WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR FEBRUARY 2023

Hi Gals,
What a weekend! So it is either sunny or raining a torrent…
And I have driven and driven….

Friday I was up at 5 – walked the dog and made and frosted cupcakes – then took them to the gal who was having the 1 year old’s party, 57 miles each way, left at 6:30 home about 10pm then I had friends coming into the San Francisco Airport, landing at 11:59 pm 37 miles each way, I left about 11pm to pick them up – home about 1 am SATURDAY. (so that’s 188 miles 302.5 K - 6 ½ hours of driving)
Saturday up at 7:30am and off to pickup my mom 47 miles each way (151.28 K) and the rain made it a white knuckle drive

Sunday (today) up at 5am walked the dog made breakfast for us then off to see her friend (41 miles each way) and that was a tough visit, her friend “P” is 96 years old and very close to the end, it was like seeing a breathing skeleton, mostly not responding to anything but occasionally smiling and did eat a chocolate that we cut into very small pieces. I don’t even like skeleton Halloween decorations, so found today to be very tough, and know Mom did too…. Tonight a different friend is going to San Francisco Airport and I agreed to take them. Don’t leave until 6:30pm – so will have early dinner with Mom and then she and Levi (the dog) will sit and read until I get home. I also arranged for her grandson to call her.

Monday am I’ll take mom home.

All the airport runs were pre-planned before “P” took a turn for the worse, and everything got turned upside down. I do runs to the airport and get paid (just a personal thing not via a service) and they pay enough to cover all the expenses plus a generous amount, so I am usually happy to do it.
But I am a tired human.
I forgot to take cupcake pictures but hope to get some from folks at the party.

Smiles Kim in N. California

Michelle - I just read up on Wet & Forget - Thank you! I have a hose bib about 15' from that chimney I need to clean, will give it a whirl. Also have moss growing on the roof, I think the shingles are still in good shape and hopefully have 5 more years left in them. Was thinking of getting new gutters but the Wet and Forget might get them cleaned up too. I'll still have to get someone who's comfortable on ladders to clean them out.

I sure appreciate this suggestion.

Rosemarie - sending hugs, hope you are able to catch up on sleep and get that sore throat on the run. I just read up on Plate Joy - it sounds like a good plan and affordable!

For years, it seems all I ate was microwave meals like Lean Cuisine. I was on WW at the time, and the WW points were conveniently marked on the boxes. I'd heat one up for supper and dump it over a big bowl of lettuce with some nuked broccoli or other quick-cook veggies. I could recite all the points on Lean Cuisine and WW meals like a champ!

I still buy an Annie's meals from time to time, I think they are the least processed. They used to be $2 or $3 each at Grocery Outlet, now I think they are running around $6 each. If I apply myself, I can pull some chicken thighs out of the freezer and with some tomato sauce and spaghetti, throw together several half-decent healthy meals. Something to dump over salad greens, lol.

I'm too lazy to wash a lot of dishes, so one bowl goes a long way.

I rarely buy fresh broccoli anymore. I think it was our Barbie here who talked about the benefits of using frozen, and I'm sold. It's fresh frozen and doesn't die of old age in the back of the crisper drawer.

Anneu53 - welcome! Machka is from down your way. I envy you guys and your warm summer weather but we'll have it here soon enough here in the Pacific Northwestern part of the USA. Was it last May we had the heat dome and scorching temperatures about 25 degrees above the norm?

I wish the weather would make up its mind. If we're destined to become warm like California, I want to get avocados, oranges, and maybe some Olive trees planted (I know, they take forever. But still....) Make lemonade out of these doggone lemons.

Lanette
SW WA State

Time to have a cup of decaf Earl grey and try and catch up. Reading page 8 now so will be a while before I catch up.
Weekend didn't go as I had hoped. More drama with MIL and Dh, what's new(but he is back over there and has been all weekend), my aunt wasn't feeling good this morning so canceled us getting to see each other, still have a cold.
Did help at the food program Saturday morning. Hate getting up at 4am but love helping out.
Hope everyone had a better weekend than I did.

Debbie,
Napa Valley.

I only wear my wedding ring and the ring my mum gave me before she passed away. I am quiet normally until I get to know people. I love the gym, swimming at the pool for laps or diving in the beach.

LisaInArkansas wrote: »

Barbara, Lifehacker has some good advice at the link below, but my own technique was to stop and be completely silent, and when I was ready to say it without yelling, say their name. And then say their name again and again until they stop talking to respond. Lifehacker does mention that, too. People can't help but respond to their own name. When they react, I would immediately start again where I was, with a side note starting "Before I was interrupted, I was about to say... " If I'm really PO'd, it would be "before I was so rudely interrupted..." and smile like the Cheshire Cat.

It always seems to work if you smile a lot, or at least bare your teeth. They don't know whether you're joking or about to bite them...

https://lifehacker.com/how-to-respond-to-people-who-constantly-talk-over-you-1849575904

First PS: Umm... I should probably say that not many people interrupt me. I've been told that I can be intimidating. Never quite understood that, but OK. A cranky little woman must have scared them when they were small or something. I'm almost always a foot shorter than anyone in the room, for goodness sake!

Second PS: I hope I wasn't the one who snowed you under with advice! I just realized you never said it was a face-to-face conversation...

Very interesting! Thanks for that link.

I once had a phone call, just after my husband's accident, where I could hardly answer the person's questions.

I called to let them know about my husband's situation and that I was his guardian. Plus I wanted to ask about the steps for me to gain access to his account.

I would start to talk, and the person on the phone would interrupt me before I got a couple words out to tell me or ask me something completely unrelated to what I was saying ... she just assumed I was calling about something else. After this went on for several minutes, I became annoyed and started yelling.

I told her to shut up, I was trying to say something and she was not to talk until I told her she could speak again. She tried to talk over me then, and I yelled at her again to stop talking until I gave her permission to speak. I think I yelled something about pathetic customer service as well.

Finally, she stopped talking and let me say my piece ... and then she was able to address my question instead of the one she assumed I was asking!


Machka in Oz