WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR MARCH 2022

cityjaneLondon wrote: »

Terri - the 2023 brochure is arriving in a couple of weeks, so we shall be perusing that and using the refunded money in the account to book something. I will put the rest into a savings account until we have to pay the balance. I love having something to look forward to.
I'm already researching how to get to Dresden in September. I've done a lot of reading on the city over the years, especially the bombing, and it's been on my bucket list for a long time. I'm a very determined tourist, so it's probably best if I do it alone. G went last year, so she probably won't join me.

Love Heather UK xxxxxx

SophieRosieMom wrote: »

Good morning ladies!

I’ve been MIA but following along as best I can. This is long so I’m organizing by topic and spoilers.

Barbie, thank you so much for getting us going one more month.

Pip – holy cow! That scar treatment oil looks good. BTW, what the heck was that thing they removed? Your unborn twin? (I actually had a classmate who was operated on for a lung tumor, and that’s exactly what it was!) Crossing fingers it’s a one-off and no cancer. I’m sure being good shape will help your recovery immensely.

TV series I've been watching:

Here’s what I’m watching (and rewatching) these days on Britbox & Acorn, several of Heather’s favorites: Vera, Father Brown, Death in Paradise – any and all mysteries I can find which take place in the UK and Australia. Love the scenery plus the plotting and characters are generally quite good. Anxious to see what Murder in Provence is all about – loved Roger Allum in Endeavor and Nancy Carroll in Father Brown. I did start to watch and was a little confused that it takes place in France yet all the characters seem to have British accents, not French. Will try it again.

Books I've been reading:

I stumbled onto a mystery book series by Charles Todd (a mother/son writing team in the USA). The central figure is Inspector Ian Rutledge of Scotland Yard, a WW1 veteran. The setting is England in the 1916-1919 timeframe, automobiles are just coming on the scene. What makes it so darn fascinating is the war history presented (the trench warfare was horrible, as is all war), and what Rutledge went through in his recovery from “shell shock” and the presence of “Hamish” who was killed during the war but keeps Rutledge company as he investigates murders. Very, very cleverly done. There are nearly 30 books in the series and I’m ready to start over.

DH, Dementia, and Ensure:

DH got tired of Ensure BUT not all is lost – I suggested he take his twice daily pills with a big glass of milk! So he’s getting just about the same amount of protein as the Ensure had, plus calcium, he loves milk and looks forward to it. I do believe his cognitive decline has leveled off and even improved somewhat with that and improved thyroid levels. He’s getting more protein for sure, now a minimum of 40 gm/day instead of 25. Would love to see that doubled, but grateful nonetheless. Plus, I’ve now added good quality multivitamins to his daily stash – he fought me for years taking any (wouldn’t eat veggies and ate as much processed food as he could.) Annie and others dealing with parents/spouses with memory loss – my heart goes out to you. I know my DH could never live by himself at this stage. I put together his pills and make sure he takes them. He felt good enough to mow our huge lawn last weekend and did a great job, by the way. I never thought I’d see him on the mower again. Happy dance!

Back on the IF and no added sugar/junk food bandwagon:

I had a firm talk with myself a few days ago, weight was back up toward 170. I’m 5’ 9” – 5’ 8 ½” tall. 8 lb gain in six months, most in my hips and belly, Thanks to uncontrolled binging after supper – cookies, chips, ice cream, candy, crackers. All in one night, night after night. My stomach ached all the time, I was bloated, my joints hurt, no energy – typical sugar poisoning symptoms for me.

It’s a miracle I’m not up to 270. Anyhow, my cooking habits have definitely changed since DH cannot cook for himself anymore. He can, but he’d rather I do it - he has always been at a loss in the kitchen anyhow! So I’ve come up with some creative meals, which he’ll eat once then there are still 2 or 3 servings of leftovers. The price of food, I’m not tossing them. So instead of just a big salad for supper, I’ve added in an entrée. And desserts and downward spiral toward gluttony continued.

Anyhow, I’m closing the kitchen (and thus my eating) at around 5 and not eating until 8:30 or 9 the next morning, when I am good and hungry. Plus stopping the sugary/salty junk food binges and limiting carbs somewhat, increasing fiber and healthy fats. Seems to be working fine. Good quality olive oil is great for a person, many researchers and nutrition experts I follow say have as much as you want. So I do. In just a couple days, stomach doesn’t hurt anymore, arthritis pain in a couple toes is a fraction of what it was, just feeling lots better overall.

Masks:

Our required indoor masking stops this Saturday in WA State. I have not been a fan of them because the bridge of my nose makes fitting them hard and my glasses fogged no matter what. And with my hearing loss, it was very hard for me to understand what people were saying since I was unable to lip read OR see facial expressions – smiles for example. I actually have asked people to pull down their masks when I need to understand something important they are saying like at the doctor's office.

My guide for being around others is the 4 D’s – Distance, Dimension, Duration, Draft. I found these on the FLCCC.com website and they make sense to me. Now I understand perhaps why the checkers at Walmart never seemed to get sick even when the nasty bug was so prevalent in 2020 and early 2021 prior to vaccines.

• Distance – how close am I to other people? Sitting next to them on a bus for example? Someone talking “in your face” at a party? Or generally keeping at least an arm’s length or more?

• Dimension – how big is the room or area – a large store or small intimate room? Outdoors?

• Duration – am I next to people for a few minutes like standing in line at a store or real close to someone for an hour or two? Again, being on a bus or in a small meeting room for several hours comes to mind.

• Draft – is there good ventilation and air flow?

I think this strategy serves for reducing chances of picking up any respiratory bug. Even before the crud hit, I generally avoided being close to people, especially since retirement and didn't have any family members or visitors/groups in my house for any length of time.

I am looking forward to being around a few more germs, actually – I think it’s good for our immune systems and keeps our "warrior cells" in shape. Our county was down to 47 positive C19 cases last week. There’s probably more old-fashioned flu right now and other bugs around that have been stifled due to the lockdowns.

I still wash my hands thoroughly and gargle with Listerine or Scope and have a few squirts of Xlear or similar nasal rinse when I get home from shopping to drive out any nasty creatures who are setting up housekeeping in my nasopharyngeal area.

High Vitamin D level and healthy gut = gardening and dog kisses help my defenses. My DH still smokes a bit and oddly, according to several research papers I’ve run across, smokers are less likely to get the C19! Nicotine=nitric acid (kills viruses perhaps?) It’s no reason for me to pick up the filthy habit again but my immunocompromised DH with a vitamin D level of 72 might be in good shape. He never gets out among people because he’s an anti-social introvert so his chances of catching anything, even a simple cold, would be from me.

I could make many more comments but need to wrap this up. Sending good thoughts to all who are going through troubles. Faith over fear!

Lanette
Sunny, chilly SW WA State