WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR NOVEMBER 2023

Barbara - Thinking about you and the Mohs surgery. Crossing fingers the local and some type of anti-anxiety (meds and/or meditation) does the trick for you. When is it again?

Allie - sounds like you found a newer car to possibly lease that suits you. Smart idea looking into insurance and other costs that sometimes aren't immediately evident. Do you know other folks who have leased cars who you could ask about their experience?

Barbie - you have a great neighbor letting you use her dryer. When mine went out several years ago, I actually did load everything up and take it to the laundromat - gave me an excuse to combine trips and run into the Ace Hardware next to it. Plus I like to people watch.
Rosemarie - you are such a good foster mommy. Hope that boil water alert is over quickly. Good for you getting your Christmas shopping done! I've been thinking of getting started on it too. I generally send cards to my sweet neighbors, family members and a couple friends. I think I have enough cards socked away to last for years.

Check engine lights - the Subaru's tire inflation warning light has been on for years. The main doo-hickey needs to be replaced, $400. So I just put a sticker over it and check the tires before I drive off to make sure they all are well inflated. The Camry's check engine light is on because I never think to have the oil change guy do what needs to be done to turn it off. It's a change oil reminder. I saw how to do it on YouTube but now that I know what it is, I'm not worried.

There's going to be excitement on my private road today. A culvert that goes under the road near the main highway is being replaced so we're locked in - and no mail. I'll bet the old geezers and geezerettes like me will stand around and watch, lol. It's a quick job, should be all done by mid afternoon. Crossing fingers none of the underground utilities get in the way. I saw the location marks painted on the road, so I'm presuming that job got done.

Back later.

Lanette
SW WA State

Hey all! I have finally caught up! again. lol On Halloween morning, the weather forecast was for a "wintry mix" and possible up to 12 inches of snow/ice accumulation. I laughed at that. First snow flurries NEVER accumulated. The ground is still warm. Not so this year! West Michigan got a big (and early) dose of winter. The snow flurries started at about 9am. My little ones were all in costume and hyped up about Halloween. We were busy doing Halloween activities, so what was going on outside wasn't really noticed. By 1pm the grass was just barely covered with snow; but the snow still came down. I closed the curtains so the kids could nap. A couple of hours later, when naptime was over, I opened the curtains and the three year old looked at her little brother and said, "Arbor! We went to sleep on Halloween and woke up and it's CHRISTMAS!" In that two hours we got a good four inches of snow. We also lost power. So...by days end we had 7 inches of wet, heavy, snow in the yard. Power was out until about 4pm the following day; so no childcare. I was able to do some cooking (gas stove/oven) and cleaning and stayed warm with a few layers on (thank you menopause). I got my first winter workout in (one hour shoveling) and have been feeling THAT for the past couple of days! I am also still recovering from that weird cold with a cough that just seems to hang in there forEVER! The worst part about the cough is the teeny peeing that happens sometimes. Ugh! The laundry. On the flip side to that issue; three of my childcare families/parents are physical therapists and gave me some great pelvic wall exercises to do.
NSV: It has been 60 days of no daily alcoholic drink! Note, I am NOT abstaining completely. I am just getting off the daily drinking bus. I did have one beer when I went to the movies with my son and had one glass of wine after I made pot roast (which takes 1 1/2 cups of wine) and onion soup (which took a cup of wine). That left about 5 ounces so I had a glass with my soup. I am pretty proud of 2 drinks in 2 months.
Heather - Hope you are feeling better. The cycle mud race looked like it was enjoyed by everyone! Mud makes everything more fun!
Rori- Good to hear from you! Glad you are still in contact with your special friend. Steward Copeland! Eeeek! My teen heart just went "thump-thump!"
Rebecca- Your trip went splendidly! I am glad you got that time with your grands and other family. special for sure!
Allie Miles is adorable as always! Looks like his baptism tuckered him out. I am sure you will make the best choice for you when it comes to your car.
Cars DH and I had such horrible luck with used cars. We definitely could not afford new; but all of the used ones we got turned out to be horrible with hidden issues. We began to lease cars back in the early 2000's. Mini vans and later Jeep Grand Cherokees. It really didn't cost us much more than owning our own car. As long as we kept up a regular maintenance program for the car, the other repairs were paid by the auto leasing company. Then, after two years of leasing, we had the option to continue leasing what we had or to trade it in for something new. When my DH lost his job about six years ago, we went down to one car and decided to buy out the lease on that one car. It is now paid off, we know it's complete history, have taken care of it and are having no troubles (other than running into the odd deer or turkey). We will drive it until it dies. A 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Because we both work at home, we only put about 25-50 miles on it each week (sometimes less). One tank of gas lasts us for quite a while. My DYS has a 1995 Jeep Wrangler. It is beat to hell; but he loves that thing. We live in a beach community, so in the summer, he thinks he is the *kitten*! lol
Monitors- Either baby monitors or a ring doorbell system or something of the like. My daughter has the Ring doorbell system. It alerts her and her hubby by phone (notifications) when someone is at their door or near the home. They also have cameras set up in the living room and kitchen. They are set to detect sound/rather than motion (but motion is an option). They can access those cameras at any time by their phone. I imagine you could put the cameras in bedrooms as well. My aunt had a system in her home; set to detect movement in and out of rooms. If presence was detected in one room for longer than a set amount of time; a notification was sent and cameras would be accessed. This allowed her, her privacy; but if it was the middle of the night and she was in her kitchen for a long time, or had gone outside and not gone back in, help was notified and on the way if needed.

More of you I wanted to reply to, but I need to scoot. I am working, but just have infants today and they are waking up from their morning naps. ttfn xoxoxo KJ (Kelly)

Carol-Add me to the list that loves your porch.

Allie-Do what's best for you on the car, but keep in mind what you'll be giving up in terms of finances. A car is just a way to get from A to B. My license and insurance costs went up significantly with a new car and I hate the worry about who's going to ding or scratch it when I park in a lot.

A story:

At this point in my life, I am far beyond needing status symbols or anything fancy or fast (the mister wants a car that goes fast; just so he can sit in traffic, I say). My car sits in the garage most of the time and I actually prefer walking or biking where I need to be when possible.

Rori-So nice you have someone who makes you happy and who you look forward to seeing. I miss the "firsts" and butterflies of dating, but I don't miss the dating experiences overall and don't want to do it again.

Terri and Heather and everyone else across the pond-Hope you're all good to go after the storm.

Tina in CA

My brother died.

Karen in Virginia