WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR AUGUST 2014

Hello, all,

On the iPad,so this will be short and sweet. Horrible rain all last night and today--good news, tent didn't,t leak at all. Thunderstorms predicted and DD ill--red sore throat, ears...don,t know at this point if just a cold or strep/ear infection...the whole deal, so came to my cousins family home for tonight, will see how she is in the am. Here alone as cousin is back at their home in Philly. Hope tent makes it through the weather tonight.

Adored Robin Williams, saw him in person last winter, so sad.

I am a non flyer too. Have done it, just don,t like not being able to see where I,m going, even on a bus you can see where you are going. I did like looking down at night at all the towns and their lights tough, also, one plane from Pittsburg to Detroit had a fire in the galley once and that kind of did it for me.

Can,t write more,exhausted.
Best to everyone,
Yanniejannie

P.S. Must congratulate Tere!!!! I think you have had excellent advice, nothing to add.

I am madgoth and I live in Alabama. It has been a long time for me to come back here, I am determined again. New motivation, so I am on day 5 of my plan and I am doing very well. I did eat 2 klondike bars tonight, but that is the only bad thing I have done in almost a week. So I am still very pleased with my progress.

I went to a hypnosis session last week. I wanted to try it because I quit smoking that way and felt I would have success. Since the session, I have felt better and much more positive, I haven't craved sweets as I had, and I have been eating a lot less carbs than I usually do. So its going alright and now I am trying to work in the food journaling and exercise into the scheme.

So hello to all of you and I hope to give as well as get support from all of you.

I think my goal for August is routine.

Good morning everyone!

It's sunny here at the moment, but the ground is still nice and damp. After all the rain our runner (string) beans now have tiny beans on. They hate the hot weather. Got to pick some more yellow zucchini today before they become giants.:laugh: I want to get some parsley seeds in the ground, some more mixed salad and some radishes. Also fill the gaps in the beet snd parsnip rows. :bigsmile:
Tonight we are having the Hairy Bikers Spanish style chicken, one of our stand bys. Will pick almost the last of our French beans. They loved the hot weather.

Still feeling happy about my clothes expedition. I'm looking forward to wearing the bright pink sweater. It's very light, so maybe next week if we go out for an evening meal with my friend. I haven't booked the pub yet, so that is a job for today.
I also had an email from the new friends whose house we rented in France. The husband's mother is in her 90s and he is going through all the stress that so many of you write about. They are currently trying to get her into a home, but are mindboggled at the cost. :sad: The wife also has a 90+ mother, but she is independent. We hope to get together for a meal at the same pub at the end of September, before we fly off to NYC!:bigsmile: I like the pub because the food snd atmosphere are excellent and I can have my favourite seafood. I usually have mussels and scallops.:bigsmile:

I am looking forward to the Great British Bake Off tonight on TV. It has the whole country galvanised!:laugh:

I was talking to DH about the way he has published his books on Amazon. He encoursged me to self publish some of my own "back catalogue" I had a moderately successful career as a children's writer and a few other pieces, but my adult novels bit the dust, despite some very near misses. The novels are now "historicsl documents", rather than something I would write now, but I would love them to see the light of day. I was a very unhappy, depressed and disturbed young woman when I wrote the first ones and the novels reflect that. To tell the truth I find them a bit embarrassing, but I would like them to outlive me. I believe there are computer programmes that will transform scanned in print into a Word document, so I will have to do some research. They were typed on an old Olivetti portable with carbon copies.:laugh: Later ones exist as floppy disks so I will have to find someone who can convert those.
I ask myself, is it worth it? But it is a bit like old photographs - we value them for what they reflect of us at the time. I don't suppose my children will read them, but at least they are there for anyone who wants to remember their great, great granny.
I think I will start with the one that was nearest to getting published at the time and only missed out because of financial pressures on the prestigious publishing company. It is called WINDOWS and is quite odd and disturbing. My agent compared it to Rosemary's Baby. :laugh: I am glad that my mental state is sooooooo much better now.:happy:

Love to all. Going to be making my double salmon rolls for next week's starter today.:bigsmile:

Heather in sunny and beautiful Hampshire UK

Madgoth from AL: Welcome to a great group.:flowerforyou:

Alison: I’m not surprised to learn that you did the right thing and returned money to a coworker years ago. You are constantly doing your best to do the right thing for others. I’m glad you shared the story.:flowerforyou:

Heather: Mussels and scallops being available as pub food is amazing. You can find such dishes in nice restaurants around here, but few taverns. I do realize that taverns and pubs aren’t quite the same thing. British Columbia has some great pubs where we’ve eaten delicious steamer clams. In our area most worthwhile seafood is available in nicer restaurants rather than informal taverns. There is an exception nearby. A little tavern in the next town has fabulous Crab Louies and Crab Cocktails. Good luck with getting your novels republished. Are you writing new things now?:flowerforyou:

Sylvia: Congratulations on your continuing success at losing excess weight & improving your health. Your shopping trip with your DGD was such a lovely thing to do. :flowerforyou:



I had a diet blow out yesterday, and I’m blaming MFP for this one. :mad: :mad: :mad: Somehow my calorie goal was increased by 500 calories without my knowledge or approval. I thought I had lots of calories left, so I ate extra, wanting to avoid l eating too little. I’ve reset it this morning. How did this happen? Has anyone else had their goal changed dramatically upward without their knowing or consent?

Today I will be driving my son’s car to a town in Washington midway between our place and his so I can trade it for our car. I’m not sure whether DH will be willing to come along for the ride, but I hope he will feel good enough to come with me.

Katla in beautiful NW Oregon

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Thomas A. Edison



August Goals:
1. Log every bite and swallow.
2. Cardio exercise at least 3 days a week.
3. Have fun every day.
4. Drink at least three glasses of water daily, preferably more!

Katla - we have a phenomenon over here called a "gastro pub". :laugh: It all started in the 90s when old pubs started to do home cooked food. Now a lot of "pubs" are really quite smart restaurants with a bar bit in the front.
This particular place, about 8 miles from us, is one of the best in the area. You can read the reviews of "The Bugle Inn", Twyford, on Trip Advisor. I have reviewed it and received several helpful votes. It is by no means a cheap eat! ! ! !

I have just finished rolling my double salmon roll from bbcgoodfood. I managed to cut a bit off and roll it separately so now I have a starter for my friend on Monday as well as the bbq the following Friday. :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: I have served it before snd it freezes beautifully.

I'm going to give my patio pots a bit of liquid feed in a minute to see them through until the autumn. The geraniums are a bit battered by the storms, but they will recover. DH is trimming our front hedge.

I have looked on google and it looks as if I wilk be able to scan in the typed version of my books. I might have to upgrade Adobe and Word to newer, better versions. That would cost money. My laptop really could do with an overhaul or replacing, but I think it could cope. I could outsource it of course, but I think I would still have to upgrade Word. I only have 2003, but my laptop keeps trying to convert everything to 2007 and then I can't use it.:grumble: Like lots of you I am perfectly happy with the old version. I don't need an all singing, all dancing one.:noway:

DH picked loads of plums off the tree. We have a bumper crop this year. :bigsmile:

Heather again in the UK

Thanks for the welcome Katia

Well, a new day. So far I have eaten half an avocado with rye crisp and some mandarin oranges. I also spent some time looking up things low in carbs that I might be able to use as a breakfast. I love eggs, but I do get tired of them every day.

The plan I am attempting reminds me of Atkins, although I don't want to eat so much meat and cheese like I did when trying that diet in the past. But anyway, I am getting into the habit of thinking before shoving something in my mouth and looking it up first.

I don't have any big plans for today, just keeping on track.

Good morning, ladies of a certain age,


I gave my legs a rest this morning. I realize that I should do this more often, but I just like biking so much. It is also therapy for me, it helps with depression and gives me a high like I always hear runners get. The biggest bonus is that on these long rides I always have my best ideas.
Sylvia, I agree with you that there is something magical about living in the desert. My bike path goes right through the desert and I see roadrunners, quails, lizards of all sizes, bighorn sheeps and even snakes sometimes. In spring time the wildflowers and the blooming cacti are really beautiful, now of course everything is nearly brown .. But and there is always a but isn' t there? it seems to get hotter every year. If we do not stop polluting our earth we will be living in a hell hole.

Today in the news they reported that Lake Mead is at its lowest level ever. Now for those of you who are not so familiar with this area of the country, Lake Mead is formed by Hoover Dam and fed by the Colorado river. The water of Lake Mead does not only supply the Las Vegas area with over two million people but also the Los Angeles area with over 15 million people. If the trend continues we will run out of water.

Since decades already we are encouraged to transform our gardens in a stone desert with very few drought resistant plants. I did that in a way right from the beginning. But I like green and colors, so my yard is full with oleander and I have a fig tree, several pomegranate trees and an apricot tree which turned into a peach tree??? So when I look out of my windows I see only green, but now I am worried that I will not be able to afford that anymore as the water bill goes up and up, despite me trying to save water in every possible way.


I also agree with you , Sylvia, about the depressed people. There are still too many who do not realize what a life threatening illness that is. I am always looking at the high suicide numbers of veterans. Mental illness is practically ignored by most and is a huge cash cow for the pharma industry. Only I have feeling that the medications often create more problems than do any good. Therapy is out of reach for most people.


Michele

Anybody who goes to live in another country when they are an adult, will never completely feel at home. Your formative years and your values are set by different standards, customs and culture. You did not go to school in the new country and you do not have childhood or college friends. So it is difficult. That does not mean that you are not enjoying it, it only means that you will never feel completely at home.

The funny thing what happens over the years is that you do not feel at home in your country of origin either, because you are so used to your new country.

About the money finding thing. I wonder too. Last year I found a handbag in a grocery store cart in the parking lot. So I took to the bag to the customer service desk. I did not even look inside. Within a few minutes at least four or five employees of the store gathered and went through the bag and they found a driver's license in it. They said they are going to notify the owner. But they never asked me for my name and phone number and afterwards I felt insecure if I had done the right thing and if I shouldn't have taken it to a police station or tried to locate the owner myself. After all a grocery store is not really an authority for lost items .
I shop in this store regularly and they never said anything that they found the owner.


Renny
The tour company I was working for employed a lot of Dutch students in summer because they spoke so many languages. When I was in high school our first foreign language was French because we were so close to France and the second English. Nobody learned Dutch, because all the Dutch people we knew spoke German. My father could understand it because he grew up near the Dutch bordr.

Good morning ladies,

Today I did 40 minutes on the treadmill and some yoga. I checked my measurements yesterday and am glad to say I have been maintaining since June 2nd. This is tricky, I still have to watch everything I eat and not be tempted to fall back into my old habits. I love bread, pasta and wine!

Anne, I do enjoy hearing about your experiences growing up and moving to the US. I also agree with what you read in your Yoga book about diet. Meat should be treated as a side dish.

Cynthia, I'm glad you are back and had safe travels. Sleep well.

HSDramamom, you are correct to focus on your clothes and not the scale. I need to remind myself of this!

Hubby and I are going out to lunch and then probably go to a movie. He's suggesting I head for the shower.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Cindy in OK

Good afternoon friends,

Anne agree with you about Atkins. I try to eat a high fiber diet. I added fiber to my settings. I try to hit that or go over. I still eat too much animal protein in cheese and meat.

Had a good time with teachers I used to work with. We were celebrating the retirement of a couple of them. Sat in the backyard on a beautiful summer day. Neighbors dogs came over to play. Sometimes the growl and bark when I have friends over. They must have sensed these were friends. They were very well behaved. It was a brunch and I made refrigerator oatmeal and an egg dish. They brought other things to fill out the menu. Yum.

Today continue to log as I work to maintain m y weight.:drinker:

2014 word: contentment
MNMargaret

Vicki - just google Hairy Dieters' Spanish style chicken bake. I use a red pepper, not a green one and halve the recipe for the two of us.
Or Hairy Bikers' the same.
I have the book of the TV series on my kindle. The Hairy Bikers did a series of dieting programmes with recipes because they were putting on weight. They lost a lot of weight at the time, but I don't think it has lasted.
I love the Spanish chicken, the beachside paella, the lasagne, which I make with zucchini (they used leeks for the layers), and the Moroccan tagine, but the chicken is the best and our regular favourite.:bigsmile:

Well it was a productive day for sure! Absolutely NO one was at work…so quiet! I got lots done! Hooray! It is a gorgeous and sunny and warm day. We were going to work on the taxes tonight but will have to start with hunting and gathering LOL. Actually we have everything in a file, so it’s really a matter of sorting and organizing!

DH is jumping around because his new speakers for the jeep just arrived! I bought a whole day bed set on line for a ton of money and was pleased today to get 1) a sheet set, 2) a pillow, and 3) a mattress pad at pennys for a whopping $17.00 with my rewards point. So now I don’t feel so bad about the other stuff.

Barbie: fresh peaches and for free! YUM maybe I’ll put a “free cucumber” sign on my front lawn!

Ann: I get frustrated about the language issue too but for another reason. Omaha has a HUGE and very diverse immigrant and refugee population and there are no other languages anywhere except Spanish. We even have Mayans here and guess what they don’t speak Spanish!

Renny: crud be gone!

Michele: were you glad for all that rain?

Yanniejannie: my issue with flying is the lack of control. I am confident I could fly any plane better than any pilot even without any experience LOL

Katla: good/bad news on the surgery. Glad DH has a great surgeon but sorry he has to wait. Hopefully the time will go by fast! I have never had my calorie goals change on mfp but that is awful and so sorry that happened to you

Hello Madgoth: welcome aboard. Good to hear some positive results from hypnosis

Heather: Hairy Bikers Spanish chicken? Now where did you meet hairy bikers? LOL

Sylvia: It may sound funny but I always liked buying bras with my girls. They both are little and they have their pick of the cutest bras ever...much nicer than what I can buy for my “big girls”. I was a C-cup in 6th grade, so I have never had much selection!

Dramamom: good for you and the loose pants!

Cynthia: welcome home!

Strassenkoenig: my dh’s mother moved to Phoenix and several years ago we went to visit her and I was appalled at all the huge green lawns everywhere! I kept saying “I thought there was a desert here!” She has long since died, but her friends who still live near her say that all the houses are changing their yards back to native plants to conserve water. We really need to pay attention to our earth!

Vicki: hope you are enjoying this nice weather!

Rita; I agree that alcohol adds useless calories…but I do love my wine! I try to “save up” for it

Jane: a property manager/management company can be a real estate company or a company that just deals with rentals. It
sounds like you are dealing with individual home owners. If you use a business, they have to follow the tenant-landlord laws of your state. If you are using a business and not being rented too for no reason, you can file a complaint and make them rent to you There are also some programs for people who have “bad credit” due to house losses from losing their jobs when the economy melted down. If you are being denied because of that history, you can look into those programs. I just wish you the best of luck!

Well dinner is on….sausage jambalaya, fried zucchini (I know, I know), and a big salad. I have been looking forward to this meal all week! It’s our one red meat dish this week. OK, take care, Meg from warm and sunny Omaha

Today has been nice. Mellow weather, mellow me. My son-in-law emptied the 5th wheel (travel trailer) where we had stored all the extra stuff. (No garage.) The 5th wheel will go to a new home next week. It will be nice to see the last of it. It was my home for 3 years while we waited for the house to be built.

I’m slowly sorting through my bins that were in the 5th wheel. Now they’re on my porch! I had the bright idea a year of so ago or doing an eBay business so bought lots of bargains (good prices, good brands) at the thrift stores. Those things are filling up several bins. I also have several bins of books that I’d like to get rid of.

Unfortunately, after buying stuff to sell and clearing out my bookshelves, reality set in. Why is it that reality never matches the dream, lol? My purpose with the eBay biz is to earn a little extra moola (that’s always nice) and be active at the same time. I can usually pick up a little tech writing but that is so sedentary (not to mention boring).

I’m thinkin’ the eBay business is like exercise. The prospect is daunting but it probably won’t be so bad once I get going. The worst thing about it is probably that it’s solitary. I tend to keep to myself too much as it is. I do love spending time with my kids and grandkids though (several of which live one wall away!) so I’m not a total hermit and, of course, I spend lots of time with other family members when I'm in the Bay Area.

It's harder up here in the Northern California Sierra Foothills of California. I've lived here for 10+ years now. I spend time with a couple of friends, but not much. It seems much harder to get to know people at this age than it was a few years ago.

Deb, interesting info about contacting FitBit customer service. It's worth a try. I hadn’t thought of that. If I do get another FitBit Zip (one way or the other), I’ll be a lot more careful with it. I still can’t figure out where the heck it went.

Welcome, Viola. Oh, do I know the lose it/regain it cycle! You are in the right place to lose it and, with determined effort (I’m telling this to myself too!), keep it off.

Molly, thanks for your input re the FitBit. Hmm. Decisions, decisions.:ohwell:

Sylvia, a 38 yr old son does not make you old. :noway: My daughter is 46. Agghhh. How did that happen? Of course I was only 12 when I had her. (Just kidding, but I was pretty young.)

I’m sorry to hear about the situation with your son’s kids (your grandkids). It sure sounds like the mom is on drugs. I hope your son is aggressive in his approach to all this. Supervised visits certainly seem appropriate. My heart aches for you.:brokenheart:

BTW, the metal FitBit bracelet is gorgeous. Too pricy for me but fun to look at.

Katia, I hope the surgery date works well for you and that all goes well. I’ll be thinking about you. Update: your DH got a surgery date! I hope he’ll be able to deal successfully with the pain between now and then. I’m glad he’s going to a good surgeon.

Congrats on the pound(s?) lost.:flowerforyou: You are smart to keep yourself at goal.

Vicki, woot, woot. Nice loss. :flowerforyou: You’re doing the work to make it happen. It’s nice to see the evidence once in awhile. Congrats on staying the course. It’s not easy. I hope you will do what I want to do when I get there….keep your eye on the goal….and continue to keep it there. It’s so easy to regain the weight. Been there, done that, hope not to do it EVER again!!!

Jane, wishing you luck and the absolute right place.

Dee, take care of yourself. My daughter is just getting over an awful bug. :huh: I’m taking elderberry syrup religiously and giving it to my grands. (I make my own as it’s far less expensive than buying it.) Elderberry syrup is one of a very few things (the list does not, surprisingly, include Vitamin C) that’s been proven to work.

Meg, I smiled at your story about Benny Beagle. I have a little half miniature poodle / half Yorkie (I think). She has a terrible barking problem. Actually, she doesn’t mind her bark but everyone else does. She has the shrillest, loudest bark I’ve every heard.

I was using a citronella bark collar (it sprays citronella when the dog barks – a scent that dogs hate). Unfortunately, the collar broke. Her barking was getting worse every day so I sprayed some of the citronella directly on the collar and put it on her when she barked. Oh. Poor thing. I’d sprayed enough citronella on the collar that some got on her fur. She ran around, threw herself on me then threw herself on the ground. :laugh: :noway: :laugh: :noway: :brokenheart:

I felt so badly. I took the collar off and wiped her neck off with a damp cloth. She was traumatized. But…here’s the good thing. Whenever she starts barking, I get the collar and just show it to her. If she barks (more than a bark or two) I hold the collar where she can smell it. It works, lol! :happy: We’ll see how it does over time. I was going to order a new citronella collar but maybe I won’t have to.

BTW, for anyone who has problems with strange dogs being aggressive when they’re out walking or biking, they make a citronella spray. From the customer comments on Amazon, it works amazingly well. Will even stop a dogfight. The dogs just slink away.

Thanks for your advice, Meg, about dementia. There are times when it is funny. My brother will talk to my dad then ask him a question about what they’d just talked about. Most of the time, my dad won’t remember. My brother smiles and my dad is good-natured about it. He actually knows he can’t remember things and will comment that his memory is shot.

At this point, he can still hold a conversation, play Sudoku and, in fact, play a mean game of chess. He just can’t remember worth a darn. The worst times are when he thinks he’s younger.

Fairly recently (I might have mentioned it here), he wanted to drag the exercycle down 3 steps from one deck to the other, then down more steps and a ramp to the storage shed. This when he’s using a walker and can barely get around. He gets cantankerous when you tell him it’s not a good idea. He really must think he’s 70 again (and he was in great shape at 70).

I don’t win when I argue with him so I simply pulled the exercycle down myself. Fortunately he does still listen to my mom.

Gloria, I think I understand your frustration over Robin Williams. I had an aunt by marriage who, I’m guessing, was both schizophrenic and bipolar. (However, she wouldn’t put up with any doctors who suggested such things to her.)

Whenever my uncle, who was sick with lung cancer, had to see a doctor, my aunt did too and her problem was always worse. She was truly surprised when he died. Go figure. But I think it was part of her mental illness.

She was fun to be with when she was younger but increasingly less so as she got older. She constantly asked for advice, saw a kajillion doctors about this and that, and never, ever, took any of the advice she was given. After my uncle died, she sold their house, then spent all the money living in hotels for a year.

She contracted breast cancer and absolutely refused treatment. Her sons begged her to go but she wouldn’t. She eventually died from it. Not a big surprise there.

Dealing with someone who's mentally ill can leave you feeling helpless and sometimes angry. (I was furious when my aunt gave away some antiques that had been in the family for many years – to parasites she met at church. Grrr.) I don’t know whether Robin Williams’ family tried to intervene. They might have but there’s no way to know.

A friend’s (in her early 40s) dad recently killed himself. I assume he was depressed. He didn’t reach out for help. He lived on the same property as my friend. She did everything she could for him. He wasn’t an easy person either. She’s very angry about what he did. It left her with a mess of paperwork, tangled finances, etc. So…I can’t blame her for feeling angry. It’s frustrating when you don’t know what to do or what to expect.

Urr. I’m starting to feel down myself thinking about these thing. I enjoyed Robin Williams, particularly in the early years. Mrs. Doubtfire was, to me, hilarious. I’m sorry to think about what he must have gone through. I feel the same way about my aunt. It doesn’t help altogether with the frustration of someone taking their own life though, which is what my aunt did even though she wouldn’t have said so.

On to happier subjects!

Barbie, I love peaches! I got some organic ones from the produce stand not too far from here. Yum. One of my fondest memories is of being a kid, standing with my sibs in a line alongside the car, which was parked at a produce stand on a mountain road. We all leaned over to eat our enormous and luscious peaches, juice running down and dripping off our chins.

Hi Anne, my mom does have some old-fashioned views on eating. However, she loves to drench her food with butter and the level in the mayo jar goes down fast. But her portions are small, lol.

BTW, you’re a perfect candidate for some citronella spray. I wonder if you could make a holder on your bike for it.

Welcome to every new (and re-newed) MFPer.

Heather, it’s nice to have something you want to outlive you. My tech writing career didn’t produce anything I care much about, but the family cookbook I put together will live on. It’s 260 pages long and is filled with favorite recipes from everyone in the family, pics going back to when my folks were first married, anecdotes I collected from everyone, and quotes to match the anecdotes. My sister, mom, and a couple of nieces illustrated it. I treasure it and look at it as my legacy.

The thing I loved most about putting the cookbook together was reading the recipes from the various generations. They ranged from Jello salad straight from the 70’s to very-gourmet barbecued oysters – and everything in between.

Sylvia, I liked your advice to Heather. Writing does use a big chunk of your soul. Your advice to save what she wrote was lovely.

Pat, thank you for the touching memories. It’s amazing how much things have changed in such a short time.

I got to bed at a decent hour last night and feel a million times better today. I don’t think I’ll aim for 7pm, lol, but 10 or so would be great, particularly since my grands and daughter like to wake me when they wake up (which is often way too early!)

Mimi

OMG
She's keeping the baby and the other grandmother is throwing a shower (ugh trying not to be judgmental...relatives don't throw showers) and of course it's on our anniversary and we were planning on being out of town. She didn't exactly invite us though; kind of like DH's birthday party where poor BF didn't know he was supposed to come. Going to go cry and poke my eyes out now. Meg

Ugh. Don't really have any words, but I do wish you won't poke your eyes out. xo

Thanks ladies for your comments and advice. I am not actually doing atkins, but I have before. I just can't believe that is healthful. I did lose, but I could never add any foods back after the first few weeks.

ANything I do that involves eating less, healthy and exercising will be positive for me. I completed my food list for today and went over a few calories, but still acceptable.

My next step will be to continue as I have been, and start adding in the exercise tomorrow. This weekend I will weigh and measure and begin to actually track my weight. I just find it hard to do all the new behaviours at once. It overwhelms.

I do appreciate the supportive remarks and I hope to become more familiar with all of you so I can return the favor. That is all from me for the day, and I will see you ladies tomorrow. Have a great evening!

Hi, ladies,

Just a few words before I fall into bed. DD is somewhat better but one ear is still quite troublesome and the nose is constant. Just gave her some NyQuil and tucked her in. We dismantled our camp two days early, lost money there, but I can't see her sleeping in all that dampness. So, we are back at cousin's house.

LOL, Meg........Thought I was the only person on earth who went ballistic about the impropriety of a relative giving a shower, glad to see I have company!

Also entering my two cents on the Spanish language discussion. I think years ago people were much more humble and grateful to arrive here and proud to identify as belonging here in part by learning English. Language was learned rapidly due to effort on their part and community and employer pressure. Now, the sense I have is that refusing to learn and use English is an act of defiance coupled with a sneering disdain and an unwarranted and unjustified feeling of entitlement......and we allow (if not comply) by the use of dual language on signs, packages, etc.

G'Nite everyone,
Yanniejannie.....camper turned bed-sleeper......Ahhhhhhhhhhhh......