WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR APRIL 2016

Marcelyn I heave heard of using a sprinkling system that is motion sensitive. Might be worth looking into.

Pip- DJ stands for DammitJanet; which I only remember because it brings to mind the song from Rocky Horror Picture Show. DJ, is that where you got your handle?

That's what they did in Doc Hollywood. Ran around peeing on the trees.

Miriam, odd that you said that it helps in the forgiveness process if I can see why the person acts like they do. That is one of my husbands biggest pet peeves about me. I am always trying to see why people act the way they do. He thinks I am siding with the other person. I try to tell him that I am not condoning their behavior at all, just trying to see why they do what they do. But I can't see why SIL does what she does. I can't see how a sibling can act so much different than the rest of the kids. They have the same parents, same genes. Now their Mom did have her psychotic break down while Karen was a child vs Charlie being in his teens. Charlie then left and went in the Navy and Karen was left with a Mom who was in and out of State Hospital. His parents divorced and her Dad remarried a woman who had 4 children who were the world to her and Karen, even though she loved, came last. Her Dad never took up for her. He was satisfied just having his meals, a place to sleep and a house. So I know she never knew the true love of a Mom and Dad. Charlie can not remember anything happy about his childhood. It wasn't that it as unhappy, he just can't remember games they played, songs his Mom sang to him, things about schools, etc. I fear that there was something very traumatic in his childhood that he has hidden down deep so he doesn't have to feel it. His Mom was the oldest of 12 children and his Grandma even had 4 children after he was born. So his Mom was the babysitter for the family and the neighborhood. She has told me that she felt used and never allowed to figure out who she was. It is hard for me to even fathom growing up like that when my childhood was so wonderful and everyone I was friends with had the same thing. of course being a preacher's kid, the children in the church are your friends. I really feel God wanted me to meet Charlie so that I could show him the love of a family. He thinks there are no better people than my parents and one of my brothers that is the one we always say is the one that took over Dad's role when he died. He has been able to transfer a lot of this love to our own children and even more to our grand children. Now his anger streak does not come from us. I guess he got that from his upbringing since both his brothers are the same way.

Another gorgeous today. I hope you are all able to get out and enjoy it.

Sylvia, I'm sure you have guessed already that we are pretty worried about you. Please take it easy. Our body can play tricks on us and make us feel we are almost 100% better. That 'small' stroke needs to heal and your ongoing stomach problems need to be taken care of also. I am so glad your son and his family is taking more care of the kids. This coop can not be more important than your own health.

Joyce, Indiana

Looks like a wonderful group. I'm so excited to have found you all. Back at MFP for a couple of weeks and psyched to be healthy and active.

Joyce, it sounds like your husband and his sister actually do NOT come from the same family. What I mean by that, is that the dynamics changed when their mom had her breakdown and the divorce. In our family, the family was fairly functional during the oldest three's early childhood and teen years but by the time I came around, my mom had really crashed with depression, my parents were fighting since she blamed my father, they got divorced, we were very poor. So my older sisters had a normal childhood with all the additional activities kids get like music lessons and dance lessons and even deportment lessons. My mom was never there for me, and we could not afford any additional activities. Then she remarried and that made things even worse. But my oldest sisters were out of the house. So I had a much more severe mood disorder than they did. Much more depression. Much worse marriage. We technically shared the same family, same genes, but we didn't have the same family dynamics at all.

Marclyn, my sister lives in Austin. ALL of her plants are encased in chicken wire. The deer keep everything pruned up to the shape of the chicken wire. But you really cannot see the chicken wire. The chicken wire has to be tied down to staples in the ground (U shaped wires). Maybe you could do something like that but with a door to pick through? Just a thought.

I cleaned out my small pond, refilled it, and got the pump and fountain going again. The birds and other animals, including people walking past, enjoy the sound and moving water. In a week or so I will add small goldfish. I usually put in a dozen, and by fall there are only a couple left. But they are fun to watch.
Planted five tomato plants, a pepper, lettuce seed, five perennials, and pulled a bunch of weeds. My son sat and talked with me while I worked. He had been awake all night and had no energy.

Went to the gym today. Upped my weights by 5 lbs. Probably going to pay for that tomorrow. My daughter said that my arms look so much better than before so guess it's paying off. Diet has been good healthy and eating the correct amount of calories. Right now this is what is keeping me going. The only goal I have been focusing on.

Emotionally a rough day but most of them are for me since January. They say things will get better just not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. I actually snapped the last time someone said everything happens for a reason and learn from the lesson this is suppose to teach you. Normally I try and apologize if I snap but can't find it in me to do that. Anger seems to be my reigning emotion most days. Maybe that is why the gym has been helpful.

Katla I have some horrible neighbors that have gotten evicted and have yet to leave. The person who owns the house says they have to take them to court to get them forcibly removed.

Sylvia I hope you recover quickly. Hard to sometimes sit back and relax. Most of us as women push ourselves to the breaking point all to often.

Nikki great news breaking the 200 below mark.

Those of you fighting deer off. My local farm and feed store carries a product to spray that they say works great. May want to check a store like that if they have one in your area. Suppose to be safe for the environment. I am a city dweller so I have no personal experience with it.

Anne in Wisconsin

Miriam What you and Joyce say about families rings so true. No child is ever born into the exact same family. Time and events have a way of creating a new environment in which the children operate. Moves, divorce, illness, death all have an effect. You both are giving real insight to a difficult subject.

Pollance wrote: »

Dropping in between spirited discussions with Verizon after my third day with no internet connection and no Verizon service in sight....

This morning, the scales finally broke the 200 mark!! 199 as of 9am! WooHoo!!!!!

Off to discuss service again with Verizon.
Nikki- just outside of Boston

Nikki Congratulations on Onederland!!!! Enjoy your Happy dance with Katie

It seems that you and Heather Are dealing with the same great Devils of Internet Repair. Ggggggrrrrrrrrr.

Sylvia Your recovery has been so quick. It might seem so long to you, but I view it as nothing short of miraculous.

Lisa It was I who guessed that you had driven 2,000 miles without leaving Texas. Folks in the northeast don't understand just how big western States are. And visa versa. I know people who say that they have never been in RI or DE but have driven from NY to Boston or NY or Philadelphia to Washington. Rhode Island is 37 x77 and Delaware at its widest is 35 x 96. Miles. They may have driven so fast that they were through either state before they realized it. LOL. The Mason Dixon Line creates a 12 mile arc that forms the top of the state of DE and at the west goes north and south. For history buffs- Mason and Dixon were 2 British surveyors who measured out Delaware in 1767 to settle a dispute between the Calvert and Penn families over the boundaries of Maryland and Pennsylvania. English kings had the habit of giving the same land or approximates thereof in land grants to several people. Nothing to do with the Civil War.
Lisa, A relative's daughter went to UT Lubbock but they lived south of Tyler. 10 hours each way by car to school. I think it was a very long 4 years.


I am enjoying thedeer discussion. At one time, we lived in a home next to a greenspace- extended woods. We had a 100 pound greyhound. Anyway, when the deer would show up at our doorstep and in the gardens, we would send him out. Unfortunately, he regarded them as other greyhounds and I swear that I could hear the deer saying" we know you think you are a deer or we are greyhounds, but you aren't and we aren't so why don't you go back inside and let us finish our meal?" They do love broccoli.
They were so habituated to people that they didn't move when we went outside. We got pictures. I wish I could find them to post. Pre digital.
Tractor Supply sells deer repellent. Other than that, some of the garden supply houses have lists of plants that deer don't bother. Your local Ag school should also have lists. Another reason to keep deer away- ticks and the possibility of Lyme disease.

I spent most of the weekend in the garden. Lots of weed digging, compost and mulch spreading, transplanting bushes and getting rid of grass and ivy. The sprouted seeds are now in the raised beds. I spread the stuff that did not pop up around fences and mulch pile. It will be interesting to see what comes up. I have sunflowers to plant. I planted the seeds in pods when I got back from Peru so they just sprouted. I was surprised that my tomatoes and peppers plants did not sprout well. Perhaps it was the cold floor in basement. However, all the peas, beans and pumpkin seeds sprouted well. I may get some additional heirloom tomatoes to plant.

I did not exercise today. A visit to the doctor for what is described as a straddle injury common to bike riders. Although I blame mine on a different saddle, it really was the rider not the Steuben. Another reason to strengthen my leg and knee muscles. Or maybe it was the skinny riding pants? Ouch, ouch, ouch in a very sensitive spot. Pip I can hear you laughing. Don't think I can't figure out what you are thinking!

I picked up my new and fully loaded and data transferred computer and the techs were very helpful today. They even checked out my old computer to make sure I could complete any additional transfers. Thank heavens I had put files on an external hard drive. Saturday, my laptop shut down. When I put my hand on the bottom while checking the plug, I could hardly touch it because it was so hot. I did not turn it back on. It is only 8 years old...... I have been looking for a lightweight, high speed and loaded replacement for about 3 years but just could not justify spending a fortune for a screen I could not read. Times have changed and there is finally a very high resolution/ high clarity notebook I will be able to work on for hours at a time. I ended up with a Microsoft Surface Pro 4. It was outrageously expensive (but half the price of the Apple equivalent) but the screen is well worth it. I signed up for lessons. My computer geek friend is thrilled that I have entered modern times. It spurred me to get serious about cleaning out the junk room of a lifetime of files and digitize everything. An entire garbage bin was shredded and put to recycling today. I will have additional lessons on cloud storage so I can get rid of everything paper possible.

The next is long overdue. Barbie you have created such a welcoming community. New ladies can feel comfortable just jumping in and participating. We come from different backgrounds, races, religions, political thought, education, careers of all kinds- in and out of the home, single, married, with kids or without. But it works. What a wonderful experience this has been. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

Well, long posting. I hope I have not bored you all.
CJ

Sylvia: Good to hear from you. I'm happy that the Ex DIL brought the kids to see your gallery opening for art walk.

Heather: Happy to hear your DH worked out something more agreeable from your internet and cable provider. :flowerforyou:

Pollance: Congratulations on breaking the 200lb barrier. Welcome to onederland! :bigsmile: :flowerforyou:


Good friends came to visit and stayed longer than we anticipated. They've gone home now. We always enjoy their company and this visit was wonderful. After they left we had some work to do straightening out boat registrations for DS's sailboat. We are now tired and ready for rest. Tomorrow I plan to take my foul weather jacket back to the store and exchange it for my favorite shade of blue. Keep your fingers crossed that that trade goes well.

Katla in Beautiful NW Oregon

Tibetan proverb: "The secret to living well and long is: Eat half, walk double, laugh triple and love without measure..."

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

Did 1 hr of a DVD that was the lower body and then a total body. The plan for tomorrow is to do a Be Fit Go Beach Body DVD and the part of the Hot Body Boot Camp DVD

Marcelyn - I usually don't put a clear glaze on top of my "creations". I do put the glaze on the inside, tho, since these items will be outside. I also put the clear glaze on the bottom. The paint I usually use is the Duncan Clear Coat which I understand has a glaze in it. When I get the item home, I then cover it with Rust-Oleum Painters Touch 2X Ultra Cover Gloss Clear before I put the item out in the sunlight. Thanks for that link. I really wasn't happy to read that shiverine can occur years later! This article seems to indicate that you will get shivering, say, with one certain paint (like a red) since it has high levels of free silica. But there have been times when I've had something fired and it shivered. Used the exact same paint on another item and that item didn't shiver. I don't think there's anything I can do about the type of clay that's used.

Kim - I specifically chose those Loropetalum because they didn't get real tall. The only thing is....I'm not sure that the nursery where this lady goes has them in stock. I dont' know, maybe the catalog has the technical name and that's the generic name. I'll see her tonight so I'll ask her then. Update: she said to give them a call.

ljdw - trust me, you'll NEVER get to know everyone. I've been here for a few years and I still don't know everyone. Plus, people come and go. It's a great place to come to and know that you are always welcome, regardless how long it's been since you've been here. So sorry to hear about dh's diagnosis but glad it's treatable. Congrats on the loss!

KJ - probably another reason that we don't know our neighbors as well as we used to is because today people move about so often (we're in our 4th house). It used to be where you lived somewhere all your life.

katla - hope you get good neighbors, too.

Sylvia - sending you good vibes to feel better fast

Nikki - Woo hoo

Welcome everyone new!

Michele in NC

barbiecat wrote: »

tryingtolive1 wrote: »

Went to the gym today. Upped my weights by 5 lbs. Probably going to pay for that tomorrow. My daughter said that my arms look so much better than before so guess it's paying off.


Anne in Wisconsin

You might pay for upping your weights with some sore muscles, but you will be more than repaid by the benefits to your body.

I LOVE that feeling!!

MightyLolo~ I hope you win!!