WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR DECEMBER 2015

oceanmelody

Barbie, I really wanted to finally make it to Hawaii but a week would have been too short and the plane ride so long. I think you were wise to have a nearby city vacation!
More Beatles on the elliptical today. I want to download more albums to my ITouch but honestly it is not as intuitive as the Apple people make it out to be. I am not totally clueless about computers but get the feeling I need to drag a young person off the street to help. The things I want to do are grayed out...
Betty

janemartin02

sorry haven`t been on much,Mailed out 8 pkgs today and over 50 cards to my special kids for Christmas.Got 11 kittie blankets ready to go to the shelter.Been busy.
having a lot of pain with arthritis in my knees,not just stiffness.Using a walker
and not too happy,gonna see what the dr can do after the holidays.
Hugs to all jane

bwcetc

Drkatiebug ... Math was my nemesis throughout all my school years! This made me laugh when I saw it

nccarolb

Good evening! Again, I've read but not posted too much.

Sylvia - Hope your mousie was a little lost soul with no friends or family nearby.

Lisa - Goid for you for realizing that you need a break! Happy to see your face.

Alison - Be careful with that chest congestion. My draught has dad the bug d'jour this week. I sent her to the doctor as soon as she said she couldn't take a full breath. Doctor ended up giving her an inhaler to help.

Speaking of my daughter... I will be spending tomorrow attending her graduation. The full ceremony begins at 10 am and then just her department has a ceremony at 1:30 pm. Once it's done, she will have a Masters of Library and Information Science. WITH A 3.94 GPA!!! We're just a little proud and excited.

My food intake has been totally off the rails for the past week. I am determined that it is going back on the &$@/%# rails!! At this point, I hope all of the weight work that I am doing for PT will help offset the damage.

Barbie - Yes, I will do my PT at home, but it certainly is easier and more interesting to do it at the therapy site. I am making huge strides of progress every week and I really don't want to lose the momentum. I'm sorry you didn't get good answers from the doctor but glad you are seeking other opinions.

Heather - Good for you for going out on your own!!

Geez! There were other folks who have done brave things that I wanted to say something about, but CRS strikes again.

Pip - For Christmas, I am getting my son a "lighted bike lane" for his bike. It attaches to the bike and puts out a line of light on each side to let motorists know what kind of clearance they need to allow for. I hope it works!

I'm off to bed now. Sleep has been a little elusive this week so I want to give it every opportunity to feel comfortable in my presence!

Good night!

Carol in NC

exermom

Did 53 min of Biggest Loser Calorie killer Circuit DVD. It's interesting, the people in this DVD had heavy accents as if they were from Australia. Yet, the people doing the exercises weren't real overweight. Not like the people they have in their DVD's in the US

The plan for tomorrow is to do an Advanced Strength DVD

Mindy - congrats on the loss. I have no doubt that you'll make your goal before you go to FL. Everything you plan to do down there sounds fantastic!

Becca - great rules for your TOPs group

Mimi - next time don't stay away so long!

Gloria - thanks for the smile!

Rosa - welcome


A bit rushed today (then again, why should today be any different from any other day?). Exercised, then we had a general meeting for the Newcomers, came home, went to Kohl's and Sears (worth $20 to me), got dinner ready, eat and then went to ceramics.

My heel is hurting. Wish Allison had answered me as to why she iced her foot.

Penny - your advent candle is simply stunning

Lisa - so glad you invited Kathy. I'm sure she'll fit right in well

pip - I thought the exact same thing about that one lady doing the plank, her butt was up too high.

katla - hope you feel much better soon. I know how much you love your yoga

barbie - when in Jan is your anniversary?

Am supposed to volunteer at the Green Room tomorrow. First, I need to stop at the Soup kitchen and give them some food, I'll probably stop by Lynette's, on the way home I'll stop at CVS to get Vince some soda, then come home and Vince wants me to help him get things ready in the garage. He took his Genesis for inspection today

Carol in NC - you should be very proud of your daughter!

Michele in NC

mollywhippet

I have so many things I wanted to comment on, but can't remember any but one...

Miriam, I'm not in the chemistry department, my husband is. He's a chemistry professor and I'm just a faculty wife who gets roped into these things because I have nothing else to do. Right?

Tonight was really special. My granddaughter made me cry.

She had a concert at memorial hall with the middle school choir, so I took her to it because my stupid son can't be bothered to do ANYTHING for that little girl, as he's too wrapped up in his own problems. (I know that's not fair but it's how I feel tonight. I'm mad at him, if you can't tell.). Well, I sat in the front row and she was on the risers in front of me, but she was at an angle to me so I was looking at her side profile. Anyway, part of the program was where they were to sing all the military songs and if you were a veteran, when they sang the song for your branch of the service you were supposed to stand up. She told me weeks ago that they were going to do that and she thought I should stand up. Well, I told her I would be too embarrassed, and I thought that should be for service members who actually went to war, which I did not. Well, when they started to sing the Air Force song, I saw her look at me from the corner of her eye, looking disappointed. I stood up and she suddenly broke into the most blindingly beautiful smile I've ever seen. I'm glad I was in the front row so nobody could see the tears on my face. All I know is that I would do absolutely anything for that little girl. Even stand up in public.

After the concert she came down to where I was and hugged me. Then she saw her OTHER grandma, other grandpa, her mom and her mom's new boyfriend who had come to watch her too. I didn't even know they were there. She was one happy camper tonight.

Time for bed. Good night all!

Sylvia

GodMomKim

Hi Gals,
I am still out here, made a decision to participate in a Christmas craft fair – in April when I made the decision –it was no big deal – plenty of time… but while I did started, I got no where near the amount of items that need to be done, so I am sewing like a crazy woman…

Busy with other holiday things, including 4 days with my mom making our Christmas cookies which we give as gifts… we made 104 dozen cookies and 6lbs of peanut brittle… I didn’t eat too many!

I’ll be back, but for now just remember that you all in my thoughts




November Goals -
Attend yoga each wednesday evening
Walk everyday –would like to see 160 miles
continue counseling and hold my weight where it is as I deal with my current set of emotional issues
weekly fun things
W1 – football – we won! Working on craft show crafts
W2-
W3-
W4
Kim from N. California

Katla49

Heather: You are an excellent adventuress. Good for you to go out for dinner on your own. I hope your DH feels better soon. :bigsmile:

Barbie: Traveling an hour and a half to the doctor seemed long until I realize that we travel forty-five minutes to an hour each way for each doctor appointment. It really isn't that much farther and the two of you made it into as pleasant an experience as possible. :flowerforyou:

Gloworm in WA: I hope you've caught up on your rest. I'll bet the kids were not disappointed to miss school.

Becca: (((hugs)))

DJ: Your friend is lucky to have you, and you're both lucky the house didn't catch on fire while you were asleep. Scary problem! I hope it is solved by now. :flowerforyou:

Carol in NC: Congratulations to your daughter for her stellar academic performance! I hope she is feeling better soon.

Sylvia: You are an excellent grandmother! I'm so happy you stood up for your DGD's song.


We went into town and got DDIL's Christmas present this afternoon. One down, three to go. I have no idea what to get for DS, DD, & DSIL. I wouldn't mind suggestions, but I know I'm the one who needs to think up something good for each of them. DD's wish list is out of my price range. :ohwell:

Katla in Beautiful NW Oregon

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Thomas A. Edison

December Goals :
1. Log every bite and swallow.
2. Cardio exercise at least 3 days a week. Work on flexibility and back strength.
3. Have fun every day.
4. Drink at least three glasses of water daily, preferably more!
5. Eliminate alcohol.
6. Monitor sleep. Try to average 7 or more hours of sleep nightly.

pipcd34

stats for the day:
hm 2 gym- 12.56min, 13.9amph, 149mhr, 3mi = 157c
spin- 36min, 86ar, 118aw, 12g & 16g 135ahr, 155mhr, 15.4mi = 367c
gym 2 dome- 6.53min, 12amph, 146mhr, 1.3mi = 101c
dome 2 hm- 18.16min, 8.9amph, 154mhr, 2.7mi = 210c

ar = average revolutions -how fast i'm pedaling per minute
aw = average watts -how much power i'm putting out per minute
g or ag = average gear -on spin bike, they are 1-24
ahr = average heart rate
mhr = maximum heart rate
c = calories

drkatiebug

Beth, Beth, Beth, what am I going to do with you? (Love you anyway, I guess. LOL!

Pip, I am not smarter than you. We are just smart in different ways. You, for example, could teach me the proper way to hold my butt in a plank. That is very important. As a matter of fact, it is way more important than algebra. Just ask Beth. Sorry, Beth, just teasing you back. Seriously, at this stage of my life, getting in tip-top physical shape is more important.

I finally got my tree up today. The house is as decorated as it is going to get. Now, if I just had the presents wrapped (and all bought). I still need a few more things. I am going to get them tomorrow. I have to take my car in for its 130,000 mile service. I'm going to walk while they work on my car, then hit the stores when it is finished. Today, I was updating my Fitbit software, so I plugged it in by the computer. Then promptly forgot it when I went walking. Head slap, head slap, head slap. Well, I put it on the minute I got home and managed to get 10,000 steps anyway. So, really had about 16,000 steps today. I hate if when that happens. I am so addicted to that thing.

I think it may be time for bed. Talk to you guys tomorrow.

pipcd34

nccarolb - i know the one that u r talking about. i decided against getting that one because it's red and the "lane" and bike is too thin for cars to see

janetr7476

Carol - wow that's incredible about your daughter. You have every right to be very proud.

Aw Sylvia - I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes, so forgive any typos. What a wonderful story and you are the most terrific lady and grandmother ever. I'm so proud of you for standing. What a blessing you are to them. Thanks for sharing that moment with us.

Our fellow "snow birds" aka next door neighbor/best friends, came over this morning to discuss details of our "journey to the sun". We had to plan a short travel day on New Years eve day as OSU will be playing in a football bowl game in the afternoon and then New Year's Day evening OU will be playing a bowl game. We have to be set up and ready for football before each game. lol Priorities, right?

Two short weeks from today my oldest daughter and her oldest daughter will fly in from Denver. Her younger two kids live here in Oklahoma, about an hour from me. They will come down for Christmas eve and Christmas day. I don't see them often tho, they are busy with school, work, etc. Then the youngest daughter, her husband and 3 kids will drive up from Lubbock and be here late that evening. I am so excited to have everyone. I always get down when all they all leave and I don't know how long it will be until I get so see them again. At least this year I won't have time to get too blue and I'll have to be packing the motor home to leave two days later. Oldest DD's flight leaves early evening Sunday the 27th and we will head for AZ early morning Tuesday the 29th. Have been working each day on cooking and/or freezing cookies. Some I baked and froze, others I roll into ball shape and then bake just ahead of time because they need rolled in sugar or chocolate kisses pressed in them, or whatever.

Have gone to water aerobics each morning and rode stationary bike for at least 30 min. every afternoon. I feel so much better when I keep active and I have so much more energy. Like so many of the others have said, you all sit on my shoulder all day long. I had Just walked out to the kitchen with the thot of getting a protein bar that was not on my food plan for the day, thot of DJ watching over my shoulder and opted for a cup of hot tea instead. Thanks DJ I like to avoid your boot at all costs.

Janetr OKC

jmkmomm

Heather, your picture looks so European. Just what I imagined it would look like. I admire you for going out all by yourself and getting a meal. So sorry your hubby has a bad tummy.

Sylvia, my husband feels the same about his military stent. He spent his 4 years in the navy/Marines and was stationed here in the states. So he doesn't feel like he is a vet and deserves any vet services. Well he is and you were. I love standing for him. He didn't wait until he was drafted during the Veitnam War. He didn't want to be placed in the Marines so he joined the Navy and was trained as a medic. Well after a year in the Navy he was informed that they were transferring him to the Marines! Dad was in the Army Air Corp, my nephew in the Coast Guard so I get to stand up for every branch and am very proud of it, tears streaming down my face through each song. Have a lot of my Dad in me!!!!

I didn't like that picture of the planks either. My son in law showed me his plank and wow was he poker straight! And he just stayed there, not breathing hard or anything. I have tried it and my body is trembling.

Glad to see Mimi and Penny post again, and Lisa. Now that you know your way back, don't stay away so long. of course Penny was jsut slacking and doing nothing!!!1 LOL

We had a scare last night. I got home from our choir party about 8:30. My cat Melody was sitting in the window. As the evening went on both of us asked the other where melody was. Cats sometimes just go hide under a bed or other hidey holes. But them when it came time to go to bed, she wasn't anywhere to be found. I took my flashlight and looked under beds, opened all doors, she was no where. Well of course I couldn't sleep. At 3 AM, I noticed Charlies light on so I knew he was up having one of his numerous trips to the bathroom and asked him again if he had seen ehr. Even though she starts out in my bed, if she knows he is up, she will go in the bathroom to be petted. So I got her bag of Temptations cat treats, opened it and went around the house shaking it. Still no cat. So I opened the front door, used flashlight and shook the treat bag and no cat. Well Charlie looked outside right after I closed the door and there she was running up to the door. Boy were her toes cold. Neither of us had been out since I came in at 8:30 so she had snuck out then. We know she occasionally does that but doesn't want to stay out. If we don't notice her going out, she will holler at us and we open the door. Because she is so afraid of the outdoors, we don't have a collar on her and haven't kept her up to date with her flea and tick stuff. She is microchipped. But she is safe and sound and now we will double check she is in when we open the door. And also get her to the vet.

Today is my youngest daughter's birthday. We called her at 12:30, the time she was born. My body was born to deliver. Christina's labor 3 hours, Michelle's 1 hour.

Nitey nite, Joyce, Indiana

cityjaneLondon

Good morning all!
Beautiful sunny day here! We will be off to the Maguelone cathedral at midday. The footbridge isn't open until 1 pm and we have to take a tram and a bus to get there. I think I will make a sandwich to take with us as I have no idea what the facilities are like. DH can go without food if he has to, but I get horrible hypos if I don't eat regularly. I've got my protein bar in my bag as well.
Thank you for your compliments on my eating out alone. I was most proud of walking out of the first restaurant, after the wine and olives had arrived! I was lucky to chance on the perfect place the second time.
DH had a bad night with indigestion, but seems better now. He is going out for a short walk, but I am giving my knee a bit of a rest. Time to relax.

Sylvia - That was a lovely story! And beautifully told! I could just imagine it. :flowerforyou:

DJ - that indeed sounds like a narrow escape! You have been a terrific friend.

Carol - So nice to be a proud mum!

Thinking of you all.

Heather in sunny Montpellier

grandmallie

morning ladies~
I had a nasty nights sleep have a dry cough and sometimes bring some stuff up
Geesh I wish I would feel better, I have so much to do today,im gonna go crazy...my shoulder blade is a bit better .
Tom did put the laundry in for me this morning..
Michelle~ I had plantar facaitis(dp) took a frozen water bottle and would roll that back and forth on my heel
gonna make my dad a pie, and drop that off later, get my hair cut, do ,laundry stop at the department store and get the stuff bob wants, then stop at sams and stop and shop to get wheaties for DFIL. then home,then make dinner and get the floors washed and finish packing as I work a full day tomorrow and then we leave at 3 am on saterday..

GloworminWA

Since everyone has been telling mouse stories - I have one of those too but not sharing it now - I'm going to tell my scorpion story. When I was pregnant with my first child my husband and I lived across the street from his sister and her family. These were new apartments that had been built in what used to be a riverbed way back when. At a certain time of year the gutters in the street would be lined with frogs and I mean lined! (My DBnL used to catch some and BBQ them) Anyway I diverse from my scorpion story - I was at home one day, very pregnant and getting newspapers ready to send to a newspaper drive at the local school (anyone remember carrying newspapers bound with twine to school for a newspaper drive?). Out of the corner of my eye I saw something move on the floor then I realized it was a scorpion! I let out a scream and jumped up on my couch. I was terrified because all I'd ever heard about scorpions was that they were deadly. My DH was at work so I had to call my DSnL but the phone was not close to the couch so I had to get down and walk over there. I was shaking I was so scared. Just happened DBnL was home and came to my rescue with an empty jar - captured the thing and eventually I got off the couch. However I kept having dreams about the scorpion and one of them was that after the baby was born she was in her crib and a scorpion was on top of her. Well that did it - we moved! Don't think I would have done anything different if it happened today . . . only difference is I now know that the scorpions in the US are not deadly.

klanders30

Mornin' carol congrats to your daughter, that is an accomplishment to be proud of.

Dh and i are planning a getaway just for the two of us for christmas weekend, this is our gift to each other. We are both very frugal and i wanted to spluge and fly to charleston, sc but after back and forth with him, worries about $$ and travel stress, i.e. overbooked holiday air travelers, we both agreed to drive to washington, dc instead. This is a five hour drive and we love the sights and have some favorite restaurants we enjoy so all in all i am happy with the decision. Would like to convince him to try a different hotel this trip hmm we'llsee how that goes. He loves travel, i need a change of scene, planning on treating myself to a new exercise scene and maybe a massage??? If i have the courage.

Embracing the holiday hustle and bustle and knocking out the cookies, cards and concerts this week. I am channelling becca the power ranger! Go us!
Karen from ny

Lagopus

Good morning everyone!

Carol - Master of Information and Library Science sounds like an updated discipline. Libraries have become so much more than book repositories. Good to know there are experts who can help people find their way through the deluge of information we all have pouring over us nowadays.

Walking home from choir practice last night, I saw the Northern Lights, a fairly good show. I tried to take a picture but I only had my cell phone so the image didn't amount to much. This morning I jogged up to the gym, lifted weights for 45 minutes and ran back home again, for a total of about 500 kcal. Conditions were perfect (for me), light snowfall and about -8C (15F). Good thing I went when I did, because now the snow's coming down like sugar from a caster and the wind has picked up.

My computer woes continue. After I'd been away all that time, my computer needed about 30 updates. (This is my old computer, not the new one that got a cracked screen and had to be repaired.) But during the updates, something went wrong and my bookkeeping program stopped working. Its *.exe file got moved to one of those invisible Microsoft registries and I can't get it back. System restore didn't work either. So I will spend the rest of the day backing up all my files, then try to uninstall and reinstall the bookkeeping program. Darn computers!

They had an event here a couple weeks ago (before I got home) where people were invited to make a gingerbread house in the shape of one of the buildings in town. About 20 people entered. The best entry - and the most challenging building to recreate in gingerbread - is the switching house for the old cableway that served the coalmines.



For comparison, here's the real thing seen from a different angle. This picture, taken at midday, gives a sense of how dark it is here in the winter.



And here's our main shopping strip all decked out for Christmas. This picture was taken at 4 pm, when it isn't any darker than at noon. And by the way, I'm not complaining! I LOVE it! What with the 24-hour daylight all summer and the 24-hour darkness in the dead of winter, there's never any reason to complain about a lack of seasons!

GloworminWA

OK OK I got the message her butt is too high. What do I know you planksters! I thought holding a plank was something you did standing up with one knee bent and just happened across an article with a picture showing it was something you do on the floor. How about a picture of Michelle doing a plank without her butt sticking up? If I were doing it my butt wouldn't be sticking up because I would be flat on the floor trying to figure out how I could get up on my feet again k:/ I am in awe of you who are able to do these kind of exercises. I'm one of those people who could never do a cartwheel

DrKatie - I love it when I hear of women who are math smart. I was terrible in high school but a whiz in college. I love math because it's either right or it's wrong. It's not like being graded in line with someone's personal interpretation of an essay or paper. I also like the Core Standards but dislike that having kids pass a test has become more important than a well rounded education. And I worry that we are going to lose some of our brightest young teachers because they are unable to be creative with their teaching. I volunteer as a reading tutor at the boy's school and see how unhappy the teachers are and have heard from young teachers that many of them are leaving the profession because they didn't become teachers to use scripts to teach. Uh oh I got off on a tirade when what I started to do was give you Kudos!

Allison do you see a chiropractor? The coughing could have moved a rib out of place which makes it excruciatingly painful when you breathe. Have had it happen many times. I told my chiropractor one time that he is the only doctor I can go into feeling horrible and leave feeling great! Hope you get to feeling better before your trip.

Irish I am so missing your saying about a cog in the universe. I love that verse and hope you will add it back to the end of your posts.

I know I had a lot of others I wanted to respond to but now I'm having CRS and had better get to bed. See you mañana!

miriamwithcats

DrKatie, I loved math too, and was very good at it. So good that my college professor of Calculus at the University of Chicago (I was a ripe old 16) wanted me to go in to it. But it was TOO easy for me. I wanted something more challenging, like figuring out people! So I went in to Behavioral Sciences/ Anthropology. Now THAT is tricky!

Carol, congratulations to your daughter! How wonderful! Some of my favorite people are librarians!

Sylvia, my dear aunt Mig was "just" a professor's wife, as was my maternal grandmother, my two favorite people in the world. In the past, a professor would not climb the tenure ladder unless his wife did her part, so I know there is much more to being a professor's wife. The same is also true of ministers. Their wives had a part to play that determined how far their husband would go. Unsung heroes in my mind.

Lilymay2

Well here comes the first challenge of the Christmas season... and I am ready!! Not.... I bought sugar cookies yesterday by mistake - I wanted shortbread cookies.... I ate one ( oh good grief) and do I every have a headache this morning!!! We are done with sugar for a couple months....

Finally a bit of snow to make everything look clean. I should still be able to walk in my shoes though, and it is really nice weather wise. Now just to get out there!!

Our family 's annual Christmas tree hunt is this weekend, so 29 people and 5 little kids under the age of 4 in my house .... no only 9 of them are staying overnight!! And my little granddaughter is one of them... she is pretty excited about coming to Grandma's house!! Me too!! I have a bit of control over the food.... I am cooking a turkey and supplying the vegetables and the fruit. There are a couple of salads coming and only 1 desert!! I better get in a couple more walks before the weekend!!

Have a great week everyone, hugs to all!!

Lillian in West Central Saskatchewan

csofled

lhannon062709

Penny – love your pictures. Not sure I could stand living in the dark for that long. My vitamin D tanked during the three years we lived in Oregon, not unusual for people there, I gather. We missed the West Texas sunshine so much, but the worst of it was that the cold and the damp was just so painful for both our joints. We both need the warmth and the heat. I respect your love for it, as our desert isn’t exactly everyone’s cup of tea, either.

Heather – So enjoying your pictures and the feeling of being in France they bring! Pleased for you, too, that you aren’t letting anything stop your own enjoyment. Sitting in a room looking at someone who’s feeling like ca-ca was never my forte, and utterly useless in most minor ailments. My DH would much rather be left alone when ill, as would I, so it’s exactly what I hope I would do as well.

Sylvia – so pleased you stood up for your granddaughter. Those were tears that were worth it, indeed. I feel the same way you do—I get ten percent disability for one of my knees, which was essentially ruined by jumping off a ton and a half truck while I was in the AF. Doesn’t exactly feel like a war wound, and it isn’t. It did make the payments on my early student loans, which was great, but standing up during events like that is usually beyond me. I’m pleased, too, that your DGD’s other grandparents made the time to be there. Hope those relationships do some healing.

Rori – how’s your hubby? And you?

Pip – so pleased to see the smiling pics of Kirby, and to see you posting stats again. Means things are better in Pip-World. Hope your next adventure in Seattle? is amazing.

Allie – this has been going on for so long - many hugs, hope you feel better soon.

Joyce – glad you found Melody! I’ve taken to calling the kittens “The Children of the Corn,” and have gotten used to the noises they make in the warehouse while I’m trying to sleep at night. Tried letting them sleep in the bed with me, but they used my face as a racetrack one too many times… They love to sit at the warehouse back door in the sunshine, never go too far away, and when I go to shut the door at night, they zip right in.

JanetR – thanks for the kind words.

Dr. KatieBug – I have so much respect for folks who have math and organizational mindsets—they don’t always seem to go together. Have known more than one mathematician who was utterly absent-minded and chaotic.

Carol – congrats to your daughter! I was seriously contemplating the MLS, but leaned over to communication and never looked back. Hers is a huge accomplishment, and sorely needed.

Betty – without music, working out just wouldn’t even be an option for me. Keep it up!

Miriam – love the day bed, having similar issues with the foam couch I bought to sleep on at the warehouse… It looks like a bed no matter what I try…

DJ – thank you for the hugs. They mean more than you know.

Irish Terri – love your images.

The plan for today is, as soon as it’s light, head in to town and work out. Then do some outside cleanup work at the warehouse, and stay there tonight so I can be out of there at first light and off to Midland/Odessa in the morning. Want to check out the estate sales and garage sales, and see if it will be worth the diesel in the van to go in once or twice a month. In particular, I’m looking for wood furniture I can refinish and resell. It’s something I love doing, and am good at. My DH is thinking of buying me a Sonicrafter hand tool for Christmas. I think he wants to play with it too. If you don’t know what they are, here’s the link: https://www.rockwelltools.com/en-US/Sonicrafter-F50.aspx This is the highest-powered one, they have less expensive ones. But I know my husband…

I wouldn’t mind designing and building furniture. Here at the ranch, we built our bed and headboard (including built in nightstands), entertainment center, coffee table/storage chest and end tables, all rustic, stained with walnut oil, built from tongue and groove pine. Did all the trim in the warehouse office in pine, as well. While it is a soft wood, beat-up, well-used, wood furniture is one of my favorite things in the world. And I have an idea I’d be good at making some of the smaller pieces myself. Every piece of furniture I refinish, I learn something more about how things are put together.

Also working on an afghan for my DGS, in blues and golds and maroon… already have one finished for the DGD, in white… need to decide on a border, probably a pink variegated. This will be her more grown-up one, she already got a couple baby quilts… Can’t wait to see them the last week of December! Fingers crossed for good driving weather from here to Missouri and back.

Ah, there’s the sun peeking out. Supposed to be 80 degrees today (27C). Feeling a bit sunnier myself, though the old health issues continue—way TMI for anyone, even me, to discuss in polite company. Just really tired of it, and it's not life-threatening. With a $3,000 deductible before they will even support a co-pay, though, seeing the doc before January is a no-go, so self-medicating. Not working much, but sometimes time alone is sufficient.

Have a grand day, all...
Lisa in sunny West Texas

December Goals: Just keeping it simple.
• Weigh less at the end of December than I did at the end of November.
• Log every calorie every day.
• Keep my calories under 1500 every day.

Elaine352962

The weather is cold, wet and miserable today. Just been to the doctors surgery this morning to have my flu and pneumonia injections. Writing lots of christmas cards. Will be wrapping some presents later. Going to mums 5.00pm today, my sister-in-law is there until 3.00pm. My sister is going on a works outing so I will give mum her late night time medication and help her to put her clothes on for bed. I still have lots of presents to buy and wrap, must de-frost the freezer and re-stock it for Christmas.

Wishing everyone a happy day and best wishes to everyone.

margaretturk

barbiecat

Katla, we love living out in the "boonies" on the Olympic Peninsula and one of the prices we pay for it, is having to drive a distance for some of our medical care....all of Jake's defibrillator and stent surgeries have been done at a hospital in Seattle which required a 90 minute job followed by parking the car, walking onto the ferry and taking a cab to the hospital. Our primary care doctor is local. Jake's cardiologist comes over here one Friday a month so a lot of our medical appointments are local.

Michele, our anniversary is January 14. When we decided to get married we wanted to get married in a month neither of us had been married in before (this was my second and his fourth marriage). We chose January and then chose Saturday morning of the MLK long weekend so we'd have an extra day for a get away together.

Karen, your weekend getaway to DC sounds like so much fun. Going to a big city for the Christmas weekend and driving there instead of dealing with air travel is so smart.

I always said that I love math, but when I got to college prepared to major in math, I was totally flattened by calculus and realized that what I loved was arithmetic. I love to balance my checkbook and do other arithmetical tasks.

I continue to be grateful that I can walk the dogs (I'll be doing that in a few minutes) and go to my dance classes (I'll be dancing this morning at 9:00) and sleep through the night in spite of what ails my legs. I am also grateful that how we live our life doesn't include holiday gift exchanges, decorating, and cookie baking.

“The secret of contentment is knowing how to enjoy what you have, and to be able to lose all desire for things beyond your reach."-- Yutang Lin

Barbie from beautiful NW Washington

drkatiebug

Lisa, I have my absent-minded chaotic side, too.

I'll let y'all in on a little secret. I'm not really that good at math. Above average math ability, well yeah. Super duper math nerd. Not so much. I did not like it as a child when it was mainly arithmetic. What I'm good at is logical thinking, arguing, noticing patterns. I like being able to figure things out. As a result, I am slow and deliberate with my thinking. That is why I like Common Core, because it emphasizes thinking about how things work. I totally agree with Gloria, however, that there is way too much emphasis on testing these days. People feel compelled to follow a script, when it really isn't necessary. But try to tell that to the powers that be. I will shut up about that, lest my post take a political turn. Zip, zip, zip my mouth!

Even my organizing craziness has its ups and downs. And when I take those left brain/right brain quizzes, I am always straight up the middle. But I like being known as the organized one, so I work at it.

fanncy0626

Good morning ladies. I feel some sarcasm for asking that we refrain from politics. If you would have lost a loved one in 9/11 or in France you might have a different opinion about immigration until we have ISIS under control.

My daughter is in surgery now. Hopefully all will go well.

Joyce - I'm glad you got Melody in safely! My daughter's cats always are trying to sneak out when I am there. I have to be very careful.

Allison- I hope you feel better! 2 more days and you will be in the warm sunshine!

Gloria - scary story! Now I'm curious about the frogs though!

Karen - it sounds like you have a nice weekend planned for Christmas. I loved sightseeing there.

Penny- they showed the Northern Lights on my weather app. Beautiful! I can see why that gingerbread house won!

Lillian- what fun you are going to have! Enjoy your family!

Lisa - I wish you could come over and advise me on how to refinish the top of my antique dining table. Hopefully I will be able to match the stain. What do you recommend for sealing it? An oil or a polyurethane? You are so talented!

Barbie- you are so inspirational! I hope they find out what will relieve the pain in your legs.

Have a great day everyone!

Mary from Minnesota

Peach1948

Happy Thursday!

Just got through coloring my hair. The color varies from time to time...sometimes light blonde and others light brown according to what mood I'm in. Right now it is light brown because I saw a recent photo of myself with the blonde and it actually looked whitish gray. Ugh!

We only buy presents for our son and his family. My son keeps asking me what I want and he threw out the suggestion of a new mail box ( I think he was wandering around the home store at the time). I said that's terrific because mine is truly showing its age. Then he suggested I get his wife a dog kennel for their giant dog. I don't think that qualifies as a Christmas present but will see what she thinks. I hate buying things that they might not use. Last year I got her SnL to go shopping and bought her a lot of clothes that she has really enjoyed. Now he is saying his son needs a certain baseball bat so we will see about that.

Good wishes for all who need them!

Carol

lhannon062709

Carol in NC - I always advise an oil on any hardwood, tung oil used to be the best, but it's hard to find around here. Most of the wood oils will do pretty well. With pine or soft woods, I'd use a stain and then an oil. I almost never use varnishes, just because they're so hard to redo--so it's a furniture refinisher's answer. With an oil, especially if you use a super-fine steel wool in between three or four coats, you will get a nearly impervious finish that, if it gets water marked or something like it, you can sand down and reapply as necessary.

Also - please note that refinishing can seriously diminish the value of a true antique. I pick up non-valuable pieces and try to turn them into things of beauty, seldom actually work over an antique unless it's on its last legs...