WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JULY 2023

1948CWB

LisaInArkansas

Heather - Bea has the sunniest smile, no reservations... Your day sounds chaotic and busy, not your usual ordered life at all. Hope there's time to rest in there somewhere, and that you enjoy Matilda.

Tracey - Michaela's joy shines out, too - love the pics, no matter the order. Glad you're having time to spend with them... You sound more relaxed each time you post. You will find the right solution for you, I have faith. From my own experience, while it wasn't work that was making me sick three years ago, it was making it worse. I was more ill than I knew, and stopping work to concentrate on my health was crucial. It's been a long road, and I'm not completely right physically yet, but so much better than I was when I retired at 60. Didn't ruin our lives, just wrecked our plans, so we sat down together and made different plans.

Something Machka posted earlier this month spoke to this, too:

We get mired in these swamps of our own making, and pulling ourselves out is just hard. It can be done, though. When you discard "normal" and think about your life from a different angle, you may see a way to make it work that you'd never considered. It's what Allie did when she forced Tracey and Kyle to stop leaning so heavily on her and find child care. They didn't think they could, but they have, and it may make things better all round for that chaotic little family, I hope. When we question our normal instead of just assuming it's set in stone, it can surprise us.

And this is top of mind for me because we celebrated last night (consisting of a high five and then back to Antiques Roadshow Recut) because I set things in motion to pay off the house on Tuesday. The cashier's check will be leave our bank tomorrow and arrive at the mortgage company the next day. It's genuinely the culmination of years of work and worry and budgeting and plan changes, and delays. This is the 4th house we've owned in our 14 years of marriage, and the first one that we've paid off and still lived in. Previously, it's always been a matter of selling the house and moving. Neither of us has ever actually lived in a house that we've owned fully and completely. We signed the papers for this house July 18, 2018, so one week less than five years to pay it off.

OK, the rain's come in, laundry is in the washer, time to get a bit more housework done.

Later, y'all,
Love,
Lisa

cityjaneLondon

Wow! Many congratulations Lisa! Nothing better than living mortgage free. ❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜

My son finished the half Iron Man in less than 7 hours! That was what he was aiming at. I have videos, but can't post those. Here are a couple of pics.



Sooo happy for him.

Matilda was great, only 16 mins, but the littlies put their heart and soul into it. Bea was great, of course. Did all the actions and spoke her part with aplomb.
She moves up into the older class in September.

I took a long video, but my phone rebelled and shut down and I lost it. No idea what happened. Oh well.
We've had lunch and now all playing on phones and tablets. Phew!

Love Heather UK xxxxxxxx

bwcetc

Tracey ... yes, now my husband or I have to drive my son to work. No public transportation out our way. Once he's cleared by his neurologist he can drive again, but some of the tests needed aren't even scheduled until mid-August, so it will be awhile.

Machka ... I'm hoping, while unfortunate, that this event has a silver lining somewhere. My son's health is not great, but this may just be the catalyst to move forward to healthy living. And, of course, if there's an underlying problem that needs treatment, then we'll consider the event a blessing in disguise.

Beth

Machka9

margaretturk wrote: »

(((Beth)))

The neighbor with the new garden asked if I could water for 10 days while they were gone on family business. I said no and told them about two reliable young people in the neighborhood they could hire. I got a thank you for the week I did for them. The other neighbor did give me a gift card. I am willing to do a few days ten is just too long especially since doing that other week for them. I figured it out if I had said yes it would have meant I added another watering chore to my chores for a total of 4 weeks when I am already watering my own two gardens. We are in the middle of a severe drought.

When we're in the middle of a severe drought, we're not allowed to water our gardens.

In a mild or moderate drought, we can water gardens between midnight and about 4 am - we have an automatic watering system.

There are 4 Stages of water restrictions ...
https://www.taswater.com.au/news/restrictions/water-restrictions-stage-4


Machka in Oz

cityjaneLondon

Machka9

I am on the hunt for very comfortable dress shoes that I can walk in.

Lowish heels
Not slip on or ballet flat
Preferably with laces or adjustable straps
No pointed toes
Good soles for walking
Not boots ... I love boots but I need shoes.

1948CWB

Margaret ~ Congrats on having the courage to say "NO" to something you did not want to get involved in.

Heather ~ Congrats to your son and to Bea!

Beth ~ Hopes and prayers that your son's health will have a silver lining.

I am icing and elevating my ankles and taking extra strength acetaminophine.

Carol in GA

LisaInArkansas

Heather - Thank you. I'm pretty happy. A very bright spot to be, I agree. I absolutely love that image of your son and Edie... the looks on their faces tell the story. His weary smile, and hers--you can tell she knows exactly what he's feeling, as she competes in her age bracket races too. She seems almost a part of him, literally joined at the hip, rather than separate. Pictures do tell a thousand words.

Speaking of which - thanks to all who post pictures of cruises, flowers, bicycling, kids, grandkids, yourselves... they tie all our lives together just that little bit more, and help us know each other in different ways. Welcome again to those who are new, the thread moves fast, but you are seen, and being part of this is just continuing to post, that's all. You don't have to react to everyone, it's nearly impossible to do... just step in where you choose and comment or add or ask, your choice. We're glad you're here!

Warmest regards,
Lisa in AR

renewtoday

1948CWB wrote: »

Margaret ~ Congrats on having the courage to say "NO" to something you did not want to get involved in.

Heather ~ Congrats to your son and to Bea!

Beth ~ Hopes and prayers that your son's health will have a silver lining.

I am icing and elevating my ankles and taking extra strength acetaminophine.

Carol in GA

@1948CWB I hope your better soon!

Jolene
CA

pipcd34

230230

SophieRosieMom

Beth - oh my gosh! Wouldn't it be something if this episode of too high a dose of the med actually cured his migraines? Good luck on the house residing. Hope it all goes smoothly.

Carol- hope your ankles are doing better today, when it's painful to walk - that's when I can hit my high point of grumpiness. I hobble my first few steps out of bed - arthritis in some of my toes I guess and cranky knees. After several cups of coffee and a little walking around that fades to the background.

Lisa - I skipped some of of Endeavour because it was so dark. I was ticked over Thursday's involvement with his brother, but I kept going back hoping Endeavour and Joan Thursday would become a "thing." Last night I watched Episode 4 of the final season which was a behind the scenes wrap up, interviews with the actors, etc. Then I found the original Morse series and started in on Season 1, Episode 1. Not sure if I'm going to like it, might just go back and rewatch all of Midsommer Murders.

After a year of not having the TV on much, I've started watching it again - some PBS stuff, and free History Channel - Alone (fun watching the contestants nearly freeze to death while it's 93 degrees here, lol.) I can get one free Seattle news station. I get a glimpse of the weather (I get a more accurate forecast from the internet) and 15 minutes of what's happening in the big city, and that's enough. I pay $91 for a landline and a high speed fiber connection to power the Wi-Fi, and around $30 for a basic smartphone. Total utilities average $350 per month. That will probably be higher this winter since I don't plan on using the woodstove that much right now. I might change my mind.

I was going to wash the cars yesterday, and couldn't find the screw on spray nozzles. I know there are 2 around here, probably under clutter in the potting shed which now has buckets of various chicken feed and other tubs/boxes. I finally gave up. Will buy a new one when I go in shopping tomorrow morning. Then the other 2 will miraculously appear, lol.

Re Machka's comment on water restriction: We are in mild drought conditions but I'm on a community well. Have to pay for water. It isn't that much, but still. Since the water heater is at the other end of the house, when I do dishes, I have to let the hot water faucet run for about a minute before the water gets hot enough. I keep a couple small buckets or 1 gallon milk jugs handy, and instead of letting that water run down the sink, I run water into the containers until it heats up enough. That gives me nearly 2 gallons of water to water my container veggies. Plus, carrying two 1 gallon jugs of water out to the garden area is good for my arm muscles.

I think finding little ways to incorporate more activity and "strength training" throughout the day adds up. As a matter of fact, I just hung out a load of laundry on the wooden drying rack on the deck. Lifting, bending, squatting. A lot more movement than just tossing them in the dryer.

Have a wonderful day!

Lanette
SW WA State

LisaInArkansas

Carol - I do hope the ankles calm down. I sprained mine a lot when I was younger, and it's quite painful. Hope the ice and elevation. Flex Tape can be very helpful, as it keeps things steady while you're walking, and the compression is helpful. This is a link to directions on how to tape your ankle, including a video.

GodMomKim

ginnytez

Heather-congrats to your son-that is quite an accomplishment! And Bea sounds like she was also most accomplished!

Machka-I have found these to be good. I can put my orthotics in them. A bit pricey but last forever. They have a variety of other styles. https://dansko.com/collections/womens-mary-janes?page=1

Margaret-I see nothing wrong with you directing them to some kids who could do it. It would be one thing if they had the garden and something unexpected came up-but sounds like when they put garden in they knew they wouldn't be there the whole summer.

Beth-your son is fortunate you and DH can provide assistance.

Lisa-I didn't pay our house off as quickly as you did (in fairness, we did a couple of refis over the years and paid off a couple of cars at at the much lower mortgage rate), but after DH passed and I could see the end clearly in sight I doubled up and got that out of the way. Too bad they don't give us the paper deed any more so we could have the old "mortgage burning party"!

Need to go get a couple of things done for work before family gets here.

Take care all,

Ginny in Ohio

barbiecat

We watched "Endeavour" on Amazon until they ran out of free seasons and we'd have to pay more to subscribe to something else to continue. So far we haven't chosen to subscribe to any other streaming services. There is so much to watch on the services we have that it doesn't matter. The Buddhists talk about attachment being the reason for suffering and I certainly don't want to be suffering because of attachment to a TV show. When we disconnected from cable/network TV to save over $200 a month, we had to let go of about a dozen favorite shows and local sports teams and now we don't miss them at all.

Carol, sorry your ankles are a problem for you.

Heather, you have a very focused and talented family. They are fortunate to have you and Johnny to support them in their activities.

Margaret, congrats on saying no. It's hard to do and worth the effort.

Lanette, During a drought time here I brought a five gallon bucket into the shower with me to catch water from the shower while it ran and heated up.

We just got home from picking up groceries. We don't buy many fresh fruits and veggies, but my challenge is to plan meals to use the perishable stuff early in the week. I abhor food waste. In the last year, the only food I've had to discard is lettuce.

Barbie in NW WA

kevrit

July 2023 Jump Back Up
Word of the year: appreciate. Today I appreciate that my children still come to me for help.

Meditation: daily. 8/30(82%(started Feb)94%,100%, 74%, 93%


1. cut back drinking and limit to 2 days a week. 4/8–(100%,100%,0%,0%,0%,0%)
2. Average 7,000 steps a week. 5989, (7,700,100%-9851,100%-9526,100%-9,559,100%, -8347,100%—7465,100%)
3. Update budget every 2 weeks 1/2 —(100%,100%,100%,100%,100%, 100%)
4. Contact close family every week (4x) 129/208—(100%,100%,100%,50%, 83%, 100% should be 137 by August 1)
5. Contact Donat and sibs once a month (8x)56/94 (100%,100%,100%,100%,100%,100%)
6. Weigh less last day of month compared to first until I reach 140. Start at 178.6,176,174.2,173.4,175.4,174,(100%,100%,100%,0%,100%,100%)
7. Develop a journaling practice by aiming to journal at least 5 days a week. 3/15 (100%,88%,100,100%,100%,100%,93%)
8. Read 12 books at least this year. 24/12 (100%,100%,100%,100%,100%,100%)
9. Pay off credit card debt by January 2024 by making monthly payments to NDR/Reach Financial 6/12—(100%.100%,100%,100%,100%,100%,100%)
10. Continue building emergency fund at SLFCU (min$25 a month)$25+$25+$71+700+25+25 +25 (100%,100%,100%,100%,100%,100%,100%)
11. April started putting 4% on income in savings. 700,200,200, 107 (100%,100%,100%)

January Met —100%
February met —-90%
March met met —-90%
April met——86.36%
May met——-89%
June met—-99%
July met — met
August met
September met
October met —
November met—
December met—



1. Take a small step to help overcome a problem or worry. I am working on helping my son through this tough time by being in contact with his case worker and tracking his location.
2. Adopt a growth mindset. Change “I can’t” into “I can’t…yet”. I try to never use those words. I follow Yoda’s ‘Do or not, there is no try”
3. Be willing to ask for help when you need it. I will. My back hurts today so will easily ask for help when I need it.
4. Find something to look forward to today. Missed posting this yesterday. So today I am looking forward to my therapy session.
5. Get the basics right: eat well, exercise and go to bed on time. Will do!
6. Pause, breathe, and feel your feet firmly on the ground. Will meditate today to help me do this.

7. Shift your mood by doing something you really enjoy. I really need to do this today. Did not do this. Had a bad day all around yesterday.
8. Avoid saying “must” or “should” to yourself today. I will try.
9. Put a problem in perspective by seeing the bigger picture.

10. Reach out to someone you trust and share your feelings with them.
11. Look for something positive in a difficult situation.
12. Write you worries down and save them for a specific “worry time”.
13. Challenge negative thoughts. Find an alternative interpretation.
14. Get outside and move to help clear your head.
15. Set yourself an achievable goal and take the first step.
16. Find fun ways to distract yourself from unhelpful thoughts.
17. Use one of your strengths to overcome a challenge today.
18. Let go of the small stuff and focus on the things that matter.
19. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.
20. When things go wrong, pause and be kind to yourself.
21. Identify what helped you get through a tough time in your life.
22. Find 3 things you feel hopeful about and write them down.
23. Remember that all feelings and situations pass in time.
24. Choose to see something good about what has gone wrong.
25. Notice when you are being judge mental and be kind instead.
26. Catch yourself over-reacting and take a deep breath.
27. Write down 3 things you are grateful for (even if today was hard).
28. Think about what you can learn about a recent problem.
29. Be a realistic optimist. Focus on what could go right.,
30. Reach out to a friend, family member, or colleague for support.
31. Remember we all struggle at times. It’s part of being human.

RVRita in NM

kevrit

Well, with the triple digit heat here, my exercise regime has gone out the window. I don’t have much room in the RV and it’s too hot outside to do much of anything. I could go in the lake but I’m not a swimmer so I would just soak. Not much there. I’ll get back to my good habits once it cools down some. Pip, I may need your boot in September!

My eating has not been good either. A lot of stress eating. My DH likes to have pastry around but I end up eating most of it for 2 reasons: 1. Stress, 2. I don’t want to let it go bad. Even with this, I’ve been keeping my weight down. I have stayed the same or lost 1/2 pound the last 2 months, so accomplishing something there regardless of the bad habits I’ve brought back into my life.

I lost 10 pounds between January and June, so all I need to do is not gain and I can continue my healthy life once the weather calms down. I doubt my stress will go away anytime soon, DS is back to making very poor choices. He does have an interview this coming week. I pray he gets the job. That will help bring him back down to earth. Being unemployed is not good for him mentally at all. (Affects his family too. He does really well when working full time.).

RVRita

bwcetc

Barbie ... I'm with you on food waste ...it burns me to throw things out.

Lanette ... I just found Midsomer Murders on PBS! I watch very little TV. Jeopardy regularly, currently Mets Baseball and then Buffalo Bills Football. I'm really liking Midsomer Murders!

Tracey ..you asked if my son's migraines started with his job. The answer there is "no, not really" .... he's been dealing with them since 2011. But there was an uptick here this past month with some increased work stress and he does computer work non-stop at his job. So in those slew of appointments we've added an eye exam!

Heather ... I too loved your photos of your cruise and bravo to your son completing his half ironman!

SylviaGamboa ... welcome! Where were you on your cruise and where were your photos taken from?

We're headed to a birthday party this afternoon for a friend of my husband's... it's at a small farm that does craft beer and homemade wines. While we're not drinkers, there was a promise of homemade cheesecake so I'm in for that!

Beth

exermom

Did Proforrm’s Get Strong Sexy and Skinny DVD then went for a walk. Then to WalMart. Made the pie for the gal at ceramics. I might take it with me tomorrow because I bet others are going to bring something on Wednesday.

Tracey – great shopping

Heather – congrats to your son and Bea

Yesterday Vince said he was sitting watching TV and suddenly his big toe stuck straight up. It wasn’t gout because he’s had gout and he knows the feeling. We’re thinking it was just cramping. Then he said that after a while suddenly his toe was on the ground

Barbie – I’m with you, I hate to waste food. The bad thing is that I’ll eat something just so it won’t go to waste. The freezer is my absolute friend.

Cloudy today, been spritzing all morning. Think I’ll go power wash the patio below for the pool party. I just know that if I get in the pool, it’ll start to rain.

Michele NC