WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR OCTOBER 2022

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  • TerriRichardson112
    TerriRichardson112 Posts: 19,147 Member
    edited October 2022
    Katla: (((Hugs))) My heart goes out to you. 💕💖💕

    Machka: DH and I have always worked as a team, where the house and finances are concerned. I am working on distributing our unused belonging. Little by little, the pile reduces.

    I use DMiL’s ‘good’ china as my everyday china, and think
    If her every time I set the table.
  • SophieRosieMom
    SophieRosieMom Posts: 3,703 Member
    Good morning ladies <3

    Allie - so good to hear you are on the kidney transplant list. I keep forgetting to tell you how much I'm enjoying the Miles photos. He's a charmer.

    Mary - (((HUGS))) what a generous offer. Sorry to hear about your brother.

    Flea - glad you are done with your recent surgery, sounds like recovery is going well. That's something about your mom's sudden decline; good to hear she's moved into a better facility. I wave your direction every weekend when I know you are zipping by Hwy 12. ;)

    Ginny - happy your recovery is coming along.

    Rosemarie - what a blessing your DH's new caregiver is giving you more freedom in your day.

    Rebecca - good luck with the Kefir!

    Kylia - We miss you :)

    About moving/retirement communities/renting
    I'm content to stay right here as long as I can keep up with the house (admittedly too big for just me) and the yard (2 1/2 acres with mowing, pruning, etc.) I can hop on the mower, I can hire someone to tend to pruning the bushes and do heavier tasks. It will be costly, but if I can keep it to a minimum that will fit my budget.

    Everyone on our little road is 60 or above, in fair to excellent health. We'd all qualify to be in a 55+ retirement community, but what would we do there? Here, we can keep as busy as we want to. The old fellers putter and the ladies garden a lot. We keep track of each other. We know and trust our neighbors and feel very safe here. Those of us who like dogs and cats can have our critters without having to pay a "pet fee" like renters often do.

    So in a way, we already have our 55+ retirement community. :)

    My DH liked dogs much better than people in his final years and wouldn't have been content renting or moving. He always said they'd have to haul him out of here and he nearly got his wish, having lasted 2 days in the hospital.

    Rents are sky high these days. Developers are putting up "tiny houses" on small graveled lots, no garage or storage, very close to each other. Right next to the freeway. $1200 per month rent. :o I watched a presentation on YouTube given by an investment advisor who predicted the housing market will take a downturn but the cost of renting will continue to increase.

    I can see myself eventually moving into an apartment in a retirement community. But for now, taking into account genetics and family history, that's likely a long way off. Who knows. If my health goes south or other circumstances make me leave this place, I'll go with the flow. I'm done trying to control everything in my life. One day at a time. :)

    Air quality alert and walking....
    This weekend, the Pacific Northwest has an air quality alert in some places. Yesterday, the air was dirty and smoky and today it's supposed to be worse. I emailed my walking buddy last night and told her that getting a quick walk in today might be iffy - my hip was cranky in addition to nasty air.

    I haven't heard back from her. She had knee replacement surgery a few months ago and now her new knee has a painful "clicking". The surgeon who did the replacement has retired and moved from the area. She was going to call the physical therapist she worked with in getting the new knee rehabbed and see if that gal had some clues as to what's going on. I wonder if the "General Patton" walking she liked to do after her surgery affected her recovery. :|

    Anyhow, in the past couple weeks, we've moved our walking time to 10:00 and have cut it back to a mile, and she is OK with that. Three or four days a week is sufficient for us to catch up on the news.

    I've been with this group since December 2016. I agree with Rita and others who have benefitted from the support and comradery here. I encourage the new ladies to stick around if you can, join in when you can. We are quite a varied bunch and I always look forward to reading the latest in these threads whether I have time to comment or not. <3

    Make it a fabulous weekend!

    Lanette B)
    SW WA State
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,690 Member
    [
    To rent or buy It’s a personal choice.

    🥳🎉 Cheers to all those celebrating.

    Virtual (((hugs))) and 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 for those
    who need them.

    🙋‍♀️ Miele failte to the newbies.

    ☘️ Terri

    Very much so ... and also depends on where you live, what's available, your priorities, your finances, your circumstances.

    I have been happy with my choices and priorities so far, which have focused on education and travel. It suits me. :)


    Machka in Oz

  • margaretturk
    margaretturk Posts: 5,293 Member
    edited October 2022
    Heather I just had a discussion with one of my cousins about funerals. She just took her dad on a day trip to the area where he grew up. He is 96 years old. He went on and on about no funeral. My cousin just nodded and smiled. We agreed a funeral is for the living. It is a way to help process grief and remember how much love the person who passed brought to life. The person who passed is important.

    I did have a friend who knew her end was near because of a chronic illness and she planned her own funeral. It worked for her.

    Even though we had to make adjustments because of COVID I am so glad we had a service for our son. It was an outside service on a beautiful day. I also asked friends to bring flowers from their gardens to surround his casket. At the end I asked those who attended to select flowers to take home with them. Those that remained I took home with me. When they faded I added them to my compost pile. When I visit his resting site I take flowers from mine and his garden to honor him.

    When my niece past during COVID there was no service for her. Her father chose not to have one. I did get together with her best friend when I want to visit where I grew up. It was good for both of us to share good stories about my niece.

    Carol Great loving advice from many in the group here. I do agree having passwords and account numbers would be helpful.

    I too made a book to make it easier for the person who has to take care of our affairs. I went over it with our son. This reminds me it is time to review it with him again. We agreed to do it yearly to make sure it is order. I did also include how to pay ongoing bills like water, heating, trash...Some are on auto and some are not for various reasons. His first comment was to make a list with passwords to make things easier.

    I find it empowering to be able to handle my finances, how to do simple repairs on a home, and to find workman to do the repairs I am not able to do myself. When I have workman work for me I try to treat them like I am the best boss. I give them a thank you gift card for their work. I try to create a work environment so they can do their best work. I also ask many questions so I know how to better maintain my property. I try to be pro active because it helps cut down on unexpected breakdowns. Last year had I not had our yearly furnace tune up our furnace would have broke down in a cold snap and it would have been even more expensive to replace. Also this reminds me it is about time to shut down outside water for the winter.

    Th latest person we had service our furnace shared with me how he lived in New York when 9/11 happened. He was an EMT the only reason he was not in the thick of it at the time was it was his day off. He lost seven buddies that day. He moved to Minnesota to get a fresh start. He reminds me we all have stories to share and one never knows what burdens other carry unless we ask. I do remind myself just because I ask does not mean the person is obligated to share.

    :heart: Margaret

  • KetoneKaren
    KetoneKaren Posts: 6,412 Member
    edited October 2022
    Allie - Such awesome news about getting on the transplant list. Yay!!!

    Ginny - The apartment we may move to in 2 years would be the first brand new home either of us have ever had. Hard to even imagine!

    Terri - I have a beautiful quilt that was truly a show stopper when my mother gave it to me, but now has been used and washed and is showing some wear. I wasn't going to use it except for display, but my mother told me I should use it. Like using the good china. What's it for otherwise?

    Karen in Virginia
  • cityjaneLondon
    cityjaneLondon Posts: 12,789 Member
    Margaret - The thing I object to with funerals is the absolute rip off charges. A simple cremation funeral here, with a couple of cars, is around £4,000. It's wonderful that you felt comforted by the ceremony when your son died. It was a terrible, grieving time for you. I can hardly imagine anything worse than what you went through. I'm sure a funeral was the right thing for you.
    I very much want people to be happy and celebrate when I go. I have lived a wonderful, full, life and I hope to have written even more books before I go. I do not consider my body to be me, so a coffin always feels the wrong symbol for my living on in hearts and minds. I am anti - religion. My kind of spirituality would take to long to explain.
    I want the money saved (a cremation disposal costs around £1,000) to be used for a party/celebration. Not a gloomy affair, beautiful food, music, dancing, photos, videos, readings from my books. More like a wedding with me as the bride. If DH is still alive, I know he will be horribly grieving, but we share the same wish for our demise and I want everyone else to be happy for me. A life well lived.
    I have never really understood grief for people who have lived their allotted span. It is completely different for those who die young, or unfulfilled. If I lost a grandchild, I would never recover. But for old people? We all have to die.
    Plus, I rarely miss people. They are so vividly present in my head that I don't really feel they have gone away. I would much prefer people to read my books and remember me fondly. I believe we live on in the energy we have created in our lives and how many people we have touched. Life and death are the same thing.

    Those are my wishes and I hope people will respect them. I will think about writing it down in more detail. I have a few pieces of music I would like played and I hope the food will be very enjoyable. I want dancing. I might write an address. I will be joining the universe.

    Love Heather UK xxxxxxxx
  • Katla49
    Katla49 Posts: 10,385 Member
    B)
  • fanncy0626
    fanncy0626 Posts: 7,152 Member
    edited October 2022
    Allie I have no idea how to PM you! Can you send me a message first then I can respond. I have no idea what blood type I am. My husband is O positive so he was considered a universal donor. I'll call my Doctor and find out what I am. His coworker is going on 14 years with his and her doctor said it is as good as new!

    Update: I think I figured out how to PM!

    💞 Mary from Arizona/Minnesota
  • kevrit
    kevrit Posts: 4,388 Member
    fanncy0626 wrote: »
    Allie my husband donated his kidney to his coworker. I was going to donate mine to my brother but he died.
    Tell me where you live and who your Dr is and I will find out if I'm a match for you. You can let your Dr know that you may have someone willing to donate and then they will send me a kit to see if I'm a match.

    💞 Mary from Arizona/Minnesota

    Wonderful! You are both very compassionate giving people! 💕💕😘🤗🫂
  • grandmallie
    grandmallie Posts: 10,147 Member
    Lisa- that was a hysterical and lovely obituary all in one..
    I bought a book called Im dead now what.. it has every concevable thing in there you will need to leave to whoever is going to take care of your things after you pass. Im still working on the book.
    I went down and got my pneumonia vaccine and then filled the tank ( ouch) and got the clothes out of the dryer..
    So now im going to relax for a bit..
  • minicooper452
    minicooper452 Posts: 651 Member
    Oh Heather, that's horrible! I'm so sorry you had to go through that with your mother. Sickening what people think they can do to our elderly or vulnerable of any age. I worry about that with my mom too, but my brothers are close and go in to see her pretty regularly and we have a close friend who works there, so we're pretty confident of the staff there.

    Rebecca, I'm right there with you, BUT we're actually leaving on Monday to go up north for real! Got permission to take two addional days added onto our edMN convention break (which I don't have to participate in). SO excited to just LEAVE and relax.

    Allie, sending many prayers.

    OMG, had no idea what funerals cost until Shawn died! And they want CASH! That threw me for a loop. I thought everyone dealt in plastic, but nope. They wanted cash or a check only. Geez. Thank God we had our checkbook with us because no one else even had a checkbook. I know that I just want to be cremated and I want the girls to have a big'ole party with LOUD MUSIC and all of my favorite foods! I actually have already planned it for them.

    Catch ya tomorrow!
    Love and Blessings, Carla, in MN
  • KetoneKaren
    KetoneKaren Posts: 6,412 Member
    edited October 2022
    Lisa - Your obituary is simply wonderful. And a timely inspiration. I'm completely psyched now.

    Karen in Virginia
  • cityjaneLondon
    cityjaneLondon Posts: 12,789 Member
    Brilliant Lisa. Must get going on mine. :p

    I love it that we can talk about this. So many people can't. <3

    My meatballs were amazing. I use the Lisa method - baking. It gave me 32 balls. Enough for 3 meals.
    Here they are in the tomato sauce. 🍅
    6jam9r6h7c57.jpg

    Much love Heather UK xxxxxxxx
  • LisaInArkansas
    LisaInArkansas Posts: 2,951 Member
    Heather! So funny, I've got Corey picking up the makings for meatballs too... we do keep trying a few store-bought things here and there, but ours are just better tasting by far, and we know what's in them...
  • cityjaneLondon
    cityjaneLondon Posts: 12,789 Member
    edited October 2022
    I've just downloaded to my Kindle, THE SELFiSH PIG'S GUIDE TO CARING by Hugh Marriott. I was inspired by all the experiences of the carers on this thread. Plus it may fall to me one day. I haven't read it yet.

    Both DH and I are relieved at the resolution of our technical problems. My Kindle wasn't connecting to the Internet and his newish laptop was not able to connect to the printer. :# We rebooted the router, which solved my problem and he reinstalled the printer. All good. :D

    Lisa - the meatballs are an awful lot of faff, even with the baking method, but so worth it! I love having the reserves in the freezer.

    Love Heather UK xxxxxxxx
  • pipcd34
    pipcd34 Posts: 17,357 Member
    Dd
  • suebdew
    suebdew Posts: 1,298 Member
    On page 22
  • barbiecat
    barbiecat Posts: 17,252 Member
    <3
  • pipcd34
    pipcd34 Posts: 17,357 Member
    Stats for the day-

    Walk/slow jog w/yogi- 1hr 30min 31sec, 23elev, 4.0ap,116ahr, 165mhr, 6.30mi= 630c
    Strava app = 772c
    Other- PT therapy exercises, 3sets of 10 each, 3 different exercises 17.36min= 79c

    Total cal 709
  • Katla49
    Katla49 Posts: 10,385 Member
    edited October 2022
    I visited DH at his care facility this evening. I think he will stay there a bit longer and then will join me in our apartment. I look forward to it. <3
  • grandmallie
    grandmallie Posts: 10,147 Member
    Evening ladies
    Have the windows open.. getting the fresh air while I can...
    Tom,Elena and Homer left at 2 this morning and got as far as South of the Border right over the line in South Carolina.. and will get up early in the morning and it will be another 10 hrs down to there place in Florida..
    This wont be a pleasure trip and I hope he has enough insurance to cover the repairs..
    Tomorrow im hoping to get some things done around here..