WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR OCTOBER 2024

Good morning, dear girls.

Apart from a little tiredness, no I’ll effects from my boosters.

We a had a wonderful bright sunny day yesterday. Today is heavily overcast.
Oh! The joys of a British autumn. Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.

I have no formal commitments today, and a morning to myself as DH goes to badminton Tuesday am. I have another 2 free days, then on Friday I’m busy all day. Such is life in retirement. I will fit in Latin transportation, finish a Creative Writing piece for next Monday, and work on my group accounts.

And, of course do my usual exercise, which I fit in in short bursts throughout the day, plus a little light entertainment.

We are going to a 60s night on Friday, run by the social team of the charity that I volunteer for. Should be a lot of laughs. There is a prize for the best outfit. I think I will go as a biker chick, as that was what I was in the 60s. I was a Rocker (motor bikes) DH was a Mod (scooters) Real Westside Story vibes. 😆

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

🙋‍♀️ Miele failte to the newbies.

☘️ Terri

Good morning beautiful ladies!

Carol the book that reminds me of Rebecca is Cliffhaven by A. M. Grimm.

Lanette I eat for energy too. I often crave sugar - bad habit.

Margaret welcome back!

Tracey Wow a table of twelve! That looks wonderful!

Well I get an hour or so of time off today because Dad will be in class. My goal is to work on my room. I'm finally getting my energy back after my trip. I wasn't there long enough for true jet lag, just sleep disruption.

Have a great day! May you all be happy, healthy, safe and free!

Annie in Delaware

Morning, kiddos,

Machka - If you're making plans for gardens, you are definitely feeling better!

Tracey - Your celebration looks wonderful...

Got up at nearly 7 a.m. to find that Corey had turned the house heat on, and found out why as I let Egg out. It's 48 degrees (9c) this morning! And may well get a light freeze later this week. While my heart may not be ready for freezing temperatures, this land is, I'm afraid. Well, most of it. Unfortunately, the first few days of it always get my sinuses going, too, might be the dry air in the house from the gas heat.

Outside in the cold, the fig tree is just now really bearing for the first time since we planted it four years ago, but I don't think they're going to have time to fully ripen, dang it. They take a month to six weeks from pea-sized ones to the size of a golf ball. They're all about half as big as they need to be right now.

I was really looking forward to fresh figs, and I did get one early riser, but I don't think they'll survive a freeze. Might get some lightweight plastic and see if I can protect it for a few more weeks - it's about 7 feet high, and at least that wide, and just beautiful. It just hasn't quite got its timing right...

The hummingbirds have all gone south - they will always remind me of my mother, and now of Katla, as well. Something wistful about their leaving for the year, but they need the warmth too much to stay. I'm grateful when they're here.

I'm definitely feeling better this morning - not least because my gut is quiet. I'm grateful for that, too - I remember when all the days were like yesterday, and just having one in the span of three or four weeks is truly awesome.

Egg's back in and stropping her chin on my laptop - time to pet the girl, finish the project I'm on and then swan down to Walmart this morning to get a few things, including that plastic. Waiting until all the morning traffic is gone, probably about 9 a.m. Did all the laundry and weekly chores yesterday, and just need to get the dishwasher going this morning as soon as I'm finished with my second cup of tea.
Love from the chilly River Valley of Arkansas,
Lisa

Terri - glad no lasting effects from the boosters. Love hearing about your active life. And that you were a biker chick in the '60's. Nice. Yes, you and your DH were the real West Side Story! I didn't know anyone with motorcycles back then, only tractors, lol. But had the bell-bottoms and long hair. Wore halter tops to places I probably shouldn't have. So I can't criticize how the young gals dress today, I think our generation invented the mini skirts, after all.

Allie - have a great time on your cruise. Hope the weather is super and you get to hang with some interesting people. Delia is already growing like a weed - I wonder if she'll out-smile SMiles? Thank you for posting these photos, it's been a lot of fun following your grands.

Margaret - can't wait to hear about your trip. Welcome home.

Carol - your granddaughter is gorgeous, and your grandson is so handsome. Thank you for sharing their photos - we've watched them grow up here too. Sorry to hear about your neck and hope the ortho doc can help. Did you lose the Rose of Sharon trees due to the recent storms?

Tracey - sounds like a wonderful Thanksgiving meal, always nice to see your family together. It's so interesting to hear about your job and a bit about the residents there.

Barbie - you and I followed the same path as far as traveling, adventures, cooking and baking, doing different crafts, and so forth. Now, I'm also content to stay close to home - in a way, I've accomplished a lot of my "bucket list" already, although at the time I didn't realize it. Good memories. Nice you have another neighbor to walk with.

Annie - glad to hear you are getting rested up from your vacation. Funny how getting away for a little bit seems to refresh our perspective on things. Guess that's what vacations are for. So glad you were able to get that break.

Lisa - hope you can buy time with your fig using plastic and get some. Has it produced in the past? You probably said and I sailed right past. We tried figs here at our place and never had any luck. Maybe it was just too cold in our microclimate. Yet three miles down the road, the bushes/trees get huge and really produce. I know there are different varieties, so perhaps we didn't get the right kind.

Michele - we gave up having a Christmas tree due to the inside cat we had at the time. Good luck!

Debbie - so nice you were able to spend time with your mom again and help her. Your mentioning the smell of the "crush" from grape harvest reminded me of the smell in the air from haying, corn picking and mint harvest when I was a kid. Sure gives a person a sense of what time of the year it is.

I did the super early grocery shopping this morning and was home by 7. That should do it until the weekend, though I'm planning lunch with M on Thursday if I run out of anything, which is doubtful. It was scary hearing that after Hurricane Helene hit N. Carolina, emergency responders weren't able to communicate. Not sure if that's true, I haven't done any research to see if the cell towers went out or if the mountaintop repeaters were compromised - or if they still use them. M and I both worked with county emergency planning way back when, so I'm interested in her input. I think emergency preparedness just runs in our veins.

Lanette
Soggy SW WA State where we need the rain.

HeatherI thought of you on my trip. The next morning I took the time to go to the store Global Market which carries products from all over the world. They organize their merchandise by countries. They had a Great Britain section and I bought a jam Maintal Strawberry Fruit Spread to put on my morning yogurt. It is delicious. It is just so fun to see things from all over the world in a peaceful setting. They also have produce I normally don't see and meats like tongue and tripe. I have seen goat there on other occasions. It is one of my go tos when I go to visit the area.

Margaret '- 50 years is a very long time! I'm surprised you recognised anyone!
I've been to a few, so people have changed more slowly, but there was one woman I hadn't seen for all that time. She was completely unrecognisable and I think she was a bit hurt. She used to be a very pretty little thing. Oops! After talking to her for a while I began to see her old face again, but I was shocked at the change.

John was playing 'Exploding Kittens ' with Bea and Edie came home and took over. Talk about rows and tears. It's totally incomprehensible as a game, but Edie loves upsetting Bea.

I managed to walk to the bus, walk to the next bus, walk down the hill to the school, and walk back to my son's house after a hiatus while Bea climbed to the top of a large tree! Knee not entirely happy, but it survived.

Love Heather UK xxxxxx

margaretturk wrote: »

I went for my 50th High School Reunion...The first I had been to. Many of us that were there had gone to elementary, junior high, and high school together. There were also two there who were playmates that lived on the street I grew up on. My parents lived in that home for over sixty years. The women were more easily recognized than the men. I am glad I went. It gave me a chance to tell Johnny Baker a boy up the street to tell him I was sorry for the loss of his sister and to congratulate him on his local Emmy award. My mom had kept me up to date on some of what some of the people I knew are doing. Turns out he married another childhood friend who live close to him. I remembered going to her birthday party. I was out riding my bike when I remembered I was due at the party. I was in slacks. I arrived and all the other little girls were dressed and groomed in darling dresses. From that experience I learned to think about what I am attending and dress for the occasion. I did learn my first playmate passed away in 2019. The best though was seeing a playmate who I would describe as a Friendenemy. We were friends but something always seemed off. Her father was an alcoholic and who served the family her pet rabbit. As an adult I understand what was off as a child I just had trouble getting along with her but still wanted to be friends... I was soo happy her life had a happy ending...When the family moved down to Texas during her High School years her father became sober and it changed the whole family. She had a happy marriage for over thirty years until her husband past. She was able to spend quality time with her mother who was a delightful person and was her caregiver until she passed. Turns out she looked for me at other reunions. Thinking about it brings tears to my eyes of just how glad to hear her story.

we will be having our 45th reunion next summer/early fall. I will start planning it in the next few months.
Many of us have also gone to the same schools throughout our childhood- Some were friends because of our parents even before we started school.
It is fun to get to catch up with all of them. Thankfully many are on Facebook so it is easy to get in touch with them and bigger, I can see what they look like now so I can recognize them at the reunion
I was very shy back in school and talked to very few people. I didn't start out to be the one in charge but just kind of happened over the years.
I will ask for more help at the next one-I got stuck at the raffle table and didn't get to see many of the classmates unless they came over to the table.
Our reunions are always low key- out in a vineyard where a class mate has picnic area or at another classmates winery(my best friend's sister runs it now- my bf and both her parents have all passed away)

Scrolling through Facebook and saw the selfie taken with Aerin who was the best friend of my niece Emily who past away a few years ago. We had a delightful breakfast during my visit to St. Louis. She decided to call me Grandma Lolli as a tribute to my mom. My mom was like a grandmother to her when she grew up. Beside the reunion I made time to visit with family and friends.

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Hi, my friends. I hope everyone is well. First of all, Pip, I enjoyed your pictures. You are beautiful, and I can see you have been through a lot. Thank goodness there was a village to look out for you until Kirby came along. You had two great loves of your life, maybe three. You had so much strength to bounce back. You have traveled far and wide. You look happy at the ocean with Kirby and in Venice with Lenny. I can see the happiness on your face. I am sorry for the pain you experienced in your grief of losing Lenny. It sounds like you grieved the loss of your first marriage, too. It sounds like working out keeps you grounded and happy. Looking at Yogi's pics now, I see that Yogi looks like a full-blooded lab. He looked fluffier when his fur was wet, so I thought he was a blend of Lab and Golden Retriever. I decided to bring Rose on the trail today. I wasn't sure she could walk 3 miles, but Rose did great.

Lisa, I am so proud of you for starting a YouTube channel. Please send the link so we all can watch it.

I visited my mom yesterday. I brought some fall/winter clothes and showed her pictures of her grandchildren and sisters. She remembers my son but not my daughter. What is interesting is that Julia was her favorite grandchild. I sat with her during dinner and got her to eat and not sleep. I brought Rose with me, but she didn't have the energy to go outside, so I put her to bed. I had two toddlers this week and a lady who needs support. She wants my number. I told her that I would get fired. I purchased some things for her daughter to decrease her anxiety. She got a soft bunny that she named Bonnie and a Stella doll. I also got her a globe that shows a projection of stars on the ceiling. She was smiling from ear to ear. My Toddlers were so sweet but chunky. Since I was so busy yesterday, I slept all day today, and then we went on the trail. I finished two books. One was a new one by Nicholas Sparks, which I gave three stars, and Madwoman, which I gave three stars. I am taking Friday off for my birthday. I am going to do art projects that day. I want some pampering, too. Massage and Mani/Pedi.
I guess I will get my flu and Covid shots on Monday. Thanks, Ginny, for reminding me how much those shots take out of you.
Michelle- Thank you for the recipe. I will try it soon when my son is in town.
Well, I'd better go to bed. Have a great day tomorrow.
XO,
Mo