WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JUNE 2015

Checking in..Conference is over for another year, thank goodness. The last three days were somber because of the event in Charleston. We are all heartbroken. On the positive side, we took up a spontaneous offering to help with funeral expenses and collected over $6500. We are sending a delegation of volunteers to hand deliver it to show our support for our AME friends.

I've already walked for two hours this morning. I need to catch up from missing a couple of days last week.

I skimmed the posts, but in sure I missed a lot. I did see that Margaret scored an Alfred Dunner outfit for her mom. That made me chuckle. Maybe when I'm 96, I will consider wearing it again.

Good morning!

Feeling much better today! I hope to get a walk in at some point...but first I have a hair appointment to get this mop cut! I have an interview next week for the Office Manager position at my office! Need to look fabulous!

Currently making breakfast..eggs and bacon with some coffee! I hope everyone's day is going well! Need to read through all the updates later to get caught up!

Today's goal...log ALL my meals, walk 5 miles. ..hydrate! Maybe just maybe get some Zumba or Kinects Bowling in as well!

Have a blessed day my friends!

Kat

SSC1958 wrote: »

Lenora: I had to laugh when I read "did not have to add COLD water to our pool" ..up here we add "HOT" water, it never occurred to me that water would get too hot... LOL

Well, with 90+ degree weather and rain almost every afternoon, all he has to do is vacuum out the pool and use the net to get out all the wasps and water-loving bugs that died in it. I wish a horsefly or more would just stop flying around. All they do is light on you and string. We're looking for a very 'hot' summer down her in SW GA (USA). I think son likes it when he doesn't have to add any water to pool; yesterday during a bad storm he almost lost 1/4th of his Paloma tree. Which like us, they give great shade in the summer making it nice to sit in his living room and out on our deck.

Call me crazy but I love to see other people happy and succeeding .

Good Morning Ladies,

Sylvia, thanks for the early morning smiles. Just like a “Damn Cat”

Janetr, thanks for sharing your story. Congrats to you and your grandson!!! It is strange the things that will finally get through to us on life decisions.

Lori, a big congrats for being calm, cool and collected. Doesn’t it feel great?

Dani and Dee, welcome. This is a great place for support so come often and join right in.

Joyce, you can talk all you want about “him” and we won’t’ say a word. I do hope he will go on Sunday since it is in his honor. If not, maybe this time you’ll bring him a little?

Allison, wow that gym sounds expensive. I know the ones around here aren’t nearly that much. Bummer.

Lisa, I wasn’t worried about you and that cookie jar. I can see the razor sharp edges and know you are too smart for that. When you get all under control at your end, please feel free to offer suggestions for Moi. I swear I just want to eat all the time. I mean like 10 minutes after I finish a meal. I will not smoke again, but that is the only thing I can think that would satisfy me other than putting food in my mouth. Bummer!!! Good job on renaming the meals in your diary.

DeeDee, I agree about company. Love the visits but it is very tiring. You get some rest when they are gone.

Kat, sorry to hear about your “virus” and that you were in such pain. Glad it wasn’t your heart. I don’t know what to tell you about logging your food? If you can remember to walk, I’m sure you can remember to log. You just need to do it a few times until it becomes a habit. For some reason that has not been a problem for me from day 1. I guess I am anxious to get it in the log to see what I am doing for the day. I often log before the day begins, after I plan what I will have for each meal. That really makes it easy and then I can always adjust if needed. Good luck.

Cheri, when I read that your find your DH lack of confidence unsettling, I can’t tell if it truly is bothering you or if you were just making a statement. I hope it doesn’t really give you any stress. I think his support is wonderful! And how nice that when he gets home and mentions a walk, you can say, “I already did it”. *smile* You are doing great so just keep it up.

NMMargaret, so far #4 is my favorite.

Lillian, glad you can get up and move. That sounds like a rough day of sitting.

Carol, please know that my thoughts are with you while you go through this difficult project. (((Hugs)))

Tere, doesn’t it feel great to be a good example for your children? I think it is funny that you keep buying clothes too big. I have always worn my clothes a little loose, but have started getting them a bit tight (for me) since I keep undergrowing them so fast. DH already said, “I’m not paying for smaller clothes than these (that I recently bought) so you will just have to stop losing weight.” He was kidding, but it is getting expensive. And this is just a summer wardrobe.

Katla, bummer that the concert wasn’t better. Is there any place to lodge complaints or give suggestions? I hope you had a fun day and enjoy your visit with DS and DDI.

Chris, just thinking of being up and exercising that early makes me want to go back to bed.

Poop, just remember I am older than you are and have a little respect for your elders. There will be no beating up the old lady!!! I do hope you get to see the eye doc today!

Lisa, cute joke!

Heather, glad you got your printing done. I hate computer problems. They are so wonderful when all is working right but so upsetting when it’s not. I still haven’t had my desktop fixed and it just won’t connect to the internet every once in a while. One of these days.

Terri, I’m happy for you that your Dad got another date and you can watch baseball and let Dad do this thing. I’d probably like the 60’s music but the 50’s is getting a little before my time. I hope your sister’s clothes fit.

Lisa, I feel the same way you do about logging my food. That is just a part of my life now and forever.

Kate, it sounds like a good idea to schedule your times to eat and stick to it.

Jan, “holy planks, Batman”, you are doing great. Your summer travel thing sounds like a hoot. Hope ya’ll enjoy.

Heather, OMG, I didn’t know we were so much alike. When I read about your hunger and attacking anything that doesn’t move, and can’t talk when you’re hungry, etc….that’s me too. I just get downright mean when I’m truly hungry! You don’t want near me unless it’s to hand me food. I’m happy to say that doesn’t happen much anymore, because I carefully plan my intake. It just doesn’t seem fair, is all I have to say.

Mary, I see moving in your near future. *big smile*

Yvonne, what is “flat-pack”? Have fun on that new bike. I’m sure it’s water proof, should it start to rain.

Carol, good job on eating the Chinese food. Yum.

Janetr, the one thing I figured out quite a while ago is that the only person that counts in my battle of the pounds is ME. I can’t lie to myself and I only hurt myself if I don’t do/eat what I know is right. DH doesn’t get to vote on what I eat or don’t eat and I don’t need to impress him with my commitment. It’s my body and my health so if I won’t do it for myself, it just won’t happen. That is why I don’t understand these people that lie on their diaries? Hell they are only there for us, so why lie to myself. If I want to look back to see what I was eating one week when I lost or gained, it won’t do any good if I’m not truthful in logging. Just remember how far you have come and that you are worth it. You look fantastic and I know you don’t ever want to go back. Us Janets can do this!!! When I have to do something like plan a cake for an event, I usually pick something that I don’t like and can easily turn down. Yes, it’s the coward’s way, but I like easy.

Poop, I know what you mean about the AC. Especially doctor’s offices seem to keep it the coldest. If you lived down here though, I don’t think you’d hate AC. It’s a lifesaver.

Tampico, welcome. This is a great place for support and lots of good information as well. Please tell us a bit more about yourself so we can get to know you. Also please sign each post with the name you want to be called and a general location. Come often and join right in.

Beth, it sounds like you have your hands full. Step back and take a breath. Remember when you need to get the house clean, anything you don’t get done will wait for you. Also the 15 minutes at a time thing works great when you are overwhelmed. Such good news for your sons!!! Now you need to concentrate on Beth. Plan your meals and a bit of exercise time. You have to take care of you, to be able to take care of everyone else. (((Hugs)))

Allison, congrats on the new modem/router. Now we expect you to stay connected. Way to go on the walking!!

Agnes, try to remember this voice: “STEP AWAY FROM THE DONUTS AND STAY AWAY FROM THE M&M’S” . When you get tempted, just remember you have all these friends on MFP wanting you to be successful. Good luck.

Rosie, great picture!! Now where is the “after” pic, since we saw the “in progress” one.

Becca, good for you on giving blood. Sometimes it can really “take it out of you”, huh? Rest up and feel good knowing you did something really good!! Wouldn’t it be great if we could just give em some fat??

Poop, glad you got to the doctor. What exactly did they say? Is something scratched or just irritated. Will you be able to see where you are running in the race? You take care of yourself. (((Hugs)))

Barbie, sounds like a very successful class yesterday. Sure with you’d just fly to SC twice a week to teach classes here. LOL

Michele, it sounds like you were a busy lady and got lots accomplished. Sorry to hear about your bout with nausea and glad it subsided. I did have to laugh about the “pink pee” scare.

Lesley, sending prayers for your daughter and all that’s ahead for her. Good to hear from you.

Sylvia, you are such a wonderful grandmother. All kids should be so lucky.

JanetM, looked at your graph. Do you actually go days where you eat under 500 calories?????

Joyce, glad Charlie is going on Sunday. I don’t understand why SIL cares if you bring your own food. It leaves more of hers for others. Tell her to consider it like medicine you have to take. Hope ya’ll have a great day.

Allison, great that you got the earrings fixed!!!

Gilly, a big congrats on that new GS. Have a nice trip and come back to us.

NMMargaret, hope you enjoy your “stroll through the gardens”.
Janetr, congrats on that loss. Way to go!!!!

Katie, glad you are back with us and the conference is over.

to any Newbies that I missed. Come often and join in the chat. This thing works!! Please sign your post with what you want to be called. It makes it easier for us to respond to you. Also a location is great, be it specific or general. We are happy to have you join us.

My blood pressure has been on the high side of normal for as long as I can remember. The past few visits to the doc it has been around 120/72. All I can think of is the weight loss? No complaints. I started this yesterday morning and there seemed to be more posts than I could keep up with. Last night I just got too tired to go on so finally caught up just now. I love you ladies and love reading about your lives. When I’m reading the posts I see a response to Janet and read it to find it’s not to me. It’s just a bit confusing, so from now on I’ll go by DJ, which is not for disc jockey, but just the initials for DamitJanit. That will also be shorter for you to type. *smile*


Hugs to those that need them and congrats to those that deserve them. Have a terrific weekend, my friends.

Words I live by:
Savor. I have to slow down and savor every bite.
and
Opportunity. Each day offers new opportunities for good health and happiness if we just look for them and choose them.

DJ
Myrtle Beach, SC

DH and I went out for dinner last night. Thought I was being good and ordered a salad. When I got home and logged it, I found out it was 950 calories. Just about the highest caloric item on the menu. A salad?!?!? I could have had a small steak and steamed veggies for half those calories. From now on MFP is going to be my menu when we go out. Lesson learned.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Agnes

Agnes - When we went out to dinner two weeks ago, I looked up nutritional values for the restaurant before we left. Knew exactly what I was going to order. It helps to plan ahead. I also like that some of the menus are now including the amount of calories, etc.

Tonight we have a birthday party for two of the step-grandsons. DH's ex will be there so I will wear the "skinniest" clothes I own lol She's never even acknowledged my 125# weight loss at all. The very best part of this story is she remarried two weeks ago and DH no longer has to pay the $1700/month alimony. Now that's a celebration

Thanks to all of you on here for your encouragement and understanding and the cudos on my weight loss this week. I do retain fluid badly so the first couple of weeks will show a good loss, it slows down after that.

I so appreciate everyone's comments and input on here. It gives me new ideas/strategies plus a renewed determination and faith that I CAN do this. Thank you all.

DJ Myrtle Beach - thanks also for the occasional well placed kick in the rear. I definitely need to work on lying to myself and placing my success and failures on others. I am the only one responsible for me.

Janetr, Oklahoma City

Well peeps- Kirby ran a 7.58 minute mile and according to my strava app I did an 8.19minute mile, last year I ran it in 8.31minute mile pace. Yes it is on the beach. About 1/2 way thru on the way back we had to run against the wind!! Ugh.. We will c later if we get to defend our 1st place spots, I will let u know. Eyes r ok

Superb Saturday to All.

I've was off plan for 3 days (W-F). Amazingly, the scale went Down! I practiced portion control and tried to choose something healthy, so that really helped. Ate more calories than I have been, so was probably eating too little. Felt good not to play the macros number game for 3 days. Kept walking, but need more this weekend to meet my weekly goal.

[/Agnesb] I've also been shocked to find out that restaurant salads are extremely high in calories and fat. Glad we can check it out on MFP next time before we eat something. Thanks for sharing that here.

Have a great day, everyone! - Nancy

Oops, I was so excited for our Poop that I hit post w/o the rest of it. Here goes:

Barbie.....Will go back to listen to the podcast later, thanks.

Carol (peach)...........Yay for the Chinese decisions..........I can't imagine breakfast at Taco Bell, not for me. DH and DD would do it though.

Beth.........Sorry you don't have the van yet but thrilled that both sons are doing so well!

Rosie.......Loved the beauty shop pic!

Michele.......I saw both you and DeeDee got rain yesterday..........please send some, it seems to go north or south of us. Pink pee?? LOL, guess I never ate enough of them, something to try for!!!

Lesley.........So glad that somebody found the right words to lure you back!!!!!!!!! I think we all love having having a friend in Tasmania.........good grief, never thought I know someone there!!! Best to your daughter and ((((hugs)))) to both of you.

JanetM.........Thanks for all the great info; Maybe I'll try the "fruit thing"

Lisa............crapweasel; new one on me, I need to use that around here just to see reactions. Seriously, good luck with keeping custody in your family, gorgeous baby!

Lillian.........Spit out tea reading your excellent point about it hard to get 10,000 steps in a boat, oh, the images that came to me!!!!!!

Janet...............Kudos on that 3.5 loss!!!! Super!

Joyce.........Thought of you as I sat and shredded some more this am...............

I started cooking for myself as I was sick of certain people here turning up their noses when I mentioned what I'd be cooking and they are pretty much on their own a few nights a week.........nobody has starved yet. BUT, I've noticed "my" food disappearing..........DH finished off my Hungarian dill mushroom soup and DD ate the last two thirds of the veggie, egg, and ricotta frittata I made.......I suppose this is progress for them but, da*n, I wanted that frittata myself.

Taking DH out for his Father's Day meal tonight, he picked Applebees, not my fav. now to find what I can eat there.

Random info..........for fluid replacement Pedialyte is now being used by some athletes over Gatorade, can't give you reason, just see it at races.

I always have counted my teas and coffee as water but I only drink decaf.

Welcome newbies and hi to everyone I missed this time around!!!
yanniejannie
mid-Atlantic

Thanks, yanniejannie. Breathtaking is exactly what it was up there *gasp* *gasp* *gasp*

Yes, the fjord is tidal. In the pic, the tide is out. When it's in, the water reaches pretty much to the green. Sometimes the tide comes up even higher, but even then we're safe because most of the houses are well above the high tide line. The buildings closest to the water are almost all boathouses.

Hurricanes? Naw, but this is one of the windiest places in the world. If you take your hurricanes and average them out over the year, that's us. No hurricanes, but lots of storms and gale force winds. Exciting!

Very pleased to have found MFP and this wonderful Group!

Grateful to have shed 9 lbs. in the past month. Since 6/1, I've released 5 lbs. (avg. of 2.5 lbs. per week). This has been in spite of low thyroid and a hormone imbalance. Went to dr. yesterday. Blood testing revealed I have too much estrogen relative to testosterone. My T dropped in half from just 4 months ago. No wonder I've been feeling tired and like not doing anything. Both hormones cause weight gain, plus stubborn weight loss resistance--just what I don't need (eye roll). Anyway, am getting the bio-identical hormone pellets inserted again on Mon. (6/22). These have been a great help! They will rebalance my hormones and increase my energy quickly.

Really have had to push myself to start walking again and to keep walking daily. Exceeded my initial goal of walking 3x week for 30 minutes. Have walked a total of 240 minutes weekly (4 hours), since 6/1 when I restarted my health and fitness journey on MFP and with this group. Yay! I'm feeling better eating a more balanced diet for my Diet Type. Doing some tweaking on this and am starting my somewhat revised healthy eating plan on Monday. Looking forward to more variety, health and balance.

Can't wait to hear more about all of your success as well!

Best Regards, Nancy

Well I guess it's a 10k for me next year, I finally got dethroned from the 1st place spot we both got 2nd place in our age group and I got 5th overall for the women again. I think he got 14th overall the men. I will know more when I get home

Nancy - I'm a bear as well. The difficult part for me is reducing the fresh fruits and vegetables that are simple carbs. I love corn, peas, apples and oranges. The sample eating plan looked great, a nice variety. Portion control is a big part of it I think.

Pip- Congratulations on your race. There's nothing wrong with 2nd. It's way better than I could have done.

Left the house at 7:30a, got back 3 hours later.
Started with 5 minutes running, my new record. While I was running yesterday (4 mins), another woman came walking the other way. We greeted each other. She asked how I was doing. I panted. She said, "Ma'am? Ma'am? Do you have life insurance?" ! I said, "Yes, through work," thereby, I'm sure, cutting short a sales pitch.
Paid $10.90 for a daily pass to the nearby gym, did their "quick circuit" to try a variety of machines. Apparently the only way to get a contract without having them take it out directly is by paying for a year upfront. Online complaints about this gym and every other one I've looked at are almost uniformly about continuing to debit after 30 days notice that someone's quitting.


Joyce K - yeah, allergies are mizbel, and Puffs or Kleenex with aloe are wonderful.
--I'll keep my fingers crossed for your nevvys' growth.

Allison - Glad you're taking care of your foot. And you found the heron earring! Yay!

Gilly - what fun meeting your new grandbaby, and all the other grands!

Lisa - you're welcome, re fluid.
--And thanks for the ticker info. Inserting it into each message sounds like more trouble than worth.
--And thanks again, re the Fitbit. If I put MFP on my iPhone, MFP logs iPhone steps rather than Fitbit. And I didn't see any Fitbit adjustment before I put MFP on the iPhone, though I saw steps logged. Is a puzzlement.
--I never knew any of my grandparents. My father's father died when he was 3, and my mother disliked his mother, who died when I was about 10. My mother's mother died when she was 18, and she hated her father (with, from all I've learned, good reasons).
The only part of my extended family that I got to know as a kid were my mother's sister, her husband and those cousins, who came from Saskatoon to Virginia to visit us every so often. I didn't think of it at the time, but now I'm so grateful that Aunt Jacquie and Uncle Ivo made that effort.
--Fingers crossed for the custody hearing.
--Cute baby!

Lenora - your description of the accident must have been in pages I skipped. Apologies. I'm glad your nephew's surgery went well. Fingers crossed for recovery.
--There oughta be a way to stop those dogs from killing cats, including those that aren't Muxter-Tuxter. One of these days, that propensity will get Will taken to court.
--Good moving!
--Glad you were able to get the cap replaced. I've had to spend weekends chewing on the other side.
--Yup, the Irish saying for rain with sun is "the devil's beating his wife." I have no idea why.

peep - best of luck with the run! (later) Well done! Great improvement, AND against the wind!
--My eyes were 20/200 6/500 when I applied to college in the waybackwhen, but your problems make me see how lucky I've been. I wore contacts for a while but got out of practice after leaving them in too long, and just went back to glasses. If I ever have a whole bunch of extra money (a whole bunch because there are so many things we need first) I'll do the laser surgery.

MNMargaret - love the hearafter joke.

Lillian - Thanks for the insight about nasal length. My schnozz got me called Bozo and McConnaughnose by 2 different groups of kids in 6th and 7th grade, but it does hold up glasses well. Me, I'm on trifocals, though I have to choose between a good reading Rx or a good one for computer distance, and go with the latter.

JanetR - woohoo indeed! THREE AND A HALF POUNDS! <confetti poppers>
--And huzza for the ex's marriage.

Carol in the peach state - did you eat the whole gross biscuit? I have to admit that I prolly woulda.

Kat - best of luck with the interview!

Penny - I've lived in bowl-shaped New Orleans so long that my legs would probably give out on your mountains.
--Gorgeous photos!
And it takes a lot of guts to climb mountains in spite of acrophobia. <doffing hat>

DJ, aka Janet the First aka Original Janet - those are NET calories, not total.
Here's total.

Those low nets are generally on good exercise days. I don't do it on purpose, mind you - I just, for whatever reason, skip breakfast or lunch or I fall asleep before supper.
My lowest total calories here was 588 on May 23, a Saturday (my weekends are usually Fri-Sat, and I tend to eat more at work than at home).
Breakfast: Skinny Pop 100-cal popcorn
Lunch: Roll-up of 1 pc Damascus Bakerise whole-wheat roll-up (80 c), 1.6 oz turkey breast (49), 1 Tbsp sugar-free orange marmalade (10); 2 bell peppers, 1 orange and 1 red (64)
Dinner: missed it. Don't remember why.
Snacks: freeze-dried grape slices (45), 100-cal yog, with frozen cherries (90).
My lowest total calories since then was 748 this week's Thursday. That was the day I had like 300 calories left after work (OK, she said, checking her diary, 450), so I walked around the neighborhood to get enough for a satisfying supper, extending the walk a bit because I was so close to 10000 and wanted to get there ... and then fell asleep without eating.
Anyone here's welcome to friend me and look at my food diary.
--GREAT BP! And yes, weight loss likely the reason. WAY to GO!

Agnes -- yeah, salads can be deceiving. A tip - always get the dressing on the side, and have the restaurant leave out croutons. Dip the back of the fork onto the top of the dressing, then pick up a bite of salad. Eating that way, I use at most a Tbs of dressing, and still get the taste.
Denny's fried chicken strips Cobb salad is 930 cals, but making it a grilled chicken cobb brings it down to 660.
If you have it with blue cheese dressing, that's 110 cal, while low-fat balsamic vinagrette is 35 and fat-free Italian is 9.
They don't show croutons, but sauteed bread adds up fast, too. One package of fast-food croutons is about 46, I read at fatsecret.com -- but restaurants tend to use a lot more than you get in those little packets.
As I see JanetR mentioned (:)), if you're going to a chain restaurant, you can often find their nutritional value charts on their websites, and plan ahead.
I did that the last time I hit Wendy's. Their salad calories are
Spicy Chicken Caesar: 780
Apple pecan chicken: 590
BBQ Ranch chickeen: 580
Strawberry Fields chicken: 550
Asian cashew: 380
So I went with Asian cashew. One reason for the big diff is dresing: 90 calories, while lemon garlic Caesar is 220, BBQ Ranch 190, Pomegranate vinaigrette 140.
The cashews are a better calorie bargan than pecans - 80 v 110. And it doesn't have croutons, for another 90 saved.
The chicken breast is 120, salad blend 90 (a bit more than some because of edamame)
Spicy chicken Caesar, on t'other hand, staarts with fried chicken, 260 cal, with 110 from fat compared to the grilled breast's 10. The casear salad blend is 210 calories, 130 from fat (the salad mix includes cheese). Then there's that 220-cal dressing, plus 90-cal croutons.
Strawberry Fields salad blend is only 60 cal, and its chicken is the same as the Asian. But its dressing is 160, blue cheese 120, and bacon and sunflower seeds 45 each. You could easily drop 140c by using half the dressing and setting aside half the blue cheese crumbles. Or use half of one container of dressing, and save another 40.

Terri - read the links I posted, anent coffee and tea. a) the diuretic effect wears off for regular drinkers and b) you'd have to drink a lot more coffee (and more concentrated caffein) than is at all likely to get a net liquid loss.
Log the buffets anyway. You know you ate it, and logging is a good habit.

Nancy - Way to go on healthy choices and portion control!
--And on the pounds released, AND learning why you've been wiped out all the time. Cool on the rebalancing.

yanniejannie - you're welcome.
Another freezable breakfast, if you have enough calories, is: toasted whole wheat English muffin, egg, Canadian bacon.
Too funny about "your" food disappearing into the guts of Certain People. Even though you were justifiably p*ssed off about the missing frittata. (Maybe next time, a sign: EAT THIS AND DIE. I'M SAVING IT FOR MY LUNCH.?)

miriam - A doc told me decades ago that I had IBS. However, maybe 5 or 10 years ago, the symptoms disappeared after I was put on a series of 3 ever-stronger antibiotics for a persistent cough. So apparently my gut flora included something nasty.
--Our cats have all been foundlings, shelter cats or (in the case of our current senior) the vet's please-take-me cage. (The vet doesn't have that any longer.) I started with a badly flea-bitten adult stray (Captain Scratch), added Tina because an acquaintance had brought her over the 22-mile Lake Pontchartrain Causeay for someone who then didn't take her, and really didn't want to drive back with her. The clowder grew with Phineas Fogg (someone ratted on a cat lady, who had to distribute her excess; he was a blue-cream tabby, and, having early learned Carl Sandburg's poem starting "The fog walks on little cat feet," I'd always wanted a cat that walked on little fog feet (they always thunder through my house)). The clowder has remained at three ever since. More recent arrivals include Phantom (an urchin appeared at the door, saying "Miss Barbara (landlady) says she doesn't want a kitten but maybe you might"), and Phoebe (after Tina's death, a friend who's allergic to cats found a pet-me-slut kitten at a plant nursery and bruoght her to us). Then came Newt (I was feeling depressed on my 50th b'day, and went to a local shelter's cat room) Mist (abandoned at a restaurant; she was lighter than Phineas Fogg, in both weight and color). Smoke Jaguar, our current senior, was the vet's take-me cat; he was there when Mist died of cancer, and Larry couldn't resist. Lydia was a cat at a shelter that was about to lose its home. Larry couldn't bear to get another cat for a year or so after Newt died. His brother Justin, who lives with us, finally persuaded him. Jessica Nightshade, now about 3/4 grown, was from a third shelter.
So sorry to hear about your son's many troubles. Justin was born 2 months early 57 years ago, had a stroke almost immediately, so his left side is weak, and is somewhat agoraphobic and has other emotional problems. He's quite intelligent but seems to me to have the emotional development of a 13-year-old - very self-centered with few social skills, zero empathy and a belief that chores (putting away the dishes is his only household chore) are to be put off for several days - and half-done after being reminded. But I think your son has things a lot worse. My sympathy.
I also love to read - I can't remember not being able to read or to swim. The walls are all "decorated" with bookshelves, which are full and stacked. My brothers gave me a Kindle a few years ago, and I've got hundreds more there. I love their sales - I've bought quite a few at $1 to $3.
Are you familiar with Project Gutenberg? It's a project to create free text files and ebooks from public domain books. www.gutenberg.org


JanetM,inNO