WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JUNE 2024

barbiecat · June 8

"The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials."---Lin Yutang

pipcd34 · June 8

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Machka9 · June 8

Anniesquats100 wrote: »

My dad does the newspaper crossword and sudoku. He also does jigsaw puzzles. He's got all that coming for Father's Day on the 16th. I've been trying to get him to do Bible study on his own, but he prefers the groups.

He does get lonely. I was going to take him to the library today, but not with his head cold. I just hope he is better by Tuesday, when he starts the program at the senior center for dementia.

Annie in Delaware

If you go to thrift shops, you might be able to pick up several puzzles for him to do.

kevrit · June 8

Doctor report doesn’t make me feel any better this week. Kidney levels moved me from CKD stage 2 to CKD stage 3B again. I don’t know what is going on there. The doc ordered a full thyroid panel with serum levels? IDK what the serum thing is but could be that. Blood work for that Monday, review a week later.

Yes I need to wash the sheets every day. I only have 2 sets so can’t put that off when the dog has an accident. We have a washer/dryer available at the ‘shop’ for the Park. Only problem with that is that the dryer is vented to the inside of the shop and the washer drain and fill hoses need to be hooked up/ disconnected each time it is used. ALSO there is no air conditioning in the shop and with the over 100 degree weather we’ve been having, well just not an ideal situation, but better than paying for it and driving 15 miles out one way just to wash sheets. We are seriously discussing what to do about Brownie. I’m leaning toward putting her down but don’t know when we will actually do it. It seems wrong when she is great except for the heart (coughing fits) and the incontenence. I just don’t know…..

Gotta go work in the pay booth. Talk later.

RVRita in Roswell

exermom · June 8

Tracey – I go to the MD about my foot this coming Wed. I looked this up and “an employer is not required to pay a minimum number of hours”. Oh well. I’ve pretty well decided that I like the job too much to make too much of a fuss. This “labor” thing seems to go in cycles. So I’ll just wait it out. What to me really doesn’t make sense is that they had B work yesterday coming in earlier than he really was needed. Why have him at a higher salary than me at a lower salary? But it seems that it’s really who you know. Then again, I can’t for the life of me understand how it’s more profitable to have someone who earns more money than I do do my job. Just because they can do it when the “labor” is good. I still say it should be that you’re making a profit at the end of the day. What an ordeal for your friend!

I’m just procrastinating putting those plants in so here I am

Rita – so very sorry about the report about your kidneys

Deciding for your pets can be so hard. I know only too well. I know everyone will make the right decision and we will all support you.

Well, guess I’d better get to those plants.

Michele NC

barbiecat · June 8

Rita, end of life decisions for pets is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. It was neither easier or more difficult with a partner to help me. Sometimes I am awake in the middle of the night thinking of how I should have decided something different about one or more of my pets. I send many hugs to you.

MIchele, I was surprised that you said that you liked your job so much because you have so many criticisms and complaints about it. If you like it, keep doing it and don't fuss about it. You'll like it even more that way.

It is finally warm enough to create the hills for planting pumpkins. I have some seeds in pots that are sprouting that I'll transplant later and I'll plant more seeds in the hills. Summer is usually late and mild here and I love it.

I got a notice yesterday that my credit card had been refused when paying for a recurring order from a vendor I've used for years. I got scared that my credit card had been compromised but all was well with the card. I went back to the vendor's site and deleted the card then added the same card back and today they said the order had been completed and was on the way. I guess that's the credit card version of unplugging or restarting an electronic device.

Barbie in NW WA

kevrit · June 8

Today isRose, jelly donuts, and knitting! I’d say it is a great day!

RVRita in Roswell ( they changed my work hours to noon-2 for lunch breaks. I’m ok with that”!)

exermom · June 8

Pool temp is 83 so I'll go in.

Michele NC

grandmallie · June 8

Afternoon all
Last weekend ,bought Miles a pool,but got him a inflatable because the plastic ones crack
He doesn't like getting his bathing suit wet so he is au natural

Tracy sent me a video of him splashing around ..makes my heart happy..
Im packing stuff for the cruise.. things I won't be using until then.

pipcd34 · June 8

Stats for the day-

Walk w/kids- pushed Lucy in buggy after 2 mi- 1hr 59min 41sec, 41elev, 2.97ap, 84ahr, 116mhr, 6.02mi= 597c
Strava app = 737c
Walk home to gym- 11.07min, .53mi= 57c
Strava app= 65c
Treadmill jog- 19.40min, 137ahr, 188mhr, 157spm6.0-7.5sp, 2mi= 210c
Rowing machine- 125ahr, 175mhr, 49aw, 2355meters (1.46mi)= 130c
Walk gym to home- 11.40min, 3.12ap, .61mi= 60c
Strava app= 75c

Total cal 1054

524524

SophieRosieMom · June 8

Rita - sending huge hugs. Being faced with decisions regarding old an old dog's health is one of the toughest. Dogs aren't just dogs, they are family members. I want to see you getting good restful sleep. You'll make the right decision when it's time. Just read about your labs. Sorry the CKD levels have increased again. Hopefully there's an explanation that's easy to remedy. Crossing fingers.

Tracey - what an ordeal for your friend! Wonderful that you were there for her - unconscionable what she was put through with the storage unit people. Glad the elevator guy's charge would be reasonable. Made a long day for everyone, but at least ended up well.

Pip - congrats!

Annie- hope your dad gets over his bug soon and he can get back to the senior center. Don't they still have the rapid Covid test available? Tho when I had Omicron several years ago, the rapid test didn't show a positive until the 2nd day. Admirable that he likes to do Sudoku and crossword puzzles - those can take a lot of brainpower.

Lisa - that raised bed garden looks great! Everyone's garden is so far ahead those around here - it's been so cool and damp that unless veggies are grown in hoop houses, it's hard to get plants going in my microclimate here (unless we're talking weeds) until late June.

Barbie- hope your pumpkins do well. Glad no credit card fraud.

Rambling thoughts on Diet and Diabetes:

Yesterday I walked with my neighbor and returned her house key. She met me on the street with a "thank you" bag, which I hoped she wouldn't do. It contained a box of chocolates and some of her homemade jam. I thanked her, told her it wasn't necessary. Finally owned up that I don't eat jam - she has been giving some to me for the past couple years and it is taking up room in my pantry. DH would eat it and I've never been much of a fan. I told her that sugary stuff was off the menu due to my pre-diabetes. She said "well maybe you can eat it later" and said no biggie, give this stuff to someone else and her feelings won't be hurt.

Afterward, it made me think. Her DH is diabetic, takes insulin so he can continue eating sugary foods and starches. What she gave me was generously donated from his stash. She said he often eats a sleeve of crackers before bed and they always eat jam on toast in the morning. She's a great cook - lots of rice and potatoes which used to be staples at my house when DH was alive. My grandmother was also a great cook - again, pies, cookies, potatoes, noodles. My grandfather was on diabetes medication so he could continue to eat these foods. And he craved sugar.

Diabetes can't be cured by diet and activity and weight loss, it only can be put into remission. I'm guessing pre-diabetes falls into that category. Fall off the wagon enough times with bad diet, inactivity, and weight regain, then Metformin or insulin is usually the end result.

I realize that if I had progressed to Type 2 diabetes and I was still cooking for DH or other family members who wanted the sugary and starchy foods, it would just be easier to go on Metformin or insulin so I could continue to eat what a lot of people consider "normal".

On the other hand, if I had T2 and had a spouse who loved to cook and loved to see people eat that delicious food, I can understand going on Metformin out of deference to the cook - and to increase my own food choices of course. Not the ideal way to handle it, but practical and I'm sure doctors see this all the time. Human nature being what it is.

I made an early morning grocery run. First stopped off at the pallet/picnic table manufacturing business and dug through their scrap wood totes to find pieces for firewood. There wasn't a lot, but enough to make it worth my while to swing by. Took about 5 minutes from my schedule which wasn't bad. If my woodstove wasn't so teensy I'd order a cord of maple and/or alder, but length is limited to 12" and the pieces can't be very large. Plus, it generally needs to be further split. That was DH's job and I don't have enough power to swing an axe. Plus, can take a year to dry in our dampish climate. What I got this morning was fir - it will burn just fine. I set the chunks in the greenhouse where they will "kiln dry" this summer. I'll be ready for an extreme cold spell or winter power outage. Have about half a cord of cut branches, mill ends and this scrap so far. Which might be all I need.

Lanette

SW WA State

cityjaneLondon · June 8

Still haven't set up the microwave.

I did get a delivery of a new wallet, in baby blue, to go in my new ivory handbag. My old black one is still serviceable, but rather large. I will polish it and put it away. As I never use cash anymore, I don't need a large wallet. The new one is small and slim.

When John was on his afternoon walk, he passed a driveway where a man was washing his car and a wooden easel was standing in the drive. He asked about it and the man said it was free to take away! As far as we can see, it has never been used. Now all we need is a big canvas to paint!

John cooked the best ratatouille I have ever had. The sausages were a bit overcooked, but still pleasant. I had stewed apricots for dessert. We certainly don't lack for veggies and fruit!

I stood outside on the pavement today. Tomorrow I will go for a very short walk with John. I could see how fabulous all the gardens are looking with all the flowers and roses. Next door has a gorgeous white rosebush. I used to love going for my runs this time of year, because the whole area smells of roses in the early morning sunshine.

Love to all, Heather UK xxxxxxxx

LisaInArkansas · June 8

Heather - so good to see you venturing out already.

Lanette - I do hope all the rabbit holes aren't overwhelming the joy you take in everything else. You're such a joyful person, like with the chickens and friends, and other things in your life, and hope that the info search isn't displacing the rest. Just thinking about you.

I'm feeling mildly disconnected from everything right now myself, or perhaps it's just the muzziness from yet another nap today. I didn't think I'd need one, since I slept over 7 hours last night, but by 3, it was just irresistible. If that's what my body needs, then that's what it needs, I guess.

Did get the backyard mowed, a load of laundry done, including washing the American flag I always have up at the front of the house. I always get all-weather flags, so I don't have to take them in and out every day, but it had gotten a bit gray after the winter.

Corey pretty well took the day off, and has just finished dinner, which is cooling to the point now where it's not hot like lava. Stuffed mushrooms for us both, and a couple hot dogs for him as well. The mushrooms will be plenty for me.

Kim - regarding the chicken cordon bleu loaf the other night, Corey's comment was that it tasted wonderful - "just like the frozen ones from Sam's Club." It did, which didn't do much for my opinion of it, but it did use up almost two pounds of boneless chicken breast which I despaired of ever using other than in enchiladas or something else stewed or fried as tenders. They simply get too dry for me to eat any other way. The recipe called for a very creamy Dijon gravy which was yummy but insanely high-calorie, and I think I'd do more of a pan sauce if I did it again. I've put it in the spoiler:

Please note, it took an hour to get to temp, rather than the 40 minutes they note here. I think there are a lot of ways it could have been made better, and considering that chicken breast is half the price of ground beef these days... I threw a couple of slices of it in with panko this afternoon for a chicken salad, wasn't bad, and Corey has used another sliced mixed with the cream cheese to stuff the mushrooms, as well.
Chicken Cordon Bleu Meatloaf
Servings: Kcal: 320 kcal | Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
1 egg
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 lbs. ground chicken
6 slices Swiss cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
2 teaspoons minced onion
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
6 slices Virginia chicken ham
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs for topping
For the Creamy Dijon Gravy:
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup skim or 1% milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Steps

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix chicken with egg, mayonnaise, 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, onion, garlic powder, parsley, salt, and pepper.
In a loaf pan, layer half the chicken mixture, followed by chicken ham and cheese. Repeat with remaining chicken mixture.
Bake for 25 minutes, add panko breadcrumbs, bake for another 15 minutes.
For gravy, melt butter, whisk in flour, add cream, milk, Worcestershire sauce, and Dijon mustard. Simmer, add Parmesan, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
Rest meatloaf, slice, and serve with gravy.

Dinner's ready!
Love,
Lisa in AR

TerriRichardson112 · June 8

Did my usual Saturday local shop run. Worked in the garden after lunch. All in all a pleasant day.

Machka: I missed that autocorrect 😂 I love that shade of blue.

Rita: (((hugs))) It’s a difficult decision when our pets begin to deteriorate. Hope you can get answers about your lab results quickly.

Annie: Hang in there. Hope it’s no Covid.

🤗🤗🤗 and 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 for those who need them.

🙋‍♀️ Miele failte to the newbies.

☘️ Terri

ginnytez · June 9

Rita-we have put three pets down, all dogs.

The first was 18 years old, blind and stopped eating. It was very sad. He made the downward turn quickly. The second was out English setter. He was 14. He had had a hip pinned after running into a car. They didn't tell us he would end up in pretty severe pain from arthritis as he aged. He also had some tumor all over. He got to the point that we listened to him whimper in pain every night, so we let him go. The third was our German shepherd who was huge (6' snout to tail). At around 12 he began having severe bathroom issues. He began going down to the basement to urinate and poop. His hips were failing him. As the person who cleaned it up and I can tell you the dog was very ill. The dog always looked embarrassed when we discovered the. mess (we think he was trying to hide it). My husband made the decision on him (that was his baby).

We have never been the family to take animals to the vet much-we take more of a "farm" approach. Even when you know it is right-it is painful.

Heather-those first outside walks are heavenly! I took my cane with me (I often walked alone and had to think about the fact that I always had to make it back home. Over time, I just naturally started relying on cane less and less-our body lets us know!

Managed to get a couple of things done and a decent walk but came back and slept. I am still not feeling 10% so I am off to bed-if my body wants rest I am not going to fight it much!

Take care all,

Ginny in Ohio

Machka9 · June 9

kevrit wrote: »

Doctor report doesn’t make me feel any better this week. Kidney levels moved me from CKD stage 2 to CKD stage 3B again. I don’t know what is going on there. The doc ordered a full thyroid panel with serum levels? IDK what the serum thing is but could be that. Blood work for that Monday, review a week later.

Yes I need to wash the sheets every day. I only have 2 sets so can’t put that off when the dog has an accident. We have a washer/dryer available at the ‘shop’ for the Park. Only problem with that is that the dryer is vented to the inside of the shop and the washer drain and fill hoses need to be hooked up/ disconnected each time it is used. ALSO there is no air conditioning in the shop and with the over 100 degree weather we’ve been having, well just not an ideal situation, but better than paying for it and driving 15 miles out one way just to wash sheets. We are seriously discussing what to do about Brownie. I’m leaning toward putting her down but don’t know when we will actually do it. It seems wrong when she is great except for the heart (coughing fits) and the incontenence. I just don’t know…..

Gotta go work in the pay booth. Talk later.

RVRita in Roswell

Could you just hose the sheets down outside and hang them to dry? With the heat and dryness in your area, they'd be dry in no time.
And what about pee-pads for either humans or pets?

M in Oz

SophieRosieMom · June 9

Lisa - how sweet of you to be concerned.

No worries. Rabbit holes bring me joy. I was probably one of the few kids that loved to research and write term papers. This was before copy machines were available to destitute students. Spending hours in the college "stacks". These days kids probably have AI write their term papers. I'm not sure how they accomplish this since where I grew up, AI was artificial insemination and still is in my mind.

But hey, it's modern times and I need to get with the program, right?

I will mention that on the 2nd anniversary of DH's death a few weeks ago, I thought about how my life had changed in 2 years, and also wondered how other older widows were coping with the loss of their husbands after a period of time. Where they went from there. Found several with YouTube channels, and some of them mentioned online dating as a way to meet guys and shared their experiences - good and bad.

So I dipped a toe in, barely. Not really. Did get close to the water though.

Close enough that photos of eligible older men in my area are popping up in my email.

Still processing all of this, so stay tuned.

Lanette

SW WA State

Snowflake1968 · June 9

Heather - I don’t clean behind my microwave often either. Mine is on a shelf above my stove.
I don’t know if Rodger would do anything but the bare necessities if I were to be laid up. When my hip was bad, Kaitlyn came and organized my kitchen so I could do things myself. I have trouble asking for help though.
Sounds like John had a successful walk, can’t wait to see the art painted on it.

Machka - I love that pale blue.

Annie - I hope your dad feels better soon.

Ginny - have you set an actual date for retirement now?

Lisa - I have a cousin that at 60 years old decided to start driving those trucks in Fort McMurray. She too is about 5’1”.
I slept in this morning and wanted a nap this afternoon too. It was a dreary, wet, cold day here today.

Michele - I always forget that labor codes are stricter here than in other places. Hopefully they get it all sorted, I don’t blame that guy for not wanting to work for an hour though. I wouldn’t do it either.

Barbie - it’s scary when something is suspicious about our finances. I have had that happen before as well.

Lanette - I grew up with wood heat, it was free heat for us because my grandfather owned forestland, I would never have it for our main source of heat though and don’t miss those wood stacking days at all. It sure was good exercise though.

I slept in until 945 this morning, I never do that. I must have needed it from my late night on Thursday.
Rodger actually woke me up at that time. He called in sick today. It was raining and 3C when he would have had to go to work and it was supposed to rain with a high of 8 all day. He drives an open mower and just couldn’t do it.

I organized Kaitlyn’s scrapbook pages and organized pictures for about 4 hours this afternoon. I only managed to get one page done though. I’ll do some more tomorrow.
I have started watching something when I scrap. The last few times I’ve watched Maid on Netflix. It was very well done, it could be triggering for some.

I’m currently watching an episode of Fire Country I had recorded while I chat with all of you.

Michaela has been sick since Thursday afternoon with a fever. I’m not sure what’s going around but Kaitlyn has it too.
She sent her Mother a message tonight when she was supposed to be sleeping.

I literally laughed out loud.
I don’t think she knows the talking to she’ll get about being sassy tomorrow, but tonight us adults are just enjoying it. 😂

Tracey in Edmonton

skuehn48 · June 9

cityjaneLondon · June 9

Another gorgeous morning.

Birds chirping away. Sky the bluest blue.

John is making Moussaka for dinner tonight, one of his signature dishes.

It's a Robert Carrier recipe, (for you Canadians ). One of my favourite things. It does 4 good portions, so we will be freezing for another day. Massive amount of work! Which is why I never make it, and leave it to John!

I will shower and wash my hair and put my Parisian face on. :laugh: Ready for my appearance on the world stage. (Or, a few steps down the road) I seem to be returning to health with alarming speed. The only fly in the ointment is the weight I have put on from months of inactivity. The last couple of months, I have hardly left the house. I am eating sensibly, with no snacks, and no alcohol, but I won't start losing until I start moving. It's an annoyance, but I'm feeling good in myself.

So sorry for all of you who are losing pets. It's the main reason I decided, very early on, never to have a pet again. The loss of my childhood friends affected me so badly, I never wanted to invest that amount of love into a short lived life again. Too painful.

Much love, Heather UK xxxxxxxx

WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JUNE 2024

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