Ticklebone

If this doesn't make you laugh, then you don't have a ticklebone in your body! Have a great weekend...

Aid and Attendance Pension

It kind of sneaks up on you, I'm talking about OLD. You know it's just around the corner but somehow you keep taking shortcuts around Senior Citizen Blvd. We are on our way to old, a few blocks away but our parents are now living there. It's not the same neighborhood they enjoyed a few years ago when they were still independent, now there are hazards and pitfalls on every corner.

I want to tell you some valuable information that you may not be aware of. If you know someone who is now in need of assistance, they may be eligible for the Aid and Attendance Pension offered to Veterans who have served at least 90 days during a period of war. The pension provides $1600-$1900 monthly that can be used for home care, assisted living or nursing care. There are guidelines, one being they must have no more than $80,000 in assets, excluding their home and cars. Even that requirement allows the veteran to gift their savings to a relative for safekeeping, until they need it at a later date, with NO penalty or time restriction. Medicaid has a 5 year "look-back" on gifting, meaning you must gift your money 5 full years before you need nursing home care. 

This VA benefit isn't new, but many never know of it's existence. It's actually been an entitlement for 60 years to veterans and their surviving spouses. Please pass this along to anyone you know that's facing these hard times. Read more about the Aid and Attendance Pension. Call or visit your Veterans Aid Benefits office for more information or an appointment.

From VeteransAid.org...

"The Veterans Administration offers Aid and Attendance as part of an "Improved Pension" Benefit that is largely unknown. This Improved Pension allows for Veterans and surviving spouses who require the regular attendance of another person to assist in eating, bathing, dressing, undressing, medication dosing, or taking care of the needs of nature to receive additional monetary benefits. It also includes individuals who are blind or a patient in a nursing home because of mental or physical incapacity. Assisted care in an Assisted Living facility also qualifies. This most important benefit is overlooked by many families with Veterans or surviving spouses who need additional monies to help care for ailing parents or loved ones. This is a "Pension Benefit" and IS NOT dependent upon service-related injuries for compensation. Aid and Attendance can help pay for care in the home, Nursing Home or Assisted Living facility. A Veteran is eligible for up to $1,632 per month, while a surviving spouse is eligible for up to $1,055 per month. A Veteran with a Spouse is eligible for up to $1,949 per month*."

No Worries!

How much would I have to pay you to do this? Fifty feet up at least, he doesn't even look worried!

Walking along this tree branch confidently trimming with the eye of a professional, I think he told me he'd been doing this for 15 years. Out in nature, up where the birds live...could you do his job? Not me, too skeered of heights, but I'm glad someone can. When we bought this land 7 years ago we weren't thinking about how we'd trim dead limbs on 100 foot trees. One of those "little things" you overlook!

The crew from William's Tree Service showed up early last Thursday and went right to work taking down the dead trees, trimming up the limbs and shredding up the dead wood. It was amazing to watch, like an orchestra of chain saws, tractors and shredding machines! Most of the time I was inside, taking pictures from the safety of the house while they climbed trees...

trimming as they went...

climbing higher and higher until they reached the top.

Ground crews secured the limbs to fall where they wanted, away from the house.

In no time at all, in fact I barely had time to sip my coffee between pictures, they brought down a dead Oak tree that was 50 foot.

The next job was removing the heavy logs to the chipper, everyone worked in sinc to get the job done.

I'm on our first level, he's probably 25 foot up at this point...

Goodbye dead limb that I've looked at for 3 years from my living room window!

This pole saw trimmed away all the branches that weren't neat and pretty, and the ones that had grown a little too close to the back decks.

Another crew shredded the limbs and logs.

Spilling the mulch onto our hillside will improve and hold soil...who am I kidding we have one teaspoon of soil and the rest is rocks here in Arkansas!

The bucket truck made quick work of the dead limbs overhanging our driveways.

Then they started clean-up with rakes, blowers and by 11AM they were gone!

Giving a BIG THUMBS UP TO Williams Tree Service Rogers, AR.