WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR SEPTEMBER 2021

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  • cityjaneLondon
    cityjaneLondon Posts: 12,725 Member
    Kylia - It's so sad to lose an old friend. (((HUGS)))

    I was just waking up from my nap this afternoon when an old uni friend rang. She had just been to her old roommate 's funeral. We were all at Bristol together. My friend was very close and the relationship was troubled. It's a very, very long story, but the deceased friend had a baby in the 2nd year at uni and her mother made her give the baby up. 1968.
    She never got in contact with her son, who was adopted.
    My dear friend, who rang me, had to sit with the family the night before the funeral and tell them all sorts of things they didn't know, because they had so many questions. Many things, not just about the baby. I was staggered at what they hadn't been told. (They knew about the baby, but only after she had cancer, and a lot of the story was wrong) They really wanted to know, so my friend felt she had to answer. She felt like the wicked fairy at the christening! I actually had a new gap to fill in for her.
    Pretty exhausting!
    This friend of mine has a hip operation scheduled for the end of September. I'm crossing everything for her. She is in a lot of pain.

    So, I'm still recovering from all that excitement. I felt I was watching one of those films where the stranger throws a bomb into a family's carefully constructed life.

    Making mushroom risotto for dinner. It heats up pretty well for when DH gets home later.

    Still haven't done my tablet transfer. :# I think it will happen tomorrow. >:)

    Love Heather UK xxxxxxxx
  • Katla49
    Katla49 Posts: 10,385 Member
    Heather - Your friend is a very good person, as are you. What a difficult burden to share with the grieving family. :heart: :broken_heart:
  • Whidislander
    Whidislander Posts: 3,820 Member
    Oops did I type guts Pip???? I like you guts and all!
    Rebecca
    With fingers that don't match my brain in
    Washington
  • evie1958
    evie1958 Posts: 864 Member
    Kylia, I'm so sorry to hear of your friend's passing.
    Pip, you ROCK!!
    KJ, that poem by Maya Angelou is awesome!
    Heather, congrats on the lottery win! How very nice for the family that your friend was able to fill in some gaps for them. It may have been stuff that was hard for them to hear, but it will probably turn out to be a good thing for them to know the facts.
    Machka, I'd be throwing stuff out too. I've thrown out a lot of make up as I just don't use it anymore, I got down to where all I was using was mascara and now half the time I don't even bother with that. Fortunately, the few tubes that I do have are still current! lol
    Beth, I'm sure your son knew that you were doing the best that you could and that he was loved (which I think is the most important part!)

    Can't remember anything else for now. Hope everyone has a great day!
    Hugs for those needing them, congrats to those who are celebrating and welcome to the newbies!
    Evelyn, Vancouver Island, where it rained yesterday! :)
  • barbiecat
    barbiecat Posts: 17,211 Member
    <3
  • cityjaneLondon
    cityjaneLondon Posts: 12,725 Member
    It's been a bit of a day of friends! After dinner I got a phone call from my Cornish friends, asking to come for lunch later this month. The husband has recently recovered from a serious bout of pneumonia and is in remission from lung cancer. They will be visiting their son nearby.
    We said we will take a lateral flow test the day before, because they are obviously very worried about covid. :o
    Looking forward to seeing them. We have to leave mid afternoon to pick up the kids from school, but that's OK.

    Love Heather UK xxxxxxxx
  • skuehn48
    skuehn48 Posts: 3,049 Member
    :)
  • Katla49
    Katla49 Posts: 10,385 Member
    B)
  • grandmallie
    grandmallie Posts: 10,105 Member
    Evening ladies
    She sent a picture of the patio furniture set up and i must say it looks soooo much better in there sunroom then it did in my small condo..
    Had some nice clam chowder with Trudy and am home now and have brand new pillows on the bed...i threw caution to the wind and bought good pillows and will just have to keep them away from the little imp I live with..
    Im getting up early to take the car to the garage in the morning.
  • Anniesquats100
    Anniesquats100 Posts: 3,297 Member
    Well I went to the picnic and I learned that after driving two hours I am too tired to make small talk. I had some picnic food. I tried to keep the servings very small. I'm glad I went as it's likely to be my last big adventure before spring.

    Annie in Delaware
  • dlfk202000
    dlfk202000 Posts: 3,203 Member
    edited September 2021
    OregonMother wrote: »
    Those poppers look really good, Debbie. I would love the recipe, if you don't mind sharing.

    So sorry for the tragedy associated with your park, Rita.

    Health update:
    I have finished the first four treatments and have the first treatment of the final four finished. So far, the Taxol is easier on my system in some ways -- less fatigue -- but harder in other ways -- severe joint and muscle pain. But the pain is supposed to ease after a couple days, and today is much more tolerable than yesterday.

    My platelets are low, so I need to watch myself for bruising and make sure I don't cut myself on anything. After removing the needle from my port after treatment on Wednesday, the nurse put a bandaid on it, which is usually just fine, but I noticed a couple hours later, the needle hole had not clotted quickly, and I had blood on my shirt. A little gruesome, but fortunately, it wasn't a lot of blood, but noticeable!

    I had an ultrasound of the diseased breast on Tuesday, and the masses have shrunk considerably, by more than half, so that is good news. I met with the surgeon on Thursday afternoon to discuss those results, and she is on board for surgery. (Not everyone agrees with surgery for metastatic disease.) We have a tentative surgery date of November 12 -- about two weeks after my last treatment. We are hoping Covid has settled down by then. Currently, the surgeon said the hospital is letting them schedule elective surgeries but then the day before the surgeries, the hospital cancels them.

    My tumor marker blood test keeps rising, so that is of some concern. It doesn't really track with the fact that the breast tumor/masses are shrinking. We are hoping that it is just an indication that the tumors/masses in the other parts of my body are also being disrupted and not that new tumors/masses are growing.

    I think that gets you up to date.

    Flea
    Willamette Valley, OR

    praying the tumors all continue to shrink!


    no recipe really- I just cut about a third of the pepper off(wanted to be able to really fill them but cutting them in half would be fine too)- mixed cream cheese, cheddar cheese, garlic pepper, and some of the jalapeno diced up. Mix it all together, fill the peppers and put them in the air fryer- it took about 10-12 min on 350 for them to be done- not sure exact time- That is it.
  • GodMomKim
    GodMomKim Posts: 3,703 Member
    B)
  • exermom
    exermom Posts: 6,535 Member

    Did More the Mat Pilates today then took my walk. The plan for tomorrow is to do Karen Voit’s Energy Switch DVD (a new one)

    Barbara – AHHH..know Secaucus well. I lived in East Rutherford and worked in Carlstadt.

    Heather – congrats on your win! Boy, you sure are one lucky lady

    Denise texted me that Pete still isn’t 100%. She said that his company requires two negative tests before you can return to work. His first test was postive but his second one was negative. Then his third one was positive. But his company is letting him come back to work. He has to wear a mask and stay away from people as much as possible. Personally, to me, this is somewhat irresponsible. What if he does still have it and gives it to the other employees. Well...I don’t own the company.

    Allie – how is Alfie doing with the barking?

    RV Rita – so sorry about your friend

    Making a key lime cake for Vince. Just saw that he finished the jello I made for him.

    Flea – you are constantly in my thoughts. I’m so glad to hear that the tumors are shrinking

    Michele NC
  • kizanne2
    kizanne2 Posts: 123 Member
    exermom wrote: »
    Did More the Mat Pilates today then took my walk. The plan for tomorrow is to do Karen Voit’s Energy Switch DVD (a new one)

    Barbara – AHHH..know Secaucus well. I lived in East Rutherford and worked in Carlstadt.

    Heather – congrats on your win! Boy, you sure are one lucky lady

    Denise texted me that Pete still isn’t 100%. She said that his company requires two negative tests before you can return to work. His first test was postive but his second one was negative. Then his third one was positive. But his company is letting him come back to work. He has to wear a mask and stay away from people as much as possible. Personally, to me, this is somewhat irresponsible. What if he does still have it and gives it to the other employees. Well...I don’t own the company.

    Allie – how is Alfie doing with the barking?

    RV Rita – so sorry about your friend

    Making a key lime cake for Vince. Just saw that he finished the jello I made for him.

    Flea – you are constantly in my thoughts. I’m so glad to hear that the tumors are shrinking

    Michele NC

    I agree totally irresponsible of his company. Why even have a policy if you aren't going to follow it. Let's hope he isn't contagious anymore.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,631 Member
    pipcd34 wrote: »
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    Well done!

    Congratulations!
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,631 Member
    edited September 2021
    kizanne2 wrote: »
    I"m here and will be for many more hours tonight trying to prepare for tomorrow. I've decided not to quit just yet.

    ...

    I am going to try to keep this job for another 6 years ...


    I would like to retire right now too. I don't mind my job, but I've got so many other things I'd rather be doing.

    However, there's every chance I'll continue to my "retirement age" = 67. That's another 13 years away.

    I trained as a teacher somewhat later in life and graduated in my early 40s. My plan was to get the degree to teach adults - major in teaching adults, minor in French. But there was a mix up on the quantity of French I had taken in my first 2 years. They kept telling me I had lots, I kept questioning it, and right at the last minute they told me ... "Oh, by the way, you're missing a course. You'll have to take a summer course in a city 150 km away". I was not happy! Fortunately, I was able to switch to Social Studies. But at the same time, they told me they had done away with their Adult Education program and I had to choose between Secondary (grades 6-12) and Primary (Kindergarten - 5). Once again, I was not happy! So I ended up majoring in Primary and minoring in Social Studies.

    I did a bit of teaching and then ended up in Data Admin where I've been since, and I think I prefer it.


    M in Oz
  • kizanne2
    kizanne2 Posts: 123 Member
    edited September 2021
    Machka9 wrote: »
    kizanne2 wrote: »
    I"m here and will be for many more hours tonight trying to prepare for tomorrow. I've decided not to quit just yet.

    ...

    I am going to try to keep this job for another 6 years ...


    I would like to retire right now too. I don't mind my job, but I've got so many other things I'd rather be doing.

    However, there's every chance I'll continue to my "retirement age" = 67. That's another 13 years away.


    M in Oz

    There is no chance I'll make it to 67. If I'm lucky I'll make it to 57 or maybe 58. Right now I'm just trying to make it to Friday. :)

    Yes I switched into teaching from Engineering and took a huge pay cut to do it. I enjoyed teaching for a long time. Part of me still does. But this job they take advantage of you. I am wearing out of just wanting to help kids learn math. I now want more life balance.

    I'm glad to hear you like data admin. If I quit teaching I'll probably not work anymore. I'm fortunate we can afford it and my husband doesn't care if I have a job. But if I do work again in will probably be in some kind of programming or data admin type position. I'm good with data queries, statistics, analyzing data and know several programming languages. I'd have to start at the bottom as I'm not an expert in any of these but I have skills.

    Frankly teaching pays so little I could be an administrative secretary and only take a mild pay cut. But I think I'd rather just pamper my husband and focus on mine and his health. Make healthy meals, plan and cook more. Take better care of the house, grow my garden and stuff.

    I am greedy though I love my husband and would like him to be able to retire with me. So the longer I work the slightly sooner I might be able to get him to retire. I know I can accomplish it at 60 but I"m aiming for lower. I say I know I can accomplish it because I am the one who takes care of our finances and retirement planning.

    Kiz
    North Florida
  • bananasandoranges
    bananasandoranges Posts: 2,410 Member
    Rita im so sorry for your loss.
  • kizanne2
    kizanne2 Posts: 123 Member
    skuehn48 wrote: »
    I went to CA to pick up my mom so she could move in with myDD and I on August 12. She had fallen off a chair trying to reach into a cupboard and was experiencing a lot of pain. We returned to WA 5 days later with her still having a lot of pain that she attributed to her sciatica. After a week here we had to take her to the ED by ambulance for intractable pain. A CT showed that she had diverticulitis and it had ruptured the bowel. They told us at 97 yo she would be unlikely to survive surgery so they admitted her to the hospital on antibiotics and bowel rest. She is now home on hospice and things are not looking good. Her breathing is very difficult tonight. I wish she could just let go.

    That's awful. I hope she finds peace.
  • bananasandoranges
    bananasandoranges Posts: 2,410 Member
    Flea, that is good new about the shrinking tumours. thank you for keeping us updated.

    Michèle, that is unbelievable that they are letting him go back to work if the last test was positive.

    Annie two hours is a long trip. That was my case last weekend, though it was drive, train, get lift for me. I was able to make some small talk but was tired of it after a couple of hours, and didn't find it necessarily super-super interesting - but one never knows. In my case, it was mildly pleasant - but way too long and tiring for mildly pleasant. I did meet someone in professional network - meeting that might be potentially positive longterm. To do over -would I spend 10-11 hours for such a day? probably not. but there is no way of knowing in advance how it will be. it also did seem good to leave my comfort zone.

    Machka and Kizanne, It is true that teaching Is exploitative and low paying! I have been teaching all my life, and I like teaching for the most part. If I were a bit younger and had topnotch health I would consider going into another field. as it is I have relative job security. I think I might have gone into real estate. I got a job offer a few years back when speaking to an agent I knew, as I had bought 2 studios at a good price and knew the basics of laws and investments really well. He told me he had changed jobs at 40 - coming from the restaurant business I think -- a head waiter - and didn't regret it. Now I have 9 years left and it seems risky to stop. Also because I'm in training (time off to finish studies- that's a good thing - they don't tell us at all about this right !) I'm obliged to work in the public sector for 3x my training period, which will have been 9 months.
  • grandmallie
    grandmallie Posts: 10,105 Member
    Skuehn48- im so sorry that you and your family are having to go through this ,I hope your mom makes a peaceful transition..
    It is never easy losing a parent....

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