WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR NOVEMBER 2016

Morning, all...

For those of you struggling with depression, please stay. Most of us have some experience with it, either from our own lives or from loved ones. We understand.

I genuinely do love all of y'all, and some of you understood where I was going with the article. However, for those who took that 500-word piece seriously, it may help to know that my editorial writing is usually tongue-in-cheek. I do not actually believe either wrinkle-cream manufacturers or diet-food companies are trying to make our lives more miserable to sell more product. I swear. My nutball brother-in-law, however, does believe that jet contrails are sprinkling human birth control and libido-killers. I actually think a lot of him, but he's got a river of conspiracy theories running a mile deep.

I do occasionally write a serious column, and ended up scrapping that one for one on what Veterans Day means to me, as a veteran. Mostly the same things others have said here. Men and women have fought and died for our country, and for our right to freely vote, for 240 years now. We think it's the worst it's ever been regarding political divisions, but this country has survived much, much worse. The Civil War comes to mind.

One of my co-workers said it best, yesterday. "Left-wing, right-wing, it's still the same bird." The American eagle still flies, and we will get past this.

Insomnia is annoying, but there's a lot you can get done while the world's asleep. Think I'll go do that.

Love ya!
Lisa in West Texas

Morning Ladies~
Sorry I didn't check in last night.. just tired.. taking Homer to the groomers today, he seems well enough to go..he isn't 100% but better than he was.. we shall see daily how it goes with the lil guy...
today I have a haircut and then will pick him up at groomers and come home...

Kim~ you are a blessing to all of us~ please try and stay in the moment and remember where God Closes a door he opens a window... I am not trying to put on rose colored glasses..
I am not into politics but we are a free country and have been for a long time.. we will continue and if we can all work together to make the world a better place for our children and grandchildren than thats what we need to do..
I am on my second load of laundry ,and got up at 3:30.. second cup of tea..

(((Kim))) We all love you!

Chilly here this AM.

I was going to drive the 80 miles to see my mom today but have decided to go Saturday instead.

Carol

Klanders – Just found out, I’m not hosting Thanksgiving! Will miss DYS’s family; but, happy that I am not having to worry about all the cooking, cleaning up, and putting away. I will bake a ham the night before, for the weekend.

Re – I ‘think’ he would prefer getting the PB&J over the ketchup; but, that is a close call. Maybe, just not eating too much of it. Or finding some that is low in salt. But, if he is anything like DH, he will ‘taste’ the difference. There are a couple of things that I have to buy the ‘brand name’ because he swears he can tell the difference, even ‘if’ I pour it into an old bottle/jar (like Coffee Mate Creamer over store brand). But, sugar is sugar; and, I buy what is the cheapest usually; but, Dixie Crystal is best … finer ground. Feel like I am stepping on the grave of his Granddaddy who was sent from the Shreveport company to help build the boilers at the one in Pt. Wentworth, right outside of Savannah, GA. The men who worked under him had to teach him English (how to read and write), he spoke only French (Cajun). His family was so big, that the only place they could put them up was in the rec house. My in-laws were the first couple to get married in the little Catholic Church close to the front gates of the D/C Plant in Savannah.

Becca – I am real protective of my ‘personal space’. While I don’t mind being hugged; I must have been asked for and given permission to the hugger; if someone comes up behind me and touches me, they are lucky when I don’t turn around with my fist balled up, ready to punch them out. That’s because of ‘trust issues’ for me. DH is the only person who can hug me from any position.

Carey – I just ‘love’ it when my MD says, ‘well you are getting older’ …; and, so is HE, and I let him know that. Like I let him know he had told the wrong “Nancy” about my losing so much weight.

Lenora

Just a quick hello, my friends. I've been reading some posts but still behind and today I'm heading to the Christmas Show. Don't need to buy a thing but love an excuse to put on my Christmas sweater and jewelry early and look.
Just want you to know I'm thinking of you and rooting for all your victories.

Love ya,
DJ
Myrtle Beach, SC where it's only going to get into the 60's today.

Sharon: I'm hoping the new drops will work too! I'm so sorry for the loss of your friends son. My condolences.

Lillian: Are you still rocking those rocks?

I'd like to share with you a poem written by Linda Ellis that I find comforting and that helps me to keep perspective when life seems to have lost some of it's glow.


If Not Tomorrow

When you feel you’re at your lowest,
filled with sadness and despair,
you must believe with heart and soul
that life won’t keep you there.

When you’re seeing darkness everywhere
and the light of day is gone,
remember that the sun will rise
to illuminate the dawn.

View your troubles as the darkness;
have faith, be unafraid.
The sun will bring the light again
to make your troubles fade.

This current place is not forever;
change is no mystery.
The worries in your life today
will be part of history.

Trust in better times ahead;
what will be is not what’s now.
Believe, if not tomorrow,
change will come somewhere, somehow.

If you feel that you are drowning
in the burdens you now carry,
know the waters will subside;
high tide is temporary.

What is here will run its course
like a journey to and fro,
just a fragment of your life
for you to live and then let go.

This phase will pass in time
because to ease your pain and sorrow,
changes are forthcoming
someday, if not tomorrow.

--by Linda Ellis
--copyright 2015

Wishing you all a brighter, happier day,

Carey - Northern Alberta

Goals for Nov:
- Increase walking by at least 100 steps per day
- Get to Tai Chi at least once a week
- Increase daily water intake

kevrit wrote: »

Up early this morning for me. Time change, depression and SAD I think are getting to me. Have to find my light therapy and increase my Celexa I think. Back bothering me doesn't help my mood any. I am glad I came back to this group of wonderful ladies. You help me focus on other things than "poor me"!
Rita from CT

So glad you are back too! I find myself in the same situation. Found my light box and have it set up. 15 minutes each morning. Have also considered upping my Celexa dose. All this and my daily (okay multi-daily) dose of y'all hopefully will lighten my mood!

By the way Rita I have lived in Connecticut several times. Born in New London. Lived in Wethersfield as a young child and lived in Portland as a young mom! Love Connecticut!

Cheri
in TX with the windows open this morning

Hi all

I'm sort of overwhelmed with teaching and haven't been able to do much more than read. Only one more day of teaching and I'll be (relatively) free again!

Special shout-outs to some of you darlings

Kim - Masses of (((((hugs))))) to you. I agree with the sentiments of others here: Levi isn't the only one who miss you. Hang in there

Margaret - I hear you about Jessie Ventura. For a while there, I was glad to be a former Minnesotan, rather than a current one.

Carey - Ouch with the eye problems. I hope you and the doctor can get it sorted out soon.

Heather - Sensitivity is both a blessing and a curse... I'm glad to hear you and your DH are communicating again. He's such a lovely man and you're such a lovely woman! :flowerforyou:

Sharon - So sorry about your friend's son. What a nightmare for a parent.

I'd promised myself to run to and from the lecture venue this time, and for the first couple days I did just that. But then Stockholm got hit by a snowstorm. The snow in central Stockholm is now 39 cm deep (about 15½ inches), the greatest November depth since they started keeping records back in 1905. It was total chaos! Only 4 of my 24 students made it to class on time, and one person never made it at all on Wednesday. Another didn't make it home and had to spend the night in a hotel. Needless to say, I couldn't run in that. I did walk, though.

On Wednesday evening, I went to a choir rehearsal! The girl whose PhD thesis I edited a few weeks ago is a member of a choir I belonged to many, many years ago. She heard I was in town and asked if I wanted to come along to rehearsal. They would be rehearsing Händel's Messiah for three performances next weekend. I've sung the piece before so I jumped at the chance.

The choir consists of about 40 extremely skilled singers and the conductor knows his business. We rehearsed in a big room belonging to the Stockholm Cathedral smack in the center of the Old Town. Marble stairways, painted wooden floors, deep window niches, a high ceiling with mouldings and chandeliers, a row of big round windows around three sides of the room but 20 feet up, above the ordinary rectangular windows. And all that music... It was exactly what I needed to drive away the post-election blues.

Funny thing, after break the conductor announced that the choir would be singing at a service to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the refurbishment of the organ in their home church. A thought started niggling in myt brain and I realized that I had sung at the service when the newly refurbished organ was dedicated. Yikes! Forty years ago! Time flies...

/Penny, currently in a place with much more snow than we have back home near the North Pole

Liz in Caldwell: Oatmeal is very healthy for you if you buy old fashioned oats and measure your portions. The instant stuff is something you'd have to judge for yourself. We don't use it. I bought a food scale and also restaurant quality dishers when I started. I still use both regularly. I think they're a wise investment. The food scale wasn't expensive, but the dishers were more costly than I imagined they'd be. Dishers are essentially ice cream scoops in measured sizes. They're used in restaurants to serve standard portions to customers, and they come in a lot of different sizes. I got quarter cup, third cup and half cup. My grandchildren will probably inherit them from their parents.

Re: Log shoving is a great work out, and we have more to do. I didn't want to work on the docks alone and my partner left to do something else. Perhaps I'll get another dock cleared out today. There are three left to do. :ohwell:

Becca: Giving hugs are nice, but it is even nicer that you ask if someone wants a hug. Some people don't like being touched, especially by strangers. My dad was one of them. He said it was because of his experiences in WWII. He was a Sea Bee in the Solomon Islands.

Gloria in WA: I've said this before, but I admire you and what you're doing for your grandsons.

Kim: I am upset by this election, too. I didn't like either candidate very much, but this turn of events is unexpected & worrisome. We have one good choice, and that is to live each day as it comes and do the best we can. We're all in the same boat together. I wonder if this is how Heather felt about Brexit. Things turned out very well in my state and local elections.

Sharon in Lethbridge: Sending heartfelt sympathy to you and to your friend who has just lost her son.

Pip: I sympathize about having a busy brain. Looking forward to hearing from you tomorrow. (((HUGS)))


I'm doing my best to cope with this election by living in the moment and focusing on local issues. Local elections went very well for our state and town. Today I'm walking with my former neighbor and I need to leave the house in about 5 minutes to meet her. I look forward to it.

Katla in Beautiful NW Oregon

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

Hi, My name is Janet and I just turned 65 in August. I do have health issues, heart attack, stroke, arthritis in feet, blah blah blah I was on MFP years ago and just forgot all about it for some reason. Overweight again but since starting 5 days ago, feeling better already. Less depressed. Funny how a couple of pounds can affect you.
I love this site.
November goals
Substituting high calorie food for low cal
Easting smaller portions
Fill food diary every day
Start going to Aquafit
Try to drink more water.
Janet in Canada

Charleen2 wrote: »

Not a political statement, but what has been really happening in my life for the past week. I've had a major flare up of my hemorrhoids that has had me on the sofa for the duration. Can't walk, exercise, sew/quilt, lift or sit without a lot of pain. I've managed to read a book (Hamilton) in this time. It's actually an interesting read.

Daughter has suggested that my flare up is due to election angst, the pain (she says) seems to have more than one source. Woke up this morning and think I am beginning to finally turn the corner. Of course! It's election day! If there is anything to her line of thought, help my hemorrhoids feel better, get out and vote! Please!

Charleen in Colorado (We vote by mail in ballot thank heavens)

Well, I knew this election was a pain in the "donkey spelled differently." Here is the proof!

Seriously, Charleen, I am sorry you are having this trouble. I hope it goes away soon.

KJ, hugs and prayers for the best possible outcome. I second the motion to take a friend if DH is going to be supportive.