Daily Chats and Encouragements
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Just letting everyone know that I am stalking the group! Sorry that I haven't been active, but life just gets in the way sometime. All is well. We are getting ready to take a little trip (Sunday evening - Tuesday am at my Mom's and Tuesday afternoon until Friday am in Branson). I didn't want to be there during the Labor Day weekend mess! We are hoping to go to the gospel music festival at Silver Dollar City on Wednesday or Thursday...maybe even both. It is really hard traveling with Bill to somewhere like that, so we will be doing a lot of resting in the hotel room, too. I am trying to think of a place where we could just drive and enjoy without having to get out of the car and be active. While typing this, Colorado comes to mind....hmmm. Fall in the mountains is beautiful!1
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Good to see you Connie....enjoy your time away, even with the work involved. Hugs and prayers for a blessed time...
I still catch myself thinking/saying..."Mama would have loved that"...when I see, think or hear certain things.....and she's been gone 9.5 years....so make memories while you can.
I had a wild day yesterday....I think I got up around midnight, poked around, had a nap, had lunch...and was whipped...laid back down at Noon and didn't get up again until 9:15 PM...ACK I was like in a coma. My nights used to be solid like that. I need to work on getting back on a normal pattern.
My shoulder has really been hurting me a lot...the one I injured in my fall in February of '21. Then my right knee....
Kim, I found this that relates to your thumb and my ring finger...now we need a gentle fix.
Trigger finger is a condition that causes pain, stiffness, and a sensation of locking or catching when you bend and straighten your finger. The condition is also known as “stenosing tenosynovitis.” The ring finger and thumb are most often affected by trigger finger, but it can occur in the other fingers, as well.
It doesn't say why or how it starts but I'm sure other articles/blurbs do.
I woke up before 3 AM....got up at 3:40. I'll see what I can get out of me today and try to stay alert/awake and more active. Yesterday felt a bit like a coma...0 -
So true. The husband/wife relationship has to come before the parent/child relationship - when the kids are gone you still have to be loving each other and if you ignore that relationship while you are raising your children, you aren't going to have much left when they do go away!
Gained one pound, but that is probably water. Lord willing it will go away quickly.
Spending quite a bit of time on the computer editing blog posts, color coding Bible, copying our songs onto the computer and making the print larger so we older ladies can see the words! LOL! I worked on transposing sermon notes this morning.
Took off my thumb splint while on the computer this morning. Thumb was hurting quite a bit earlier, but right now it's doing fine. That's how it's been going - hurt bad/feel fine/hurt bad... I'm going to put the splint back on and just give it time to heal or rest or do whatever it needs to do. If it's arthritis not much I can do.0 -
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You need to be like me, Bren, and have a brace for every part of your body! I have an ankle brace, a knee brace, a back brace, a thigh brace and I just ordered a thumb brace! LOL! Wow, great information! I will look that up. Yesterday when I took the brace off I couldn't bend my thumb without having a lot of pain. Not even 10 minutes later I was bending it just fine! I can be find for a couple hours then I can't bend it again! Just strange. I'm sure they have finger braces too! LOL!
Y'all have an awesome day. Will probably head into town in a bit. Love ya0 -
Sorry to hear of the problems you are all having - braces are nice to have but even better is not to have the problem - I always wonder why different part of our bodies give up on working properly - is it the food, the water, the air, lack of exercise - seems like there must be a reason for things to stop working properly. I personally think in general people are eating to much 'junk' or processed foods and that is why we have so many problems.
When I turned my food around 3 months ago, though I did get kidney stones, I generally am doing so much better. My weight, my blood work all shows that I am on the right track. Saw my doctor just a couple of days ago and though some of my blood work is concerning due to my kidneys going south (they are getting better though) there has been a sign that the changes I am making re eating has improved my diabetes. My A1C back in June was at 6.5 and on the the 19th of this month is it now 5.1 = doctor discussed this with me and said is it partly because I am now on a once a week shot for the diabetes - and the shot also work on appetite control making me feel full sooner. And then he asked me what I had changed re my food. I told him 'I don't eat any animal protein, I don't eat any dairy products, I don't have salt, sugar and flour is limited as it is an additive that causes cravings and I don't use any oil. I started this on May 8 and on August 23 I have lost 15.9 pounds - that is 15.9 pounds in 3 months and I think that is pretty good.
Here is what my food looks like today
Breakfast (9 am) 1 cup oatmeal with 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
Lunch (12:30) 2 slices whole wheat toast with homemade strawberry jam (I don't use any sugar when making it
Dinner (5:30) It is called 'American Vegetable Stew' - it is the best stew ever - have had it a few times and each time we tweek it a bit with a few different vegetables. We make enough that we can have it for 3 - 4 days = and we have served it to company who are meat eaters and they couldn't believe there was no meat in it.
NOTE: If you would like the recipe please let me know and I will post it.
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That's a good report Marilyn. You've done well with your meal plan. I pray I never have the stone issue....sounds pretty intense and way too painful!
Your veggie stew sounds great. I very rarely use a recipe for anything. I see them as an "idea"....I do have plans to make my kale and white bean soup this next week. I love it and it's been much too long since I had it.
I got the dishwasher wrangled and reloaded to run...I had too much bottom space covered last time and the water didn't get to the top part so much was in need of round two, done right. Which leaves a half load to actually finish them all.
Got my bed changed finally. Whew...due to massive back pain...this time took 8 passes. Stripping, putting on new cover, sheets, comforter and 3 pillow cases. That was hard labor! I'm doing my chores in those short spurts and need recovery in between. I need to vacuum, mop the kitchen, finish the bathroom and collect trash.
Kim...this lazy girl would not use braces! I have a couple of elbow ones. I may need a Knee one tho....My right knee is the worst. However...my feet have been behaving of late. My Dr. put me on the Allopurinol AM/PM and whatever that is...seems to help. I am very thankful!
I'm going to check my order for tomorrow and make sure I have all my soup things on it. Be blessed ladies! Love and prayers for us all....
I rediscovered UNO...LOL. It had been 1.5 years at least since I last played and it was a hair mind boggling and very fast paced compared to the other two games I play.
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Wade has to help me in and out of the shower so I usually just use my Bathing cloths. They are really good. I need to get in the shower to get the dry skin off of me though. I have loofa sponges coming on the 5th of Sept, so that should help with the dry skin. We also found a bunch of the little bottles of lotion, shampoo and condition that you get at hotels (Wade stayed at quite a few when he was out working as an engineer), so I put the bottles of lotion near my chair and will make sure to use it on my arms and legs every day.
Marilyn, I think that it is inevitable that things break down as we get older. Our bodies aren't meant to last forever, especially after the flood, God reduced a man's lifetime from the 900's down to the 120. People are living longer today than they have for quite a few decades because of better medical care and food choices, but you are blessed if your body holds out for 80+ years. Humans in the Millennium will be young at 100 years old. God knows the number of our days and its condition when we are conceived. Sometimes we breakdown because we have been active and wore out those joints. My husband's knees are a mess because he was a runner when he was younger and then he became a house painter for awhile and going up and down the ladders ruined his knees. Food does make a difference, and we actively work to eat healthy, but we are meat people. I only eat it for one meal a day, but God gave it to us to eat and I don't have a problem with it. I'm not a stew or soup person unless it is thick and creamy. Yum, thick potato soup!
Bren, that would be you if you were allowed kitties in your house, I can see it now! LOL!
Love y'all.
My thumb brace should be coming in today too.0 -
Well, my thumb brace came and it's great. Right now I am just leaving it on all the time. Yesterday I could bend my thumb without pain, but I only checked it once. This morning I could barely bend it and got significant pain. I can't use the thumb to open anything or to hold any kind of weight or it's painful too. I read about the trigger finger, Bren, and I don't think that that is what my problem is because my thumb doesn't lock in any position and I can move it all the time, just with a lot of pain. But I think that it does have something to do with the tendons, and tenosynovitis is caused also by arthritis which I have in the ball of my thumb and in the lowest knuckle of my index finger, so it wouldn't surprise me that the arthritis has something to do with it and maybe caused inflammation in that jacket that protects the tendon. The "cure" or help for it is around 6 weeks of rest, so I am going to try that before I talk to a doctor about it.
Today would have been Mom's 83rd birthday. I ran across a little mouse pin in Mom's stuff, her nickname was Mousey! I got rid of a lot of stuff, but that one is staying with me! There were two things we figured gave her that nickname, one, she like to run about during family gatherings making sure everyone had what they needed, and then she would find a nice quiet corner where she could watch everything going on, or have a quiet chat with someone, not pushing herself into any conversation. I don't think I ever saw her gnawing on electrical wires, so I don't think that would be it! LOL! I miss her!
Y'all have an awesome weekend. Have a beautiful time worshiping the Lord!0 -
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Love that picture, Marilyn. So true. "Forgetting what lies behind I press on toward the goal for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!" That is my goal every day. Don't let the devil bring up the past, it's under the blood! Keep moving forward for Jesus!0
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Anchored in the Rock. That is where we need to be every day!
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I ordered a knee brace today...hope it fits...and helps. My knee is so very painful that it disturbs my sleep/rest. I get plenty of both...it's just broken up into a series of naps. Same for this shoulder...I need a PT person to come in and work me over while I do a nap.
I have placed and cancelled an HEB order 4 times now....due to the pain, lack of energy and the fact that tho I want soup, salad, fish etc. I am not inclined to stand/lean long enough to get much done and hauling in my order is getting harder with time because of the back and knee issues. Waaah....hear me whine! Oh well....even with my "issues", I am blessed, happy and mostly stable.0 -
Oh dear, Bren, have you ever looked into getting some kind of nursing help to come in. Medicare pays for in home physical therapy if ordered by your doctor - you just have to bring these issues up with your doctor and ask if that would be possible. It just sounds like you need help! You stay in my prayers.
Doing well. Had a good birthday yesterday. Went to the steakhouse and had a T-bone steak (the other half will be dinner tonight) and some seasoned fries. Couldn't eat all of those either, but because they were burning my tongue, I left the remaining ones there! I'll have steak and broccoli salad for dinner. Can't wait! I know I am probably causing shivers for you, Marilyn, but I don't have a problem with eating meat, it's actually what my doctor wants me to eat, more so than the carbs! I did get over 3,000 steps yesterday and my body felt it. This muscle in my thigh doesn't like me doing a lot of walking. I have it wrapped today with an Ace-type bandage, and that makes it feel better.
Keep remembering that Jesus isn't ever taken by surprise and knows exactly what you are going through. He has a plan and a purpose and we just have to be faithful to glorify and honor Him in the midst of it.
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I actually made myself a note to that effect, Kim. I could deal with at home PT better than at the "shop"...due to my hearing issues and the like. I'd agree to home help. I'll talk to my PCP when I see her again. The knee pain is getting worse, as the back pain has of late and it knocks the joy factor down a few notches. She won't be happy that I didn't go for that MRI....it's just so painful to lay there for over an hour and she wanted both knees done.
My Knee brace came today. I think the round part is supposed to fit at the knee cap and it doesn't but there is compression. I'd prefer a shorter one as this one is way up my thigh...LOL. Oh hooya...I just pulled it up some more and the circle is where it should be. It's one of those Copper Fit or a knock off. Just says Copper on it. I've had it on a couple of hours, propped the legs up about 30 minutes and think I am done. I'm not sure what it's supposed to do or feel like?
I just ordered a back brace as well. Perhaps that will help with my housekeeping, cooking and shopping needs?
OH I missed your Birthday! Hope you had a blessed day! Your dinner sounds great! Reruns are good too. I had fried okra, chopped onion and some Northern beans for dinner. I have to work fast before my back gives out! I've caught myself leaning on the counter while cooking something.
I'm going down for a rest and read time. I am so thankful I have a couple of positions to rest the leg that don't make me want to cry. God is GOOD...always! Love you ladies...Nighty Night!
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Oh, baby, I'm so sorry you are in such pain. The knee brace is actually supposed to be a fixture on your body so that your knee doesn't have to work so hard. I took mine off at night and wore it all day long. Made a huge difference. After a week or so I haven't had to wear it again. Now, my thigh is a different story. I don't have a good way to brace it, the braces keep slipping down, even when I use the holder that goes around my waist and then velcro's to the brace. It helps keep it up, but it's a pain to wear since I have to keep it under all of my clothes so I don't have to take it off every time I need to use the restroom - not comfortable. My back brace is the same, it rides up and doesn't even sit where I need the compression! I've seen that problem often in the reviews for the products. I even bought ribbon to put around the brace and then through my legs and to the back of the brace so it couldn't go anywhere, but that put stress on that inner leg/groin area and was quite uncomfortable too. I guess parts of my body weren't meant to wear braces! But I keep trying because they really do help. My thumb is doing much better too. I've taken off the brace and am just being careful with it. The major portion of pain has gone. I wore the brace for about a week all the time, then this week I've taken it off to work on the computer but then put it back on for everything else (even when I went to bed). I think that it's just arthritis taking a stronger hold on my hands, but praise the Lord I can still function just fine, just have mild pain.
Was at 235 this morning. I feel less swelling and hope that when the cooler weather hits there won't be any!
Y'all have an awesome weekend with the Lord. Love you0 -
Thank you Sister! I appreciate the empathy/sympathy and prayers! My instructions with the sleeve were to wear it for a bit at a time to get used to it. It's a pull on sleeve. Today was day 3 to use it. It's quite comfy but longer than I like with my short legs.
I noticed swelling in my right foot the other day It's still kind of puffy. I did push more yesterday doing chores, in spite of the pain. I rested well the past two nights and if I could get the pain down about 5 notches...my joy would be restored! I hope you are right that cooler weather will help with your swelling issues.
I managed to get my soup made this morning. Oh boy! I didn't realize I had no Italian seasoning....was on more than one order I cancelled recently so it's back on the list again. I had a half jar of pasta sauce in the fridge and added that in. Only used one can of beans and the whole bag of kale and it's delicious! I'll do up some containers for the freezer so I don't waste any. It's been awhile since I made any, due to the hacking, dicing, chopping and slicing needed. I splurged and got the bag of kale, already chopped, this time.
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Oh man, I looked for the broccoli already chopped and it was $5.00 more than just a couple of heads of broccoli. I throw away everything but the tops so am paying for what is going in the trash, but it's still cheaper than getting the heads already chopped up. The heads were a little more than $7.00! Yikes. I guess I would get a lot more broccoli salad out of that bag, but it would probably go bad before I could use it!
I have the sleeve kind of knee brace too, but because I'd used the wrap around kind before (the middle strap irritated the back of my knee) I just went ahead and wore the sleeve all day. I haven't needed a knee brace in at least three months, probably longer. Hoisting Mom up and down did a job on all of our joints! I also take collagen now which is supposed to help with the joints and connective tissue. I haven't had pain to where I wanted to wear a brace on anything else but my thumb. It's doing much better but I still have some pain when I try to use it. I have my regular compression glove on today and that seems to be helping.
Boy, I wish I could say your soup looks yummy - but... well, you know me and green things! LOL!0 -
I got my back brace yesterday. As I unfolded it I thought...wow...this is huge! It was a perfect fit tho! Like some reviews said, it does ride up some and I haven't used it yet while "working". I will tomorrow tho, when I bring my groceries in. That's great, that you haven't needed the knee brace for awhile. I look forward to that here as well.
LOL...yes I know well! Now at least Sharon would say..."Boy...that looks good! I wouldn't eat it but it looks good"... I would not say that to juicers...who destroy loads of veggies in order to drink them...but at least they get some nutrition I suppose. There weren't many veggies she would eat...except okra...she really liked that. I don't think my Mom would have liked that soup either. She did like more veggies than Sharon but preferred them fried.
We've had lots of rain the past week. My heart goes out to those all over, affected by flooding. We had some here but not massive. Our property has a creek behind us that overflowed and our pool did ads well. Being shut in....I managed well. No driving in it at all and I was so thankful. We just had a loud clap of thunder....hooya!0
