WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR DECEMBER 2015

stats for the day:
Spin- 45min, 75ar, 85aw, 10-14ag, 16.9mi = 458c
walk from dome to partial way hm- 21.22min, ahr102, mhr131, 1.06mi = 111c (rainy and 16mph winds)
total cal 569

Barbie ... I've gotten emotional with every car I've sold or traded! What's up with that? Enjoy the new vehicle!

Barbie, you will learn to love your Escape. We have had ours now for I think 3 years. We were elcheapo with ours though. We got just a car, it does have a AM/FM/CD player and AC but that's about all, not even tinted windows. WE test drove it on a gloomy day and didn't miss it, now we do. I don't like the lip on the floor to get in the car. My MS doesn't do to well stepping over that lip. With my husbands Parkinson's we will have to watch what we get in a car now. Michelle's car is on the blink right now so she is borrowing our van since she has 3 dogs she transports around. They are going to check the car out tomorrow but won't start working on it until Monday. So we will be a one car family for several days. I don't think I could ever get used to it.

Penny, it just broke my heart when you wrote about the man's children putting presents in his casket. I just loved those colorful houses. You live in a beautiful community. A very generous one also.

Vickie, so glad to hear your husbands report was good. Now to get him feeling good.

Michele, I am not sure of your religious belief but I would say about your holiday celebration blues and turmoils just remember the reason for the season. Let those thoughts lead and rule your days. I can remember when my adult children were less than adult acting and now they are the best kids in the world. The same for both my brothers, well my sister also. We all have had kids that made us tear our hair out and now they are our crown and jewels.

My 'wonderful, dear husband' was a mess tonight. Wednesday evenings we both have our own activites and it dowsn't work to have just one car so Michelle came over before work and I drove her to to work so I could have my car this evening. Well Charlie gets home much later than I do so he wanted me to Escape to church and he would take the van which Michelle is borrowing out to karaoke. He was really insistent on it and when you argue that you might be right he can get pretty mad. So I didn't argue and took the Escape. So he calls when he is out and says he did a boo boo in insisting he take the van. Sometimes he gets home at 2 AM. I should have taken the van so that it would have been here when Michelle's roommate dropped her off after work. They work together and is a roommate. Glad he could admit that.

I am torn about my present from Charlie. I really want that jewelry armoire but I know how much it costs. We just paid $339 for one of Charlie's prescription yesterday and I know I will have to order his other expensive one next week. It's $399. And I would want to buy an armoir the same price. I just can't do that. And in my mind I have my gift, him. So I am torn. I have already spent about $1000 on Christmas when I consider how much Charlie has already given Christina. He gives them $400 and thy needed the money at the beginning of the year to buy a car. They buy disposable cars, cars that cost about $500 because that is all they can afford and they last about 2 years.

Storms were terrible today but we ourselves had no damage, mild damage around town. But it is supposed to start rain Saturday through Tuesday and get around 5 inches on top of the huge downpour we had today. I am just glad it isn't snow. 6 inches of rain would amount to a lot of snow.

Nitey nite, Joyce, Indiana

Becca - my new Honda is 'Champaign' colored, same interior.

Barbie - I know the feeling of letting go of a car when buying a new one. Close to being paid off; wrecked; and, making a 850 mile trip the next day. A drive in it made up my mind. 4-cylindar vs. 6-cylindar; gets so much better gas mileage but still has the pep-up and go for getting on the Interstate or passing on a 2-lane road (full of farmers with big tractors and nowhere to go very fast). At least they have to pull off the side of the road if you come up behind them or meet them.

So many people being displaced at this time of the year, so many storms all night long. Bad time for those who lost family members at this time of the year.

Mary - what type of puppy did you get? I still have not figured out how to get a picture of "Cracker" on here. She certainly brings me a whole lot of 'joy' when I am "Home Alone" most of the time. She loves DH; but, she is my 'shadow'. DGDs say she has 'Grinch feet'. Hairy feet. I'd have to agree with them.

Had our Oyster Stew tonight rather than tomorrow night as usual; DOGD is going off tomorrow and I don't think that her stepmom realized that she would not be with them for the dinner at her Mom's house. She's already upset that DOGD spent so much on her boyfriend; but, she has been saving for it all year. DDnL#1 saying that he needed to put a ring on her hand and marry her so they would not have to pay for a lot of her college expenses. DOS just rolled his eyes and said, "Not gonna happen!" And BF would have to go through him. DOGD said, 'nah, not gonna happen' ... maybe this next semester I can pay for one of the bills and maybe 'help y'all' ... DOS sat there while DDnL#1 did her "I do it all" routine. Fussing that she is having to make broccoli salad for the get together and spent nearly $60 for the ingredients. Of course, her stepfather's mother called her while she was here and asked her to bring it on Sunday. I would have said, 'we're' not coming' ... she doesn't have anything to do with her stepfather and he is no longer in the family. She spends money they don't have. Got their phone cut off today because they did not pay the bill. Peace and quiet and no ringing off the hook looking for payments. It is almost comical that they go through this every year, especially at this time of the year. Bad enough to hear it all the rest of the year. She said she was going to ask for donations towards the salad. I told her to make it and then take 1/2 of it one place and the other 1/2 to the other. If there isn't enough for everybody there, they need to take smaller portions.

I need to remember that I have a lactose intolerance problem when eating my Oyster Stew and get less stew and more oysters.

Gee, I don't know if Cracker's picture will show up or not. I find that when I click o the inserted picture I usually have to reduce it. I still don't understand how to attach these stupid pictures from windows 10.

Karen - have a real great time in SC

Rori - we now found out that it was DENISE who called the airline (who made the change from 1 to 3 at the Greensboro airport) and for no added fee they were willing to let her change to Charlotte airport. Seems she wanted to get home earlier. God forbid she spend an extra 2 hours with us, that would be horrible. We'll remind her of this when she asks how much we're going to pay for her wedding. Wouldn't it be something if her flight was delayed and she in the end wound up not leaving until 3????? But I doubt that will happen.

Even Vince said "boy, Bryan is really screwed up". I honestly think that the therapist deserves to talk to me, too. I only met this girl once, only met her parents once, and we let him go off to Europe with her. It was my car that he borrowed to get his visa to go to Europe this last time. I never said that I didn't want him to go to RIT and then when he decided to go to Elon, I never said that he couldn't. In 4 years, I only went to see him once; so I don't think I was overbearing while he was away. So where is this coming from????

janetr - how I love your holiday. Enjoying it so much with you all.

drkatiebug - my car is 8 years old with about 128,000 miles on it. Personally, I like the features that it has. But I know inside that when it starts nickel and diming us, we'll replace it. But I'm not in any hurry.

barbie - I, too, have cried at the loss of every car I've ever owned. Congrats on the new Ford

Joyce - I'm Catholic. I'm a eucharistic Minister and a lector at my church, along with helping to count the collections 4 times a year. As much as you deserve that armoire, if I were in your position, I probably wouldn't get it. Sounds to me like you've really thought this whole thing out.

Michele in NC

Lenora - cracker's is so cute! Shep is my puppies name. Not very original since he's a German Shepherd, but my DH named him after his childhood dog.

Kim - that is an awful Christmas memory for you! (((Hugs))) I wish you lived closer and you could celebrate with me.



Mary from Minnesota

Heather - glad you you thot of me while you enjoyed your spinach pie

Lots of noise, laughing, talking and LOUD going on here. Joyce you just may get your wish. I'm lovin' it.

Later edition: After reading all of your posts and being sad for some of you for the hurt and tears you are experiencing, I felt I wanted to share. My daughters and all six grandkids are absolutely the light of my life (right behind the love of my life, Jack). BUT the are NOT perfect. They sometimes do things that make me shudder to think about. They make choices that make we wonder what they heck they could have been thinking. BUT I love them anyway and they love and respect me and for that I am grateful. We are good friends, I give advice when asked (sometimes when not asked). I don't nag on it, I don't insist on it, I offer it and then they make their own decisions, right or wrong. AND I love them anyway. They are not perfect and for sure I am NOT perfect, but they love me anyway. I certainly have made mistakes along the way raising them by myself, but it was always done with love for them even tho I may have later realized it was a mistake. Love is unconditional. Thank, God.

And I love you all and so appreciate your caring and nurturing for each other and to be included in all of that brings me much joy. Good night. Merry Christmas eve.


Janetr OKC

Carol in NC - Hope all's well...

Kim from N Cali – Abusers seem to have an even harder time keeping it together at the holidays. Had an awful lot of holidays ruined as a child that way. I’m glad you’re no longer going there. Proud of you for owning and logging the food. Yesterday was my first day logging in a long time, and it feels good!

Heather – the Christmas quiz sounds like a blast. One of my good friends from the writer’s group does a Christmas lights scavenger hunt each year, with 50 items. Makes driving around town looking at the light shows that much more fun, when you have to find items like one luminaria, two snowmen with pipes, that kind of thing. I hope the ex’s news is better after the holidays.

Mary from Minn – Shep looks like a real cutie, and your DH looks blissful.

Vicki - glad for your good news!

Karen from NY - hope your romantic weekend is awesome…

JanetR OKC – is there anything better, ever, than the sounds of joy? Love that! Soak up every moment of joy and laughter that you can.

Barbie – glad you found a vehicle… you’ll have to split it down the middle and put each of your causes bumper stickers on each side to balance things out.

DJ – thanks for the hugs, gratefully accepted!

Lenora – Cracker looks like tons of fun!

Becca – your current picture (not the one with the black eye, before that!) looks joyful, much more happy.

Started writing, but everything I was going to write to y’all I put in my newspaper article this week, so I’ll just paste it here--and the Christmas Carol jam was a blast, and no, we didn't take it on the road, just closed up the coffee shop and yowled to our heart's content:

Considering Christmas, compact cars and kinfolk

I don’t usually write date-oriented stories revolving around specific celebrations or holidays or anniversaries. Oh, not because I have anything against them, but because it would mean I would have to know what day it is today in order to know what day it will be on Thursday, which is when this will be published in the paper. I know that doesn’t sound hard. It is.

However, for once, a looming holiday didn’t catch me unaware. Possibly because I have a date between when I’m writing this and Thursday, when it goes public, to go caterwauling, I mean caroling, on Christmas Eve Eve.

Yes, that’s the eve of Christmas Eve. So, if you recently heard a cacophony of what sounded like a bunch of long-tailed cats in a roomful of rocking chairs squalling about Santa Claus, Mary and Jesus, it was just me and the incredible bunch of folks I call friends. They have no shame, which would be one of the many reasons I love them.

If we suddenly develop a social conscience and decide not to traumatize the larger population, we will probably just rock the rafters over at The Garage with holiday cheer and leave it at that. Might be less traumatic than roaming the streets of Fort Stockton and competing with all the feral cats. Who would probably do a better job of “Santa, Baby,” than I did.

Our Christmas plans are, well, kind of nonexistent. One of the hubby’s 11 brothers and sisters will be by, with wife and youngest of their three daughters, but not until the day after Christmas, when they’re on their way back from elsewhere.

We do hope to see the grandbabies this Christmas season, weather permitting, and if there is anything better than that, I haven’t figured it out yet. It won’t be on the day, but numbers on a calendar matter very little to me anymore. And the littlest one doesn’t know or care.

We gave ourselves an early present, though we didn’t make the car salesman happy. Took my little tiny compact car in and swapped it over for a used pickup truck, of pretty much the same value, if not vintage. Did negotiate the taxes we’d pay, but honestly, there’s no sport in paying face value at a car dealership.

I loved my Cruze, and the whole 33-plus miles per gallon thing was amazing… but considering that we live on a ranch, and it would pretty much high-center if I ran over a slow-moving quail, it was time to get a truck. My six-foot-tall (ish) husband had to do self-origami in order to drive it, and getting in the seat after I’d driven was very nearly life-threatening for him.

But, the little car served its purpose, and got us through a year and a half. And then got us into this pickup with no payments, which was pretty much all we wanted. Which tells you, as you get older, not going into debt becomes more and more of a priority. Looking back at what we’ve done for Christmastime, it’s easy to see we’ve embraced a more frugal lifestyle. Or you could just say we cheaped out this holiday.

Gifts for the kids were limited to pounds and pounds of pecans and a nutcracker, since there was no way I was cracking all those dang things. Sent my best friend the pecans without the nutcracker. When I asked her if she wanted some more, she said “No.” Wonder why? I thought the dirt that was included was just an added bonus.

Gifts for the grandbabies are going to be afghans; one’s already finished and one will be by the time we see him. A few dollars’ worth of yarn, many hours of time, and all the love in the world go into them both. At one time, I would have felt really inadequate because we didn’t buy more stuff for them, and there have definitely been times in the past when we’ve overspent. Not this year.

All that said, our son John’s in Montana in the Air Force, oldest daughter Kelsey’s in Missouri with the Army, and there will be a part of me that mourns on Christmas day when they’re not here. But the rational part of me knows they’re with their own families, doing what they ought to be doing, and that alone is a blessing. Some folks aren’t as lucky.

I’m thinking out loud it’s not a new sentiment, but nonetheless true: Every single moment we spend with our loved ones is the most precious gift.

Treasure each second.

I know we will.

Merry Christmas from the ranch!

Hi all!
I've been clearing my bedroom/study for DSIL on Monday. Washing bedlinen. DH is quite unconscious of this activity. I hope to get him to sort out his study and make the bed for his younger daughter. The guest room is already prepared. I definitely have been having the feminist grump this Christmas, but some of it has born fruit.
I hope we will at last get the pictures up in our newly decorated kitchen. Also got to load up presents we are taking to London into a couple of big boxes so the living room can be cleaned. Luckily my cleaner is coming this afternoon. I must say I was surprised!

I'm going to text my ex today to send him my sympathies for his illnesses. He is properly fed up. All the family are going over there today so he will see both our boys and the grandchildren. He has two children of 13 and 11 from his second marriage so hasn't been a very active grandparent. #1son is there over Christmas and hopefully coming to us on Sunday. Trains willing.
I would email my ex, but he never reads emails. :ohwell: He is one of the world's worst communicators and it's not just me.
In quick succession he has had heart, liver and kidney serious problems. The heart is sorted, but not the others. He believes he is going to die young.

Love to all. Don't know what we're having for dinner. I think I might have lost my pesky pound. :drinker:

Heather UK

Mary from Minnesota

Good morning beautiful ladies :flowerforyou:

Add me to those who love this holiday! I love all the busyness, the parties, the buying and wrapping gifts, the decorating, the sparkly lights, the friends and family gatherings, lots of joy and even more laughter!!!

I understand those that are feeling blue too, I have been there. I'm sending you love and hugs! I know it's hard .

I wish I could have you all here for the holidays, know that I keep you all in my heart!

Merry Christmas dear friends to those that celebrate, and to those that don't, I wish you a wonderful day filled with love and joy!

Hugs,
DeeDee in soggy warm NC