Senior Golden Sneakers - February 2011

Hey Buzz, that was a great idea. How do I do that notes thing? :flowerforyou:

MADDIE & MARIE: I simply go to START,/Programs/ Windows/Accessories/ NOTEBOOK and left click twice to open. It's the simplest way to write text. Very basic format
KEEP My Fitness Pal window on top, until you scroll down to something you wish to comment on; then place your cursor on the partly hidden NOTEBOOK and left click. It will come up on top, and write your comment and bring up MFP to the top again! Just keep reading the thread, and commenting on notepad. When finished, on NOTEPAD I right-click, and bring my cursor to "select All"...and left click. Once the text has turned blue, place the cursor around the center and RIGHT CLICK; select COPY and LEFT CLICK.
Bring up the MFP window, click on REPLY at the bottom, and place your cursor in the reply window, and on your keypad, click on
Ctrl+v.........OR click on EDIT (Menu Bar) and click on PASTE. OR...just right click and choose PASTE..
I hope I explained it, as I'm somewhat defficient technicallly myself :ohwell:
WELL, GOOD LUCK!

By the way, my bean soup was delicious, but figuring the nutritional values was a pain in the neck! :embarassed: I used Kitchen basics Chicken stock with no added salt, along with some chicken broth I had made. I didn't even bother to figure out the onion, carrots and celery I added, and forgot the diced no salt tomatoes! I could not be hired as a nutrition writer ! :sad:
Tonight I'm off to sleep now!:yawn: :yawn: :yawn:

Hi everyone from warm (for us) Saskatchewan! It was about 31F today. I got some difficult news today. My 32 yr old nephew has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. He is approaching this with a positive energy. They have diagnosed him very early and he will start treatment right away. Hopefully, it will keep it from progressing.

Phoebe -- I hope your kitty is ok. I remember well how hard it is to make that decision. Unlike you, we were never brave enough to do it again! Thinking about you.

Sandy -- The chicken dish turned out very nice. I used to tell the boys that I couldn't retire until I was a Grandma but I gave up on that!!

My brain isn't focusing and I need to call my sons to let them know about their cousin so I will close for now.

Take care. Gayla

Oh GAYLA,, I can't believe what you and your family endure...and with such grace! I keep wanting to just HUG you :flowerforyou:

LYNN, both my dear late Mom, and my dear husband Mike, had shingles and though nothing like your dreadful experience, I know how miserable it made them! I doubt I'd have your wonderful outlook had I been a victim! I had the Shingles Shot as soon as it became available! :grumble: :noway:

Waa Laaa is RIGHT!!! Congrats, old girl! By the way, I generally just make a selection on a post (you know, drag your cursor along the article while holding the left button.) ANd then I print the selection, so I can keep referring to it. But lately, I'm getting lazy about playing with posts.

For anyone who wondered, I just asked Pam to please visit us again on this thread! Was there a reason she disappeared? I loved reading her experiences across the big puddle!

Now, I'm through for the night!!! :yawn:
Buzz

Yes, for those who asked-- Ralph had pancakes for breakfast this morning. He is still going pretty easy, but he’s coming along fine. He’ll have steak (or at least hamburger) in no time now.

About cats—Thanks for advice on getting a cat. I had to laugh because our little Jack Russell, Skip, has presented us with two mice. They turned up on the living room rug in exactly the same place, so I know it was him. So far they haven’t invaded the house except for in the utility room. I think they are living on dog food. This is an old house and there must be many places they can enter. When we had a cat here there was no problem. I just hesitate to start the litter box thing again.

Valentines—I have a project for Mariah (great granddaughter 5) for this week-end. I read a tip to use heart shaped cookie cutters and cut out valentine hearts from pink pop-tarts. This should be a lot less messy than baking cookies….and I won’t be tempted to indulge. I think I will let her cook her specialty dish, Roast Stuffed Turkey. (Her version is a game hen, and she is so proud.)

Skip—I broke down and gave Skip a haircut this morning. I only know one way to cut, and that is OFF. He always looks pretty naked when I get finished, but at least I can keep him clean, and it grows back pretty fast. All that fluffy white fur was too much for me to keep clean and pretty. He likes to spend time outside and then on the bed. Can’t have that!

Doctor—I had my annual eye check. No diabetes damage. I am blessed.

Plants—I repotted all my house plants yesterday (12), some in new pots. This hadn’t been done for a long time and they were getting pretty pitiful. Wow, did I make a mess in my kitchen. Took a long break, cleaned up the kitchen, and felt really good about it all.

Progress—I’m not doing so well with the weight loss thing. At least I’m not gaining. I’ve started doing more exercise, hoping that will help. Diabetes is a rotten thing to have.

Illness—I’m sending my good wishes and prayers for those of you or your loved ones who are under the weather. God bless and keep you.

Oh, Dear--I just got back from 6 hours in the emergency room with my sick little Mariah and her mother. She had been sick with vomiting and diarhea since sometime in the night. She saw the doctor at 4pm and was sent directly to the ER. She was dehydrated so had IV, antibiotics, and motrin. She was a brave little trooper but was more than ready to go home. She was asleep in the car. I believe she will sleep all night. It is so hard seeing a little one sick.

Good night everyone. See you all tomorrow!! God Bless.

Hi everyone from across the Pond. Oh Buzz, I feel so guilty for neglecting you all. Life has had its challenges since Christmas and I have found that I just about have time to get my calories and exercise down on MFP and keep meaning to get back on to the Posts and then, another day passes and then it is a week and I have done nothing about it.

Gayla and Maddie - my thoughts and prayers are especially with you both and hope that things improve for your nephew and brother in the near future.

Now, what's been happening to me. For the first two weeks of the New Year I was in Oxford providing professional cover for a friend while she was on an extended holiday in Australia. I thoroughly enjoyed being 'back in harness' for a while and it was great to know that the brain still worked. I hope that there may be some opportunities to do something similar later in the year but I have no desire to go back to full time employment - I am far too busy being retired!!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

The main call on my time has been my brother. I think I probably mentioned that he was diagnosed with an aggressive brain

tumour ten years ago. He had surgery, which was able to remove 85%, and this was followed by radio and chemo therapy. He managed very well for a number of years and went back to work and coped when his wife died 8 years ago (he is now 55, so is the baby of the family). Anyway, his health started to deteriorate about a year ago and although he started chemo again it had to be stopped as it was too toxic. He lived on his own and I started visiting last summer and we agreed that I would go and stay and help him get organised, as his paperwork and the house had got out of control. Anyway, before I could get there for an extended visit he had a number of falls and fits and was admitted to a hospice as an emeergency. Luckily he knew the hospice as he had been visiting as a day patient for a number of months. Well, the hospice were able to stabilise him; they prescribed steroids to reduce the swelling around the tumour and hopefully remove some of the pressure on the nerves which were causing the fits and the falls. It was apparent, however, that he would never be well enough to go back to living on his own and some other long term solution needed to be found. Stuart took the decision to move himself into a Nursing Home close to his home so that he could maintain contact with his friends, rather than move anywhere closer to me (I live about 90 minutes drive away) or my older sister (who lives about 4 hours drive away). We were able to find a good, comfortable home and he moved in late October 2010. The next decision was that he wanted his house sold. So I was spending several days there every other week sorting things out so that we could at least get an estate agent in and put the house on the market. I kept bringing back boxes and boxes of paperwork which needed to be sorted, filed if it needed to be kept, shredded if it was confidential or thrown out if it was just junk. I am still working through this but am now down to the last few boxes!! We were lucky to find a buyer very quickly and we completed on the house sale on 31 January. Some friends of Stuart's very kindly agreed to store all his personal effects until we were able to sort through them. So, at present, I am spending one day a week with my brother, leaving my home around 9.00 and getting home somewhere between 6 and 8.00. In between visits I need to sort through his day to day correspondence etc so that on my next visit I can get him to sign letters, make phone calls, etc and I also do any shopping for personal items that he needs. One of the things I have been struggling with since the New Year is to get an internet connection for his laptop via a USB internet stick. Having struggled to get a connection on my last two visits I brought his laptop home with me and finally got it all sorted out on Wednesday, so I am hoping it will work properly when I take it back next week. The original arrangement was that I would visit for three weeks of the month and my sister and her husband would come and stay on the fourth week and do visits then, to give me a break. Unfortunately my sister fell on some ice in December and broke her wrist and my brother in law got a really bad dose of the flu (she's 70 and he's 80). However, I am pleased to say that they are finally feeling a whole lot better and are coming down next week.

What else. In between times I have been keeping up with the children and grandchildren. I had a lovely Christmas in the north of England with my eldest daughter, Stephanie, her husband and her three daughters. Sadly since my visit I have learnt that my son-in-law has been made redundant and will have no job after 31 March, which is a bit worrying. However, I am being positive and praying about it and am sure that a new door will open in God's good time.

Last Wednesday was my youngest daughter's birthday; Dawn lives nearby and she and her husband decided to have a day in London so that they could have a nice lunch and then go to a matinee performance at the theatre before returning home. That meant I (I'm a 'Granny' BTW) needed to look after Louise (3) and Ruby (6). Louise was at nursery school in the morning, so I picked her up at 12.30. We then went to a lovely garden centre nearby where we had lunch (I sent her mum a text to say that Louise and I were 'ladies who lunched', which made her laugh) and we then went and looked at all the animals in pets corner - there were rabbits, mice, guinea pigs, budgerigars, parrots, love birds, turtles, frogs and lots of fish ranging from really tiny ones up to very large Koi carp. We had a lovely time and then went back to her house to play before setting off to collect Ruby from school. Again, we played and I cokked them supper (spaghetti bolognese - our FAVOURITE dinner granny!!) then baths, washed hair and were sitting reading stories and drinking our milk when Mummy and Daddy got home in time to put them to bed. Granny then sat down with the eldest granddaughter (Emma, 16) for dinner. Emma had cooked at school - Sole Meuniere with caper sauce, herby potatoes, mange tout, carrots and baby sweetcorn - it was delicious!! Then granny left to come home and fall into bed!!

Having lost 14 lbs by 17 Dec I did put on just over 3lbs over the holiday period and while I was in Oxford. Since mid January I have got back into the routine and am watching the calories and am back walking, swimming and going to Pilates. I have managed to shift over 2lbs but the final pound seems to be rather stubborn about shifting. However, I am hoping to get back to 175 soon and then return to my goal of losing the next 14lbs.

Phew - that is quite a long post to make up for all the times I have neglected you all. I do think of you all every day and was concerned about the awful weather you have all been enduring and the excitement of the Superbowl. I didn't have the energy to sit up all night to watch it here, so had to make do with getting the result when I woke up on Monday morning but am so glad that the Packers succeeded.

My best wishes to all the Golden Sneakers; I will try to keep in touch more regularly but please forgive me if life overwhelms me again and there is a lapse in my messages.



Pam :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Hi all, apretty day here in Ga.
we put little Pudge to sleep. He was not going to get better unless he took lots of meds, xrays, exams and countless bloodtests.
he was the stray we adopted, so we had him and he had us for about two years. He was a happy cat, and his last years were safe, warm and filled with food and play. That is a good epitaph, I think.
guess what I am doing now, Im on the bicycle at the gym. Texting and pedaling, no law against it yet!
I have some errands to do, grocery, chiro, post office, pharmacy. Then, I am going home. Laundry awaits!
Irene I was going to post that about your Jack Russell being a rat catcher, but Marie beat me to it. Anne Perry wrote about one in one of her Books.
take care all

Good afternoon to all. I found the note thing, using it and loving it already. It's so sunny here that it looks beautiful outside but it's only 30 which is great since this morning it was only 9 and by Sunday, it's going be in the 40's. That counts as Spring, right?? :flowerforyou:

Gayla: So sorry to hear about your nephew. I know these things can be treated and slowed down but sometimes it takes a minute to grasp it and get ready to fight. I hope he takes that minute and then kicks some buttocks :devil:

Phoebe: So sorry about Pudge. I've had to put down pets and it's harder than hard. You provided a good life and the one thing about animals is that they only live from minute to minute...they don't plan, worry, punish, feel guilty or any of the things we do.....Pudge is at peace.

Irene: Please update on your grand daughter's condition. I hate to see kids sick...

Elli: The father is my youngest son....My oldest is going to be 43 this year and also has two sons but they are much older. His family is on my profile page as well.

Buzz: Please provide the Bean Soup recipe. My husband is going to make some ham and pink beans/black beans. His is really good but it is a little salty because of the ham.

So, one of my younger friends was raving about these Vitamuffin VitaTops. so I finally bought some today...OMG....they are goo! I think I will be able to put a little cool whip and a tsp of PB on top and avoid my Birthday Brownies.....Whoo Hoo. Look them up if you're not familiar. Did I say that they're good, I mean..G-R-E-A-T!

Going to exercise...Later Where is the sweaty smiley????

I would be happy to remind all of you who are interested about the walking challenge next month. I fooled around all morning - talked on the phone to my daugher for two hours - and read posts on mfp. I wasn't going to get on the dreadmill this morning because I felt like I didn't have time before I had to leave for work. However, because I am part of that challenge, I did get on and walked for one mile. As most of you know, I have been walking for two miles to make up for the weekends when I don't walk, but today, I decided that doing one mile was a lot better than not doing it at all. I really enjoy this group and hope to get to know all of you better. Have a great day!!

Maddie - i looked at your profile again - think i have it figured out now! We both have grown sons only you got started way earlier than i did! Awesome that you're married to their Dad for all these years! My boys too, are both married to great girls only they both just started their families. They each have a baby girl - 6 month and 1 month. FUN! Cute poochies too!

Sandy - you're right - I'm still going to log my meals but i am just going to enjoy my weekend! THANKS!!!

Xyla - you've already completed more than half your miles for the month! Nice going!!!!

elli

Thanks, Elli....compliments to the family are always welcome. However, I was just a young girl when I started....that's why my kids are so.......crap, confused myself with this fib. :happy:

Sandy,

Your eyes weren't playing tricks. Unfortunately, it WAS 2:36am and I was still up--insomnia until about 4am.

Ended up not going to the meeting I planned to attend at 9am this morning. I have been having trouble with the pinched nerve in my back, and one of my hips bothers me if I sit for very long, and this was going to be about 8 hours of sitting, so I will just have to get some catch up info from someone who did attend.

Maddie--Regarding the bean soup being too salty due to the ham. Here is a tip that might help. What you do is when you purchase the ham, even though it is already cooked. Stick it in a pot with some water and let it boil for a while, and throw acut up potato in there, and it will absorb the salt. Then you can take the ham out, cut it up and put it into the bean pot and cook your soup however you normally do. As for the water the ham is boiled in, taste it, and if it isn't too salty for you, you can add that to your soup for some added ham flavor. The potato may or may not be usable, that is up to you.

Pam, Thank you for catching up with us. Sounds like you have been quite busy. I am glad your brother is in an appropriate living situation for his condition, but sorry that he has to deal with his condition. Take care of yourself, and we will be happy to hear from you as often as you have the chance.

Phoebe, Sorry about Pudge. I am glad he had two good years with you. Don't wear yourself out while you are home. It has been nice to keep up with you on the road. Thank goodness for mobile phones that can surf the web!!

Gayla, I am thinking of you and hoping you are feeling better soon and you survive your remodeling. Hope Neil is doing okay back in his group home.

Marie, Hope you're feeling well, and that Jerry is doing better, now that he has been diagnosed.

There are too many of us now for me to keep up, so everyone else, you are in my thoughts, and wishing everyone well.

Bye for now.

Barb

Maddie--Regarding the bean soup being too salty due to the ham. Here is a tip that might help. What you do is when you purchase the ham, even though it is already cooked. Stick it in a pot with some water and let it boil for a while, and throw acut up potato in there, and it will absorb the salt. Then you can take the ham out, cut it up and put it into the bean pot and cook your soup however you normally do. As for the water the ham is boiled in, taste it, and if it isn't too salty for you, you can add that to your soup for some added ham flavor. The potato may or may not be usable, that is up to you.
THIS IS A GREAT TIP. HOW DID I GET TO MY AGE WITHOUT KNOWING ABOUT IT????? GEEESH..:embarassed:

hey look like we had a full house posting today, Just a couple missing. Jo An is in Mexico Playing in the sand,
Marilyn busy working. Barbie will be along shortly.
Of course Jeffrey.Will be around when he dig out from all that snow.

Phoebe so sorry about prudge . How old do you think purdge was? You went to the gym,
??????????????????? Very good. Phoebe girl.


Buzz no explsion.????????????

Barbs make you a hot latte before you go to bed,. Does wonders for me.

Jerry has a 8:30 appt tomorrow morning. I have been embroidary all afternoon. I just need 4 more blocks and I can start sewing them up. I had to keep busy or I would have snack all day long. Jerry took me out to eat. tonight I had a Hamburger steak and baked potatoe and a salad. Broug over half home with me. It will be good for lunch tomorrow.

will bring you all up to date on Jerry in the Morning

Sleep Well

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
I just finished reading two days of posts.......wow, we have become such a friendly, chatty group.....i wish I had time to reply to everyone

:flowerforyou: Here’s the happy ending to the ferret story.
I was sure that none of my neighbors (three houses in every direction) had a ferret, but just to be sure, I looked to see if anyone had posted a notice on the bank of mailboxes that we share…..no luck. The next day when Jake was walking the dogs past the house next door, he saw a sign in front with a picture of the ferret and a notice that he was lost. It turns out that the man next door had his oldest daughter visiting and she brought the ferret. Jake told him about finding the ferret and taking him to PETCO. The happy ending is that they contacted PETCO and got the ferret back. :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

:bigsmile: :bigsmile: the good news about Jake's back is that he spent one day resting and using the ice pack for twenty minutes out of every hour and by yesterday afternoon was back to doing his packing and cleaning work and today he worked extra hard when the real estate agent said that he had someone who wanted to look at our house.

:bigsmile: the real estate agent is coming at 1 PM on Sunday to take interior photos to put on the multiple listing on the internet and he'll be showing the house at 9:30 Monday morning.

:sad: :sad: :sad: Phoebe, I am so sorry about Pudge.....years ago I learned that the only way to avoid that heartbreak was to never love an animal and that doesn't make any sense.


:flowerforyou: marie, I will be thinking good thoughts for you and Jerry tomorrow morning when he goes to see the doctor.

:flowerforyou: Pam, it's good to hear from you

:bigsmile: to all the rest of you, I loved your posts and wish I could respond personally.....