WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JULY 2020

Lisa: I'm glad that nobody was hurt when they hit the gas line. Yikes! That falls into the "what coulda happened" category and it was scary from my POV. I'm glad you're okay. :flowerforyou:

Pip, are the sneak peek views of Mt. Rainier worth it? There are a few spots heading south on I-5 into Seattle from Mountlake Terrace that are stunning. The road rises high enough to see the whole thing from base to crown. That’s the view I fell in love with in 1959 when I was 16 and traveling the West from Missouri, their summer home, in a huge loop taking in Grand Tetons, Yosemite, northern Idaho, the Palouse and Coulee country in Eastern Washington, Bellevue (a tiny village then!), Seattle, and then down an endless avenue of trees briefly interrupted by a gas station/grocery where Federal Way is now, a place I pronounced as “POO-ya-lup”, sparking gales of laughter at our lunch spot, and Mt Rainier Park, where my grandpa’s best friend from child in Ohio lived in a log cabin he and his wife had built themselves. I almost walked head-on into a black bear eating the blackberries by their fence. The bear and I both said, “Woof!” He ran, I froze. We then continued down to the Columbia, out to the Pacific, down the coast to San Francisco and Hayward CA, down the Central Valley to LA, Disneyland, and East in Rte. 66 back to Joplin, where their house was demolished in the awful tornado a few years back. We took several other trips, but that one is the reason I moved from Ihio to the west coast at 24 and hopscotched in multiple moves to where I’d always wanted to be. Near Seattle and Mama Mountain, as many of us call Rainier, although her name is actually Tahoma originally. There’s much talk of returning to that name. You folks are doing my west coast move in reverse.

Dr. Katie, losing a close friend, especially suddenly, is a punch in the gut. I suffered a similar loss five years ago. Thinking about her on or near anniversary dates is still hard, but the happy memories outweigh the sorrow by many times. It takes a while to get over that sucker punch of death. My heart goes out to you dealing with news of the loss of two friends at once!

Dlfk (if I remembered what name you prefer, I’d put it in. Sorry!) what happy times with your dad! We are surrounded here on several fronts at the Club where I live with invasive non-native Himalayan blackberries. There are also a few Marionberries (similar, but larger and sweeter), and two small red raspberries down the entry road, as well as some pretty tasteless Salmonberries. I need to try to get some blackberries picked and frozen. Do they need any special prep before freezing?

DellaFaye, Mt. Baker and it’s companion? (Can’t remember companiob’s name!)

Allie, know that “poof” feeling well, lol.

Rebecca, that saying is really about what my life is becoming! Thank you for posting it.

I’m just on page 69 and this post is immense. Think I’ll post now and reserve the right to post more after I read the rest of today.

Sharon Near Seattle

My Google Maps story: I was headed down at night to Harbor Island to pick up a granddaughter. It was in a totally dark area. Google said “Turn left!” so I did, and ended up high-centered on a pretty busy spur railroad line. A couple of really burly longshoremen (I’m guessing!) got my car out of the trackway where with some maneuvering I could get back in the main road, where I turned left correctly about 30’ further.

Cleaning: I'm horrible at it. Part of it is mobility and balance issues. The rest is laziness. I DO load my dishwasher, although I need to have someone unload it for me because it’s to balance while reaching up. I’m only 5’5” now, and cane-dependent with my right hand, sooooo … I can also vacuum with my ultralight Shark (?). Sorting and putting away? Hah! I can sort with my drill-Sargent-channeling granddaughter presenting small piles of objects and two boxes. “Here! This box is donate, this box is throw-away. Where do you want the rest to go?” She has my whole house gone from this : to perfection in about 4-5 hours’ time. I pay her VERY well to do this! And yes, by the time I call her in despair several months after our last visit, the whole house is similar.

Machka9 wrote: »

I celebrate things by doing one of two things:

1) Travelling.
2) Taking on an athletic challenge such as cycling, hiking or running.



What do you all (everyone here in this thread) do to celebrate things?



Machka in Oz

We also celebrate by traveling, usually. I don't want or need "stuff." I have way too much of it already. We don't really celebrate anything except our birthdays and we try to take each other somewhere. This year, that didn't happen. However, we've gone to a lot of places for birthdays and the holidays as our gift to each other.

We just love to travel, so do it whenever we can. This staying in and not being able to plan is making me nutty.

Tina in CA

Trucker Not sure of your name other than Tucker. Mt St. Helens is west of Mt Adams and lower in the state and Mt Baker is way up at the top. I get confused sometimes calling Mt Adams Mt Baker. I love the drive from White Salmon up 141 to Trout lake and the view of Mt Adams. I am surprised how many on this thread from Pacific NW.
I am trying to review and reply to many posts but I have to take notes to avoid confusion.

Heather Do I remember that you were at your brother's house the day you decided to take charge of your health? If I'm remembering correctly, was it this brother?

Pip Happy Anniversary!!!

Karen in Virginia
...

Tracey Yes, he always put on the act that I was a micromanaging nag but I knew better. After his wife died his daughter asked me to keep an eye on him. After we became better friends we always shared our daily schedules so we knew if something was wrong. We had close to the same sleeping times, so if I didn't see his lights on by a certain time I would call to see if he was OK. He did the same and we had keys for each other houses should an emergency arise. Several times over a few years this was a real blessing for both of us. My hot flashes saved him once. I was up at midnight one cool fall night totally nude in total darkness on my back patio trying to cool off. All of a sudden his back sensor light came on and I saw a guy running to his side fence. I had some nice size river rock in a bed around my chimenea so I threw one and hit the guy on the back as he was struggling to get over the fence. I yelled in the gruffest voice I could muster, "The next time it is going to be a bullet." Zek loved telling this story to his buddies as the reason he refused to marry me (liked I ever asked him hahaha)) saying that I was a better asset as a crazy neighbor.

So many ask why we never got romantically involved and to avoid a long conversation I cited the fact that he kept his house 78 degrees in the winter and never turned on his AC in summer unless temp was over 85 and then set it to cool to 78. I keep mine 68 year around in the day and 66 for the night. I don't mind heat outside but not in the confines of a building. Even though menopause is fading in my rearview mirror, I still enjoy a cool day and a cooler slumber.

Lanette Can you see Mt Adams? It would be just a bit east of St Helens.