Senior Golden Sneakers - February 2011

Hi Sneakers and special welcome to Pink - I'm the 'other Brit' and the Sneakers have made me feel so welcome. Like you I am 62 and have found that the encouragement I get on this site is keeping me focused and the weight is gradually coming off. I just wish laughter burnt more calories - I'd be stick thin - I am still laughing over 'pissing round a pretzel'!!:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Had a great day with Ruby (6) yesterday. She played in the morning while I cleaned her house (her Mum is my daughter Dawn). Then we got cleaned up and went to the garden centre and had a fantastic lunch. Ruby had sausages, chips (french fries ladies) and peas, with a blackcurrant drink and a chocolate ice cream sundae for dessert. Granny had cottage pie (that's ground beef cooked with onions and any other vegetables of your choice, topped with mashed potato and then finished in the oven to make the top brown and crisp) and a glass of water! Then we went to the next village and walked around to get some shopping for granny and then called into another garden centre where they have lots of rabbits, mice, guinea pigs, parrots and fish. Granny was pretty pooped by the time we got back to Ruby's house!! :yawn: :yawn: :yawn: :yawn: :yawn:

Anyway, I went home and had a light supper before going back and collecting Emma (16) so that we could go swimming - was I ready for my bed!!

Today we are all off to see Ollie, Dawn's eldest child. He is a trainee instructor at an activity centre and we are looking forward to seeing him again. The two little girls, Ruby and Louise (3) have been counting the number of 'sleeps' until they see their big brother, who they adore. Mum and Granny have been busy baking and are taking lots of homemade cakes for Ollie and his co-trainees. Dawn has made a big lasagne to take with us for dinner tonight and is getting a big piece of meat to roast for us all on Sunday. Granny is taking the ingredients with her to make a huge apple crumble - that's sliced apples which are covered with a mixture of flour and butter which have been rubbed together to resemble breadcrumbs and then baked in the oven. A really great pudding for cold dank days. Several of Ollie's colleagues will be at the centre for the weekend so Dawn and I think we will be cooking for about 15 on Sunday. It will be such a blessing to share a meal with such enthusiastic youngsters.

I am taking my walking boots with me as Ollie wants to take us for a walk around the lakes which form part of the site and where they do their canoeing and kayaking. The weather forecast is for rain but I will have good waterproofs with me and spare dry clothes, so it should be fun.

Anyway all, I must finish the packing and have some lunch before I go off at 2.00 and I will let you know next week how the weekend went.

By the way Gayla - well done for putting the staff straight re Neil and the knocking on the wall. As you know I have a brother in a nursing home and I sometimes have to lay down the law with the staff over their response times.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone and I will hold all of you in my prayers, especially those who have health challenges.

Pam :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

PS: I wonder if any of you might like this muffin recipe. I'm afraid it is in metric measurements but, if you have problems let me know and I will try to find conversions into US measurements. xx

Apricot and Walnut Breakfast Muffins

These are very light and surprisingly low on sugar

275g Self Raising Flour
1 Level teaspoon of baking powder
2 Eggs
75g Caster sugar
225mls Milk
100g Butter – melted and cooled slightly
1 Teaspoon of vanilla extract
175g Ready to eat dried apricots – chopped
50g Walnuts – chopped


Arrange 12 muffin cases in muffin tin or on a baking tray
Pre-heat oven to 200C

Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat well to mix.
Divide evenly between paper cases
Bake in the middle of oven for around 25-30 minutes until well risen and golden.
Cool on wire tray

These are also really yummy with blueberries instead of apricots and walnuts

These can be cooked two days ahead and then refreshed in a moderate oven, 180C, for 10 minutes.

Can be cooled, packed and frozen for up to 4 months. Thaw at room temperature for about 2 hours and refresh in a moderate oven as above.

Good Morning everyone!

Marie - keep us posted on Jerry please.

Connie - i forgot, you moved from Lake Michigan so of course you are used to the humidity. I remember when i moved from NY to Colorado in 1970 1 of the things i loved so much about it here was very little humidity. Of course, wehave to water a lot more.

Sandy - i KNOW, the English ladies - like you i can just hear them! I thought allotment had something to do with money too - I don't know though Pink - digging in the dirt and having something grow that can sustain us - i actually think that could be better than gold! What's that old saying? give a woman a fish and she eats for a day - teach her to fish and she eats for life? something like that Thanks for asking Lynn who Amanda is - i have the feeling she got her posts into 2 different threads crossed. And Lynn, my heart goes out to you and your kids, losing a baby - has to be the worst .
I hope your step daughter doesn't cause you too much stress Sandy - i know for me - stress leads to eating (of course, for me, anything can lead to eating:ohwell: ). "let go and let God". I know that one can help me through stressful times. Glad you're feeling better.

Marilyn - thank you for your concern! Were you referring to my back? no lasting problems or restrictions. I was doing a LOT of physical work around then - we were renovating my old farm house.

Galya - AWESOME that Neil is walking! NOT awesome that those darn people don't want him knocking on the wall It's the perfect solution. Sandy's right - they don't want us all paying them a visit:noway: OMG - another THREE pounds?!?!?!? That is GREAT! :bigsmile: You are doing so well! Keep it up! How are the floors coming along?

Pink - no worries - i'm a computer flake - takes me forever to figure out stuff that is second nature to some of these ladies - and most of their grandkids!:embarassed:

Barbie - sorry to hear about your business too. My old business is doing all right but we always worry because the FDA and/or EPA can mess with us. That's why we bought the new one. The new one is SO out of my area of expertise - i never should have gotten it. It's a great little business - i just hope i, in my ignorance, don't run it into the ground. I'm going to a SEO Optimization class at our local community tonight and next Friday. Hopefully that will help.

Thanks for all of you who checked out our Facebook page - Just Bekuz Products - and liked it! I really appreciate it.:drinker:

Oh my - how i've babbled on and on!!!!!!!! Happy Friday everyone!

elli

Good day everyone, just up from resting my back a bit, did too much sitting yesterday. Did my exercises, they sure do make my back and legs feel so much better. Very windy now, opened the windows and one screened door to let the house get a good blow through. The cats all scrambled to every window they could reach, buttons ran around barking at every sound from outside makeing sure she was noticed.
First appointment for physio is made, I'm so hoping I will be able to get back to 95% normal after this is all done. It is so nice spending time at home, I don't feel like a prisoner of time. I may get me out for another short walk this afternoon and then do somemore exercises tonight before bed, just to put my spine in good shape before laying on it for the night.
Hope all is well here, catch you gals later.

Marilyn

Hi there!
i made some little notes to try to remember more of whats been posted since my last post, but plz excuse me for missing anyone.
xyla, very good advice, and it may be just what I need to hear. I found myself in the same situation, nap vs exercise, and I let nap win. I let nap win, not nap won! Thanks!
elli, 93 is wonderful for your dad to be so strong and determined. He is not giving up! If you dont mind me asking, what is your main business?
where are Buzz and Barb? I believe Joann, aka bushman, is out of town,not sure. Hope her knee is ok.
lynn, are you having a great time? We dont know where you are, but take care,you and Maddie should go on youtube! Or make a video for youtube, however that works! Talent and humorous would make a great show!
irene, are you on your trip to OR. Yet? Be safe,my friend!
pam, thx for the recipe, it is as much fun to read as your posts! We dote on your lovely 'accentm lol! As if none of us here have accents! Be safe on your visit and careful on a rainy,(muddy?) Hike. We have walking poles here, do you?
Pink! I adore your posts! Hen houses brings back childhood memories, but not about cleaning them! Yes, the pohto in the ticker is my 'Possum'. She is my oldest cat, but still my baby. My other one is Budda, a big black male, but also a big baby, spoiled rotten and then some. I should mention there. Is flax seed and flax seed meal. Before you make. A purchase, ck your recipe. We can buy it easily in the states and online.
Maddie,Maddie,Maddie- I love you! Funny Lady. Smart too. Creative, do you want me to keep going? Lol! Thank you for your humor!
hi Marie, yes we have a microwave, but it is only 500 watts, so it is a bit slow, 8 won' use it for raw meats. But, good news for me, Jim told me
that the shipper at our last stop gave him some bags of broccoli. And stir fry veggies. He use them to take the temp. Of the veggies, so they are not for sale coz he pokes a hole in the bag with the thermometer. Yay, I say! I miss steamed veggies out here on the road. Hey, I spent an hour yesterday on Linda's low carb website too! Great Minds!! I love it, along with her honest opinions. Did you know Polaners makes sugar free with added fiber? So does Splenda. Maddies suggestion about benefiber and metamucil are good ideas too. Have you heard of Smooth Move tea? It contains senna, which can be a bit too strong sometimes.
Gayla, you rock girlfriend, WW is working! So glad Neil can get support from his family. The home employees should be more understanding, and not so rigid. Flexibility should be a job requirement. Tell Neil hi from me.
Sandy dear one, hope you feel much better today. 1 lb down is xcellent! No Meds is fantastic! I am truly impressed by that. I am on five meds, and dh is on about ten.
Vitalicious should be in a grocer near you. Our Publix markets keep them in the freezer section. I think vitatops are very good. Bananut nut, mmm! They have a decent amount of fiber. If you go to the website, you can view the nutritional info on each type. At least you could the last time I checked.

My phone battery died, so I needed to plug it in.
Judy, I dont want to neglect you! I would love to puppy sit. We have cats, but I love all critters, and especially dogs. You stay busy dont you? And you swim too, good for you!
Marilyn, glad you are improving, and be careful! Dont want a repeat of the other day!
Barbie, we should start to call you 'high Stepper'!! I can barely imagine 10,000 steps, and you manage 20,000?? Amazing. Thanks for your great example.
we will be heading to lunch in a few minutes. Then we will have about eight more hours here, in AZ, by the way, then we must rush to GA!,which is the way it often goes, hurry up and wait, then go, go, go!
take care of yourselves, and yes Maddie, good words, Watch out for the other guy!

Here is the report on Jerry
He has to have a pet/ct. What that is I don't know. He has to go to Mckinney, Texas to a cancer center there. which is north of us. They have a bus to take him up there. and bring him back Thats a good thing for the traffic is really bad going there. They took blood out of his hips( to see why he is anemic (.Butt)
So now we are waiting to see when he has this done. He goes in Monday to find out about the blood work. Thats about all we know now.

Marie: Tell Jerry that we are all thinking of him and praying for him and for you......a PET Scan is almost the same as an MRI or CT scan but it sees more. It's a good thing. :happy:

Elli: Same for me, except for the big boobs! Have them now but they are longer instead of rounder..... I tried the Vitalicious Brownies. They are ok but I like the muffin tops better. Deep chocolate with chocolate chips.

Wow, the Muffin tops are $4.59 here, too. You can order from the site, which I did, but the shipping is a little outrageous. They sound expensive but since you get the vitamins, the fiber and the taste, I don't think it's so bad considering what we probably spent on other kinds of junk foods or cakes. And, these stay with you even tho they are smaller. I like a little cool whip on them.

The weather was beautiful here today....went to the river to check on the camper. Nice sun and breeze. The river was calm and peaceful. But now, I want to see some GREEN!!! No more brown, no more white, no more mud....just green and maybe a little yellow!! Woo Hoo.....

FOR LYNN BY THE MUPPETS:
It's not that easy being green
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold
Or something much more colorful like that

It's not easy being green
It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things
And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're
Not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water
Or stars in the sky

But green's the color of Spring
And green can be cool and friendly-like
And green can be big like an ocean, or important
Like a mountain, or tall like a tree

When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why
Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful
And I think it's what I want to be

Thanks for the update on Jerry. Im glad he will get a bus ride and not be driving. It will likely wear him out either way. Prayers are with you both, or os it for you? Maddie, thanks for the greenery. My fav color is green, Really!
goodnight all

I'll be back tomorrow to read everybody for the past 2 days, but I want to take a moment for

MARIE,...you and Jerry are in all our thoughts and prayers, and how wonderful to have such a facility for the diagnosis! They will surely see to it his treatment willl be the best available. Lots of luck, dear, and how great CONNIE could give such an accurate description of what to expect. What a group we have here!
And thanks everyone for all your messages and encouragement; my nutritionist was really pleased that I lost 5 pounds I didn't even realize I had lost :noway:

Buzz