WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR DECEMBER 2024

barbiecat
barbiecat Posts: 17,221 Member
in Motivation and Support
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:) Even those of us who don't observe any of the December holidays will find this month stressful with crowded stores, long lines, stressed friends and loved ones, and ads everywhere urging us to spend our money. This is a great time to be part of a supportive community to navigate it all.

:) Welcome to the supportive group of women who have been by my side for years. The name of the thread is "Women ages 50+" but all women are welcome.

:) Be sure to bookmark the page so you can find us again.

:) We like to sign out posts with a name or nickname and a location either specific or general. It helps make it all more personal.

:) Come back every day and join the conversation. We can make December a peaceful and productive time.

<3 Barbie in NW WA
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Replies

  • bwcetc
    bwcetc Posts: 2,830 Member
    Barbie … Thanks for taking the thread into December!

    Beth near Buffalo
  • exermom
    exermom Posts: 6,540 Member
    TG was fine. There were 8 of us. I was a bit worried that Ken & Lynette would begin the “I love you” stuff, but they were surprisingly good. Not a whole lot of leftovers. Gave some to Jess and some to Lynette, gave some to C and N

    Deb – sure hope your experience with a tree with new kittens turns out better then ours...lol. I can’t think of a way to make the missing pieces for the tree. Oh well...recyclables go out Monday

    Rosemarie – HUG

    Happy TG everyone! You all are one of the many things that I’m so grateful for

    Margaret – I’m so sorry about your friend

    Tracey – unfortunately, the only decorations we will have (except for the sizzle tree) will be outdoors. Right now Vince is totally stumped. If he tells the controller to put on certain lights, they work fine. When he goes to sequence them, it turns on random lights which indicates it’s more of a software problem. Honestly, he’s in his glory trying to figure out the problem.

    I picked up the stockings for the cats and almost died at the price. The embroidery of their name costs almost twice as much as the stocking (sometimes way more). But I really didn’t have anyone else to do it. The gal who usually does it for me had her cancer come back and is having diminished kidney failure and balance issues. She’s basically given up all quilting

    Vince braved the Black Friday shoppers and went to Lowe’s to get the PVC pipe for the runway for Santa and the Reindeer. I want us to use the runway lights this year since we haven’t used them in quite a long time.

    I made a green bean casserole thinking Jess would like it because she always makes it. She said she makes it for others, that she doesn’t like it

    M – ROTF “going to die, it was quite relaxing”...ROTF

    The landscaper replaced the one azalea bush. He replaced it last year but I didn’t know it so I didn’t water it. This year I know and am watering it. It’s supposed to get really cold (below freezing) so Vince disconnected the hoses. We have to take the water from the house to water the plant. Well, that’s OK

    Can’t wait to go to the podiatrist Tues. My heel is hurting a lot and I’m hoping that it’s just that I am unconsciously putting more pressure on my heel when I’m walking so that I put less pressure on the ball of my foot where the “thing” is. I just want to get back to normal walking. I felt so so bad that this time when Jess brought her dog here, I couldn’t take it for walks

    She’s going to a PAX show next weekend and might bring the animals here. Not sure. She was going to board the dog but I told her she could bring it here if the people she was going to ask can’t do it. I know Vince isn’t real happy about that, he feels that Ganon really traumatized Fred. But it’s only for the weekend. Her one cat we’ve nicknamed “Crazy Cosmo”, he runs and runs and runs. I suspect her other cat is thinking “phew, I get to rest, he has other playmates so will leave me alone”

    They now have this new way of logging in at BK (to start/end work). Sometimes the mgr has to overide because she forgets to put me in as working. No big deal. I mentioned to her “I assume when you’re not here M can do it”. I was shocked when she said “no” but that A could do it. They’re both hourly mgrs. The one mgr (M) is the one ex-from-hades

    Margaret – that picture was so very moving. That letter was wonderful, I passed it on to some people, especially my friend in Switzerland’s husband.

    Vicki – I’m so sorry about your grandson.

    Katie – so sorry about your brother but found the possum story a hoot.

    Don’t know if the pie was raw or not...I made another one shortly before dinner. I would have been mortified if the crust was raw so I made another one. If it’s raw, Vince won’t mind eating around it.

    Allie – hope the place sells fast, too. Thanks for the smile of the kids

    M – the RSV vaccine was the one I couldn’t get because I’m not 75 and I don’t have any of the underlying conditions like COPD. Vince couldn’t get it because he has asthma.

    Rori – you sound wonderful!

    Terry – your reading was very riveting

    Heather – happy birthday to your son!

    Pip – that santa and reindeer sitting on a log is so cute

    Sue – so glad you got heat back

    Holy guacamole! Already the Dec. thread. Thanks barbie

    Michele NC
    who really needs to get to her cards
  • LisaInArkansas
    LisaInArkansas Posts: 2,918 Member
    <3
  • TerriRichardson112
    TerriRichardson112 Posts: 19,090 Member
    Barbie: Thank you so much for providing us with this wonderful group.

    It’s hard to believe that the year is almost over. I had a good long catch up on Thursday with a friend that I hadn’t talked to in a while, and she said that the days had crawled, but that the months had flown. I thought it very apt.

    Tracey: Glad that you had a good sale. 🥰 your gift from Michaela. Such a thoughtful young girl.

    Heather: I agree with you about YouTube. Such a useful resource to have.

    🤗🤗🤗 and 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 for those who need them.

    🙋‍♀️ Miele failte to any newbies.

    ☘️ Terri

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,648 Member
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  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,648 Member
    edited December 1
    November Exercise Highlights

    Cycling:
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    Walking:
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    Activity Minutes:
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    Machka in Oz
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,648 Member
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    November Highlights - What I Did in November

    Intellectual/Occupational/Financial or Education/Career:
    • Excellent leadership conference on November 1.
    • Usual meetings, webinars, etc. - always learning.
    • Finished Clinical Costing uni course.
    • Heaps of SQL coding.

    Medical:
    • Doctor appointments - need more tests.
    • Dental cleaning - need more work.

    Fitness/Sports > Cycling > Audax Tasmania:
    • Best exercise time for the month.
    • Attended a cycling event for our club to see/meet the cyclists (as President of the club, I figured it's not a bad idea to be out there sometimes).
    • Organised a big cycling event.
    • Attended another cycling event to raise money for mental health - dinner on one day and a 55 km bicycle ride the next day

    House > Office > Computer:
    • Got taxes done.
    • Decluttered and got rid of some stuff.
    • Unpacked a bit.
    • Organised and tidied house.

    Garden:
    • Started digging out areas in front garden for planting.

    Spiritual:
    • Read the Bible every day.

    Emotional/Social/Recreation:
    • Beekeeping webinar.
    • Beekeeping meeting.
    • Added 3rd box to beehive. Busy bees!
    • Attended Brain Injury Association AGM.
    • Got to see a friend we haven't seen in years.
    • Read books just about every day this month.
    • Did a tiny bit of colouring.


    Machka in Oz
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,648 Member
    edited December 1
    barbiecat wrote: »
    🐕🐾Today was Bessie's annual wellness visit to the vet. She has short legs and can't jump into the car and after several recent events with his heart Jake realized that he can't lift a 50 pound dog so he was able to get a friend to help.
    🌻Barbie in NW WA

    Step stool?

    grandmallie wrote: »
    I will get her a 50.00 Amazon gift card..im not going out of my way to do anything extravagant for someone who ignores me.

    $50 is huge! That's the most we give anyone. Only rarely throughout my adult life have I gone over that amount. I've never felt that Christmas is a time to go into debt (i.e charging things on credit card) or generally spending much. For me, it's not about the gifts.

    Poerava14 wrote: »
    Hello from Phuket. I've tried to write a proper travelogue but too difficult on my phone. Will fill in more details once I'm home after the 3rd December. Meanwhile, this where I am now. Going to take a long swim soon as I post this.

    Google Phi Phi islands for a glimpse of where I went snorkeling. Truly amazing.

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    Rori
    Living the Island Life
    Phuket, Thailand

    Nice!

    Kind of like where I live but probably warmer.

    Looks like you're about 4 hours behind me.

    Snowflake1968 wrote: »
    Machka - I have exchanged gifts since grade 2,and for the last probably 20 years, if not more, we have had an ornament passed back and forth that opens and you put a little trinket of some kind in it. I love this little tradition we have and I won’t stop it.
    Tracey in Edmonton

    I like that tradition. :)

    Cute snowmen!


    Crepes - they were one of the things I learned to make in high school cooking class.

    Plus I've eaten quite a few of them while in France. :) I wasn't as fond of the savoury ones.




    Machka in Oz
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,648 Member
    SophieRosieMom wrote: »
    All of you who are stiff and sore when you first get out of bed, raise your hands (if your shoulders and elbows aren't hurting!). I'm grateful for the miracle of black coffee and stretching to set things right, and grateful I can generally get 6 or 7 hours of good sleep.

    But I'm going to stop by the "M" store next week and see what they have for "natural" pain relief that I can take at night when my back and/or neck are sore, something other than ibuprofen or muscle relaxers. I haven't been in that store for over 2 years - I'd stop in and buy DH some goodies from time to time. I think things have come a long way as far as medical applications. Right now I have a crick in my neck, it's been there the past few days. Heat and ice seem to help, plus I have PT exercises I've been doing.

    Lanette B)
    SW WA State

    I'm rarely stiff and sore when I get out of bed.

    If that happens, I start thinking about why:

    Exercise
    - did I do exercise the day before that I don't normally do? Sometimes I'm stiff and sore if I've wielded my mattock for 3 hours the day before.

    Sitting
    - did I spend more time sitting than usual? I get stiff and sore if I sit in bed (with my legs out in front of me), or sit in a chair for a lengthy period of time. I need to get up and move at least once an hour ... and limit the amount of time I sit.
    - If I have to sit, is my sitting and computer setup ergonomically correct? For example, I don't like arms on my office chairs because they force my shoulders up and I need to concentrate on sitting in such a way that my shoulders don't go up. I also need to focus on lowering/dropping my shoulders throughout the day if I find myself hunching.
    - Am I sitting upright or am I slouching? I have to make sure I sit upright more often.
    - Another thing to think about is the seat in the vehicle you use. One lady I know had terrible back pain for years. Then her company changed her company car, and her back was cured! It was the seat! I've also had to make several adjustments to my seat - raising it higher and making it more upright - to ease some back pain.

    Standing
    - When I stand, am I standing upright or am I slouching? First thing in the morning, I stand in front of the mirror and then stand as tall as I can, then extend my neck up as long as I can, and drop my shoulders. That seems to unscrunch me. When I stand up at work, I try to do the same thing.

    Lying down
    - What about the bed? Is it too hard? Too soft? Is the pillow the right height? How old is the mattress? Recently, I realised that my pillow had packed down too much and was a bit too low - this was causing some neck pain. I purchased a memory foam pillow cover with a bit of thickness to it, and the pillow is good again. The neck pain is gone. Recently, I also realised that my 11 year old firm mattress is probably aging and may need replacing but meanwhile, I needed something a little bit softer for my hip and feet. I have that now and it's great to wake up without hip and feet pain.

    Stretching
    - Do I stretch enough? I've started stretching much more than I used to and the results are amazing! I should have started this years ago.


    I'm waking up with less stiffness and soreness than I have in a while.

    Machka in Oz
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,648 Member
    edited December 1
    Memory Books ... Modern Heirloom Books ... Life Books, etc.

    The idea of capturing the lives of your parents has been around for a little while. I forwarded an email to that effect to my parents a few years ago. They didn't respond at the time, but a couple years later, my father started writing some of his life experiences.

    It's a nice idea. So often a relative passes away, and a little while later we think about them and wonder what various aspects of their lives were like.

    To me, it seems like a huge compliment that a child wants to know about their parents.

    I wouldn't want to handwrite my answers, but they're easily typed.

    These are some websites along those lines ... or, of course, a person could use Word.

    https://www.modernheirloombooks.com/new-blog/2020/3/28/50-essential-questions-to-ask-your-parents-to-capture-your-family-history

    https://www.lifetales.com/blog/best-questions-to-capture-familys-memories

    https://pageandpodium.com/blog/questions-record-family-stories/


    Of course, questions like "Take me on an imaginary tour of the house where you grew up. " presume that a parent grew up in one house. Neither of my parents did. Nor did my grandparents. I come from two lines of nomads. It would take them a while to take me on an imaginary tour of the houses where they grew up!! And it would be a book in itself to go through all the houses I've lived in!

    So perhaps the collection of questions could be limited to those the child does not know the answers to.

    Machka in Oz
  • 1948CWB
    1948CWB Posts: 1,624 Member
    :) Happy December 1st :)
  • pipcd34
    pipcd34 Posts: 17,303 Member
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  • jenferbar
    jenferbar Posts: 65 Member
    LisaInArkansas wrote: »
    Morning, my dears, so pleased to have made it to December.

    @jenferbar - Welcome! This is a lovely group of women who provide support around all aspects of our lives. Just let us know what name you'd like to be called and about where you are--if you sign your posts that way, we'll soon get to know you, like I sign mine as Lisa in AR. We do tend to avoid politics and religion, which makes this a safe place to be part of each others lives. Losing weight and keeping it off is about our whole lives, not just the scale. Glad you're here, join in wherever you feel comfy, don't forget to bookmark us so you can find us again.

    Jennifer From CT...I use my first 3 letters from first name, maiden name, married name as my id on MFP. : )
  • dlfk202000
    dlfk202000 Posts: 3,212 Member
    exermom wrote: »

    Deb – sure hope your experience with a tree with new kittens turns out better then ours...lol. I can’t think of a way to make the missing pieces for the tree. Oh well...recyclables go out Monday



    Holy guacamole! Already the Dec. thread. Thanks barbie

    Michele NC
    who really needs to get to her cards

    Do you have any pictures of the tree? Maybe we can figure out a way to fix it- would hate for you to have to just toss it. Sorry there were pieces missing. How hard was it to put together? I looked at it and was clueless.

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