WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JANUARY 2024

Michelle yes Ty is 27. This is him before he turned 4 with Trenton who was 6 and just graduated Kindergarten.

This one is Tyler in the middle at 18 years old when Lennox turned 5 and my niece Lexi who was 4.


Ty was still wearing 10/12 boys clothes. It was a struggle to get the insurance to cover growth hormones and a couple shots of testosterone to get him to grow to where he is now which is about 5 feet 8 inches. He was 3.5 weeks old when he was diagnosed with transposition of the greater vessels (which means his aorta and pulmonary artery were switched), coarctation of the aorta (narrowed aorta), hypoplastic right ventricle (basically no right ventricle as it is so small most have the left which pumps the blood to the body where as his is the one that pumps the blood to the lungs), and ventricular septal defects (holes in the wall in between the ventricles which let the blood mix so his body was getting oxygenated blood). But due to the lack of oxygen he has a lot of brain atrophy and part of the reason his body never released hormones for growth or puberty. He has had 3 heart surgeries and had a stent placed in his left pulmonary artery back in 2007 and in 2017 a doctor had to place a stent in his aorta as it narrowed quite a bit right above the other stent and they were worried it would collapse that one. Thank goodness it didn’t. The next image is from 2017 and I drew an arrow and put a box around the narrowed part of the aorta. I never realized how big the aorta really was.


Simone- Wisconsin

Heather - I hope they get it fixed fast for you! My biggest fear is that something happens to ours and we don’t have money to fix it.
Hopefully G gets some answers and an appropriate treatment.

Ginny - thanks for your insight. Today we learned more about helping children in care.
Have a safe trip.

Lanette - you impress me with what you get accomplished. I could probably do all of that but I don’t think I want to.

Annie - I thought a minister just kept things moving along and said a prayer or little sermon and a family member did the eulogy. That’s how funerals are here anyway. Is there a niece or nephew that may be willing to read the eulogy?

Carol - I’m sorry your DIL doesn’t make it a priority for your to see the grandchildren more frequently.

My Grands other grandparents used to complain they don’t see them often either. One time she said to me “you get the kids all the time”, I said “I just call and go pick them up” they are always up for it. That was 4 years ago and she has called once this past Fall to take the kids for the night. She then got upset because Michaela wanted to go home. They only visit with them a couple times a year and Michaela doesn’t ever remember spending the night there. They (other grandparents) live 5 minutes from me so it’s not a distance thing. They go visit the other grandchildren in Florida 2-3 times a year.
It was strange anyway, their son was told he wasn’t allowed to visit without an invitation when his mother made him leave at 19. She wanted him to leave at 18 but his Dad wouldn’t allow it. She complains they don’t visit or drop in but has never told him the rules have changed. Their daughter lived at home until she was 25.

Kim - I like the orchestra metaphor. Glad you were able to get heat for your Mom so fast. I hope I’m never that difficult as I age, but fear I may be.
I agree about orchestrating the kids too. Almost all of my life I have been orchestrating or doing logistics of some kind.

Rebecca - what a beautiful painting.
Those Marketplace things drive me crazy.

Barbara - I hope you get relief soon. This is my dilemma with my foot by relaxing and staying off it as much as possible it isn’t so painful I want to cry and everything I’ve read says to do the exercises for it, use restore and ice. I can’t get my house in order and rest my foot. It just won’t work.

Michele - I babysat a couple of little boys that became wild if they watched Power Rangers. They wanted to mimic and fight and so on. I ended up not allowing it on because with those two and my nephew if he was there, plus three girls it was too much! My grandson is 12 and wasn’t allowed to watch anything violent. He still wanted to fight and wrestle so I don’t think it matters much. I think the important thing is how their parents talk about the shows with them and explain the differences between fantasy and reality.

Simone - Beautiful family.

Kylia - I understand selling the snowblowers, but how does it help the landscapers have more money in the Spring? Do a lot of them do snow removal in Winter?

A friend on FB posted a picture of a cup today that she needed. I told her I could make one for her. She asked me what I would charge. I told her shipping and a donation to the Kropla Baby Fund. I have it finished and will ship it out tomorrow.


I’m thinking of crawling in bed early tonight. I bought another plantar fasciitis splint and I’m hoping it will be better to sleep with.

Tomorrow is DH’s 59th birthday! It may be a hard day for him because I’m sure one of his FB memories will be his sister letting him know their Dad isn’t well. He was gone before a week had passed. It will be a rough week coming up for him.

Has anyone tried the new browser called DuckDuckGo?

Tracey in Edmonton

Coming back to life!

Still a few symptoms like blocked left ear, runny nose and shortness of breath/difficulty breathing ... but a tiny bit more energy.

I've washed my blankets and doona to give myself peace of mind that I'm banishing the virus! Fortunately today was another sunny, warm day so I hung them out to dry.

Then I tackled the kitchen!! It's slow going because about every 30 minutes I have had to sit down and catch my breath.

But I've reorganised several shelves and have determined what food we have. My husband's system of organisation was to put a few things on the shelves where they belong, and then the rest in a really awkward cupboard which should have a lazy Susan built in, but doesn't. So I'd have a glance in the main cupboard to see how much soup or rice or whatever we had, I'd notice that the stock was dropping, and I would order those things in the next grocery order. He'd put half the soups in the main cupboard, and the rest in this awkward one. Now that I've dug everything out of the awkward cupboard and put it where it belongs, I see that I don't need to order much for groceries for a few weeks! Some things I probably don't need to order for the next 6 months or more!!

I miss upper cupboards!! It would be so much easier to organise the kitchen with upper cupboards. And so much neater too.



Machka in Oz

Today is Machka’s day! Sketchnote day! I hope to make a sketch note of my goals.





RVRita in Roswell, NM

Annie - Thinking about you, dear heart, I know it may not feel like it sometimes, but you're doing better than you think at all this. Glad your sister is coming, you can use the support.

Vicki - They slapped a monitor on me for two weeks, but thank goodness, it was waterproof. They're usually up quite high... Can you at least take a shower from the waist down and leave it at that for 24 hours? I hate having to skip one, too. Hope they find out what's up.

Rita - I enjoy the days that you post, but don't feel you need to do it just for me. If you enjoy it, keep doing it, and if you don't, don't... Meant to say that I was so glad your kidney levels were showing better results on the tests.

Regarding going to the gym - My husband and I decided together that it wasn't a good idea, especially because I preferred going to the gym early, and this time of year or any rainy day, in the early hours these country roads are dark and dangerous. We ponied up for an elliptical and a rower, and when my energy levels are even slightly good, I use them. It was less cost and more safety. Planet Fitness, in the nearest town was only $10 a month, but just not worth the risk. If I had a mall reasonably close, I might walk there a lot, but the nearest one is more than a half hour away.

So... the butternut squash was definitely a raging success... but I tried everything I could think of to do cauliflower this morning and it tastes WAY too much like a vegetable for yours truly. Just all vegetable-y.

For those who don't know me, I may be what's called a super-taster. All vegetables taste like green, bitter dirt to me. I despise the taste of beer (or any other alcohol), and of course, my husband's taste runs to the IPAs, which are horribly bitter to me. I use a LOT of sweetener in coffee and tea, and can't drink either one black or unadulterated. Literally, the only calories I'm willing to drink are the ones in my coffee, and that's one reason I only have one cup each day. Not saying it's the smartest thing in the world, just saying it's my reality.

Anyway, the cauliflower was a bust, so I'll just have to be satisfied with the butternut for the time being and see what else is out there to try when I'm feeling adventurous again. Pardon me while I go mouthwash the vegetable taste out of my mouth. Urk.

Later, my dearlings,
Lisa in AR

Good morning, ladies.

It is so cold here. Minus 32 this morning and has now warmed up to -27C. No wind though which I am thankful for. Edmonton reported -41C with the wind chill. It isn't very often that Edmonton is colder than us.

Poor little Lucy is having difficulty doing her business outside. At only 15 pounds there isn't much body weight to keep her warm. She just went out quickly this morning, peed at the bottom of the stairs and then ran up to be let back in. I go outside with her to make sure she can get back in quickly. A bit later in the morning, there was dog poop in the entryway that I cleaned up. I know it is simply too cold for her and I understand why she can't do it outside. According to the forecast we are in this deep freeze until Monday so I'm know there will be a few more accidents that will need my attention. I hope you are staying warm, Tracey as I'm sure you are feeling this too.

Washed a pile of dishes this morning that I had put in the dishwasher that last couple of days. Decided it wasn't a good idea to run the dishwasher as we don't want to have to pump out the septic tank when it's this cold. So being mindful of how much water we use and not using the dishwasher or washing clothes until next week. Went to town yesterday as needed milk so now just going to stay put for the next week.

Heather, so good that G now has a diagnosis and started treatment. Read about her condition and it certainly does not sound pleasant. Good that you got a handyman to take care of a couple of chores. I'm sure it is a nice feeling to have that done.

Annie, so good that your sister is coming.

Joy