docs: def _options_request(self, url, **kwargs):
          
          ''' a method to catch and report http options request connectivity errors '''
          
      # construct request kwargs
          request_kwargs = {
              'method': 'OPTIONS',
              'url': url
          }
          for key, value in kwargs.items():
              request_kwargs[key] = value
  
      # send request and handle response
          return self._request(**request_kwargs)