WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR DECEMBER 2015

1235764

Replies

  • cityjaneLondon
    cityjaneLondon Posts: 12,696 Member
    edited December 2015
    Hello my lovely ladies, or should I say, "Bonjour!"

    It was a long day yesterday, but all the tiredness and waiting around was forgotten when we arrived at the apartment. It is sooooooo lovely. A very old house with stone floors and stone spiral stairs to reach it. Tall ceilings and a view onto the square. We can just about hear upstairs's TV, but it's not bad. The bed is 7ft wide and a really good mattress.
    The owner was there to greet us and was charming. He is obviously from an old and important family of the area. The flat seems to be a hobby for him as he has spent a lot of money on it and it is still a work in progress. He had a welcome hamper for us with local delicacies and a bottle of pink Bollinger. !!!!!!!!!!!!! (Expensive champagne)
    We had a nice meal in a restaurant just up the alleyway behind us.
    This morning we went out early to buy fresh bread and croissants from the baker a few houses away and had boiled eggs and freshly squeezed orange juice from the bag of oranges he left for us.
    Then we took the wheely bag down a couple of streets to the fabulous indoor market and bought lunch stuff and dinner. For tonight we bought a bag of fresh fish soup and bought red mullet, and another fish and some huge prawns to put in it. The lady threw us in a couple more prawns. :D We have strawberries, different cheeses, including one with truffles and pate and ham for lunch. I bought some beetroot salad, bean salad and grilled aubergine for me.
    Yesterday was a bust for calories and so was breakfast but I am going to get a grip and start logging again. I ambled for an hour and a quarter this morning and we want to go to the cathedral and the Botanical Gardens this afternoon so should get some calories logged. You can walk everywhere here. :)

    Will take a photo of the living room and post it soon. And the exterior in the square. The shopping round here is classy stuff!

    Chris - congrats on getting to maintenance. Can we have a pic?

    Love Heather UK
  • grandmallie
    grandmallie Posts: 10,087 Member
    morning ladies~
    will get paid holiday I spoke to the financial manager and thats good...
    think I am fighting off a cold, the one with a dry cough,, will try some honey and cinnamon in hot water.. usually helps.
    they are finally coming to install the pellet stove, after I called and read them the riot act...
    dropping Homer at the groomers in a bit he looks like a brillo pad....
    I have to confess, I have not been eating well or exercising and it shows, I can only fit into a few of my older things.. but will try and get back on an even keel once we get to Florida.. lots of walking, swimming...and eating alot better..
  • cityjaneLondon
    cityjaneLondon Posts: 12,696 Member
    Here goes with posting photos.

    f122gh8ufz4f.jpg


    That's the living room with DH reading a guide book.

    lhozc8hv8d41.jpg

    That's the view from the "library" :D

    Heather in Montpellier in the southwest of France.

  • Peach1948
    Peach1948 Posts: 2,473 Member
    Saying prayers for all of those who were affected by the shooters in California.

    Heather, what a lovely place. Your food choices sound delicious.

    For all you who are horse lovers, I must admit that they terrify me. I do not like to be so high up and when I attempted to ride on one as a teenager, it headed straight back tot he barn.

    Mia, wishing you lots of sales on your pretty glass. I like the balls. Can they be hung on a tree?

    Today my DH turned 68! So, for 9 months he will be older than me....LOL
  • margaretturk
    margaretturk Posts: 5,253 Member
    Joyce love the fish story.

    Heather lovely simply lovely.

    :heart: Margaret
  • GRITSandSLUTSandWINOS
    GRITSandSLUTSandWINOS Posts: 2,573 Member
    B)
  • miakoda40
    miakoda40 Posts: 467 Member
    Yes Peach, the balls are ornaments.

    Mia in Mi
  • grandmallie
    grandmallie Posts: 10,087 Member
    Heather~
    stunning, just lovely...
    I am feeling sorta nasty.... so will lay close to the house
  • DamitJanit
    DamitJanit Posts: 1,329 Member
    Call me crazy but I love to see other people happy and succeeding .

    Good Morning Ladies,

    Pip, so happy that Kirby is doing so well. I hope you are still improving and not taking a step back because of Kirby’s accident.

    Heather, so happy to hear from you and that you arrived safely. I heard of arrests in London and all going on in France so glad you are there. Have a wonderful stay!!!

    Julia
    , welcome. This is a great place for support and information. If you come here every day or two, it will take you back to where you left off, so it’s not confusing. To bookmark. Look for the star to the right of the group name and click it so that it turns gold. When you return, go to Community and look for the star at the top/right in between the bell and gear and click it to see all the groups you have bookmarked. It will show how many new posts are there also.

    Cheri, glad you got the Fitbit to replace your pedometer. Hope you learn to love it.

    Mia, great picture of beautiful glass wear and beautiful glass artist. I hope you sold a lot.

    MicheleNC, I have to take a dish to the line dance party on Sunday afternoon and think I’ll take the Spinach-Feta Pie. If it doesn’t get eaten I’ll gladly bring it home. Lol At the Women of the Moose party last night we exchanged $10 gifts and I got a really nice Yankee Candle set. That is something I’ll use or could actually re-gift if I didn’t want it myself. I agree that often you end up with something you don’t want or need.

    Joyce, I love the baby fish story. And have to say it is somewhat humorous picturing an entire medical staff trying to save the baby. Glad there were no human emergencies at the time. smiley-laughing025.gif at Charlie calling you from the “thrown”. Hubbies are an interesting lot, aren’t they?

    Heather, I love it when you travel. I have such a marvelous time living vicariously through you. Thank you. I’m glad that the flat is everything you had hoped for. I’m sure it will be a fantastic two weeks. We look forward to any and all the photos you care to share. (Later) Wonderful pictures! The flat is huge. I just didn’t expect that. How marvelous. And what a view.

    Allison, so glad about the holiday pay. Way to go. I hope they do get the pellet stove installed. It has been a process. I do hope you don’t get a cold or at least it passes quickly. I’ve not been eating well lately either, but plan to get back on track today. How long will you be in Florida and when do you leave?

    CarolGA, Happy Birthday to your DH. And for the record, he will always be older than you. smiley-laughing002.gif

    The party was nice last night. It is actually just a holiday dinner at a restaurant where we exchange gifts. The service was slow even though we had a preselected limited menu. I had a salad and tilapia crusted with bread crumbs and served in lemon, butter and garlic sauce. I had them put my sauce on the side, which I only tasted. There was no sides at first and they brought out some bowls of angel hair pasta with spaghetti sauce, so I did have a little of it. The drinks each costed what the meal did so it turned out to be an expensive night out. I could have had a nice filet with green beans or broccoli for what I paid for the fish. But the evening was nice. Oh yes, and cannoli’s for dessert which I did have. smiley-sad006.gif
    My friend had her hip surgery yesterday and all went well. I’m going to the hospital to see her this morning and then have a HOA meeting this afternoon. DH got me a filet for dinner so will grill some veggies to go with that. Ladies, you are all so inspirational to me and I hope you are having a good December. It’s so easy this time of year to get off track so we need to keep encouraging each other to eat right as much as possible.
    I hope all of you have a healthy and happy day. rose.gif

    Words I live by:
    Savor. I have to slow down and savor every bite.
    and
    Opportunity. Each day offers new opportunities for good health and happiness if we just look for them and choose them.
    I Love you, smiley-love013.gif
    DJ
    Myrtle Beach, SC
  • miriamwithcats
    miriamwithcats Posts: 1,120 Member
    Joyce, love the fish story. Having worked in a hospital (inpatient psych unit) I can easily visualize the process!

    My son went with me and the girls to a late afternoon appointment, so we stopped and had dinner at a Mexican place to celebrate my oldest girl's birthday which is today (she is 11). I can so rarely eat safely at a restaurant, but can usually get by with fajitas, skipping the tortilla and just having the meat, peppers, onions and tomatoes. Yum. Brought home half the order for today. Since my son was with us, I also had a margarita (I very rarely drink so easily get tipsy). Then at choir, the choir sang her happy birthday and the director, her godparent, brought her cupcakes. Everyone there had brought her a card! She was so pleased.

    The adoption hearing may be moved up to the 11th. Evidently my lawyer has plane tickets for the 23rd. So I have had to notify everyone of the possible change. Luckily I caught the church secretary minutes before she was about to print out the newsletter so she was able to incorporate the possible change.

    Love to all!
  • Peach1948
    Peach1948 Posts: 2,473 Member
    DJ, sounds like you had a fun evening!

    Miriam, I am so happy for you and the girls. Hope everything goes well.
  • pipcd34
    pipcd34 Posts: 17,249 Member
    Here goes with posting photos.

    f122gh8ufz4f.jpg


    That's the living room with DH reading a guide book.

    lhozc8hv8d41.jpg

    That's the view from the "library" :D

    Heather in Montpellier in the southwest of France.

    ooooo la laaaaa
  • pipcd34
    pipcd34 Posts: 17,249 Member
    morning peeps -

    December goal accomplished I put my hair in a ponytail so I could run this morning. mind you, it wasn't very high but off of my neck and it hurt doing it ;0( but I did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BAM!
  • miakoda40
    miakoda40 Posts: 467 Member
    Heather - apartment looks gorgeous

    Joyce - I'm still grinning at your saving the fish story.

    Thanks for all of your compliments. I did well at the glass sale. I arrived with 13/4 boxes of ornaments and 3 boxes of other items. I sold about 1/2 box of ornaments and a full box of other items. I sold out of my pumpkins and could have sold a few more if I had them. This surprised me since we are now past Halloween and Thanksgiving.

    Mia in Mi
  • mollywhippet
    mollywhippet Posts: 1,890 Member
    Heather, the rental in France is lovely! I'm glad you found such a wonderful place.

    Pip, congrats on the ponytail. Baby steps.

    Last night at the kids gymnastics I lost my phone. Boy, did I panic! Not only is it my brain and my lifeline, it had my credit card and driver's license inside the cover. So, I searched everywhere for it, and finally asked at the desk if I could use their phone to call it. Sure enough, somebody answered. Someone had found it and turned it in to one of the gymnastics coaches. While I was trying to find it, she was going through my phone book calling people to try to find me. She actually called my husband's cousin (because he has the same last name as I do). My hubby has not talked to this cousin in more than a year - because he's sort of a leech - so he wasn't thrilled to hear that the cousin had called and left a message saying that somebody called him about finding my phone. Oh well. At least I got it back.

    My ex-DIL showed up at gymnastics again. I hate it, but the kids love it, so I grit my teeth and smile. The little guy was so upset that he wouldn't see his mom on his birthday today that he broke into tears. I found myself inviting her to his birthday party on Sunday. (How did THAT happen!) Well, he was really happy about that. She said she would try to come. So, if she shows up I have nobody to blame but myself. I'm trying to be a big girl about it.

    Today I have to go pick up 24 Captain America cupcakes and take them to the school, along with Koolaid punch drinks, for his class. Fingers crossed that the Spiderman era is finally over! Yesterday I searched all over Joplin for a particular $30 plastic dinosaur and finally found it. The last one in town, I think. So he was pretty happy this morning when he saw it.

    I'm testing glazes today for a special order. A lady wanted a bowl carved with a butterfly design and her new niece's name on it. I'm really happy with the bowl itself, but she wants a peach colored glaze that I have never made before, so I have found a few recipes to test.

    My hips have been killing me for the last several days. I'm afraid that Zumba may not be for me after all. At the Y thing morning I just did the weight machines and about 15 minutes on the bicycle. Even that hurt the hips. Hubby said, well if you have to have a hip replacement, do it before the end of the year.

    Gotta get busy! Have a great day!

    Sylvia
  • GRITSandSLUTSandWINOS
    GRITSandSLUTSandWINOS Posts: 2,573 Member
    Waiting for attorney to call re: redrawing our Wills. What a real P.I.T.A.; they always work on their time it seems which is usually 'procrastinate time'. I know it is a P.I.T.A. to have to listen to what we want as the changes, get them dictated, typed up, and ready for signatures; but, we also have other things that need to be changed once we have Wills signed and sealed - like beneficiaries on life insurances and things like that ... more waiting. Hope they can do them quickly - would like to know they're done before DH goes on his hunting trip with DOS out where DYS works. Not looking forward to telling oldest son about our decisions; but, I would guess that he will have no problems with the way it is being done. This will prevent either son from owning land, share-and-share alike and I can understand why my DYS doesn't want it to be that way, too. While he would not sit down and discuss all the particulars, he just voiced strong hesitation about leaving stuff for them to argue about, especially if DDnL#1 has her 2-cents thrown in. DDnL#2 does not think she should inherit anything from us (but, she will insofar as being son's wife. She has a DD from another marriage - they don't have any themselves (yet); but, they've only been married 6 months.
  • Elaine352962
    Elaine352962 Posts: 288 Member
    Hope everyone is doing well today.

  • fanncy0626
    fanncy0626 Posts: 7,152 Member
    joyce - Love the fish story! I am glad to hear about Charlie and his carpal tunnel. Not that you need to have anything else go wrong for him. Yesterday I called my DH and he answered when he was in the John! I told him you're not supposed to answer when you're in the bathroom! Men!

    Heather - your place sounds great! What a nice welcome. The food that you got for lunch and dinner sounds delicious. Have a great day with your DH! Beautiful place!

    Allison - don't put getting back on track! And you were using the try word! Stop that! We are here to motivate you so start exercising and stop eating!

    Peach- you have a great day celebrating with your DH today! Tell him happy birthday!

    DJ - your dinner sounded good! Even though you are right much cheaper at home but you don't get to socialize.I hope your friend heals quickly!

    Miriam - it sounded like you had a great time! What a nice birthday for your oldest DD.

    Sylvia - I am so glad you were able to find the dinosaur for your DG! You may be in excellent example for the children's mother. She could possibly change because of your influence. You are an exceptional grandma!

    Mia - I am glad to hear that your sale went so well! Is it possible to make snowman? They might sell as well as the pumpkins.

    Pip - congratulations on meeting your goal! That was quite an accomplishment.

    Today I am going to do my kettle bell swings then move furniture upstairs so my DH and I can start tearing up the wood floor in the living room dining and kitchen area. I am going to be bringing in several totes that we have not unpacked yet from the garage. We need to be able to park in there and it is full. We were waiting for the man to come back and finish the foam insulation in the basement if he did that yesterday. So I will move everything back to the walls and can bring the boxes in and go through them.

    Have a great day everyone!

    <3

    Mary from Minnesota
  • Katla49
    Katla49 Posts: 10,385 Member
    Rosie: I'm happy to hear that your case of shingles is mild. I've had the vaccine but it is no guarantee. DH can't have it due to his health issues. :flowerforyou:

    Boston Mindz: Dopey Joe AKA Smoking Wire sounds like a lovely animal. The mouse story made me smile. :bigsmile:

    Barbie: I hope your doctor has a good plan to help you feel better and lets you continue to participate in the active dance and walking you love. :heart:

    Mia: Lovely picture of you with your beautiful glass. :smiley:

    Sue: I have not read the Tao of Equus, but I'll see if I can get it right away. I'll try my library first, and if I don't succeed there, Amazon is a likely place to look. Thanks. :heart:

    Gloria in WA: I am currently feeling grateful for good insurance. I was able to get my shingles vaccination after I retired, and while I was still covered under my employer's health plan. DH can't get it at all due to his many autoimmune issues. We have matching chicken pox scars in our eyebrows. I hope you will be able to get your vaccination soon. :flowerforyou:

    Michele in NC: Can you take a fruit or veggie tray as a side dish? :flowerforyou:

    Joyce: You are right that the people of Kentucky are passionate about their horses. I enjoyed my time there. :heart:

    Heather: I am happy that you are enjoying your travels. The photos are gorgeous. What a lovely place to stay!. :flowerforyou:

    Peach: Happy birthday to your DH! :flowerforyou:

    Miriam: I hope the adoption hearing goes smoothly for you and your girls. They need you in their lives and none of you need worry or stress. :heart:

    Pip: You are so well named! You are amazingly courageous. Enjoy the newly restored ability to put your hair in a ponytail. :flowerforyou:

    Sylvia: I can't do Zumba because of the sideways bouncing that wrecks my knee. Spin bikes are okay, and yoga is my favorite. The electronic recumbent "bikes" can be an excellent way to burn calories. Here's hoping that a hip replacement is not in your near future. :flowerforyou:

    Grits: Calling an attorney and creating new wills is on our todo list. The last one is ridiculously out of date.


    It is nice to be at home. I made coffee this morning and plan to spend some time sitting with DH in our upstairs alcove and enjoying the view. We are talking about decorating for Chirstmas. I have a silver aluminum Christmas Tree that hasn't seen daylight in at least three decades and DH wants to put it in the living room this year. I hope the color wheel still works! Our Dwarf Alberta Spruce may go in our bedroom, or possibly on the dining room table. We'll see how things shake out.

    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.

    30881843.png
  • fanncy0626
    fanncy0626 Posts: 7,152 Member
    Katla - it sounds like you have a lovely day planned with your DH! Very relaxing!

    <3

    Mary from Minnesota
  • grandmallie
    grandmallie Posts: 10,087 Member
    good morning again~
    Homer back from the groomers and he looks precious, will try and get a picture...
    went and fed DFIL and brought my Ipad with me, well we facetimed with Buddy's sister, first time before he ate, he was snoozing at the breakfast table.. then after breakfast we tried again, and he did say hello, but doesn't focus and pay attention..
    Mary doesn't look well at all, she is bloated from prednesone and she has COPD so she is tethered to Oxigen.(sp)
    but was thrilled to see and talk to him...
    wish I could take a nap, but the pellet stove people will be here between 12-3 so have to be alert and make sure the dogs are out of there way...
    I have to find my DGD 18" doll clothes, my daughter and Taliah's dad bought her an American Girl doll, but I will not pay 30.00 for an outfit ,I dont even spend that on me... and of course all of the ones on Walmart website are out of stock...
  • cityjaneLondon
    cityjaneLondon Posts: 12,696 Member
    edited December 2015
    Margaret - I was thinking of you as we walked round the excellent Botanical Gardens. The oldest one in France. The information on the specimen trees was very good. I learnt a lot. Of course it is winter, but one or two things were flowering.

    r5vh4sdtze62.jpg

    The glass house contains cactus. There was a tree from the Missisippi I think called a Maclure Apple with great big fruits.

    We then wandered round the cathedral with its very bizarre porch. Then we went looking for fresh milk and had a glass of mulled wine in a bar. >:)
    I have walked around for 3 hours today, so feel I earned it. :laugh:

    Soon to start my fish soup. :D

    Love Heather in the city.
  • janetr7476
    janetr7476 Posts: 4,001 Member
    edited December 2015
    Sylvia, you are absolutely the best. The thing with inviting the grandkid's mother is that its what will make them happy, that's love. If she doesn't change, she won't be in their lives long and as they grow older they will come to know her for what she truly is. Big hugs to you for being so unselfish and loving them enough to ask her to the party for his sake even tho you hated the idea. Way to go!!!!

    Joyce - loved the fish story, I was laughing out loud. Had to read it to Jack.

    Heather - as always I love reading your descriptions and seeing your pictures. Takes me to a world I don't know and I enjoy it so much. Have a wonderful time.

    Mary - your are amazing. Do you ever sit down? lol

    We are waiting (inpatiently) for the plumbers to show up. We have had this work scheduled for 6 weeks or more, they have changed it twice and they are still not here today. There has been plumbing problems since we bought the house. We had the plumbing company run a camera thru the sewer line and they could see three places where the pipes are pulled apart. They will have to dig a trench and take out old pipe and install new. Hopefully they DO NOT have to dig up any part of the concrete patio.

    I didn't go to the YMCA this morning, was not feeling too well. It eventually went away and so I rode the stationary bike for 40 minutes. Will do that again this afternoon. Going to do some upper body work here in a bit. Have a terrific and successful day everyone.

    Janetr OKC
  • terri_mom
    terri_mom Posts: 748 Member
    edited December 2015
    Happy Thursday ! ! !

    Gloria
    – I have to do the same thing when I cook anything. If I don’t set a timer, I will get distracted in a different room, and either boil out the water, or overcook or burn something. SO glad I’m not alone.

    MNMargaret – Prayers for the biopsy. Skilled steady hands that gets everything, and negative results.

    Mary – my RA started a terrible flare in the balls of both of my feet yesterday, so I went straight home after getting my tickets. But I think I will probably stop this evening before the show, to get tickets for the next drawings. I can get Powerball (Saturday drawing) and MegaMillions (Friday drawing) here in Wisconsin.

    Rosie – It does look like you got lucky with shingles. I hope the pain and itching is bearable.

    Mindy – Congrats on last month’s loss. I’m sure you will eventually find the time to get caught up on all those things. Envy : I wish I had a bike in the next room, I hope you enjoy it often. // thanks for sharing the story of your DD’s rapid cycling. My ex was the same, and sometimes I felt like the crazy one, trying to be prepared for whatever I was going to find from one minute to the next. // Funny story about the mouse. I’m so glad he was not rabid ! ! !

    Mia – Envious. Such lovely projects and yourself, too ! ! ! I remember enjoying watching glass blowers at the County Fair, but never had the nerve (or time) to try. Thanks for sharing.

    Miriam – thanks for sharing your sister’s story. I gently tell my DD to get outside, even just to walk around the block, but she still finds excuses to stay indoors or do nothing, or whatever. I hope she finds the determination soon (dating or friending people that work-out has not worked yet, either). Makes a Mom sad (but I will keep loving her and trying to help).

    Joyce – Thanks for the laugh ! ! ! I know my DS and DH take their phones into the bathroom, but I’ve never asked what they do with them while in there. Some things I just don’t want to know.

    Heather – Thanks for sharing the lovely pictures (and your hubby). I look forward to travelling some day (but likely only in the U.S.).

    Peach – Happy Birthday to your DH. My DH teases me similarly about our ages. He is 3 years older than me for 9 months, then only 2 years. At least we still make each other laugh.

    Pip – Hooray for your ponytail ! ! ! Marvelous NSV ! ! !

    Shingles and Shot – at my clinic I am taught to say we don’t recommend it until 60. It can be given early to people with “Co-morbidity” such as an auto-immune disease and taking biologics, or COPD, congestive heart failure, etc, but that is for the Provider to decide (and I am not to prompt them with that fact). If it is prescribed by a physician, it is considered preventative under Affordable Care Act, so no co-pay (I think this is a National law, not just Wisconsin, but I could be wrong).

    DS kept up the “no pants” thing during the field trip to Chicago yesterday. He wore his “baseball pants” over his basketball shorts (can you imagine the bumps and such getting loose shorts under tight pants?), then took them off as soon as he got on the bus. They spent the entire day at the Outdoor German Market. He said it was fun. He ate and brought home a lot of chocolate, and a pretzel (but refuses to tell me where any of it is, which is for the best). Then, after H.S. bowling practice he bowled for DH at league, because DH was having too much throbbing from his pulled teeth.

    Too much pain this morning to work-out, so I just have been sitting as much as possible, and moving around my waist, arms, legs, without standing. The up-side is that the pain is equal in both feet, so I'm not limping. Now I just need to decide if/where to have supper tonight. I was thinking buffet, but maybe try the Casino steakhouse, so I don't have to walk around too much (and eat what I pay for, instead of paying for a buffet then only eating a big salad and a little meat). // Looking around the kitchen and livingroom the last 2 nights, the only thing I ate in my sleep was a grilled cheese sandwich (DS asked for 2 and only ate 1) last night (unless someone threw it in the garbage). I think I'm getting this sleep-eating thing under control.

    Hugs for Everyone ! ! !

    Terri in Milwaukee
  • fanncy0626
    fanncy0626 Posts: 7,152 Member
    Terri - we should all send you a couple dollars! For the Powerball. Sorry to hear about your RA flaring up. Maybe you can tie a string around your leg and your DH's leg so that he knows when you get out of bed. Or maybe put a security light in your kitchen that might wake you by shining brightly in your face as you enter the kitchen.

    <3

    Mary from Minnesota
  • miriamwithcats
    miriamwithcats Posts: 1,120 Member
    The adoption hearing is definitely changed to Dec 11! That is just 8 days away! Yippee!
  • nccarolb
    nccarolb Posts: 858 Member
    Good afternoon! I've kept up with reading but am not trying to remember a whole lot. Just know I read and had the appropriate response when I did. :smiley:

    Update on my grandniece's dad: They did a second surgery to remove the ventilator and put in a trache. He is responding to verbal cues such as waving, thumbs up, and, being Alex, flipping the bird. Yesterday he was able to see fingers/hands in front of his face. That is a huge thing since his orbital sockets were crushed. He is still considered to be in critical condition but they are talking about moving him to Duke to begin facial reconstruction in a week or so.

    I am going to see the same guy for the second time tonight. We had to reschedule from Sunday. I'm looking forward to it. So much so that I managed to do a full regular "get ready" routine this morning, including drying and styling my hair. I have not attempted that on a weekday since before the surgery! And, the fact that I can actually dry and style my hair, even in the back, is a huge achievement for me.

    Physical therapy has been reduced to once per week beginning next week. They will assess how that goes and move it back to two times a week if needed. This means I will need to be extremely disciplined about doing the exercises at home. I see the orthopedist again on the 15th.

    On the 15th, I also see a new eye specialist. I'm not sure if he's a cornea specialist or a retina specialist but he is supposed to assess to see if I am indeed eligible for cataract surgery on my left eye. My regular retina specialist moved and I am certainly not attached to his replacement, besides which, I get free care at the new place. Just have to drive to Chapel Hill for it. The new doctor here said she would be able to correct my vision to only 20/50 (it's 20/80 now) so I'm hoping the doctor in Chapel Hill will give me better news. Once I see him, I will be able to determine which insurance policy to choose for next year. If he will do the surgery at the beginning of the year, I can choose a higher deductible one that will save me money for the rest of the year. If not, I will choose a lower deductible and have to pay more for doctor visits and prescriptions.

    Gotta go get some work done. I hope everyone has a great day!

    Carol in NC
  • grandmallie
    grandmallie Posts: 10,087 Member
    Trying to drop in Homers picture
  • grandmallie
    grandmallie Posts: 10,087 Member
    mkbwxxecu926.jpg
    Here he is dressed for the Holidays~
  • pipcd34
    pipcd34 Posts: 17,249 Member
    cutie poocher grandmallie