WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JUNE 2021

Hello Folks!
Save yourself and skip this - unless you need the distraction. I’m afraid this turned into a rant to get stuff off my chest.
✳️ This year has been one thing after another. I thought 2020 was bad - but 2021 is throwing a lot of challenges at us. We lost 2 dear cousins. Both my age. Both good friends. Lisa has Parkinson’s and had a fourth heart attack. Ronnie had a stroke - 6 days after carotid artery surgery. And, my 37 year old “niece” was killed when she was hit by a car. She was actually the daughter of another of my dear cousins. And she was here at our home frequently. She stayed with Mom when we needed to go out. She cleaned house for us often. She gave mother mani/pedis. And, she loved making special healing elixers for us. And, my oldest cousin at 83 - just lost his wife. They were married a long time.
✳️ And, it seems every time we’ve turned around - something else around here breaks. In January we had to replace our central HVAC system. Feb - a pipe broke on the water well. Thankfully, that was an easier fix. March - 3 of my teeth decided to fail. April - We had the septic tanks pumped out. Our hot water heater died and the new one needs the anode rod replaced. It’s giving off a smell to the water. And I finally decided to replace my car’s seriously cracked windshield. (That was a good thing. Great experience.)
Now... the oven doesn’t work right - Sear’s came out and said it would be cheaper to buy a new range. I think power surges may have gotten it during big storms. Hubby’s pick-up truck needs a new transmission. His little car needs a new gear shift. His Fitbit quit working... again. 🙄 His cellphone needs to be replaced - battery is swollen in it. (I replaced mine last year for the same reason.) My 10+ year old laptop needs to be replaced. The bathroom ceiling has a leak and we’ve had lots of rain so the ceiling has a bulge in it. The bath tub faucet needs to be replaced and a bolt broke on the toilet base! 🙄 We need to go shopping and start working down this list. And, hubby has the handyman working on other projects - like the boat and building more fencing.
✳️This year - Hubby had oral surgery to get dental implants. Yesterday - I had oral surgery to extract 3 teeth and bone graft material added - in prep for implants. Next week - I get cataract surgery - if new insurance approves my doctor. That was a whole other mess. Health insurance SNAFUs all year since Hubby became eligible for Medicare. Just one error after another. Our doctor decided they were only accepting one Medicare advantage plan - and it wasn’t Hubby’s. So they dropped us both - though I wasn’t on Medicare. The insurance switched us to another doctor. I finally got that straight. But, our employer’s benefit department uploaded the full list of enrollments to the wrong insurance company. We found out when we got the welcome packages and new cards. Geez! Then, once we got that straightened out - my doctor decided to drop my insurance group. But, they didn't tell me because their system still had wrong info. I had to scramble to get into another group to get a doctor to give me clearance for cataract surgery. Now, there’s a question of whether they’ll approve my ophthalmologist. Whew!
✳️ I remind myself - Our blessings are many. Both of my parents are in relative good health at age 94. Dad will be 95 next month. Mom lives with us. She’s still on her own 2 feet and enjoys her hobbies. Dad is in memory care. But, he knows who we are and enjoys our visits. Our daughter, son-in-law and the 2 grands are doing well. GS is at Texas A&M - Computer Engineering. GD is in high school enjoying all the activities. She’s on the drill team. She stepped away from her dance team to enjoy more high school. She’s a fabulous dancer - but that took a lot of her time. She still does some dance - just not as heavily focused as before. And, I enjoy great closeness and friendships with my 6 siblings. I know that’s not the case for everyone - so I count it a great blessing. Plus, we are fortunate to have the means to handle all these challenges thrown our way.
✳️ This year when I set up my annual planner - I gave each quarter a focus: Q1 Reset, Q2 Refresh, Q3 Reassess, Q4 Wrap-up & Rejoice. And, I’m giving each month a sort of theme related to the quarterly focus: J- Reset, F- Declutter, M- Reorganize, A- Refresh, M-Replenish, J- Renew. I wonder if I set this (broken stuff) all in motion... 🤔

—Ginger-in-Texas

I am having an impromptu sleepover with our Grands tonight. Their Mom was going to puppy sit for her sister. I asked what the kids were doing and she said staying with their Dad. I said why not bring them to me so he gets a break too. They jumped at the chance and are having a date night at her sisters house with only the puppy to care for. They were quite excited.

I am quite excited because I miss these two like crazy! Jonah got his surprise sword and shield Rodger made for him. Michaela allowed a snuggle. I should have been doing some work but this was a much better way to spend the day!



Tracey in Edmonton

"Get to do"s and "chose well"s Joyful June:
12- Write a gratitude letter to thank someone: Dr. Karin Trujillo Univ. NE Med. Ctr. Buffett Cancer Ctr.

Rain held off ‘til evening so was able to get some long postponed garden tasks done. Down at the powerline it was downright warm, humid and sultry, real pineapple express weather. Some fool started burning brush pile despite the fact that fire season no-burn restrictions started weeks ago. Forecast rain is no excuse, last week lightning ignited several fires amidst rain storms. Pfaugh!

Julie thanks for the family choir, it made me smile.
Heather thanks for the Kettlewell info (https://www.kettlewellcolours.co.uk/us/products/new-in/item/linen-notch-neck) Spendy but very tempting, if only they offered it in PXL Max has a girlfriend? Ack! They grow up SOOOO fast!
Dgarlic1 Cute cat! Brava for persisting, pet allergies are so frustrating. Our wheaten Dixie of beloved memory had severe environmental allergies, grass and cottonwood. Sometimes it felt like she was allergic to air ;}
Lisa your bread making info almost inspires me to try again… almost
Michele
Debbie I’m suffering stone fruit envy and I’m not even that fond of apricots. Cherries for 99 cents/lb? They’re almost $3/lb in the stores here. One thing I miss about living in the Bay Area is the plentiful, wholesome and reasonably priced produce.
Katla grand kids will have such a fun memory of sleeping on the floor. Enjoy the coast!
Pip Smoooch that pooch!
Ginger ((hugs)) What an overwhelming year so far! Brava for sticking to your “no binge” accountability in spite of everything.
Tracey the pics, especially your smile
Machka your resting holiday sounds like exactly what you’ve been needing for such a very long time. Autumn for me.
Allie fingers X’d and prayers for Monday’s appointment.

Pouring down rain at last. Thankful.

Lighter, lovelies!

Barbara, the Southern Oregon Coastie AHMOD 2021: choose to be leaner/stronger/kinder NOW

Machka9 wrote: »

On holiday ...





Machka in Oz

Machka - Decorative cat you've got there

If I were forced to choose a single season, it would probably have to be summer, for the sake of the gardening. But I'd demand to be near one of the poles. I can't tolerate anything above room temperature anymore. Fortunately, I don't have to choose a single season. ALL the extreme seasons of the Arctic delight me—from cool summers under the midnight sun to icy darkness when the North Star shines straight overhead and moonlight makes the snow glisten.

We're holding our heads above water here. The countdown to our move is speeding up, though. Less than three more weeks in the High Arctic. We're having a friend over for dinner tonight despite the cardboard boxes and dust kitties everywhere. We've got far more wine than we can drink up ourselves before we move, and we can't take it with us without a lot of rigamarole in customs. But our friend can help us decimate the supply somewhat. I'm making a hearty beef stew to be served with my sourdough bread, which is world-famous in all of Longyearbyen.

/Penny at the