WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR SEPTEMBER 2017

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  • I POSTED THIS IN TWO PARTS … YOU MIGHT HAVE TO SKIP 4 PAGES TO GET TO THE POINT OF READING NEW POSTS. I’M SOMEWHERE BETWEEN “ATLAS SHRUGGED” AND “GONE WITH THE WIND”

    Sue – Does the machine cut all the way down go the ground like cutting wheat or does it just cut off the tops like soybeans or both? I find it difficult to figure out how they got just the tops; but, with the description I looked up I now understand it. Down here we’re known for our peaches, pecans, cotton, and peanuts. The way they do the pecans is they shake the trees with a tree shaker; and, then run a machine that blows out all the leaves and only pick up the nuts. Peaches are usually hand-picked by migrate workers and/or family members. This year we did not have a very good year, not enough rain or cool weather when needed. We rode by several groves where normally they’d have leaves and fruit and they were totally bare; but, the next time up they were covered with leaves, but, just about 1/3rd of the peaches that should have been on them. Usually they are weighted down. After picking, they cut the tops off the trees for some reason. I’m sure it has something to do with either ‘how’ they produce peaches or to make them easier to get to. Cotton is spayed so that the leave dry up and die, then they run a combine and it strips off the cotton and bolls … then they go to a cotton gin to separate them and then baled up to sell. A lot of time they blow some out and it makes for a mess along the roads, it looks like a really bad hail storm has come through. Peanuts are legumes and grow under the grown, so they are basically harrowed up and form a pile – the picking off the nuts are pretty much like the cotton is done; usually they are loose in the trucks that run behind them. Wheat is also grown and when it is ready the tractor has a baling apparatus behind it that bails them up and wraps them in a strong plastic. Our neighbor use to grow it and had someone doing all the work; but, now he has planted pines and they are just getting tall enough to be able to see them. We have a good stand of pines which have been thinned twice. I doubt it will be cut in our lifetimes. When they come in to thin them, they have a machine with a tool that looks like a cutter that you’d use in your flower garden. It cuts them off pretty near to the bottom and another set of bars about 10’ above the corner clamps around the end of the tree from where they were cut off to hold it in place and then they take it to a pile and they lift them up into a truck that only has ‘sides’ (rails actually) and drive them down the highway to a lumber yard. I don’t like to be near one … not following one or passing one. One of my BFs in HS and a couple other of us were driving to Macon around a pretty sharp turn and it lost it load. Thankfully it was where we could run off the road and miss them … scary; but, he did not have the load properly chained and the weight of them broke the rails as he tried to maneuver the curve. A neighbor of our when we lived in Albany who has a son that was in Trey’s grade was driving somewhere with her sister and their 4 children; and, it wasn’t marked with a red flag on the longest one and he stopped at a RR crossing and she couldn’t see his lights and she ran into the back of it; killed the two toddlers that were sitting in the middle of both front and back seats; and she and her sister and the other 2 children were hurt – the adults in the front, more so that the children in back. I think this son was born after that.

    She was my nurse when I had my near-fatal accident back in the late ‘70’s (before the ‘80’s because I worked throughout the ‘80’s. The pines quite often have had their bark striped and they chip up the bark. We get paid for that, too.

    Funny story about a ‘high priced’ stud bull that a guy I worked with at GMAC/MIC came back and told us. He’d go home to Valdosta to work about their farm. One of the farmer’s in the county had paid big bucks for this bull and was bragging about it and trying to find others who had cows. He was put outside in a pasture full of cows and he finally found one that was ready to be bred. Only problem was that he backed into the ‘electric’ fence just as he mounted the cow. Imagine ‘his’ thought about doing that again. I don’t even think he’d breed with on in a ‘breeding ramp’. He had had a bad experience and did not ‘like’ cows anymore.
    We can’t have a ‘controlled burn’ unless we get a ‘permit’ to do so through the Forestry Department. If the wind is too high – they have to wait. They still sit up in towers looking for smoke to have it checked out.

    Tonizach1956 and Sue – I am hoping that when I go to PT, I will be able to have BALANCE as my word for 2017. Otherwise I hope it is DRAW/PAINT. I really need to get back to it. I can’t find my box of colored pencils and I got one of those color books for adults and can’t do it. It is supposed to be relaxing. I’ll find out soon enough. I have found that the last 10 – 15 pounds has been really slow; but, I still ‘lost’ this last weigh-in period even though we were at the beach; but, I also walked with Louis a lot. One day was not good enough to go, overcast … even though we would have still gotten sun that day. But, that is not always a good idea, because you don’t expect to get much, if any … but you do. I think that Trey and Jenn have decided to keep the pool. I am so happy. Of course, we might be helping them buy a salt-water filtering system; and, if not this next year, then in 2019 – we night end up replacing the liner. We’ll make darn sure they get all the rocks out of the sand and level it off better. They’re going to have to take it down anyway. He was trying to sell it; but, nobody wanted to buy a pool that would need a new liner and filtering system. He was hoping that Jenn’s half-brother-in-law would take it in lieu of being paid cash when he borrowed money from him. I told him that ‘borrowing money from a person you are kin to, might sound like a good idea’, but rarely is that true. But, he is paying him payments each month. But, at least he did not come to us.

    Marcelyn - Glad you got your car back. Each time mine has gone to a body shop I’ve been very pleased with the work; but, this man had been ‘in business’ when I was working and referring clients who have been in accidents as one of the 3 body shops we sent clients to. He did not even charge me for the damage caused by ‘someone’ other than me apparently jumped a curb in it. Tried to make sure it wasn’t ‘additional damage’ from my first wreak; but, he and the adjuster came to the conclusion it wasn’t even though I hit two curbs before it was stopped by a metal utility pole.

    Rye – My kitchen is pretty small; but, our house is also a little small. I don’t have enough counter space.

    Will says that when he and Tami either buy and remodel, or build, a house he wants to have cabinet and counter space deep enough so they would have cubby holes to put their small appliances behind them in doors. He is such a minimalist it isn’t even funny. I told Tami, that he is sweeping as soon as we start packing … like being swept out as if we have overstayed our welcome. I think that maybe we need to go at some other time than the week his birthday falls in (31st) of August. Seems like every time we go, he calls with ‘unpleasant’ news the day after we get home.

    I would like to have lights under my counter. Like the ones that are run by batteries and stick to the surface and turn on and off.

    Barbiecat – In this picture the house doesn’t look as bright yellow as it did when you first painted it. It looks softer … but, that might be because of the trim. What kind of flag is hanging on it?

    My DDnL#1 and to some degree; but, not as bad - my DOGD, are trying to lose weight. I think Taylor is now losing; but, Jenn almost looks bigger. But, not saying anything to either about weight. To show you how long it has been since I was around Jenn … her hair was just at chin length, now it is half-way down her neck. They live next door; but, maybe I should not worry about it because I have found that she is one of my ‘stressors’ and I do much better when I don’t have to put up with her ‘whining’ about something – especially her weight. And ‘not able to go on my weight loss program because it costs too much. When I get to the point I am only going every 2 weeks or once a month … I will look for a high protein drink and a high protein candy-type of something to eat at night with my coffee. I’ve been checking them out when I go to the grocery store.

    Michele – I think that was the thing that my boys liked to, about the Clydesdales. I just think they are majestic looking.

    How did the final fitting go? I can remember when Trey got married to Taylor’s mother (she was pregnant – her step-mom had to sew her up in it because it had gotten too tight around her belly and she refused to try it on. I think she had to put a pillowcase to cover the gap; but, with her veil, it did not show. Kim was not, at all, happy to have a step-mom. But, she (step-mom) called and invited Kim’s step-dad to the wedding as a surprise. Never told her she had done so, in the event he wasn’t able to come; but, he did (along with his ‘new’ wife).

    Allie – Just stop doing anything for TomCat … he doesn’t deserve you. Don’t let him get a toe in the door.

    As for your children … they would be paying for a ‘babysitter’ if they did not live right there, just because you are the grandmother does NOT mean that you should use YOUR money in what might be a ‘tight budget’ in order to feed or entertain your granddaughter. IF they get mad, so be it. Once in a while of ‘free babysitting’ is one thing; but, to ‘expect’ you to do it … I’d tell them, ‘Sorry; but, I already have plans, can’t do it’. They’ll learn. I would offer to pick the girls up from school like I did earlier in their school years; but, now that Madison is 16; and, she refuses to drive … I won’t do it. She won’t get in the car with me driving because she and Emilee were in the car when I rolled it over. I can (sort of) understand why she doesn’t want to drive; but, they need to take her driving on dirt road and small county roads. My DDnL#1 made her drive to the grocery store; she couldn’t keep the car in the middle of the lane. I’m pretty sure that Jenn talked the entire time, which made her nervous. Now, Jenn says she needs to take her to the MD to see if he will put her on something that will calm her down. Then she’d have to worry about it making her ‘too sleepy’.

    Mary - Rowan is on my Prayer List … I hope he gets better real soon. He is a handsome little one.

    I still want prayers for Will and Tami (and Mallory) that they can get over their loss and move on. Whatever they decide to do ‘isn’t our business’; but, whatever they decide we will be ‘happy’ for them. Will has his family. Tami brought a child into the family and she loves him and he loves her.

    If they decide they want to go through IVF again, it will mean going all they way back to "Square One" and the shots in the belly, they having the eggs removed, and afterwards, having huge horse needle shots in the butt.

    M in Oz – I agree with your advice of not stopping or either calling for help. One thing is, sometimes people use a flashing light to try to get women to stop. A friend of my Mothers was driving from Athens back to Macon at night alone and a car full of men got right up on her fanny and started flashing their lights; when she sped up, they did, too … if she slowed down, they would. Of course, that was before car phones or cell phones. Finally, they sped around and passed her and she thought she was ‘ok’; then she went around a curve and they were all standing at a bridge in the middle of the road. She slowed down a bit, until one started walking towards her car. She hit the gas and just kept on going. They jumped out of her way, she wasn’t sure; but, might have hit one.

    She stopped when she got to the next town’s Sheriff’s Office and told him what had happened. He agreed that she had done the right thing and she could go on home, he’d go check to make sure that she had not injured anyone. I think if someone jumped in my car, I’d drive it up right next to a pole of a building where they could not get out and get out my door in a busy place and RUN!!!!! I would not ‘wreck’ the car, just make it so I’d have time to run off before he could crawl over and get out of the driver’s side of the door. If he jerked open the door and told me to ‘move over’ … I’d move over and OUT of the door. He wants my car that bad, fine; but, I’m NOT going with him. I’d drive through a store’s door if I had to. Insurance would pay and I’d be ‘safe’ hopefully. Thankfully, I’ve never been in that position in my life before. Hope never to be.
    Taylor is ‘tired’ of school after going full time and summers, too. She is ready to get out. Her Daddy wants her to get as much education as she can so it will give her a larger net to throw out when looking for a job. But, she is already thinking about the student loans she is going to have to pay back … and that is getting the HOPE Scholarship (funded by the GA Lottery). She’s been paying on some of them already; but, I told her to consolidate them when she is finished. The financial advisor would steer her on how to do it.

    Joyce – I agree – Tax write off – businessmen do it ALL the time. No different than sending her to get training. I got sent to San Antonio and we stayed in a private room. My view out my window was The Alamo; and we stayed a week. We either got a ‘per diem’ amount or we could pay and get reimbursed. I almost always too the ‘per diem’.

    Machka9 – Interesting facts about keeping bees. I love the Rainier cherries a lot better than the Bing (red) cherries [but I like them, too].

    Janetr OKC – Louis and I never thought for one minute that we would have retired to the county in SW GA.

    We really expected to retire to the beach, somewhere – either on the GA coast of somewhere in Atlanta – but, probably south of Daytona Beach. I know if I passed away first, Louis would stay right here until he did. But, there are times when I think, I’d pay off the land and house, divide the 2 tracts of land we have and deed them to each son. I’m sure Will would allow me to stay here with only paying the property taxes and/or very low rent. Depending on my age and mobility … I think I would enjoy a gated-over-55-condo somewhere (maybe even on the Panhandle of FL so that I’d then be about an equal distance from each of them. What I would probably hate most would be trying to find MDs and have them agree to take my Medicare and other insurance as full payment on most things. A whole lot of MDs have stopped taking them, other than for those patients who have been ‘grandfathered’ in. But, some in town have stopped taking Medicare because they don’t pay much. I had to keep my insurance from my job because Louis did not have insurance and mainly because of the costs of my medication I have to take. I hope all that is so far into the future that I don’t have to worry about it.

    My BF rents a condo in a nice place that ‘if’ you did not know someone there, you probably would never know it was there. But, she is having a leak that runs down her wall in the living room (high ceilings) and apparently the owner isn’t going to replace the roof (or the owners of the entire condo place aren’t going to do any more than try to patch it. Her condo is just the right size for her. Kitchen is ‘small’; but, it has hook-ups for her washer and dryer. It seems to have good storage throughout, dining area off the living room, 2 bedrooms upstairs, and a bath-and-a-1/2 and a little area off the living room at the front for an office with a real brick floor. I would not want the stairs. They are very narrow, I’ve come close to busting my @$$ going up and down. The small step up to the office can be tricky ‘if’ you don’t know it is higher. She has a buckled up walkway and I told her she needed to get some cement mix and make it a ramp before someone fell over it. All she’d need is a small bag of mix. She knows it, she’s tripped on it before; but, she hasn’t done anything about it.

    The ornament is absolutely beautiful. You could probably sell them for a lot more than what you have in them. Find a little ‘art show’ where you can rent a small booth (or tent). Set them up, take orders, and make sure you also have pictures of all you have so if someone comes by and like one in a picture, they can commission you to make them one. Get some business cards made up (you can even do that on your computer several to a page and take them to a copy place and have them cut them apart. Make them ‘bright’ so they don’t get lost in the shuffle that happens sometimes in our lives. Good Luck!!!!!
    I have a Styrofoam tree about 18” … maybe a little taller that my Mother made into a Christmas tree. She drew a line from the top to the bottom and laid the line down on the edge of the material (some sort of felt) and decorated it. I think it was the first Christmas in the ‘big’ house. She let me help her – I was only about 4-years-old.

    Lenora
  • Allie – I think all of us are proud that you got out of a loveless marriage and moved on (and up). Don’t let anyone ‘rain on your parade; keep one foot always moving in front of the other. Now, it sounds like you can get on and over this and hopefully TomCat will pay whatever his portion of the assets are and hopefully he has not be systematically disposing of them. It’d be nice for it to be over by the end of the year and you could start off with a BANG for the New Year. Get involved with the other residents of the condo and get involved in what they have going on. Just keep your ‘heart’ close to your hand and don’t give my hand to someone you don’t know well and trust. Please don’t go back to TomCat … he isn’t going to change. All he wants you to do is ‘do for him’ … if I wasn’t living with him, he’d become a ‘stranger’ real quickly. You don’t have children together so you don’t have to show up at event they or your grandchildren are involved in.

    Sorry you did not get to sleep last night and think it is a UTI or bladder infection. If you can’t get to the MD in a few days, there is a product you can buy OTC and it will give you some relief. It has 3 letters to the name and I know it starts with an “A”; but, your pharmacist would know what it is and where it is located. That and a ‘lot’ of cranberry juice, too. I don’t think it has to be ‘straight-up’ cranberry juice. Then there is pomegranate juice which I hear is also good for washing the bacteria out of your system, too. Remember to drink a LOT of water, too. I don’t have them nearly as often as I did before I started drinking water.

    I could not take my flu shot last week because I had the ‘crud’; but it did not last long. I will take it out. Whatever happened to me Saturday also through a curve ball. I did get out of Federal Jury Duty – YEAH! Having had been employed in the Judicial branch and being disabled/retired got my name of that list – probably permanently after I sent in my questionnaire. Go to MD to have a test to see where my BSL has been since they tested it a couple of weeks ago. Showed that I was ‘pre-diabetic’ and my Cholesterol levels aren’t coming down. Surprised me since I have lost 40lbs. I expected the cholesterol level to come down (not up) and was surprised that I tested ‘pre-diabetic’.

    Sharon – Not sure this is ‘true’ about children or not; but, as a Paralegal and doing divorce work, it seems like when a divorcing couple starts out having problems … well-meaning friends AND family get involved in something that really is the business of the 2 people involved. While it might be easier to ‘see something that isn’t right’ … like in Allie’s position … when a man and a woman are dealing with a son or daughter going through a divorce – quite often they get that child’s side with the story always slanted to make him/her ‘look good’ … but not necessarily the real story … and a story between 2 people have, at least 2 sides to it. When it comes to ‘friends’ … that is when a couple needs to stay ‘out of the fray’. It only brings more light to a shaky situation. When you hear your child [or even in-law or friend’s] side of the story it is normal to come home an ‘dump’ the information and we used to tell couples that unless they were ‘in therapy’ they really did not need to discuss their issues with friends and family. They are already going through a lot of ‘grief’ and they will have to ‘learn’ to get through it, in order to be able to ‘move on’.

    My DDnL#1 is ‘always’ trying to tell her friends how to handle their fights and/or money woes to her friends and family. I had told her that, which only makes people ‘angry’ and that was one reason that people get and something stay mad at another person. Because they have gotten all up in their business without being asked to. As for our 1st DnL (Taylor’s mom) she was ‘running with a group of girls that were divorced or in the process of getting one’. It seems to become ‘contagious’ when they keep hearing about ‘all the fun they are having with no responsibilities to tie them down’. But, for most – one responsibility they don’t bargain on are the child[ren] involved. I will never recommend a couple to ‘stay together’ for the sake of the child[ren] … because ‘Children Learn What They Live’. If you can’t ‘live with each other’; and, you would be ‘better off alone’ … then the children will learn how to deal with that. There are a lot of couples that can’t live with one another; but, they can be friends … at some point (for the sake of the child[ren]. Breaking apart is more painful than getting ‘used’ to the ‘quirks’ of another that brought a couple together. Sometimes you have to ‘get outside help’; but, it should be ‘with one another’. Both partners have to ‘change’ because both of them ‘allowed’ the issues to go ‘unchecked’. It is rare that Louis and I go to sleep without getting over “HOW we fought’. It isn’t an apology for whatever we were arguing about … it is just something that gives each of us a way to reassess whatever it was we were arguing about. One of us started the argument and the other (maybe because they weren’t feel well) JUMPED … it’s important to always keep the lines of communication open. Sometime ‘repeating’ what the other has said and ask, ‘did you mean for this to sound like … whatever’? Quite often you don’t … you had heard all you could stomach and a spouse is the nearest thing to lash out to. For instance … Louis and Trey work together all day. Whenever Jenn calls or texts Trey, it might be something ‘stupid’ and/or ‘irritating’ … in turn he ‘*kitten*’ about it to his Dad, who doesn’t say what he’d ‘like’ to say; but, then he comes home tired, hot, and irritated and he comes inside in a file mood. If I took what he said as he comes in at 5:00 – 6:00pm … we’d probably be ‘divorced’. I let him ‘vent’, let him go wash his brushes (alone), and take a shower. I don’t ask about his day; because I already know it did not go well, for some reason. By the time he takes his shower and mixes a drink, on occasion, he is ready to calmly tell me about his day and what he wished he had said. Most of it is the issues that Trey and Jenn have between them … we really do NOT care (to hear them). They have to settle their own arguments (without our interference). To try to ‘fix’ it only means you might be the one who ‘enables’ that party to get away with what they are doing – or not. Family members do not ‘forget’ the argument and the couple kiss and make up. Then the family member (or friend) brings it up over and over. “That’s when the fight starts … AGAIN.” Yes, divorce can be ‘catching’. If you are friends as a couple, it is difficult to not take sides. You’d be better off backing away and letting the chips fall where they may. This is IMHO.

    Wendy – You look happy and quite satisfied with your relationships. I’ve been married to the same man for 45 years. Sure, there are days I want to strangle him, bury him up to his nose, hold a pillowcase over his head and drive him somewhere and tell him to ‘get out’. Like discarding a kitten; but, I don’t do it. Sometimes I slam cabinet doors. He made sure that the doors (regular ones) are not possible to slam. It takes both hands to slam a door in the house and I don’t dare because 3 of them have deer mounts over them. I remember slamming the back door only to have one of his big bass fall off the wall. I think it is a good thing that I am an ‘artist’. I glued the fins back on and took some gel and filled in the parts that cracked off and repainted them. Never noticed it; but, I did later tell him about it. He laughed about it. It wasn’t important enough to argue about. I slammed our bedroom door once (with both hands) and when I finally calmed down and came out; some pointed up to the deer and said, “OOOoooooo, Daddy would have had a conniption fit if the deer had fallen off the wall and broken its rack.” It was at a 2:00 position. I looked up and turned around and told him, ‘well, don’t care at this point’. And I didn’t. He got up and straightened it.

    Allie – You’re right “Never say Never” – TomCat is seeing his ‘mistake’; but, now it is just ‘too late’ … when there is ‘no trust’ … it becomes impossible to live with it. IF you did, he would continue ‘catting around’. Like “Tiger” Woods became a “Cheeter” … his spots did not change because they were skin deep … his first wife put up with a lot, for her children AND THE MONEY. Every single relationship he has had since and it has broken up … it is because he continues that bad habit. Notice that ‘so far’ he has NOT remarried. Mainly because his first wife ‘hit him where it hurt him most’ … in the pocketbook. He also dates a lot of women who favor her a lot – maybe that becomes his ‘excuse’ for breaking up in the first place. My question is, “If a married man cheats on his wife with you; how can you expect him to NOT cheat on you?” He’ll probably continue cheating and cheating and cheating.

    Lisa – Some men just do not want to be ‘alone’. My oldest son is an example of that. Louis’ 2nd marriage was a marriage between 2 people who had gotten tired of ‘living alone’ … it did not last 3 years. But, with me? We both fell head-over-hills with one another and we are still ‘in love’. We argue, we fight, we give the other the ‘silent treatment’ but both of us have awoke the other up to say, “I’m sorry … I did not fight fair with you.” Not that either of us are saying we were wrong in the argument … we just did not ‘listen’ to the other.

    Mary – You are ‘fraught’ with babies. That is meant in a ‘good’ way … like being ‘filled with’.

    Katla – Only ONE (2 if you count his wife) want the road paved. I have, apparently, been nominated as the “Mayor of the Road”. All but me, my DDnL#1, and DOGD have cars; the rest are trucks which have a much wide wheel-base. I typed out a letter a few weeks ago, asking everybody to NOT ride in the ruts as it made it almost impossible for those of us with cars to get through. Asking them to move over just a little bit every time they came up and down the road. It’s worked. I also stopped when I saw the “Road Crew Chief” telling him that I had come down the road and passed the grader who had his blade facing out. He came down and we ‘discussed’ some of the problems we were having on the road and why. Surprisingly, he agreed with me. We now have a perfectly graded road and ditches where they need to be; and, they filled in and packed the wallowed out spot at the beginning of the turn-in. Yes, I don’t mind calling my county commissioner and now I have this man’s number. I’m glad I did not say anything about the secretary in that office … as it turns out, she is his wife. God held his arm around my shoulder and his hand over my mouth. I knew why I was being so calm talking to him.

    Next time they blade the road, they are going to knock down the small cliff they have caused in front of our house for 17 years of grading it 3x a month. We won’t have grass for a while; but, Louis will be able to mow it without leaving grass grown up at the edge of the road. We allow our next door neighbors to come up and down our ‘fire break’ when the road becomes impossible for them to get up the hill. On GPS, it shows up as the ‘quickest’ way to get from Hwy #49 to Hwy #82/52-something. That is why I don’t want it paved. But, it will never happen so long as the majority of it doesn’t have houses on them. Way too expensive.

    Yvonne – I grew up in a house that was a Civil War Clinic. It had the lathe walls with ‘horsehair’ plaster. When we were going to move in; Daddy had the front stairwell walls taken down. They were beautiful and had big round mahogany balls at the top of the newel posts. Same ones that went across the front on the wrap-around porch (top & bottom). He had someone make enough to fill in and also had enough left over in case one broke. The back stairwell way my ‘art gallery’ where I got to hang all my drawings from school. I was ‘in charge’ of where they were hung. In fact the outside of the house had what is called ‘double shiplap siding … sort of an “S” shape – if I had to describe it (or a sideways little ‘h’. I just hated that it ended up being torn down. I did get about a 15’ long piece of the floorboard (which was about 12” wide) and Louis cut it into 3 pieces and I made a coat rack out of it and gave my 2 sisters one each. They love them. Haven’t made mine yet. I’ve been looking for the brass door handles it had in it. One of my HS friends and her husband were commissioned to do the abatement of asbestos out of it and were ‘supposed’ to retain the salvage. Beautiful mantles in the living room and dining room, wide floorboard and crown. They had already ‘sold’ some of that to the people who owned a home around the corner that was built during the same period. Then the church who actually owned the block told people that ‘if they wanted anything out of it, they could go get it ASAP’. Ann and Jack were out of town; but, the warning signs had been put up. They took chains saws to all the windows and doors and mantles (trying to see if they had coal grates in them. They didn’t because that is one of the things my Dad was looking for and to try to see if any of the 6 fireplaces in it were safe to operate. The living room had a cast iron carved – or molded covers on them … the one that someone had taken off, I wanted; but, she told me that someone probably wanted it and got interrupted after they unscrewed it. Would not have fit our FP and way too heavy to hang on a wall. The glass in the windows was that wavy glass that costs about $100 a square foot. I think that was just several reasons they got so angry about it. They did not find the unfinished section of the floor boards because the closet was hidden in the bead board. I would have like getting the bead board in the bathroom; but, she said when they started taking it down, each and every piece was nailed in and they could not get it down without breaking it up.

    I love the Pecky Cypress wood we have. But it is rare (here) and expensive. I remember watching “Fixer Upper’ and wanted to ‘cry when they took some down in a MBR by breaking it down when they pulled it down’. I felt like Chip (the carpenter that makes some of her tables and headboards … might have known its value and he could have planed [sp?] off the paint. We had to look around for a while to find it. Will’s bosses have it in their houses out on the land. Ours is stained to have a brownish tone; they have stained theirs gray (the color it would turn if left out in the elements.

    Lanette – I need to get some Murphey’s oil soap and do some deep cleaning as I ‘purge’. I know I have dust in the crevices of some of my furniture and a duster just doesn’t get them.

    I had a maid who I shared with my boss’s wife, she was a former client. But, Lordy Mercy she could talk the balls off a brass bull. She loved the boys … she’d give them ‘little hints’ on how to act. She’d stay at our homes until we came home; even if we had paid her ‘up front’. She did not think the boys needed to be in the house alone. I’m sure she was the same way about boss’s son. She also did NOT like my oldest son’s first wife (especially when she found out she was pregnant). Even her Dad told Trey not to marry her – she was trouble with a capital “T”, and probably not just the “T”; but the O-U-B-L-E as well. They fought ALL the time. But, as soon as she walked into the house her ‘good cop, bad cop’ demeanor kicked in and syrup would be dripping from the sides of her mouth.

    Becca – It takes a while to get your strength back after having pneumonia (or ‘walking’ pneumonia) – when you feel like $#*T warmed over – but don’t want to stop and give into it, or can’t.

    I’m back in my boot because I broke my big toe when a heavy glass beer mug fell off the counter on to my big toe. I saw stars and so much blood I was surprised it had not been a head wound.
    You’re so ‘crazy’! And we all ‘love it’.


    Lenora

    This should add up a few more pages ...
  • barbiecat
    barbiecat Posts: 17,198 Member
    edited September 2017
    t31211.gif Kim, I already owned some five pound dumbbells so I started with them. Two good places to look for adjustable ankle weights are Big Five Sporting Goods or Amazon. Much later I bought heavier weights. I didn't try to buy everything at once. If you buy ankle weights first, you can hold them in your hands instead of dumbbells until you can buy dumbbells.

    :) the gate between my house and garage opens into a breezeway. Our house is a manufactured home with a garage built next to it. The front and back doors are painted the same rusty red as the gate. The flag is for the Seattle Mariners. Jake is a big baseball fan.

    :) We are home safely from our visit to the doctor to see about Jake's back. It was a long day but very pleasant. The drive over was great thanks to Google Maps and Jake's excellent driving. We got there early because there were no "events" on the road to slow things down. We found the great cafeteria in the building across the street from where we went for Jake's appointment. We had a great lunch---stir fry veggies and brown rice for me, shrimp curry, brown rice, and shrimp soup for Jake. At the appointment, Jake answered lots of questions and had an x-ray. The x-ray showed that all was well from his last surgery but what's going on now will have a CT myelogram that will be done soon. He can't have an MRI because of his implanted defibrillator/pacemaker.

    :)Mary, glad baby Rowan is coming home.

    :)Heather, I am on the library waiting list for Gretchen Rubin's new book. I am definitely an Upholder

    :)Sharon, I took Gabapentin for a year and the only side affect I had was that I slept better. Sorry to hear that your husband is being so resistant to seeing his part in what's going on in your marriage.

    <3 Barbie from beautiful super warm NW Washington
  • fanncy0626
    fanncy0626 Posts: 7,152 Member
    Barbie - I'm glad that everything went well for you and Jake today! Sounds like you had a great lunch!
  • barbiecat
    barbiecat Posts: 17,198 Member
    I want to join!!! Are you setting goals for October? I am 50, I live in Thailand, and I am a Zumba instructor. I would like to lose 20 lbs.

    Wendybirdgirl

    :) Hi Wendy, I hope you'll keep coming back. We restart this thread for each new month to give us the feel of making a fresh start or having a clean slate. Some of us set new goals each month. Some set the same goals every month. Some set no goals at all. The most important thing is that we check in regularly with each other and provide support and encouragement. Some of the encouragement is about weight loss,healthy eating, and fitness and sometimes it's about personal life struggles. They are all connected. Line dance and dog walking are my passion.

    1056287i3zmwzup2m.gif Barbie from beautiful NW Washington
  • jmkmomm
    jmkmomm Posts: 3,247 Member
    .
  • pipcd34
    pipcd34 Posts: 17,261 Member
    stats for the day:

    bike ride hm 2 new gym- 7.52min, 138mhr, 11.3amph. 1.4mi= 71c
    apple watch- 58c
    *manual* TREADMILL jog- 35min, 149mhr, 141ahr, 14.53min mi, 2.35 = 400c
    apple watch- 412c
    bike ride gym 2 dome- 5.32min, 15.5amph, 124mhr, 1.4mi= 62c
    appple watch- 49c
    ride bike puy 2 sumn sta- 15.15min, 152mhr, 11.9amph, 3mi= 159c
    apple watch- 122c
    jog sta 2 wk- 5.02min, 146mhr, 9.33min mi, .5mi= 62c
    apple watch- 57c
    jog wk 2 sta- 5min est, 10min mi est, .5mi = 71c
    apple watch- 55c
    ride dome 2 hm- 17.21min, 8.3eamph, 2.3mi = 183c
    apple watch- 138c

    total cal 1008
  • pipcd34
    pipcd34 Posts: 17,261 Member
    grits - war and peace?
  • exermom
    exermom Posts: 6,526 Member
    For some reason the Prevention DVD didn't work in my laptop. It worked at home. Anyway, I used an extreme strength and instead of the barbell I just used free weights. The plan for tomorrow is to go to the deep water class.

    After exercising, I'll probably stop at the Salvation Army then come home. A friend and I are going to go to the new Lidl's to check it out.

    DJ - that second place for the Christmas Party sounds really good. Hope the price and food meets your needs, I'd go with them if they come in for you. Update: so sorry that one place didn't work out

    Mary - my heart goes out to Rowan and his entire family. Update: yea Rowan is going home!! So glad to hear the move is doing better for you. Something will come along for dh....good things are worth waiting for.

    janetr - no, I agree, you can't MAKE someone lose weight. It has to be that they want to do it. Bryan was severly overweight in high school. It wasn't until he was in college and WANTED to lose the weight, that it came off. I'm just thinking that maybe Jess doesn't know (like to keep something in her pocketbook so that she doesn't get starving hungry). What imperfection was on your lovely ornament????

    Wendy - do you put something under your trees so that the weeds hopefully don't grow and to make mowing the grass easier? What do you use, mulch or plants? Love your kitties. We have 4. How many do you have?

    Sharon - I'm sorry you're going thru this. Come here any time at all and just get things off your chest. It feels so good and many times you can see things more clearly or someone has a great idea.

    Lanette - you can come clean my house any time at all. You have such good tips. Vince says that he'd get me a maid only if I couldn't do it myself because he knows me and he knows I'd clean before she got here because I wouldn't want her to see the house a mess and then I'd clean after she left because she didn't do it my way

    Lenora - the final dress fitting went well, thanks for asking. Surprisingly, there wasn't any drama between Jess and Denise. Jess, to me, was very mature and asking real good questions. Denise is in her "bridzilla" mode.

    Welcome Brady!!!

    Terry in VT - so sorry the infection is worse. WTG on those jeans! And you are so right, it really doesn't matter if anyone notices or not.

    barbie - your lunch sounds amazing. Glad you found a good place to eat. Glad to hear all is well with Jake

    Wendy - welcome!

    Michele back in NC for now
  • janetr7476
    janetr7476 Posts: 4,001 Member
    edited September 2017
    Lenora, Thanks, wow quite a business plan you presented there. I'm not lookIng for full-time work. Lol. Nor would I ever take orders for what people want. I make what I like and enjoy making. Sometimes they are such a PITB I would not make two of them. I'm doing this for fun. I'll probably never sell any of them, if I ever do, it will be on a "here is what I have to choose from" basis... take it or leave it :)

    Janetr OKC
  • janetr7476
    janetr7476 Posts: 4,001 Member
    Michele fhe rhinestones on the upper left side along the red beads are not straight and the pearl tear drop bead on the right side is higher than the one on the left. I did fix it this morning. Lol

    Thanks for your kind words.

    Janetr okc
  • janetr7476
    janetr7476 Posts: 4,001 Member
    Lanette not sure I can pronounce Russian Aristocracy, but it sure sounds GRAND!! lol

    Thank you for the kind words.

    Janetr okc
  • janetr7476
    janetr7476 Posts: 4,001 Member
    edited September 2017
    To all our friends who have made kind comments, I truly thank you and thanks for putting up with my continual posting of them. I know the pics take up a lot of space.

    Janetr okc

  • Marcelynh
    Marcelynh Posts: 974 Member
    Marcelyn - Do you know how to cook prairie oysters?
    We called them Rocky Mountain Oysters. Yes, I do but I never acquired the taste for them. Too blood rich for me. AND... after you've spent a day getting them, watching them dump over in the manure, fighting the cats for them they aren't all that appealing... yet we would have town folks always call and ask us to save some for them.

    Three-hour drive to Carlsbad this morning for about four hours of meetings, then over to Hobbs
    We lived in Lovington for 7 years. If you asked my three oldest kids that is where they would claim they are "from."

    Peach1948 wrote: »
    I wanted to put porcelain tile in the kitchen but DH says that if the Pom pees on it, we will never get the odor out. Do any of you have any input on this?
    I've had porcelain tile in kitchen and bathrooms both. Never had a problem with odors from various things, potty training kids, cats, or dogs.... If you have it installed with epoxy grout it is waterproof. The epoxy grout makes it just like a solid surface, sheds water, doesn't absorb water or spills like regular sanded grout. Consider that. We have porcelain tile with epoxy grout for a counter-top in our guest house as we couldn't afford granite and wanted a solid surface. Looks great and works great. I also have it in my bathrooms.
    I am a Romantic with a capital R. I love to imagine and I like everything to be beautiful. My husband doesn't have a romantic bone in his body.
    Just the opposite for my husband and I. Every birthday, Christmas, valentines, or just random day he will give me flowers or write a love note, he buys terribly romantic cards..... and I give him a joke card. lol It just seems totally wrong to get something mushy. It is SO not me.

    Nothing personal to report here, just catching up with everyone else,
    Marcelyn
    in Houston

  • Katla49
    Katla49 Posts: 10,385 Member
    Allie: Congratulations on all that you've accomplished! :flowerforyou:

    Terry in VT: My daughter did open an account in MFP a few years ago but she has not been active as far as I know. :ohwell:

    Mary: Good news about Rowan! I hope little Brady has an easy birth. :smiley:

    Kim: I was all set to offer a bunch of advice, but I like what Barbie has to say much better than my original ideas. I remember that you had a dog. Dog walking is great for the mind, body and soul. (((HUGS)))

    Barbie: I'm glad your trip to Jake's doctor for medical advice turned out to be pleasant. The xray showing that all is well following his previous surgery is great news. :bigsmile:

    Wendybirdgirl: Welcome. Many of us set goals at the beginning of each month. I found the ones that fit me best and I typically set the same ones every month. October is coming right up. Barbie will give us a new thread for October 1, and she puts a link on the current thread so it is easy to find the new one. My first step will be to report on how well I did with this month's goals and list my new(old) goals for next month. :smiley:



    I went out and rode Arrow for a while today and did not enjoy myself. :ohwell: I got my big toe smashed under his hoof while I was grooming and saddling him and then he was a lazy pill for the ride. The toe is bruised but not broken and doesn't hurt at the moment. I put DMSO on it, and that was very helpful at reducing pain and swelling. I've had the DMSO since the 1970's and don't know where I'll find more when I run out.

    Katla in beautiful NW Oregon

    "Normally I'm quite normal . . ." The Gods Must be Crazy

  • wildhorsewendy
    wildhorsewendy Posts: 563 Member
    Good luck RYE. Knock'em dead. And try to get some sleep tonight, lol. (I wouldn't)

    Michelle I am always trying to mulch under everything with weedmat, old feedsacks, carpet, underlay and whatever I can get my hands on, to cut down on weeding time. I have put bark, leaves and "shellrock" on top whenever I can. (Not sure if you'll know what shellrock is and not sure if it has a different name in USA, but it is sandy stuff we pick up by the trailer load from the local quarry.) I have 9 cats. Several of them are ones the kids dumped here when they decided not to look after them anymore. Same with some of the dogs and horses! But I love each one: Sammy, Thomas, Tiffany, Ming, FunnyFace, Duchess, Prince William,Fatty and Mooneye Magic Tiger. Tiffany is a blue point Himalayan and Magic is a red cream chinchilla. They are the parents of Ming (a silver chinchilla) Funnyface and William. Ming is the mother of Duchess. I am a failed cat breeder as I found it too difficult to sell my beautiful babies. So I kept my favourites and got everybody fixed and I don't breed anymore, even though I had lots of people who wanted the silver chinchillas...

    Marcelyn I am jealous! I have to buy all my own birthday and Christmas and anniversary presents, otherwise I would get nothing. On the flip side, usually they are warm furry things. LOL. My animals give me a lot of love and attention. Without them I know I would feel terribly lonely over here where I don't have any of my own family close. My friends have furr and hooves and feathers...yes, I don't eat chicken because my little flock are such lovely pets...but I do eat eggs. LOL

    Welcome Wendybird! How did you end up in Thailand?

    <3 Wendy

    PS. My gym workout was just what I needed. Walking on air afterwards...
  • jmkmomm
    jmkmomm Posts: 3,247 Member
    Wendy, I have often looked at Mozart and wondered if he is really a medium hair or long hai cat. And en I look at yours and know mine is truly a medium hair and I am glad. It is hard enough grooming mine.mi can't imagine what it would be like to groom all your. But they are truly beautiful cats. Now your picture in your garden with the horse, flowers in your hair, etc. if you look carefully I a, sure here is a horb on that horse and he is truly a unicorn and you are in a magic garden and you are the fairy. Your other horse is equally as lovely.

    Allie, so glad you are progressing in moving. You mentioned your reality lady.mcould she motion some people to hel you.mi would think a good realtor would want a happy sustomer form the sale all the way to the moving into. You are moving into somewhere I would want to be.mbut nwould have to have my cats.

    Mary, two grand babies in one week! I hope they grow up to be good cousins together. I am sure we will enjoy being good grandmas to them.

    Well my baby girl is back home with her bosses 'new' truck. As far as driving it,M the one she test drove in Florida was wonderful but had many issues. The one she drove home was heavy riding but so is riding around in a mine so his newest melodeon will get the roughest truck. This guy is his wife's nephew and I am sure he will be the hardest on him than any of the other guys. He wants a total of about 9 miners and he now has 3. Anyone know experience miners who would relocate to the West Virginsia area. Of course he has to purchase another mine. I am learning a lot from her experiences. I knew what an auger is from watching some of the shows on HGTV? But I guess an auger for a mine is a completely different animal!

    Michelle isn't feeling well at all. She thinks it is because she had been a long term Tramodol use for her chronic back pain and is off of it for now because of the Narco and thinks she is having withdrawal from he Tramadol" so she just isn't happy at all. With e wonderful weather we having right now. Told her she needs to go outside on her porch swing and enjoy the day and sunshine. When she bought the house, this wonderful little blue painted brick screened in porch with a porch swing was such a selling point. Well her big dogs have torn the screens off the sides, paint is so rough in all places and it isn't a happy place. But as Wendy said, you can choos t be happy in an unhappy environment. I wish I could explain that to my husband.

    That is exactly my philosophy. There is much unhappiness I the world today and not just with politics and the NFL and what ever else. Unhappiness within family situations. But I choose to be happy inspire of the environment. He says I don't see it. Yes I do and it saddens me greatly. But I a, still a happy person because I choose to be. He says he can't make that choice because the world has made the choice for him. That's a lot of control he has given away.

    Janet, you go ahead and be 'imperfect' we love it!

    Went to the funeral today. During the fellowship meal we had afterwards, one of e guys I was sitting with said he did the sound for another minister that pretty much wrote his own funeral just like this guy did. But this other guy not only wrote it, he spoke it. And when he was taping it at his own home, the church nearby had their hourly chimes going. So during this funeral, the pastor stops and Jack hits the play button and here come the voice of this dead minister speaking and beatific chimes going on. He even sang for his own funeral. This was a 20 minute addition he did for his own funeral. After the dinner, I asked my preacher if he felt any better but he said no because another member had just been transferred to ICU. A preachers job is never done

    When Dad had his church in Gary Indiana, he had a rough time. There were drug dealers that actually talked to Dad, Mom's would call Dad and ask him to get their sons out a tavern when they were so drunk they couldn't drive. At one point, he was having FBI protection becaus of how Dad was working with some of the drug dealers. Dad was actually kicks out of his church there because of his relationship with some oth the guys he associated with. One of the drug addicts came to church one day and that was it for he members, we were out! Didn't want any sinners in the church, oh no! Luckily Dad was able to find a church in a small southern Illlinois town although Dad knew it was just a temporary job. He knew it was just to put food on the table since he was fired. I could write a book about my life as a preacher's kid. Mostly I enjoyed it. You get to meet a lot of different people and learn who to trust. You learn a lot of people who are even deacons or ministers are bad people. So you have to learn forgiveness

    Joyce, Indiana
  • spikeyhair
    spikeyhair Posts: 2,078 Member
    Kate UK <3
  • klanders30
    klanders30 Posts: 2,569 Member
    Rye good luck, deep breaths, keep those ducks quacking!

    busy, busy school days for me, filled with kids learning and growing, ah September, a month filled with promises and fresh determination!

    Went to an afterwork social gathering, (proud of me) and handled conversations pretty well. I was blindsided when a retired colleague was there (hey nobody warned me ahead of time, if they had I probably wouldnot have been there). Let's just say we rarely met eye to eye and things ended badly between us....but armed with a glass of red wine I took the high road, made small talk for the appropriate length of time, geez I must be growing up ;) Anyway, i only had a glass of wine, no apps then went out with a great friend for sushi, dumplings and shrimp tempura, way over calories but I was counting blessings, not calories as I like to say sooooo today I am back on the wagon.

    I'm looking forward to a clean slate of a new month to re-establish some goals towards a calm approach to life so I can handle the triggers that make me overeat at night!

    Loving all the pics, babies, gardens, artistic endeavors and travels <3

    NYKAREN
  • spikeyhair
    spikeyhair Posts: 2,078 Member
    Easing back to exercise
    30 min Leslie Sansone vid with handweights
    10 KB swings with 6kg KB
    10 Squats
    Walked up and down stairs 5 times carrying the KB (not sure who suggested carrying the bucket but great idea)

    Kate UK <3
  • mikesmom1983
    mikesmom1983 Posts: 582 Member
    GodMomKim wrote: »
    Hi Gals,

    So I just did a disheartening thing – or maybe a motivating thing… I have not needed to dress up in at least 20 years… business casual has been enough; but I may need to wear something more “cocktail” dress for an event at Christmas, - not really my cup of tea – but I got in the back of my closet and pulled out the 2 things I have; the good thing they both are in fine shape and would be ok – the bad thing neither fits… one will take a good long bit of work, the other 5-10 lbs should do it. Which is doable in 2 months + BUT I’ve not been able to figure out how to up my exercise. The two things that stand in my way are money and time….. I live in a crazy expensive part of the country and a “cheap” gym just opened and it is only $55 a month plus $1k annual fee… Not so cheap. The closest Y with a gym is 55 min each way drive away (although free). So I really need to be able to do this on my own.

    My legs and arms are in pretty good shape, but my core is in Plump shape - LOL

    What I do now is walk the dog 2.5-3 miles a day and garden, I garden about 3 hours 5 days a week, but it is really random, some days are heavy lifting, others not much at all, today I trimmed lavender for 3 hours. Better than 3 hours on the couch but not as much of a burn as the day I moved 60 lb bricks for 3 hours. And on Wednesdays I take a 1 hour yoga class – I LOVE this but it is only offered one day a week at our senior center ($4 a class) everywhere else it is $20 a class…

    I got (thanks Barbie!) the Strong Women Stay Young book, but got overwhelmed at how to figure out what weight weights to get and how to do it on a major financial shoestring… and being honest… I only read about 1/3 of the book and decided it was outside of my league from just a finance side. So any hints on how to figure out what weight weights you need? Or where to look for such a thing? I honestly have no idea where to buy weights… It’s all outside of my sphere of knowledge. And I am a big bit afraid I’ll hurt myself if I do try to any weight work, but it seems that it would be the least time commitment.

    So I have about $50 saved for something - maybe weights are not the answer, any other suggestions?

    Smiles

    Kim from N. California

    Kim, try kettlebells, very little financial investment and great workout. Plenty of utube videos and you only need about 10-20 minutes. Helped me tremendously. Ask Mary, formally from MN, she's the swinging queen. I have little money and time also.

    Chris in MA who has been swinging