WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR OCTOBER 2017

Michele – Technology is great; but, it sure ‘dumbs down’ our children (and grandchildren) when it comes to ‘math’ and ‘communication’ (both spoken and written).

Now you know Maria’s true colors (when she is spending HER money). Sad as it is she is a ‘name dropper’ when it comes to being around ‘her’ friends. The rehearsal dinner isn’t a public dinner – usually just the wedding party. I’d order the most expensive item they are offering - not that I'd eat it . I’m surprised that she hasn’t decided that having it ‘where they met’ isn’t beneath her. How many times does she have to ‘change her mind’? Isn’t the wedding sometime this month?

Katie – I can’t think of any man that makes a good patient when they are sick. Louis including.

Please keep Will, Tami, and Mallory in your prayers. They are still taking this miscarriage very hard. Especially Tami. She says that everybody around her are always talking about babies, being pregnant, breast-feeding, and all that. Says that it is so hard when there are a million-and-one things they could talk to her about to her. She hasn’t spoken to her mother since she told her ‘to get over it’. Her niece just had a baby and she just can’t bring herself to go over there and watch her mother 'gush' over it. She says that she has always 'played' favorites when it comes to her sister and her children that are quite a bit different in age. One, old enough to have a baby; the other one is Mallory's age. Says that even Mallory notices it and it hurts. I can understand it; that is how I felt after my first pregnancy. I had well-meaning friends and family members hand me a baby that I really did not feel like holding all the time. Sometimes pushing it on me. I'm sure her mother would think that would be a good idea. But, at least he Daddy seems to understand the hurt she is feeling. The are a bit strange. He doesn't say much; she talks a lot; but, at nobody in particular.

I am praying really hard that both he and Tami can ‘grieve’ and get over it whenever God lets them peace. I don’t think she is doing well with it. She wants to give Will a baby of his own. Louis called her the other day and said that “Will did not marry her to have babies; he married her because he loves her and Mallory." She said she really appreciated that and it won't be a conversation that she will ever forget. I am very hesitant to call – I don’t know what to say. With her, I am totally ‘at a loss for words’. They have not really discussed what their plans are; and, I doubt they will – at this point. Her mother’s attitude about IVF is somewhat negative as it is; but, it is the ‘only possibility for them’. Thanks, ladies – I know you will do this for them and for me. I worry about her being ‘depressed’. I hope and pray that Will is going to be attentive. I’m sure he will – it has affected him as well. He hasn’t called home since they lost the baby.

Don’t worry about your babies … enjoy them and I love seeing pictures of them. Life goes on and we have to pick up the pieces and move on. I took it really hard when they told us - felt so sorry for them because this was the last embryo to be implanted and she had gone though several procedures before they did so, in order to give it a better chance. Lots of genetic testing and counseling. I think if he has her way, they will try it again. Even though it is very expensive. The ‘only’ child that Will would ‘adopt’ is Mallory; and, her Daddy would never agree to it no matter what. I worry about post-partum depression. I'm sure that her body goes through that, too.

I’ve busted my tail doing the ‘purge’ cleaning of my house. Slowly; getting one room finished before moving on to another. Moved a couple of pieces of furniture around and I think it looks better. I am trying to figure out how long it will take me to empty out the small chest by the front door; then move it to the porch. Then move the treadmill up behind the wingback chair; then we’ll be able to open the front door, not that we have any good reason to do so.

Dishwasher still broken. That was one thing Louis said when he got home. Yep, I have rinsed them; but, haven't washed them yet. Will get up early and wash them. Flipped all the switch in the box and then the 'error message' we were getting on the freezer went off. That was 'good'. I am going to make my "Dreamer's List" ... not a "Bucket List" ... I'll probably 'kick the bucket' before even 2 things are done. Windows World is supposed to be her Monday AM. I'm going to be PISSED, if some reason comes up or it has to be delayed. I think I have been extremely patient.

Boy, I sure do miss Danny’s wife from Blue Bloods. I guess they have to always write a contingency plan for when a cast member decides to leave the program. Guess it will be interesting to see if he continues being ‘Mr. Mom’ and work or if he gets remarried (maybe next season).

I think since I weighed the same at weigh-in, even after vacation … I could possibly say that I lost … everything that needed to go up, did; and, everything that was supposed to go down did. I wore a little bit warmer clothes. Which I will now do from here on out, since it’s beginning to get cooler. Too cool in the AM for shorts now. By the end of the morning you wish you had them on.

Well, we won’t be ‘eating out’ this weekend. Albany State is having homecoming. Traffic and restaurants will be awful. If we do go out, we’ll go to the local Mexican Restaurant.

Have a wonderful weekend! Welcome to all the ‘Newbies’.

Lenora

Well I thought I was doing pretty good keeping up ... only 11 pages behind ... when I realized I was still in September. So, I've done some speed reading/skimming to get caught up with you all.

There were things I was going to comment on, but now can't recall much of anything except that I always thought Pin the Tail on the Donkey was a dumb a** game. I appreciate hearing the opinions and thoughts of all the ladies here ... it helps me form a picture of who each of you are.

Kelly so sorry that DH's employer treated him so poorly. I have absolute confidence that you will land on your feet. Enjoy the respite with your grandson.

Somewhere I remember reading that Michele had a lump in her throat and felt like she couldn't swallow? Was this addressed?

Allie ... so glad you're moved in. The change Tom came back for ... wouldn't half of that be considered yours?

It has been very hectic here with one thing after another. My stress eating is off the charts. I'm not happy with myself at all. I do remember Penny mentioning she added a good habit as opposed to stopping bad habits ... that resonated with me so I will be adding one good habit this month.

Went shopping for a wedding outfit and thought I'd try on dresses for the heck of it. Nope. No way, no how can I wear a dress anymore. Besides not liking anything I saw, the things I tried on looked hideous on my body. So I will definitely be wearing pants ... probably not the dressy palazzo style pants as they were not flattering ... but a dressier pant with heals and a dressier blouse with some fancy jewelry. I figure my DH and I are going to be at this event for 2 hours tops ... that's all he will be able to handle ... we won't be dancing and he will need to stay pretty casual to be able to sit for that amount of time as it is. While I know our friends will be dressed to the hilt, I've decided to do what makes sense for my husband and I.

DH will be having additional surgery on the 24th of this month. He's just about immobile now. His surgeon does not want to do a fusion/pins after all because DH is only 59 and would like to be active. So they're doing a lumbar decompression and some sort of "onlay" procedure that I don't yet fully understand. Last night, DH ...and now the D does not signify Dear ... decided to take an old pain killer from last year. I have no idea what he was thinking as it was a high dosed opiate that is only used after a patient has developed a tolerance to other pain killers. It was a hellish night as I kept making certain that he was still breathing. Let's just say he will not be taking any more of them.

Older son's job is going very well. His 3 week training period ended today and he went live with customer calls this afternoon. Even though he has limited fine motor skills, he was more than capable of managing the computers I am told. Not quite sure why this company is unable to use voice recognition in this day and age, but it is what it is. He also decided to apply (and was accepted) into a Theological Seminary seeking a degree .in Biblical Studies. While there is a brick and mortar school, he will be achieving his degree through a "cloud classroom" online ... One course at a time. He's going to be busy. His aide situation has deteriorated so I'm running ragged filling in for him.

It's been a stellar week ... backed into my SIL's car in the driveway (saw it but didn't register it was there) and then yesterday locked my keys in my car at the mall (after trying on the hideous dresses).

So it's late and I'm due back at my sons in 8 hours ... which means I'm heading in.

Have a great weekend.
Beth near Buffalo.

I think if truth be said, Charlie probably enjoys the fact that I can say things in here so that I don't have to engage much in conversation with him. He isn't a big talker since he really only wants to talk about all the tra Estes in the world, the current political situation, how corrupt and incompetent people are, etc, etc. he doesn't want me to talk while driving because it will distract him from other drivers being incompetent. Like after he safely goes through a green light, he will make sure he looks back to see if so,e one is running the red light. He doesn't understand that by doing that,he isn't paying attention to what is ahead of him. Also when we eat out, which is to much, he is hardly a talker at all. He is so mad at Christina's boss that he is having her be out on the highway at night. He has never been in a habit of looking at people when he talks to them and he talks with his mouth so full. Kind of irritating! Can you tell??????

As far as a sick person, he is just not that.mevem if he is as sick as a dog, he does what has to be done. I think in his 35 years of work he called in maybe a total of seven days. He just works through it. And when he had his meningitis, he could be laying in bed, apparently unconscious but if the urge to poop came, he was up and running to the bathroom. He didn't care, really he wasn't aware of any IV lines, catheter or bed alarms connected, he just knew he had to go. If he took to long, I would go in the bathroom and he would be on the floor cleaning up the mess. He knew that he didn't want someone else to clean up his mess. He doesn't remember hardly any of that time in he hospital. Even at home, when he didn't make it, he got mad if I cleaned up the floor while he was cleaning himself. When he had his ileostomy, he was the same. Hardly ever asked for anything, was shown one time how to empty his bag and he was self care. Now as far as changing the bag, he was insistent that I do that since I was a nurse. I think I kind of helped him along with hat saying I couldn't do anything else for him so I might as well do that. So I did have to insist tha he do that himself and he has never had a proble, so I have been proud of my man as a sick guy. Even though he might be sick, he just isn't sick. Oh, having the drain put it, now that was painful but he took care of it for 3 weeks until it came out.

He did have to take a nitro yesterday. It was a severe pain in his right chest. Since angina can be any pain above the waist, he took one. It went away, whether it was because of the nitro, who knows.

Joyce, Indiana Why do I get an m whenever I hit the space bar?????

Lagopus wrote: »

Lenora wrote:
Penny – The view is beautiful. What kind of exercise do you do in the middle of winter? I would think there’d be a stiff wind off the water. In summer/fall that might be fine; but, I hate cold weather.

Lenora - That view is near our holiday place in mainland Norway. Until we retire, we won't be spending the entire year here. We currently live 650 miles farther north, about as far north as the north shore of Alaska. This area is one of the windiest places on earth so yes, it does get windy!

But living here, we're prepared for cold weather. We've got proper clothing, and our houses are built for the conditions. We acknowledge that winter exists, unlike some parts of southern Europe, where they apparently consider winter a brief, annoying aberration that should just be ignored. I've never shivered as much as I did the winter I spent in England, where some of the windows were louvered glass that let the wind blow straight through the house.

My winter exercise is pretty much the same as my summer exercise. I can handle jogging down to about 0 degrees Fahrenheit provided the wind isn't too strong. I do a lot of walking, as essentially everything is within walking distance. (Ah, the joys of small-town living!) I walk to the gym to do my strength training; I walk to the grocery store and back every day or two, and walk to choir practice once a week.

Husband arrived as per plan yesterday. We've got lots to do today. Check in later.

/Penny, currently about 1500 miles from the North Pole

I admire you for living where you do and enjoying winter.

I spent my first 40+ years in the Canadian prairies ... 6 or 7 months of "real" winter, and a few months of summer.

While I do enjoy cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, and even miss it, I don't miss those winters.

One of the reasons I don't miss those winters is because my main sport is cycling, and it is difficult to cycle when the roads are covered in ice and snow, and when it is bitterly cold. It would be different, I think, if my sport was running or something with a winter focus. I knew people who looked forward to the Canadian winters because they were really into the winter sports.

Having lived in Australia now for over 8 years, I'm not sure I could return to the Canadian prairies and deal with those winters again. I wouldn't mind if we had about a month with enough snow for me to cross-country ski, but that's all I'd be interested in.

However, I do understand what you mean about the English houses vs the places where you live now. In Canada, the houses are built for winter ... but they certainly aren't here in Australia. Houses here are not well insulated, and I think every place I've lived here has a small screened window in the toilet to provide ventilation. In the winters, the toilets are freezing! In general, indoors, I think I'm colder here in Australia than I was in Canada!!

M in Oz