mike, who I am sure is with you every step of your journey…whatever it may be..Take care of yourself, and revel in all of your surroundings.

    These origami are beautiful. They bring feelings of peace and wonderment.

    Take care of yourself Shreve. Sending huge hugs your way.

  54. Elaine ~ TX
    January 22nd, 2015 @ 7:46 am

    To #51 ~ There is NOT enough iodine in table salt to sustain and fight against all the toxins in the food we eat, the water people drink, this is covered in his book with charts and grafts.
    You should really read Dr. David’s book to understand all the toxins that are in our food, water, medicine’s, OTC med’s, everywhere and why we need LOTS of iodine to give our cells the nourishment we need. Cinnamon and raw garlic help with blood sugar and blood pressure. Best of healthy to you.

  55. easternpanther
    January 22nd, 2015 @ 8:23 am

    Shreve – you are a wonderful woman with a powerful spirit, and I hope your medical things sort out. I will say that the ACA (Obamacare) got screwed up because of different states opting to drop some of the useful bits, you know, like the health care parts. I am lucky to live in Washington State, and the ACA has saved my life, quite literally.

    There are many alternative paths to healing, as several of the people above have mentioned. Researching them is always helpful, and Western medicine isn’t always the best answer. (Sometimes it is).

    We all have you in our thoughts and prayers, and all the furkids are pulling for you!

  56. Ralph
    January 22nd, 2015 @ 9:00 am

    The health care system is a mess with or without the ACA. Like banks, insurance companies and it’s many headed associates in the medical/pharmacological cartel NEVER lose. And it’s sad because there are people who give so much in medicine that truly care. Now for the important stuff: Sending you thoughts, prayers, lots of love and good energy for health and happiness.

  57. Carla
    January 22nd, 2015 @ 11:53 am

    Here is someone for you to get to know.

    Kelly at umberdove.com.

    She is loved by many and when her cancer came back, she started a GoFundMe campaign and raised $10k to help with the deductibles and treatments.

    Her story, her art, everything about her is an inspiration. You are the same to lots of people, too.

    You can do this.

  58. ClaireB
    January 22nd, 2015 @ 11:58 am

    I sympathize with you Shreve. Health care & premiums are out of control. I’ve never paid so much for health care than I have this past year and I don’t get sick. (knock on wood).
    I know you’ll be okay. There’s many spirits, angels watching over you and your farmily.

  59. Felyne
    January 22nd, 2015 @ 1:47 pm

    To mlaiuppa and Elaine, thanks for the mention of iodine, it’s made me look it up a little bit. My dad mentioned recently the population (here in New Zealand) is starting to suffer iodine deficiency again because of a) the fad to use rock salt instead of table salt and b) the health messages to reduce salt intake.

    Salt isn’t bad, it’s just got to the status of sugar where commercially it is in everything produced. On top of this, commercially added salt is not iodised (fastfood for instance, lots of salt but no iodine). Maybe time to lobby McDonalds to iodise their salt.

    The moral of this story for mlaiuppa is – instead of thinking you need to add more salt, be picky about the type of salt you’re eating. More salt doesn’t always mean more iodine. Know what you’re eating and good health to you.

    S- sorry for hijacking your comments.

  60. Jenny C
    January 22nd, 2015 @ 10:27 pm

    Thx for the lovely origami photos. Scrambles the brain trying to figure out… how the…?

    Jackie (45) – was just going to post the same thing. Adorable pic of Charlie, and deeply impressed w/Mike’s effort and thoughtfulness. Says so much about his character, compassion and sense of humor. Reminds me of the horse trailer hen and “there she sits”. Love. It.

    Shreve, your response to Y (25) rang true: “not a gamble and hardly a choice”. It’s ignorant for anyone to think I would avoid paying a higher premium for a lower deductible as a “gamble that insurance will not be needed” just to save money on monthly premiums. My current health insurance costs $456 each month, with a $10k annual deductible. Would cost me $200+ more per month to have ACA ins. Don’t know what I’ll do when my insurance expires end of this year. $456 stretches me to my limit; almost $700 ACA rate is impossible so, for the very first time in my life, I’ll be without health insurance and will be penalized by the IRS in 2016 for being unable to afford a government-mandated purchase. No question the healthcare system is flawed and needs changes. At the very least, I agree it’s high time for the antiquated and disastrous “existing conditions” limitation with insurance to be removed, but that could be done with separate legislation, independent of a wholesale government takeover of healthcare and health insurance. It’s a mess, to be sure.

    Would love to have the opportunity to give back a bit, Shreve, by contributing to a Go Fund Me account. Talk about being the least I can do for all the richness you’ve added to my life. Would only take a bit from each of us to make a difference as a big group. Do you think you could consider it? Whatever works for you, sweet girl.

    Here’s to complete healing and abundance for you!

  61. Laurie G
    January 23rd, 2015 @ 8:26 am

    Add me to the list of your fans who would be glad to chip in and help out. I don’t see you accepting what some people might think of as charity. I hope I’m wrong and you do consider letting your global network of fans help you in whatever way we can. For me, and I’m guessing for many others, it would be a gift of love and a way of saying thank you for the joy that you, Charlie and your work brings to me.

  62. Catherine Deshayes
    January 23rd, 2015 @ 9:55 am

    If there is one thing I have learned in the past seven years reading this blog , is that Shreve stands tall and straight in her boots. That is why she lives where she lives and does what she does. It takes strengh and character to be a farm woman in Wyoming. Does she need our help, probably not, as she says she got savings, she works hard to be an independant woman and even though we love her and she knows that, we have to respect her continous strengh and self reliance and let her vent a bit about the state of things without offering money. Somehow it does not fit the picture here. It’s ok to vent and be pissed off and talk about it but offering a fund is sort of downgrading all that she has worked to establish. No need to mention funds I feel, she knows what to do, if she screams for help and says ” send me money ” then yes, but she has not. She just wants to vent a bit as we all do. And by the way, the system is broken, she knows it, we know it, save your money people you may need it for yourselves as I feel it is going down hill from now on…..

  63. Jenny C
    January 23rd, 2015 @ 12:20 pm

    No one questions your independence, integrity and ability to stand strong and take care of yourself, Shreve. I’ve learned over the past seven years that this is, by and large, a loving community of deeply respectful followers who are eager to express that love and give back in some small way. Nothing more, nothing less. It is ill-advised and disrespectful for anyone to try to cast a negative pall over offers to help. The offer still stands.

    Have a wonderful day.

  64. bonnie
    January 23rd, 2015 @ 1:09 pm

    i’ve been gratefully receiving my daily dose of charlie for years for free. i got into the habit of checking in every day, and actually forgot that subscriptions are available. i’ve finally remembered. if you have already paid for a subscription, and would like to send a little more money shreve’s way, how about buying a subscription for a friend?

  65. Catherine Deshayes
    January 23rd, 2015 @ 1:17 pm

    #64 Bonnie is right, buy from Shreve’s shop, buy calendars and subscriptions, buy art .

  66. Jenny C
    January 23rd, 2015 @ 4:48 pm

    Great idea, Bonnie. :)

  67. Deborah
    January 24th, 2015 @ 12:08 pm

    Healing thoughts and prayers coming your way!
    Good health is everything. May it be yours.

  68. Deborah
    January 24th, 2015 @ 12:09 pm

    LOVEloveLOVE the origami! That would lift my spirits too. Bless the artist that sent them.

  69. Heidi
    January 24th, 2015 @ 6:04 pm

    Wishing you peace of heart and health of body, Shreve. You rock!

  70. Pam
    January 25th, 2015 @ 3:04 pm

    Shreve, since everyone has already moaned and groaned about the state of the healthcare system in this country, I wont…other than to say that I also have wasted hours, days, on the phone with the “marketplace” only to be hung up on, cut off, or received no help at all. & now we have a $600.00 monthly premium with $12,000. deductible just to get our current physicians and hospitals.
    so you KNOW you are not alone in the “boat”.

    I am most concerned that you get the best possible care and that you are well…& that “go Fund me ” idea was a great one. Let us know if you set something up.

    I will continue to keep you in my prayers thinking only good thoughts for you and yours.

    ****IF there’s ANYTHING I could do to help, please email me!! I mean it.

  71. Beth K
    January 25th, 2015 @ 7:55 pm

    Just wanted to echo the other commenters about buying from your shop, setting up a special Shreve fund, or similar. You have given us all so much awesomeness for free. It is okay to aks for help. One of the perks/drawbacks of staying “off the grid” is that you are then dependent on your neighbors. We are your virtual neighbors, and are happy to help. :)

  72. Bronchitikat
    January 26th, 2015 @ 2:34 am

    Perhaps Obama care is so poor because the Republicans fought him every step of the way. Pay taxes so someone else can benefit???!

    If you want a decent healthcare system then you’ll all have to pay taxes for it. The Canadian and French systems seem to work fairly well. I wouldn’t recommend the UK system at present, it’s been hacked about too much. Mainly by people who don’t want to pay taxes to help other people.

    Hope you’re fully fit and functioning soon!

  73. TomT
    January 26th, 2015 @ 4:40 am

    The oragami blows my mind. So beautiful. For your health, I don’t know specifically what you’re dealing with but I want to pass on a 2 min. video for the best prevention that’s available. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvxPcNnqyOw Cellular nutrition can prevent us from living in pain and suffering.

  74. Nancy
    January 26th, 2015 @ 6:57 am

    So I was paying $754/mo for my insurance at Kaiser. No deductible. I was in Real Estate. Market recessed. For a year I had no income and qualified for Medical courtesy of Obamacare. No cost to me. Everything was covered.

    I’m working again. I pay for my insurance. There is a deductible. It’s all good.

  75. Suzy Soro (@HotComesToDie)
    January 27th, 2015 @ 4:58 am

    I’m sitting here in Paris taking care of my mom, who is in the hospital. All her expenses are covered because of socialized medicine, which Obamacare was trying to approximate. HOWEVER the real broken system in the US is the doctors. They only want the big bucks, not to help sick people. Someone left a comment above about her doctor not taking new Medicare patients. Then find one who will.

  76. m.v.
    January 27th, 2015 @ 7:17 am

    Absolutely luv the origami.
    The Canadian social/medical system does work in spite of its many flaws. I am living proof of it. But Canada is a smaller country population wise and has fewer provincial (state) governments and corporations etc. for the Feds to deal with.
    I will gladly buy some of your photos etc. if that will help.

  77. Karen
    February 2nd, 2015 @ 2:36 pm

    Since you didn’t have a donation spot, I chose to purchase items from your shop. Best present I ever gave myself. The items were individually wrapped – the wrapping itself turned into works of art – and each item was perfect, beautiful and a unique work of art.

  78. Stephanie
    February 4th, 2015 @ 5:59 pm

    I know I’m a little late to comment on this, but I just have to say that for me- and for every other student at my school I’ve heard from who is on covered now through Obama care (I”m a grad student in CA) the coverage is great, free for all preventative and standard things, including blood tests and medications, and while it involved a bit of paperwork, it’s been more than work it. If, as you say you try to live outside the system, then you’re right not to really expect to be taken care of by the system in return. Still a shame so many people aren’t able to get coverage and good coverage at that.

    But the main comment is: I’m sorry you’re not feeling good, whatever the problem is, and I hope you feel better soon!

  79. kelli
    February 9th, 2015 @ 10:18 am

    Your comment that you “live outside “the system” so I can’t really expect the system to take care of me.” is one I need to take issue with. It isn’t as though you are perpetrating some sort of fraud, or running a con, on the system. This system has been forced on us, with the claim that it will take care of us, but then falls so woefully short in so many instances. I truly believe, thru interactions with doaens of people weekly, that the only people who have been helped by the ACA, are those who had pre-existing conditions or who are students. Everyone else, esp people who had decent or semi-decent insurance prior to the act, their premiums have doubled and tripled, and the deductibles are thru the roof (like yours). I have several clients in their early 60’s who pay over $2000 per month (yes, per month) for their crappy coverage. it is outrageous.

    And I am so sorry to hear that you are having health issues. I hope the issue is identified quickly, and a resolution is found.

  80. kelli
    February 9th, 2015 @ 10:26 am

    after reading thru all these posts, i find it surprising that the general consensus of blame for the current situation is set squarely on Prez Obama’s head. Nobody seems to be willing to blame the insurance industry itself. The insurance companies are only concerned with collecting your premiums and paying out as little claim money as possible. They couldn’t care a hoot about your health. At least the Prez was trying to get coverage for a disenfranchised section of the population. The effort has sadly turned into a disaster for many, but at least he tried.

  81. shreve
    February 9th, 2015 @ 9:16 pm

    K ~ excellent point! and so true.
    I really appreciate everyone who’s shared their perspective and experiences.

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