WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR NOVEMBER 2024

Gratitudes:
Friday-Barbie’s “If you won’t eat an apple, then you aren’t really hungry.” Fuji apples and cheddar cheese are doing better for me than Nugo dark chocolate sea salt vegan protein bars.
Thursday-Wellcare ID card arrived. Joe’s pointing out Legends of the Celtic Harp performance announcement in the paper. Went and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Was reminded how much I love Celtic music. Got out my Loreena McKennit CDs. Next week will call the Ford dealer for an estimate to repair/replace the CD player in my Escape, it hasn’t worked in months. With only 3 or 4 radio stations in range I miss my music. Yes I could connect my iPhone but haven’t downloaded any music to it, resisting paying again for music I’ve already bought on CD.
Wednesday- High winds haven’t knocked out power or internet… yet ;}
Pip that’s a great quilt and a great friend!
Rosemarie “…try sleeping in my bed…” Have you been sleeping on the couch or recliner? Do you wake up with dry mouth? Yours to Meg, very wise.
Rori so excited for N’s visit and your Thailand trip! Hope the ortho and podiatrist visits are productive.
Annie “…we are going walking in the early morning chill” Brava!
Barbie ((hugs)) What kind of computer did Jake get?
Margaret how I feel after is telling me that whole, real, foods, like apple and cheddar, give me energy and strength, while ultraprocessed foods, like vegan organic protein bars put me to sleep. Every body is different. IMHO if someone forces a food choice on you I’d reevaluate that relationship.
Tracey sending you support vibes for your procrastinated issue and meeting next Wednesday. Hope it isn’t as difficult as you fear.
Machka I’d love to hear your bee version of Soft Kitty Also the www.randomactsofkindness.org memes.
Meg welcome back. Hugs and prayers for your DH and you. Health care IS very scary now, especially for those who aren’t tech savvy to go to the portals and look at results for themselves. ((hugs))
Ginny holding good thoughts for favorable scan results. ((hugs))
Michele hope your heel and back pains ease soon.
Sue 8 oz is a great start. Hope your gut adapts.
Mo over 3 miles? Bravissima. Would Rose walk nicely with you?
Lanette what you said about being hesitant to leave the house, drive at night or in stormy conditions. Ditto. I was also in 7th grade when the PA system crackled and we heard Walter Cronkite say “… has been shot. I repeat the President of the United States is dead.” My innards drop at the memory all these decades later.
Rita I too watch Holiday Baking Champions and Christmas Cookie Challenge, but I’m starting to rethink that. Too much inspiration, too much temptation, too much hyped competition. Time to turn back to Hallmark mysteries. Does your DH like comedy? History?
Rebecca thanks for the organist Annna Lapwood and accordionist Claudio Constantini. recommendations, I’ll check them out.
Heather love Johnny’s efforts with the grands. Really puts himself out. Also loved his silken sea pic.
Penny I hear you about sweet treats, out of control and feeling trapped. ((hugs)) Sometimes, if I can make myself do one good thing (choose an apple instead of candy, go outside for 5 minutes, move my body for 1 minute) I’ll feel better. It isn’t easy to start, and start, and start again, but tiny things done every day really make for big changes. ((hugs))
Lisa hope you’ll share a pic of your setup at the crafts fair.
Tere rejoicing to hear you’re walking again. Remind me why the induced coma?
No decluttering or de-branching progress to report ;{
Later, lighter, lovelies!
Barbara, the Southern Oregon Coastie AHMOD

Move more than yesterday, fuel better than yesterday, live NOW.
Open heart and mind before mouth.
2024: Strengthen: body, mind, heart-connections.

Hope you gals selling at craft fairs have great sales. I think our group has cornered the market on creativity and skills.

Remember this summer when several of us were doing the squats challenge? When my back got tricky, I stopped even doing sit to stands. Well, this physiotherapist came up in my YouTube feed with practical advice and demonstrations. I'm going to give squats a go again.

I'm not planning to use the woodstove much anymore. I recall last winter when tending the fire in that thing, I was getting up off the floor at least a dozen times every morning since it sits so low to the ground. Plus I carried in a lot of small (kind of heavy) containers with firewood. All of that takes leg strength and balance. This reminds me I need to start getting down on the floor and back up several times a day to keep up with that skill.

Tere - love seeing you stopping back in with us. I missed the part about your being in a coma earlier this year. What happened? So glad you've made a good recovery.

I started Christmas shopping when I was in town the other day - picked up a couple gift cards. Gift cards and edibles is what I'm giving this year, plus some cute calendars and Old Farmer's Almanacs. Things that are used up and disposable. People have given me lovely shelf sitters and ornaments, throws, kitchen gadgets, etc. throughout the years but I'm beyond loaded to the gills now. So if any of my friends or neighbors feel the need to give me anything, gift cards and edibles (like nuts!) work just fine. Actually, just a card or email or text is even better.

I was up very early this morning, I kept smelling that crock pot cooking bone broth. It's looking good and just a few more hours of bubbling away, then I'm calling it done.

Make it a fabulous weekend.

Lanette
SW WA State

Lanette I used Kerigold which is a grass fed cheese from Ireland. It can be found at Target and a grocery store. I do prefer the Farmer's market cheese I buy, but they will not be back now until the end of January. Still the store bought cheese was good in my soup. I am going to make it again for lunch today. Our weather is cooling off so soup and later I will make chilli to enjoy. My days of making yogurt are done till next spring/summer I keep my house to cold to have it set right with the method I use.

Worked then came home. Looks like we’ll get the arches put up (just not lit)

Tere – You go girl! You’ve made me so happy

Tracey – You have to carry your paints back and forth from ceramics? We have all our paints there. What difference did you find in using the bottle for PF and the ball? From what you’ve said, to me it sounds like the foam roller would be better than the ball since more of your foot comes into contact with the roller than the ball. Hey, I have the same truck only with the summertime insert. Don’t know when I’ll get to it, but I have it to be done (one of these years) I’m thinking that that splint might be good for me to have to wear even occasionally seeings how I’m on my feet for about 3 hours/day on a hard floor

Usually we have Christmas Eve dinner here and Thanksgiving at Jess’. Only this year she’s on call so we’re reversing it. To be honest, Thanksgiving seems to be so much easier. You can make almost everything in advance and just heat (or cook) it the day of

I’ve started Christmas shopping, too. Got Lynette a vest mainly because I had a coupon for $10 off. Bad part is that I had to order it online since the store doesn’t carry such large sizes.

Annie – you deserve to go out to dinner with Craig after all you do and sacrifice

We did get the arches up. We got some blow molds that just had LED lights but Vince worked on them and put a bulb in them so now they light up.

Gotta leave for church. Am supposed to lector tonight.

Michele NC

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

🙋‍♀️ céad míle fáilte to the newbies.

☘️ Terri

Oh look, I am buying some more homemade clothing for Athena's doll.💖

The ones we picked out were summertime outfits, and this will be a wintertime outfit. My son texted me in Messenger chat that she used her little hangers and hung up all the outfits I bought her during the summer. So sweet. I used to do that too as a child.💖👍🏼

Just pulled out some biscuits for husbands breakfast tomorrow. Every Sunday he has biscuits and gravy. He is so predictable!

Next week I am meeting up with a friend here on the island. On Tuesday she said she will pick me up to just hang out at her place, and on Thursday she wants to go to Langley for a ramen lunch. I am game!

This month I am not really doing intermittent fasting. I bought some creamer I like in my coffee, so by morning, the creamer and Truvia sweetener has taken me out of my fast. I enjoy it, no guilt per say, it's a holiday thing. I might put in a completely black coffee morning every now and then.

Well I was peppermintified the other night! It was a treat of limited edition peppermint ice cream from Safeway, then a glug of Smirnoff peppermint vodka, and those special holiday Pepperidge Farms peppermintified bark cookies as scoopers. It was delightful! The crisp cookies held up well, and at the end I had a couple sips of creamy vodka drink.

Rebecca
Whidbey
Wa

So sorry the sale didn't go as well as you hoped, Lisa. Lessons learned, I guess.

Well done, Debbie, on your stall's success.

I had my own little win this morning. I threw away an old, long cardigan, that I have been using as a dressing gown for many years. It has an enormous hole in the elbow! Today I decided to throw it out. Hooray! I am wearing a newer one now, which will become my dressing gown and bed jacket.
Also, another win, I got the text from the emails I had sent to myself for my book, transferred to my laptop Word document. Double hooray!

Last night was a chocolate horror story.
I portioned out a half bar of 'dark chocolate with pink himalayan salt crystals' into two for John and me. To even them up I broke a piece of the bigger one off and added it to the smaller piece. I gave John the whole one ( wrapped in kitchen towel) and I took the one in pieces. When I opened the kitchen towel, I only had one piece, so I assumed I had mixed up the packets.
When I went to bed I could smell chocolate on my new trousers. There was a huge splodge on the back. I had been sitting on the bed and there was a big melting blob and a big mess on the bed. So I tried to scrape off the trousers in the toilet and succeeded in getting shards of chocolate all the floor, which I had to clean up. Ugh.
I scraped what I could off the bed.
John came up and said, "Did you know that your cushion is covered in chocolate?"
So, this morning there was more scraping and everything is treated with 'food grease' stain remover, and in the wash.
Honestly, who would have thought that one little piece of chocolate could have done so much!?

I've had a chat with G this morning, and I have a chat with L booked for 1.30.

Dinner is vegetable and feta frittata. We have so many fresh vegetables in the fridge! I am deliberately trying to use them up. So it will be flat beans, French beans, and broccoli, spring onions. The frittata makes enough for a sandwich lunch tomorrow. I may do a few chunky oven chips with it.

Love Heather UK xxxxxxxx

Lisa ~ The photo of your booth looks great! I'm sorry you were disappointed in the sale but know your family will love the gifts you send.

Debbie ~ Congrats on your sale. Hope your DH was able to find his mom OK but wonder if she deliberately did not answer the phone because y'all were away.

Rebecca ~ Love the doll outfits! Athena will be delighted.

Lanette ~ I tried that exercise shown in the video. I could actually feel my lower back loosening and will try doing it more. I watched until the guy was doing it so quickly and with no effort. Know I will never get there but hope doing it gently will help.

Carol in GA

Morning all
Just watching some cooking shows,got a bunch of stuff done yesterday..

Hope it's a peaceful Sunday morning for you...

I'm digging out from the chaos we brought back from the show and tossed into my craft room because I was too tired and disheartened to deal last night. Pretty much done, though... four shipping boxes filled, three to my daughter and grandkids, and one to my best friend. Plus the trunk is full of stuff to donate.

While doing all that, I'm also getting laundry done, and ferrying coffee in for Corey.

Annie - No one got much traffic, no one sold much of anything... talked it over with Corey, as well as a friend, and I think his observation was good. It's hard to sell much in a town of 1,400, and we are, in all reality, not on the way to anything else. There is little traffic through our very small town other than trucks trying to avoid the scales on the interstate. Not exactly my target audience. If there were 50 people through there, I'd be very surprised. The same host is holding one seven miles further out the first week of December, in an even smaller town, with even more vendors. She made money as the host, from vendor fees, probably $1,200, minus her costs for the venue and for signs etc., but I'm not sure anyone else did nor that anyone will at her next one. I might go, though, just to check it out.

Debbie - Congratulations on making some money at yours. You do the thing I won't do, which is drive to where the customers are. Still not up to that.

Meg - It really is good to see you. I always, always, always, go through my lab results myself, item by item, for exactly the reason you're dealing with now. These people are so incredibly busy that they miss things... My primary doctor prescribed an NSAIDS for me for pain when I had bleeding colon ulcers (so far past wrong as to be staggering), and also made the assumption that I'm on a blood thinner for my AFib, which I am not... again, because of the bleeding! So glad you caught it for your husband at such an early stage, and hope the outcome is terrific.

Tere - Always good to see you join us again, dear heart.

Barbie - Thank you for the compliment, and you are absolutely right, my joy is in the creation.

Heather - It is amazing how far one small bit of melted chocolate can go.

There are so many others that I've missed commenting on as I caught up to you guys. Much love and hugs to those who need them.

Regarding my most recent obsession, it's a learning curve - and curves have valleys as well as peaks. I'm genuinely OK today - but it really is a reminder that even though I'm doing a lot better, I still don't react well to.... well, to anything when I'm tired. When I'm rested, I can deal with most anything. Helped to talk it through with a good friend last night while Corey was chilling in the bathtub.

Time to make me some breakfast...

Happy Sunday, y'all, whether past, present or still to come,
Love,
Lisa in AR