Ages 70+

Joy1580vb · August 15

Finished in my pea patch and froze a few bags. Surprised that they yielded as much as they did since we had such hot dry weather. A coyote destroyed about 1/3 of my carrot row. I covered the rest with my frost cover cloth and anchored it down with some metal pegs. Not sure if that will deter it but will see what happens. Might just start to dig some of them up and put them in the fridge. They are small yet and really need a couple more weeks.

Was really smokey here yesterday. Just hazy this morning and you can't smell the smoke like you could yesterday. Saw a baby hummingbird at the feeder this morning so our pair raised a little one. Nice to see.

Off for groceries this morning.

Joy1580vb · August 18

Quiet smokey day here today. Closed the windows as smoke rolled in about an hour ago and is so thick. Will be keeping pets indoors for most of the day.

Not much planned for the day except for a bit of laundry. Coyote is still leaving my garden carrots alone so might end up with a few. Starting to get a few cucumbers. Not sure if I will get enough to pickle or make relish....may just end up eating them fresh.

oceanmelody · August 19

Sorry to hear about the smoke. A day of rain or being on the verge of rain here.
One daughter and boyfriend have Covid. I guess it will always be with us now.

Joy1580vb · August 19

oceanmelody We could use some rain but have only had a couple of scattered showers lately. I'm sure covid is with us for a very long time now. I just keep getting vaccinated when I'm advised to and so far haven't had it (as far as I know).

Stepped on the scale this morning and pleased that it finally showed a bit of a decline. Now down to 185 which is a loss of 3 pounds since July 24th. Keeping up with my eating and logging plan.

oceanmelody · August 20

I’ve had it twice even though I’ve had every shot and booster. First time from a family member, second time I have no idea. Waiting for new vaccine this fall.
Good job on the scale! I’m down a little.Went off the wagon today but usually I am pretty focused on my 1200 calorie routine.

Joy1580vb · August 20

Good for you on keeping focused on your calorie routine. For me, that is the key. I stay away from junk food and just concentrate on healthy eating within my 1200 calorie range. There are times that I stray especially if we go out to eat. I try to make healthy choices when this happens but I tend to add a desert to my meal which I don't have when I cook at home (along with an occasional glass of wine if it is a special occasion).

Was in touch with one of the ladies I met on my Newfoundland trip and it was nice to touch base with her. She is my age (74)...single (not sure if she was married) and travels quite a bit. Lives in England. She has already booked a tour to Sicily next year and trips to Norway and Morocco for 2026. Way ahead of me. I'm still trying to find an escorted tour for Quebec that covers the areas I would like to see in June next year. Waiting for one tour company to come out with their 2025 brochure. Contacted them and they said should be out by the end of September. They had a tour this year that was called Towns and Villages of Quebec that sounded interesting. Will see what happens.

Nice clear skies today which is a treat.

oceanmelody · August 22

Quebec is really nice. Love Montreal and Quebec City. Pretty countryside. Would love to see Gaspe.
Threatening rain but not getting much. Went to the lake last night and the waves were almost ocean like in the wind.

Joy1580vb · August 23

Bit of a hazy day today but can't smell smoke so happy about that. Busy making apple pies as our fruit trees produced quite a few. Have to pick up some more shortening when I go grocery shopping tomorrow as need to make more pastry. Doing laundry this morning. Harvest has just started in our area. Hubby is out swathing the wheat. Will take him a few days as the crop was flattened quite a bit in places due to strong winds and rain downpours.

oceanmelody · August 24

What kinds of apples do you grow? My area has many fruit farms and orchards.

Joy1580vb · August 24

Nice to have orchards in your area. We have to travel a couple of hours to nearest orchard. That's where I bought my new plum tree last year. Have a Pembina plum that has some fruit on it along with my new Toka plum. The Toka plums are very small (about the size of a cherry). Hopefully that is just the result of our extremely hot, dry weather this year. The fruit is supposed to be medium to large size plums.

My apple trees are all very well established. Have September Ruby, Harcourt and one tree that has 3 varieties on it (one is Colette apples and I have to look up the other 2). The 3 variety tree are all cooking apple varieties. It is my oldest tree but still produces. Also have 3 pear trees. Enjoy the fruit trees as it is so nice to just go out and pick fresh fruit. Have to get busy and make the rest of my pies as quite a few of the apples are falling to the ground now.

Went grocery shopping this morning and we ended up stopping for lunch so will be over on my calorie count today. Suggested just a hot dog and salad for supper tonight and hubby was ok with that. Hot dogs are chicken weiners and I have homemade hot dog buns so not too bad for calories.

oceanmelody · August 25

Here the most common apples are Honeycrisp, Empire, Cortland, Gingergold, 20 ounce, Macintosh,Northern Spy., Jonathan. We are lucky that there are farm stands and stores close by.if we had our own trees the deer would eat everything.
I think New York State is second in apple production after Washington state.
Wanted to exercise today but after errands and chores there wasn’t much time.
Hope to get a bike ride in tomorrow.

Joy1580vb · August 26

Very nice apple varieties. Most are probably for zone 3 or 4 I think. We are zone 2 so have to be careful what variety we choose as are winters can be too harsh. Have gotten away with some zone 3 plants in the yard though if planted in a sheltered location. My new plum is zone 3 and wintered very well but I planted it in with my apple and pear trees.

Finished with my pie making for now. Have nine tucked away in the freezer to enjoy later in the fall/winter. Not sure if I will do anything with my September Ruby apples. They are very small. Won't be ready until later in September so have time to think about it.

Hubby is still swathing the wheat. Taking longer as some areas have been flattened quite a bit from wind. Has to go slower to pick it up. Might finish today.

Coyote is staying out of my carrots. Went out and picked a few along with some cucumbers and dug up a hill of potatoes. Nice to have homegrown produce.

oceanmelody · August 27

Used my cucumbers to make refrigerator pickles today. Organized my new basement craft area a bit. Should have exercised but didn’t have it in me after yesterday’s 22.5 miles bike ride.
I live in zone 6. Amazed you can grow so much where you are!

dena789 · August 27

Wondering if I could join in here? I just turned 72 and I’m working at dropping another 35 to 45 pounds. I used MFP a few years ago and managed to drop 84 pounds but I had picked some of those back up again. I started again seriously right after my sisters and I got together in February when I realized I was, once again, the heaviest of us. There was a time in my younger years when I didn’t have a weight problem, was always the thinnest and I’ve struggled to get it through my brain that that person/time is long gone. At my heaviest, I was 269#. I was able to get down to 185# and slowly, over the last 7 years I ballooned back up to 234#. So, I got myself back to tracking my food every day since February 24th. I’ve lost 22# thus far. It’s slow progress but I’m ok with that. At least it hasn’t been going up!

Joy1580vb · August 27

dena789 Welcome to our little group. Well done on your weight loss....22# is amazing. My weight loss is very slow. Started at 188 lbs the last week of July and now down to 184. My ultimate goal is to get to 150 but I have a mini goal to get to 179 by the end of September. I try to stay within my calorie goal of 1200/day and have added walking outside for 30 minutes per day.

oceanmelody Wow..that is a long bike ride! Yes, living in zone 2 can bring it's challenges. We have very cold winters but warm summers. I can grow lots of different types of vegetables during the summer with no problem. The one thing that has come a long way since I started gardening (over 50 years ago) is corn. When I started, the only corn variety was normal sugar. Now they have a lot of sugar enhanced that are under 70 days and do well in our area. I have never tried the supersweet varieties as they tend to be over 70 days to maturity which I don't think will work for our shorter season.

oceanmelody · August 28

Hi Dena789! It sounds like you are doing really well! It’s hard to lose any weight when you get older, I think. I would just be happy to lose 15 pounds more, but the scale seems stuck in a two up two down position.

Joy1580vb · August 29

Scale took another dip this morning so down to 183. Happy about that....slowly coming down.

Hubby finished swathing and of course it has now rained. Will probably be a good week before he can try combining. We didn't get very much rain but even just a bit can slow things down. Hopefully harvest will not be a long process.

Tomatoes are still green but I noticed that the Beefsteak ones are just starting to turn a bit. Read an article yesterday about the origin of tomatoes which was quite interesting. The author went on to say that the best tasting tomato in the world is the San Marzano which is an heirloom paste tomato. I have six of them growing in my garden for the first time and waiting for them to ripen. They appear to be greener than the Beefsteak ones so I may end up having to pick them green to ripen in the house. Depends when we get frost alerts.

oceanmelody · August 30

Took a long walk in the woods at a new to us park. It was quite lovely, but trail markings made lots of appearances early on, then dwindled. Never did find any trail other than red! Oh, well. Wound up walking more than we had planned.
Not getting as many tomatoes as I’d like, but cucumbers are doing well. San Marzanos sound fabulous!

Joy1580vb · August 30

Well done on the walking. My cucumbers are very slow. Have lots of blossoms but not many cucumbers at any given time. Have just been enjoying them fresh and not sure if I will have enough to make pickles.

Overcast today and hoping it won't rain. Hubby may start combining tomorrow.

oceanmelody · August 31

Canoe ride today. Beautiful lake with no motor boats. Perfect weather. Shoulders will hurt in the morning!

Ages 70+

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