WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JANUARY 2017

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  • csofled
    csofled Posts: 3,022 Member
    Hello ladies!

    Went off to the gym this morning and tackled the elliptical trainer. Came away with "tingle toes". Burns more cals. than the treadmill and I can get my heart rate up nicely. Did intervals. Calorie burn is a fickle thing: machine says one thing, MFP says another and to complicate it more Fitbit gives another number?! Ugh...I just am comfortable in the fact that I am moving and burning calories however.

    My suitcase arrived the day after I got home. Not sure where it spent the night-Dallas or Houston-and it had been peaked into by TSA as they left a note! Everything arrived back home thankfully.

    Getting ready to watch some football with the hubs.

    Have my mammogram tomorrow. Hopefully all will go well with that as the last one in Ohio they had me do an MRI and ultra sounds. I had a scare back in 2006 with surgery involved. Each gyno, breast surgeon and radiologist reads/interprets things a bit differently so I never know how far an annual mammo will lead. Also have a dentist appt. for a cleaning and check on my receding gums. My TAMU ladies group will be touring the back rooms of the George Bush Museum here on campus on Tuesday afternoon. Looking forward to that as the hubs and I have Groupon tickets to view the museum itself. Reading the next books for my 2 book clubs: Heroes on the Frontier by Dave Eggers. Read his book The Circle. Also reading The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. Have read that one before but several in the group hadn't read it yet.

    Sending prayers and healing thoughts to those in need and kudos and congrats to those deserving! Thank you for being with me on this journey!

    Cheri
    in very WINDY College Station, TX
  • Katla49
    Katla49 Posts: 10,385 Member
    edited January 2017
    Alison: Congratulations on your famous ancestor! I am an admirer of Robert E. Lee. He was a man of conscience and loyalty. Abraham Lincoln offered him the job of heading the Army of the North. Lee felt it his duty to support his native Virginia. Those men had hard choices to make. Arlington was Lee's home prior to the war. Property owners were required to pay their taxes in person in those days, and Lee could not go to the tax office because he was, by then, a general for the South and the tax office was in territory controlled by the North. The North seized his plantation for unpaid taxes and it is now Arlington Cemetery. You may have already known this. I think Lee was an admirable man who supported the wrong cause. I think slavery was an abomination. :flowerforyou:
  • jmkmomm
    jmkmomm Posts: 3,247 Member
    Good afternoon sisters.

    Lisa, interesting story of the quilt. What will the place ask as they have more banks to play. I'm sure that quilt may be getting some autographs if members of those bands come in.

    My Mother always was sure she was an ancestor of General Robert E Lee. She had the stories of it from family just never could prove it. She wanted so bad to be able to provide the scholarships that would be made available for us if she was. She would be able to get so far in her search in actual records then it would stop. So she just loved telling the stories. And I am sorry to say I can't remember the stories.

    Dad was the one who started the geaneology and had a huge very organized book on it. It was divided by family and also each individual person in the family. It was very interesting to find the actual ship the initial Peterson family member came over from Denmark. When they arrived it was Petersen and it was misspelled upon arrival. Dad's family arrived at Ellis Island, Mom's family arrived at the Port of Philadelphia. Dad's book included both him and Mom. Michelle wass the only person interested in looking through his book so when he Mom died, she got that book. So of course I got it since she had no place for it. It was quite a burden to make sure I added each birth, death, marriage or divorce on the pages they belonged on. If there was a birth, it belonged on the family page, then the parents page. Of course it belonged on a grandparent or great parent page also. It was Mom's dream to write a nonfiction book of the journey of the Port of Philadelphia to where they ended in southern Illinois. She had many anectdotes she had started to put together but that is as far as she got. We were talking about it one day when the family was together at Christmas and my sister's daughter voiced interest in doing that for Mom so the Bib black book is now in Arkansas in her hands. I am sure Dad would be shocked at how empty all the spots are. I doubt all the 'rug rats' have been added.

    My daughter who had her whole department eliminated has a job interview tomorrow morning. As soon as she posted her situation on face book, she had a friend give her a lead. According to what this job is, one thing that would hold her back in getting a job is her clothes, her hair and the fact that whenever she gets any kind of blemish, She picks at it 'to make it go away'. This may be on her face, her arms, legs, wherever. She calls her wardrobe Goodwill chic. It's pretty bad. You can find a real nice wardrobe at Goodwill but that's not hers.

    Joyce, Indiana
  • pipcd34
    pipcd34 Posts: 17,285 Member
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  • megblair1
    megblair1 Posts: 1,226 Member
    Hi all. Today is nice and quiet! We went to church then had long naps after reading the paper. I had intended to go to our local protest yesterday (there were about 1500 people there) but was too tired after that sleepless night with Benny. Yesterday he paced non-stop until nearly 11 p.m. when he finally collapsed I guess from exhaustion! Me too! We even gave him several doses of valium. Today he is more perky and with it, but coughing a lot.

    My job to day is finishing getting the Christmas decorations down. DH is off grocery shopping, a chore I usually do on Thursday afternoons! I hope there is no more of that craziness. I plan to look at my entire week’s schedule tomorrow and make sure I have the time to do what I normally do and start exercising again. I am still coughing quite a lot but think I can get back on the cross trainer and maybe do a short afternoon dog walk if it’s not too cold for him or me (right now the cold air makes both of us cough).

    Mary: Oh my gosh! That sounds terrible. OK I will quit complaining! We had ice dams a couple of years ago but the only residual damage is stained ceilings in the upper level. We decided not to paint them then but rather wait until we do the whole house. They are not too big and only bedrooms upstairs, so no one else sees them.

    NTKaren: Yes actually I have been to the doc. I went soon after the ED visit and again last week because I have bad foot calluses and one split entirely open and she checked my lungs again then (and sent me to a podiatrist!). They are clear now and I’m using the inhaler less, but my co-workers who have been ill say this one is taking 6-8 weeks to shake. BLEH! Thank you for your concern! How nice of you to take care of your friends!

    Chickpeas: welcome!

    JanetR and pip: I shall refrain too! 

    Fancy (and others) sorry if my comment about the protest is offensive. I didn’t read your comments until I wrote mine. I agree we are all friends here and our job is to support each other!

    Allie: how is life going? I have wondered about you and Tom while I was gone and hoped things were working out for you. I have never seen Beaches, but it’s on my list!

    Jana: good job! Thanks for the advice and I’m glad you got to the gym!

    Lois: congrats on your granddaughter! I too should latch on to the word “thankfulness” because I really do have tons to be thankful for!

    Margaret: It is amazing how much fake news has been out there. As soon as my daughter went to college (!) last year, she only got her news from twitter, facebook, and other social media sites. She even came home once and asked me to explain why Hillary Clinton had been put in prison and barred from running for office. She absolutely did not believe me when I said that wasn’t true. And this is a smart girl! I had her look through papers and do an internet search with reputable news sources and of course she couldn’t find that story anywhere! She still uses social media for news to this day!

    Joyce: how is your health?

    Sherry: I did not know about your story but I am glad you are feeling some control over your life.

    Nancy D: you are so right! My ex-mother in law (whom I adored) worked 3 jobs and took in renters when her abusive husband left her and she never complained. Thanks for giving me that message!

    Beth: wow 58 in Buffalo! I had to smile when you told us to put our spoons away! What a sweet and kind way to put it! 

    Heather: what did I miss? What is wrong? Sending you healing (although vague!) thought!!!!!

    Penny at the Pole: hugs back at ya!

    Sherry: those pics were cute!

    Katla: I’m glad you are still riding!

    Peach: now that is one big dog!

    Lisa: that is a nice project! I didn’t see earlier posts, so is it a t-shirt quilt or wall hanging?

    Toni: glad you are having nice weather! We thought of going to the (foot) bowl game since my brother and sister in law live in Nashville, but decided against it.

    DJ: well I don’t’ feel so bad about the decorations now! 

    Lenora; once I made hot-pepper jam NOT wearing gloves and later took out my contacts! OMG the next day I was in what I thought could only be hell as I put them in and bashed about the room in pain trying to get them out!

    Marni: wow those pictures are beautiful and the dogs are blessed. We have a medically-fragile beagle. He takes 185+ pills a week (I haven’t added past 185 since we added a couple).

    Margaret: hope your knee gets better!

    Chris: you look lovely!

    Sarah and KJLaMore: I am coming too!

    MrsGLT: I am right with you on the driving! Let’s car pool!

    Cheri: keeping fingers crossed for good mammo news!

    OK ladies I need to get busy on those decorations or they will be up until next year. Take care all, Meg in Omaha

  • ydailey
    ydailey Posts: 516 Member
    Happy Sunday, everyone!

    Yesterday was quite a day! I went to the Texas Capitol for the women's march. It was only a mile and a half and I wasn't sure I could finish it before my knee gave out, but I felt like I needed to do it. I was completely pooped at the end of the day, but I did it! In reality it was a lot more than a mile and a half, what with walking to and from parking, standing around for an hour before the march started, and not being able to keep a regular pace due to the sheer number of people marching. We had around 50,000 in Austin - men and women of all ages, and a lot of families with their children. Whatever your political opinions, I think you'd all have enjoyed this placard: "Don't make me burn my bra again - it won't be pretty this time!"

    Anyway, I logged in over the weekend but didn't track. I did keep an eye on my eating, though. And I must have been more tired than I thought, because I slept ridiculously late today! Nonetheless, I'm up and walking today, and nothing hurts too much; I call that a victory!

    I'm several pages behind so I'll have to catch up with your posts later.

    Have a peaceful day.

    -Yvonne in TX
  • margaretturk
    margaretturk Posts: 5,261 Member
    Mary I hope it is not the car I sold you. I did have AC fixed two years ago, so that should not give you a problem come summer.

    Ice dams are awful too. I found out at the state fair the cause of them is the warm air from your home is somehow getting into your attic. Adding insulation can help as can if you have any canned lights (spotlight bulbs) changing the canisters to make sure they so not leak into the attic also helps.

    I hope you, Meg, and I start having things calm down for us.

    :heart: Margaret
  • Peach1948
    Peach1948 Posts: 2,473 Member
    Mary ~ So sorry about the floors being ruined. I remember that you helped lay them and I know that was a lot of work. Prayers for you and your DH that you will be blessed and be able to make the car and house repairs.
    Carol in GA
  • fanncy0626
    fanncy0626 Posts: 7,152 Member
    edited January 2017
    Margaret- this house doesn't have boxed eves and that is what we need to put in. No, not your car my DH's.

    Meg- I did do my post because of the protest posts. Yours was not the only one. However I was the one that took the brunt of the anger from people. What did I expect when you look at what is happening on the streets.
  • pipcd34
    pipcd34 Posts: 17,285 Member
  • DamitJanit
    DamitJanit Posts: 1,329 Member
    Call me crazy but I love to see other people happy and succeeding .

    Good Afternoon My Dear Friends,

    Jana, thanks for sharing the song. I’m not sure that I’d ever heard it before but totally enjoyed it.

    Kim, congrats on the new glasses. I look forward to seeing them.

    Pip, that was one big party!!!

    Katla, I totally agree with you on both politics and religion. And well said. huge-smile-smiley-emoticon.gif

    CarolGA, great picture of that little puppy on the sofa with the kids.

    Lisa, I love the quilt!!!!

    Marni, those pictures of the snow look so pretty but to be honest, I don’t miss it at all. I’m just as happy to look at it in pictures.

    Allie, I’m glad Buddy finally decided you were okay. I mean who does he think has been feeding him? happy-dog-with-bone-smiley-emoticon.gif

    Kelly, my DH and I agree on politics but I get so tired of hearing him rant about it and about the news. I kept thinking once the election was over things would simmer down but no such luck. I wish we had a “no fly-zone” at our house so I could get some peace and quiet. Lol

    Cheri, glad you got your suitcase back. I’m curious as to what the note from TSA said? Care to share? confused-face-smiley-emoticon.gif Good luck on the “Big Squeeze” and the tooth exam.

    Joyce, I’l l keep my fingers crossed for your DD and the job hunt. Can you help her with an interview outfit? Like finding one?? I know sometimes they won’t listen.

    I’m so sorry for those of you suffering from ailments, bugs, flus, coughs, sleepless nights and lack of enough sun, etc. I’m sending healing thoughts your way as are many of my cyber sisters here. I hope you awake tomorrow feeling so much better and have a wonderful day. I am so happy for those of you that have had a good day!!! It’s wonderful to wake up with few cares in the world and very little pain. Some of it just comes with age. I'm once again caught up but fewer responses as a result.

    pretty-pink-welcome-smiley-emoticon.gifto any Newbies. 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.

    Sending love, good thoughts and sunshine to all of you.
    I Love youwriting-a-love-letter-smiley-emoticon.gif
    DJ
    Myrtle Beach, SC
  • skuehn48
    skuehn48 Posts: 3,049 Member
    Hello all: Having a good day today. Went to church and sang in choir. We discussed getting some new choir robes. They are much much needed. The current ones were bought when the church was built and the color (pink, mauve if you want to be polite) is awful. Somebody talked them into "co-coordinating" with the colors used in the church. We decided that one of the sopranos will get catalogs and swatches that we can look at. That is at least a first step.

    We had unexpectedly nice weather yesterday and DD and I spent it pulling blackberry vines. This is the best time of year to get to them. Today we are both sore from our work, but got lots of steps and active time.

    I have two more days of prednisone to go and it is really beginning to get to my stomach so eating is going well. Trying to do frequent small meals as that seems to work best.

    Heather - Feel better fast so you can enjoy your holiday.

    Katla - Glad you had a good horse day.

    Pip - Looked like a grand party.

    Sherry - Glad things are looking up.

    Sending healing angels to those who need them and congratulations to those with victories.

    Welcome to the newbies. Sue in WA
  • pipcd34
    pipcd34 Posts: 17,285 Member
    this was one day, I just didn't want to go to the gym, thank goodness my music gets me going once I start

    stats for the day:
    rope pull- 15min, j447meters, 28ftpmin, topset, 118mhr, = 87c
    iwatch- 104
    rowing machine- 15min, 50aw, 2364meters, 134mhr = 107c
    iwatch- 121c
    s matrix machine- 10min, 156mhr, = 119c
    iwatch- 115c
    other- scissors/skip/sidestep, etc- 36min, 142ahr, 162mhr, = 376c
    didn't turn on watch :0(

    total cal 714
  • csofled
    csofled Posts: 3,022 Member
    DamitJanit wrote: »
    Cheri, glad you got your suitcase back. I’m curious as to what the note from TSA said? Care to share? confused-face-smiley-emoticon.gif Good luck on the “Big Squeeze” and the tooth exam.
    DJ
    Myrtle Beach, SC

    I've already recycled the note but it basically said that the luggage had been "inspected" per blah, blah, blah regulations. I knew it might get looked at as when I put in the claim I had to describe something(s) inside that would identify it as mine. Never mind it had 2 Disney luggage tags with my last name and phone # and the luggage claim tag. Oh well, they got a good look at my laundry as that is what I folded on the top inside! lol

    I forgot to mention that I weighed myself the morning after arriving home. I was "up" 2 lbs. and honestly I think it is water weight as my rings have been so tight. With all the walking we did and with both of us watching as best we could with what we ate, indulging just a bit, as we were in Disney after all - I didn't fair so bad. You'all should have been flies on the walls as us 2 long standing MFP ladies discussed and decided what to eat and how to log it! We had the Quick Service plan providing us each 2 Quick Service meals and 2 Snacks each day of our stay. Honestly, our snacks served as meals much of the time! There are many "healthy" choices available.

    Thanks for the good thoughts for tomorrow's mammo! There was a time my boobs were so small (AA) that mammos were much more painful. Not so much now but I still take some ibuprofen before going in for the squeeze!

    Cheri
  • anniehh17
    anniehh17 Posts: 7 Member
    Hi! I'm new here. You seem like a nice and somewhat off beat group of ladies. Do you have room for one more here? These are my "credentials" I'm 55y/o. I've been pretty average weight to slightly heavier and getting heavier every day. I used the food diary here last summer but didnt stick with it. I work full time and I'm not a huge "joiner inner" but I want to lose a few pounds and stop fighting with myself to maintain it. I need some allies to keep me from trying to throw the scale out the bathroom window or pushing the refrigerator down the stairs...and if you cant talk me out of it at least grab a corner and help me heave it:) Thanks!
  • GloworminWA
    GloworminWA Posts: 704 Member
    edited January 2017
    :'( I goofed and just lost my post and don't feel like redoing it right now so am just going to go back to reading. Ohmmmmmmmm

    Ef1um8.png

    Thanks Marni for the website. I wish they had a swimmer Avatar though!
  • GRITSandSLUTSandWINOS
    GRITSandSLUTSandWINOS Posts: 2,573 Member
    THIS IS A “LENORA” NOVEL … so skip over it if you ‘don’t want to read it’.


    KJ – Blue birds are small birds (and all blue); Blue Jays are a much bigger bird; and has a pattern with white stripes on some parts of his body; and, a (for lack of a better word) ‘cowlick’ to the head. They make an awful cry [not really a ‘caw’ like a crow; more like a ‘jay, jay’ especially when they are chasing something] and they are ‘bullies’ of the birds we are familiar with (song birds that is). Maybe the only ones bigger are the mockingbirds. Mockingbirds because they mimic other birds and they are pretty big, even compared to a Blue Jay. If Jay Birds have a nest nearby they can really give a ‘cat’ FITS, nose-diving at them.

    Kate UK – I live in Georgia (USA), actually SWGA – it is still a little too early for the robins to come here, even with the mild winter we’ve had. They usually come around Easter (or when the pecan trees start to leaf out). They are considered one of the signs that Spring is here.

    Margaret – I am from ‘middle Georgia’ right above Macon, GA [the “Fall Line” is actually between us … which means we did not have ‘gnats’ … they did. Gnats are small tiny bugs that congregate around your face. Now living in SWGA – it seems like Albany, Ga and the surrounding area is “Gnat Country”; we can always tell when we are in the presence of a ‘northerner’ they tend to ‘swat’ at them; we tend to ‘blow them out of our faces’ (sticking out our lower lips and blowing up’. Really bad if you are ‘hot and sweaty’.
    My youngest son is a huge fan of anything concerning the Civil War; so he got all my parents books on it. Mother was really big into the DAR (different war); unfortunately, she could not get any of the 3 of us girls interested in it.
    My parents owned the entire block they lived on; our home, what had been a home but got turned into my Daddy’s office (loved the woman next door, went over to meet her and she enjoyed having a ‘child’ around to talk to). Then Mimi built a small house behind it. The First Methodist Church was on the next block up closer to the town ‘square’. My Dad always said that ‘if’ the church would offer to buy the lot at a certain price he would sell it to them. Later, after he died, they did buy the office and my Mimi’s house; tore the office down; and Mimi’s house was moved out into the country. They bought Mother’s half of the block (for what my Daddy would have sold the entire block for). They allowed her to live in the house until either her death or she could no longer live on her own. When she was 86 (30 years after my Daddy died in 1985) she stayed there for about a year. I thought she had been having some ‘small strokes’; and brought it up to my 2 older sisters. One agreed, the other didn’t … a few months later she had a fairly significant stroke and oldest sister came down and stayed with her until they released her from the hospital and then took her back home with her. They only had their MBR downstairs, and Mother was very ‘homesick’ … so she took her back home and we hired someone to come stay with her during the day. When she started forgetting to pay her bills; we had to make the decision to put her in an A.L.F. They were directly across the street from the Baptist Church she attended and they would take her over on Sundays to Sunday School; but, she rarely could go to church afterwards. She ‘knew’ she lived a few blocks away and all she ever ‘wanted’ was to ‘go home’. During this time we had sold the house to the Methodist Church and for a while they contemplated making it into the offices; and leaving the foyer, living room and dining room and kitchen area for small weddings. Beautiful staircase coming down into the foyer. Also had a back stairwell (where all my childhood painting were hung; sort of like my own museum). But, because of the materials it was built with they decided it was not ‘cost effective’ to remove the asbestos in the house for that use; and, by that time it really did need some updating.

    One of my BFs and her husband were contracted to abate the asbestos; and, they were also supposed to retain the salvage. Then one of the ‘older’ members made an announcement for anybody wanting anything out of the house, they needed to get it by week’s end. Friend and her husband had already put up the ‘Hazardous Materials’ sign and she caught one lady digging through things and asked her ‘didn’t she see the Hazardous Materials sign? She claimed she was looking for the old pulpit (which was in a stack along with all the other wood that had been torn out of the church). I gave my friend a tour of the house pointing out a lot of it is features. When they came home from a week at the beach … they found that the house had been stripped of everything of value. They cut apart the mantles in the living room and dining room just to see if ‘maybe’ there were ‘coal grates’ in any of the 7 fireplaces in the house. They had already sold both LR and DR mantles and tile surrounds to the owners of another friend’s family home. The family that were living in the house were building an extension and really wanted to keep it with the same period of time moldings, etc. They had cut out all the windows in the house (all were wavy glass … worth about $100 a square foot/yard(???). Including all the casings. It had picture molding (about a foot down from the ceiling where they would hang pictures from it on rope. Twelve inch wide footboards that were hand-carved. It had a lot of bead board in it (some in the upstairs bath). I had really wanted something from the house for sentiment. When they got into it, they were nailed by each board and it would take too long (labor wise) to tear it off. However, she did find (in a closet that was hidden from view (under the front stairs) a piece of the footboards that had never been painted; and, I got that from her. Louis and I cut it into 3 equal pieces and built 3 coat racks; which I kept one and gave each sister one. They were thrilled! Made me happy to give them something that came from the old home. It had been bought on my oldest sister’s 10th birthday; so it was always called ‘her birthday present’. It had been divided into 2 or 3 different apartments. When they realized that the walls up to the upstairs was ‘hollow’ they tore out the walls and there were mahogany handrails with big ball finials on each corner.

    It was an old “Colonial-style” house with a wrap-around porch on two sides (balusters and columns, with fancy tops and bottoms to them. Some were broken out or rotten. Daddy took one had had about 25 more made to replace them. The stairwell inside the foyer was in pristine condition. During my junior year in HS; they tore off the front porch and remodeled one side of it and the foyer (and put in A/C). Before that the way to cool it was a business-sized attic fan (which would draw out heavy lined drapes 3 or 4 feet into the room when it was on). Daddy also had several pieces of the fan made because they would sometimes ‘crack’ because of constant use. We’d turn it on in the evening and Daddy would come up and turn it off. He got the architect to draw in the ‘electrical’ re-wiring of the house a switch downstairs so he would not have to climb the steps every morning about 4:00 to turn it off. We slept under big heavy quilts and we were not about to get out of bed to turn it off. LOL! I can still remember the floor plan of how it looked when we moved in. It even had a butler’s pantry and a garden room (for repotting). There was an old cedar closet under the stair in the back foyer; and on the other side; there was a closet that my mother used and there was a vanity in it as well. Huge long claw-foot tub upstairs. It was about 6’ long before the curve in the back upward.
    I think the lady next door enjoyed my coming over all the time because she and her husband had a son (grown, of course) who had gone out to San Francisco to work and after “The Big Quake” they never heard from him again. They just had to assume that he had been killed in it. She had pictures of Old San Francisco; and they lined the room she used as her bedroom which was actually a sunroom … so all her pictures were on the wall behind her headboard. Wall covered in what looked like Kraft paper. She’d answer any and all my questions about her son and San Francisco as well.

    Her back yard was daffodils as far as you could see. She had paths throughout made of stone, she would show me the ones I could pick and the ones that I could not pick. She told me any that were on the property line between the houses I could pick anytime, as much as I could. I tool a bouquet of them to my Mother and told her that ‘the girl next door said I could pick them’. She dragged me and the flowers over there to give them back and to ‘apologize’. She then told Mother that she had told me it was ‘ok to pick them’. Later on that day (even after I got a ‘switching’) she came over with a pan of ‘clover leaf yeast rolls’ – handmade. YUMMY!!! We got a batch of rolls every Saturday night to cook for Sunday lunch.

    Another ‘funny’ story was when I was little and the phone we had in the kitchen on the counter behind the table would ring, I would jump up and answer it. Because I was ‘a big girl’. Daddy was an attorney, so it was not unusual for somebody who had spent the night in the ‘drunk tank’ to call him to see about getting them out. When we were little, we’d say the blessing: “God is Great, God is Good; let us thank Him for our food.” One Sunday morning, the phone rang, just as we sat down and I picked up the phone and said, “God is Great!” Realized what I had done and hung up. I probably turned ‘beet red’; and, Daddy and Mother just burst into ‘laughter’. I really turned red then. Daddy said, ‘that probably surprised some sobering drunk up very quickly’ since ‘they got just one call’. Of course, the phone rang again, and Daddy picked it up. Sure enough, some ‘sobering drunk’ had wanted him. Told him as soon as he ate he would call the Judge to set bail. As a teenager, I used to have to go up to his office, when it was located over the Rexall’s Drug Store … that stopped when I told my Daddy I was ‘scared’ to stay up there alone. He was one of the first people in the county that got a ‘private line’. So he had an extension put in that could be answered there as well. One afternoon one of his clients called about being in jail and I told him that he was no ‘in’. He argued with me and I told him that he was ‘in court’ in another county and would call the Sheriff when he got back in and hung up on him. A few minutes later, the Sheriff called and I told him that Daddy was in court out of the county. He laughed and said, that the guy thought I was lying to him.

    When I was only 4-years-old and my parents would throw parties with card games for everybody; the men would usually play poker and I would go around each side of the table and climb up on the back of their chairs and they could tell by the look on my face what the others had in their hands. I could not understand why they’d all ‘throw their cards down’ and Daddy would be cursing. He’d drag me out of the room back into the kitchen, with my Mother on his heels. She was the disciplinarian in the house; so she would give me a spanking about it. Daddy finally taught me how to play ‘poker’ and be able to have a ‘poker face’. But, I was still not allowed to come up to where they were playing cards. My Mother and her friends played ‘Bridge’ and I would always ask, ‘who’s the dumb one’? Mother never could get me to ask, ‘who is playing dummy this time’?

    What you and I referred to as ‘history’ was things like “Pearl Harbor” or WWI or WWII or the Korean Conflict. My oldest granddaughter would call it ‘ancient’ history. And it was not taught in school, except as an ‘elective’. What I call ‘ancient history’ would be the Pyramids and that sort of thing. The 7 Wonders of the World; now they have ‘modern’ 7 Wonders of the World. Kids really miss out on a lot of what made America, America. I was a ‘50’s baby, 60’s teenager; and, I really think (probably) one of the last of the “Baby Boomers” and I will say that I really think that was the last greatest generation to grow up in.
    So much for babbling on …

    Cheri – DH and I had an elliptical machine and we could not even do it for 2 minutes without our legs ‘screaming’. We are both relatively short-legged and I do not think we were able to actually get the right stride. We now have a treadmill; and, I try to walk at least 30 minutes on it 3 or 4x a week. Been trying to up my exercise by doing it daily … but; I usually take Sundays off from any exercise. I got my Saturday exercise by washing Cracker inside. I’ll be happy when warm weather comes so Louis can wash her outside. Either that or I will take her to PetSmart in town. But, yesterday she went out in the rain following Louis around and smelled very ‘doggy’. We try to keep her clipped so that she doesn’t show or have her ‘broken’ coat. It seems to hold the odor more than the undercoat.
    Some of my ‘seizure meds’ make my gums grow fast (hyperplasia); so I have had to have surgery on them. I don’t think that surgery is quite as bad as the surgery involved if your gums are receding. My Neurologist (who works in Albany only 2 or 3 days a week) has a ‘new’ PA; and, I called to get my results. I did not like her ‘flippant’ remark; so I asked her to send the results to my GP; who I will see on Thursday … she just left me with some ‘unanswered questions’ about it.

    Allie – That’s very interesting. My mother, like I said, was big in the Daughter of the American Revolution (DAR) … she traced her linage back to The Mayflower … I always thought that was pretty neat; but, none of us really wanted to get involved. Every generation she traced, she got a gold bar with that ancestor engraved in it. She had 3 ribbons full of them. I think only her BFF had done the same. She and Daddy used to make trips everywhere and one day was always spent walking through cemeteries to find ‘proof’. I’m amazed at the older cemeteries and all the monuments and how many generations were buried around them.

    Katla – I did not know that REL’s plantation is where Arlington Cemetery is. That’s interesting, too. I don’t believe that anybody ought to be a ‘slave’ but not every family in the South owned slaves either. They were small to mid-sized farms and they worked the family from the time they were able to walk and see and be seen and drag a bag behind them. I resent hearing that “I owe someone” because of the color of my skin. I don’t owe anybody anything along those lines. I think some of the bravest men and women were the ones willing to die to escape slavery. Even after Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves … some still stayed in the South and still worked for the men ‘who had owned them’. Some of the cruelest men were the Carpetbaggers. But, they were ‘looking for workers in the factories that were built in the North’.

    Joyce – Having a family Bible or scrapbook is so interesting … I think our parents or grandparents never thought they would not be able to distinguish one parent, grandparent, or child through their pictures. My husband’s family were French. His grandfather was 2nd generation America … his Dad had come over from France for whatever reason, being an American, I guess. His Granddaddy only spoke French (Cajun French … pigeon = pee john). I never met him … but Louis said that it was interesting being around him. He was the boilermaker at the Dixie Crystal plant in Shreveport … the they built the one in Port Wentworth, GA (outside of Savannah, GA). They really, really needed him to be there so the boiler could be built correctly; but, he did not speak, read, or write … so his ‘men’ taught him how to read and write and speak English (which to him, was a 2nd language). The family was so large that they had to convert the recreation hall into a family home. Little Grannie was 8 months pregnant; and they washed the place down, inside and out to make sure it did not have lice or any other kind of bugs. About 3 weeks later, she gave birth to a stillborn boy. Since she was the one making the lye solution, they figured that was why she lost the baby. But, they had 8 children, all who lived to adulthood … I have a picture of my DFnL and his sister that was done on their First Communion. I also have two pictures that are my great-great-great-grandparents; they are obviously done in charcoal. I need to either repair one of the frames or see if I can find the same frame and have it reframed. It got dropped during this last move. Whoops; at least it did not break the glass and tear the picture.

    I got 7 watercolor pictures from my husband’s Uncle – all scenes of Atlanta done in the mid-‘50’s and none of them signed, obviously done by the same artist – Aunt Alice died right after Louis and I were married, and none of the generation down can remember if she was an artist. I need to write one of the sisters to see if they can remember if she was. When we got them (about 3 years after this uncle died and I was told I could have them if none of the 3 sons of the brother wanted them) … I finally got them. Had to have them reframed; but, basically all we did was ‘clean them up’. Frames and backing had 40+ years of two chain-smokers in the house. Everything smelled like smoke. We got a platform rocker and it had to be striped back to the wood. I refinished the wooden part; then had it recovered. I had gotten one pretty much like it from my mother! Most comfortable chairs in the entire house. Mother’s had a foot stool; I can remember sitting in my Mother’s lap in that chair when I was sick and I had to be 6- or 7-years old because I remember putting my feet on the stool with her.

    Meg – In HS when contacts were ‘first’ coming into vogue … I put one of my friend’s ‘hard’ contact in and could NOT get it out … I was screaming by the time she got it out. I had to have that test at the eye doctor where they put that little blue light on your eyeball. My DDnL#2 wears soft contacts. When we went out there in August; she had to take them out, wash them, go without them for a few hours – wore glasses; because she had put them in the wrong eye. I cannot imagine having something on my eyeball. It looks so funny to see her pull them out; she just ‘pinches’ them out. The ‘hard’ ones you had to get the lid in just the right angle to cup them so you could get them out. Worst thing I ever ‘asked’ someone to let me do (Curious George, doesn’t have 9 lives). He is a ‘monkey’ … so was I.

    Yvonne – That one is funny! The one I found ‘offensive’ was the one about ‘what if Mary had had an abortion’. That just did not ‘set well’ with my ‘set to’ factor. I happen to be Christian and I know we have some ladies on this site who are of other faiths; but, as a Catholic, Mary was ‘chosen by God’ to carry the “Son of Man.” In Jesus, God came down to earth; and, through him I believe in my salvation. I believe in that story because it is in the “Bible” that I read – I realize that some people only see him as another great prophet and it is not my place to ‘preach’ to them. So I won’t. I’m sure there were ‘women’ (and men and children) who were ‘marching for different reasons’.

    WOO HOO – FALCONS GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!!!

    So I will end my ‘novel’ now … and answer later on, the remaining posts.

    Lenora
  • GRITSandSLUTSandWINOS
    GRITSandSLUTSandWINOS Posts: 2,573 Member
    o:)
  • jmkmomm
    jmkmomm Posts: 3,247 Member
    Well our wonderful weather is now giving us a few sprinkles. Sigh. But's that's OK, beautiful weekend. And when has southwestern Indiana ever seen 69 degrees in January???? I also know that temps like that bring bad weather.

    Meg, I think my health is finally on the upswing. It's about time! My back is feeling better. Getting up in the mornings is still hard. I guess that's because I sleep soundly, which is a good thing. I have a recheck with my PCP at the end of February and will have repeat blood work before. We both weren't satisfied with my CBC 2 weeks after my 2nd time in hospital/nosebleed. I think it was the MCV count that was elevated and he thinks my B12 or folic acid may be low so those will be checked along with the CBC. I am not short of breath like when the Hgb was so low. I am getting out more and able to do a little bit of house work. So life is looking up. Christmas was so terrible for me emotionally not only with the back pain but how weak I felt. But my girls showed me how much they loved me and took care of all my Christmas needs. The oldest even did all the shopping for me for her girls. She even wrapped them since wrapping has always hurt my back a lot. Thanks for asking.

    I am watching this weekends National Figure Skating competition. I wish they would cut out a lot of the talk and let us see the people further down the list. I would love to see the junior and novice levels. They are our future Olympians and I would love to see their journey.

    Hubbie and I are now discussing colors for our exterior painting. UGH

    Joyce, Indiana
  • GloworminWA
    GloworminWA Posts: 704 Member
    DrKatieBug (I just love your username so I keep using it) - awesome picture - you look grrrrrreat - as Tony the Tiger would say!
  • drkatiebug
    drkatiebug Posts: 1,976 Member
    Thanks, Glo! My whole family called me Katiebug when I was a kid. A couple of cousins still do. I hated it then. My sister's nickname was Vickie Doll. I never understood why she got to be Doll while I had to be Bug! But now I like it. I think I added the dr because plain Katiebug was taken already.
  • fanncy0626
    fanncy0626 Posts: 7,152 Member
    Margaret- well said!

    Katla- great point!

    Drkatiebug - you look fabulous! Love the dress too!

    <3

    Mary from Minnesota
  • janetr7476
    janetr7476 Posts: 4,001 Member
    DrKatiebug, gorgeous. Look at you!!!!!!

    Janetr okc
  • tryingtolive1
    tryingtolive1 Posts: 245 Member
    Hi ladies have been busy and not been here for awhile. Still hanging on successfully in the maintenance stage. Some days better than others. Lol Great to see familiar and new names here.

    Recently bought an air fryer. Love it. Have done chicken and boneless chops in it. Anyone else have one? If so what do you make in it?

    Anne from Wisconsin
  • bmidwinter
    bmidwinter Posts: 21 Member
This discussion has been closed.