WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR AUGUST 2020

Faye: 😍 the digital art. You are in good company. David Hockney is heavily into it.

http://youtu.be/qCy89eJEv2c

Machka, Your tooth...
...

LisaInAR wrote: »

Machka - hope you can get your tooth fixed soonest, and hope it's not terribly painful. Or expensive to fix. It's been a rough couple of years for you, my friend. Many hugs coming your way.

Thank you!

Evidently I'm taking it all out on my teeth at night!

I have an appointment Sept 10 but am on the cancellation list. It's not too painful if I keep food and cold/hot beverages away.

It was fixed twice before ... I suspect I'll need a root canal this time + I really should pay for a crown + I think I've got to ask about a custom mouthguard for nights.
I wonder if they have a payment plan.
I wonder if I might get something back from my tax return this year.

LisaInAR wrote: »

Coming up on two full days since the sciatica flare subsided, so hopefully am completely past it. That was no fun.


Later,
Love,
Lisa

I hope you're pain free and back in business again.


M in Oz

margaretturk wrote: »

I tried to get together with a couple of friends within the first couple of weeks and finding it too hard. I know they are trying to be supportive but I think the best thing to say in situations like these is there are no words because I am finding most other statements taxing. Please please do not suggest anything that adds to the person's to do list like I have a book for you to read or someday think about being on a taskforce. How about a walk? When I already walk three times a day because of Drew. If I walk with you I have to wear a mask and right now when I am our walking I do not want to have to wear a mask. I will help you clean out son's things. (way to personal for me)

No here is a pot of soup in a container you do not need to return, I will come and mow your lawn, I will water your garden, here is a plate of cookies on a paper plate, I will help you arrange the flowers on son's grave, we will take over the food at the service. I will just listen and offer no advice... These were the things I found really helped me at this time.

As those of you have suffered loss. The loss is the major impact. Then you have the thanks yous, the financial, the personal property aspects you need to get through along with your own day to day routines. Everyday I do something to get these extra things done. I also keep my computer handy if I have any phone work to do for all the wait times many of these things have and I always remember to thank the person on the other end of the phone for any help they give me.

{{Hugs}}

I am so sorry you're dealing with all of this.

But I agree!

No one prepared me for the amount of work that was involved in having a husband in a coma and then in a state where he didn't know who he (or anyone or anything) was ... and even after.

I got ...
I will come and stay with you. Lovely, but it would have meant extra housework for me.
Would you like to be part of the Brain Injury Association. I did eventually, but in the beginning I didn't have the energy for that.
Would you like to help with fundraising for the local Epilepsy organisation. No ... I don't have time!
Here's a whole stack of things to read. Just not ready for that.
Why don't you get pets ... taking care of pets will take your mind off things. I was hardly ever home ... at work, at uni, at the hospital.

The one that probably helped me the most was when a coworker took me out for coffee two or three time. Just a cup of coffee for maybe half an hour. A short break that didn't involve any preparation on my part. A chance to talk.

There is another one that probably would have helped, but I didn't think of it and it's not one I've seen on the lists of how to help ... setting up lights. I would have loved for someone to ask me if it was OK if they came in and set up a string of solar lights for me along the footpath to my door so that when I came home from the hospital well after dark, there would be light to greet me. And so that we would have safety lights after my husband came home, especially since he has trouble walking. I tried to squeeze "buy solar lights" into my day and I think I got a couple really cheap ones from somewhere, but they didn't last long.


{{Hugs}}

Machka in Oz

dellafayefox wrote: »

Lanette If you have a bottle of sanitizer already almost empty, just add the Everclear to it and see how you like the consistency. You can use it straight but I find it a bit thin so a little aloe thickens it and is good for the skin. I like the 1 to 10 ratio because it keeps the alcohol content very deadly to germs and viruses and is a nice consistency for pump bottles.

Thanks for this tip! Never thought to add aloe to watery hand sanitizer! Will be doing this moving forward.

Cheri

Did some HIIT today. The plan for tomorrow is to do a Pilates for Weight Loss DVD

Barbie – this app seemed fairly easy to use. It’s called pedometer.

Rebecca when Ivanka Trump (was it her or her father?) mentioned how the son/grandson made a lego white house, it reminded me of you and your son

M – so glad your family is safe. They’re smart to stay away longer. Hope you get in to the dentist real soon. Look on the bright side….it may be too painful to eat.

Cloudy here, probably some of Laura. I understand that tomorrow we should be getting some rain. That translates into no pool

Exercised, then stopped at WalMart to see if they had any bread flour…they don’t. I think after the soup kitchen I’ll stop at Food Lion to get some things I have rainchecks and coupons for.

Sourdough starter: still not much activity. I’m wondering if the lid I’m using prevents air from getting in. Well, I did see someone on the internet use it, but looking at Bobs Red Mill site they say to cover it with a towel. I had been using the metal things that go on canning jars, just keeping it very loose. So now I’m trying putting a kitchen towel on top. We shall see what happens…..

Vince left for VA today, he’ll be back tomorrow.

Michele NC

bwcetc wrote: »

Lisa ... I've been meaning to comment on your beautifully written short description of hanging clothes on the line. It would seem to me you're also alive when writing ...
Beth near Buffalo

Beth, Thank you so much for the compliment! In all reality, I'm not even sure I'm actually present when I'm writing, which is probably why I don't mention it. Just the opposite of that hyper-aware state I was in while hanging the clothes, where I felt I could hear, see, smell, taste, touch everything. When I write something, and then go back a day or more later to edit it, I have zero memory of what I was thinking, how I was feeling, what the process was. When I write poetry, the disconnect is even broader. It can be... disconcerting.

Snowflake1968 wrote: »

Debbie- I hate line dried clothes because of the stiffness too. I do miss a nice crisp line dried sheet though. I miss that smell and no matter what they have tried I haven't found a bottled scent that cuts it.

Lisa - Hope you find your glasses.

Tracey - I did find my glasses, thank you. I don't mind the line-dried clothes, but like Machka, most of mine are softer jersey knits. What I absolutely love, though, is the smell and the feel of the sheets and the towels. I don't use fabric softeners very deliberately. My daughter is a proponent of Downy or Snuggle on everything, and it's much like trying to dry off with a buttered towel; they slide right off your skin and just smear the water around rather than absorbing any. Machka, I know it would be like torture for you, but a rough, stiff, absorbent, line-dried towel is pure heaven on my skin, like a mini-massage.

__________

Finished on the elliptical, but not sure whether I'm going out to get some brushcutting done or not. I'll give it a little more time before I decide.

Later, y'all,
Love,
Lisa

LisaInAR wrote: »

I don't mind the line-dried clothes, but like Machka, most of mine are softer jersey knits. What I absolutely love, though, is the smell and the feel of the sheets and the towels. I don't use fabric softeners very deliberately. My daughter is a proponent of Downy or Snuggle on everything, and it's much like trying to dry off with a buttered towel; they slide right off your skin and just smear the water around rather than absorbing any. Machka, I know it would be like torture for you, but a rough, stiff, absorbent, line-dried towel is pure heaven on my skin, like a mini-massage.

Later, y'all,
Love,
Lisa

I don't mind a rough, stiff, absorbent, line-dried towel ... it is like a mini massage. Also one of the "features" of perimenopause/menopause is itchy skin and the line-dried towels is like an overall back scratch.

https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/menopause/31-most-common-menopause-symptoms/

But if I had to wear a towel like that ... I couldn't do it.

And I agree about the Downy or Snuggle ... it just makes towels greasy. I don't use softener at all.

M in Oz

auntiebk wrote: »

"Get to do"s and "chose well"s

Chose well:
Bonus: played in the dirt, weeded a bit, prepped for transplants
Get to do: transplant lettuces, mustards, artichokes, beit alpha, bean, plant snow peas, BB&B, take pics of car, declutter sideboard, start baking cookies for visit, follow up email to SDAO re ABN registry, Pilot tech support 5034447924 to link subscription and fix login, practice new dances (Turning Tables, Nothing but You, Shake it like that, Larger than Life, Here I Go Again/Mama Mia, Real Deal, Get it Right); make garlic almonds for Barb and Dan; prep potato area and raised beds for beets, carrots, parsley root, parsnips, radishes and sow; finish weeding drive, continue weeding flower bed, mulch flowerbed; Freddie’s for complete series TDAP <$48, get Shingrix vaccine. Reward: inventory seeds, plan fall cool season garden, order replenishments.
Altruistic August
27: notice and try to brighten someone who’s down: chat with Russ.

By the time I got outside, moved some pots around, pulled a few weeds and figured out where I wanted to put the starts, it was too hot, 95 in the shade of our front porch! Oh that Chetco effect. Will get an earlier start tomorrow.

Joe is really feeling better. Said it was worth all the trouble to be able to see all the poles down the power line easement. He’s hopeful the Surgeon will pat him on the head Monday and say “You’re ok, we’re done!” Fingers X’d pressure is down and stays down.

Rita sorry to hear of your asthma attack. It’s hard to escape bad air. Loved the days and yes I was stringing the first four together with the “lady church”… Amazing pic of the dragonfly complete with wing shadows.
Kim great news about your hug reservoir and the declining temps.
Katla would you remind me how your helmet was broken? Great advice to @dietingright. I’d add weigh more than measure, it was astonishing to me how scant a tablespoon portion is when weighed.
Welcome @dietingright and @montinacrosby. Barbie starts this thread fresh every month, watch for the link on the 31st.
Vicki hoping the first rx you eliminate is the magic one to stop the hives.
Yvonne I remember those scarved pink plastic rollers Your paletas sound great.
Tracey was this it?

https://youtu.be/ZU9Elx1C_48

Rori :brokenheart:
Pip just love all the pics! Which river?
Heather do those burly men wear kilts?
Machka guilty of most of those procrastinating strategies, except the delegator
Lanette Wasps, maybe, but hornets? :noway: Owww! What was the Creator thinking when manifesting hornets (and mosquitoes). SMH! When Joe’s surgeries are all done and I can stop self-isolating, this is what I want to wear for line dancing:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/833369707/fisherman-bucket-hat-with-face-shield?ga_order=most_relevant&amp;ga_search_type=all&amp;ga_view_type=gallery&amp;ga_search_query=face+shield+hat&amp;ref=sc_gallery-1-9&amp;plkey=492e6ade4aa0f24692e3e15cda324084e1a59a3e:833369707&amp;bes=1

Karen in VA you sure can put a positive spin on post-anesthesia cognitive deficit. Sending healing comforting vibes both to your spouse and you. When is the testing scheduled?
Lisa Oww! Please take it easy until you’re completely recovered.
Faye “Warrior Woman” truth that! No neuralgia for Joe, thanks be. Only meds he takes are for cholesterol and high blood pressure. He doesn’t complain but was obviously suffering. Thank Goodness his eye pain has completely eased since the needle in eye to drain and new meds. So glad they finally figured out you had glaucoma and that the drops keep your pressure down to 10. Hoping the same for Joe.
Julie sounds like a productive day. Safe travels!
Margaret bank accounts and credit cards being hacked? Haven’t you been through enough? Sending restful restorative vibes, and hugs.
@charsuzy No major slips is great! Would you let us know what you’d like to be called and generally where you are?

Dogs have been barking like crazy. Joe just remembered he left some beef jerky and mixed nuts in the van in preparation for his trip. He’s decided to bring them in so as not to lure the bears…

Lighter, lovelies!

Barbara, the Southern Oregon Coastie AHMOD

August: better than July.
daily: steps>5491=Tue: 1890, Wed: 5506  vits=25.5 log=26 CI<CO=16 CI<250<CO=8 Tumble & Shadow 5=16 mfp=18 outside=9 up hill=6
wkly: T’ai Chi or BB&B x3=4 rx=3 dance=1 clean 30 mins=10-2/3
mnthly: board mtg=1 grant=5 20for20=
bonus: AF=15 play= sew=

I will double check, but I think I know

Hi after all this time I do regnonize some of you but not all. But I need help lots of it. So here I am after a busy month picking blueberries. I should of lost weight with all that work. But didn't happen instead I gained 3 lbs. Not the end of the world. But now going out for my first walk. But surely not the last.

Carol the funeral was outside and everyone wore masks. What he is doing now by visiting all those National Parks and staying at motels and hotels and eating out to me seems much more risky. Thus my answer is not to come. Just a M said it would mean more work for me cleaning before and after they come for one day. I admit his response as did my nieces hurt. Other brother was going in for hip surgery and Significant Other who is like a sister-in-law is taking care of her 100 year old mother.

M hope friend is continuing coffee time because you still need on going support.

Today is Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day!

"The death of a pet, whether furry, feathered, or an uncommon variety, is felt deeply. They become family and a familiar part of our lives. Mourning their death is different for everyone, and the observance provides a way to help heal the ache of loss. ... Celebrate the home you provided and the joy your beloved pet brought you in return."

Tracey - I typoed in my post. I meant swell buoy, not shell buoy! Swell buoys are offshore buoys that are used to predict surf height. I sounds like the storm surge from Hurricane Laura wasn't as bad as predicted and most of the initial devastation came from high winds. There are still whole communities virtually wiped out, though.

Debbie - When we moved back to Texas from New Mexico and then Oklahoma, we had three giant dogs, three cats, two parrots, and an aquarium. Now we're down to one medium-sized dog, one cat, and the two birds. Our house feels a little empty sometimes!

Allie - I only discovered A Very Brady Renovation last night, and though it was a great concept for a series. So far I've only seen the first episode, but I enjoyed it a lot. I'll watch pretty much anything that has the Property Brothers in it.

Katla - It's still too hot down here... even my dog doesn't want to go outside during the dog days of August!

Lanette - We have an AeroPress. My husband just had to have one because he read about it somewhere, so he put it on his Christmas list and my sister gave it to him one year. I thought it was kind of fiddly and took up too much space for something I could basically do with a Melitta filter. It does make good coffee, but it was a dumb idea for us because we drink way too much coffee. He put it in the RV and I guess we might use it when we aren't hooked up to shore power.


There've been so many beloved pets over the years. I can't read through the Rainbow Bridge poem without tearing up.

My New Orleans cousin is fine but we haven't heard anything yet about the gazillion aunts and uncles and cousins in Lake Charles and surrounds. I need to see if my sister and brother have been in touch with them but I'm pretty sure they all evacuated so they may not know what they're dealing with yet.

After a long break to see what my hair was like under there, I've started using the color-depositing shampoo and conditioner again to move it back toward purple. So far the effect is subtle because I haven't taken the time to let it sit on my hair for a good long while before rinsing, but purple has been my favorite color so far. One of these days I ought to give pink a try.

Well, I have the day off and I need to get up and do something. I'll feel better about myself if I accomplish at least a small project or two!

Love and health to all.

-Yvonne in TX

Honey and PB I used to just mix up the PB and honey and eat it like that. Now I use organic natural almond butter and local organic natural wildflower honey. I just mix it up and enjoy it. No bread involved. It took a while to get used to, but now I savor the bitterness of the almond butter. Occasionally I fix those high protein Kodiac pancakes and put the mix on there. Very bitter even with honey but according to my former fake DH, I am such a sweetheart I need to be bittered down ... hahaha!

Margaret Sorry to hear about your credit card problems. I have had my ID stole twice, debit card breeched, and what a mess cleaning all that up. It was something I had to do myself! My credit is still bad and I refuse to play the credit game. I don't need anything that requires a loan, so I could care less about my credit score. Now I use only one credit card for every purchase and check my account daily and pay it off every month.

I agree that in times of family loss that there is really nothing to say that helps the person grieving. In all the times I have been through it, one time stands out. A friend in a wheelchair came over with a fresh spiral notebook and ballpoint pen. While I talked he made notes and got out my files and got down names and numbers that needed notifying. He organized everything and make calls only handing me the phone when they needed my verification and approval. It was a burden lifted knowing that no important things were overlooked. My father came and did all my chores and found a way to involve me helping distract my mind. He knew how I did things, but would ask knowing I would get up and show him. He helped keep my mind and body active while my mother took care of funeral details and such. I am not sure I would have survived with my mental health intact without their help.

One thing that I couldn't bear to hear was, "It was God's will." My mother was a devoted fundamental Christian and she never uddered those words. Many of her friends did. Another one I personally hate is, "Well you will see her again in heaven."

M in Oz I agree that the friend that takes you out for coffee and gives you a break and just listens is the best. I have friends and she is in early-stage dementia and sometimes is very trying and impossible. I sit with her regularly to give her husband a break. He gets a lot of advice of how to deal with it, but the advice is one thing, and taking time to give the caregiver a break is another and the most valuable.

As my dad would say a 1 pound bag cannot hold 10 lbs of bull poo! Help empty the bag and don't fill it!

Heather I did a couple of illustrated kids booklets many years ago when my besties grandkids were little. I let them help me when I babysat them. We had such fun and wrote some crazy stories. We kept all the daily work we did on heavy print paper and I had it spiral bound. They each had their own books. I would help them do the sketches in pencil and then they would color them in. It was really their stories, I just helped guide them.

Thanks To all that like my art, poems, and stories. It is a great release for me. Thank you all very sincerely.

Faye Mid Columbia River

Lanette You may want to strip me of my title as a Northwest girl, but I must confess. I use Folgers instant coffee. I have for years and prefer it to all the fancy coffees and brewing methods. Many years ago I had a neighbor that roasted coffee beans. The fumes coming off the process were toxic for me. I switched to instant, much to his dismay. Some of his brews were like asphalt. I realize my confession is pleading guilty to a crime and I may have to move further south.