WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR DECEMBER 2024

barbiecat
barbiecat Posts: 17,242 Member
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:) Even those of us who don't observe any of the December holidays will find this month stressful with crowded stores, long lines, stressed friends and loved ones, and ads everywhere urging us to spend our money. This is a great time to be part of a supportive community to navigate it all.

:) Welcome to the supportive group of women who have been by my side for years. The name of the thread is "Women ages 50+" but all women are welcome.

:) Be sure to bookmark the page so you can find us again.

:) We like to sign out posts with a name or nickname and a location either specific or general. It helps make it all more personal.

:) Come back every day and join the conversation. We can make December a peaceful and productive time.

<3 Barbie in NW WA
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Replies

  • bwcetc
    bwcetc Posts: 2,830 Member
    Barbie … Thanks for taking the thread into December!

    Beth near Buffalo
  • LisaInArkansas
    LisaInArkansas Posts: 2,941 Member
    <3
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,681 Member
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  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,681 Member
    edited December 1
    November Exercise Highlights

    Cycling:
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    Walking:
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    Activity Minutes:
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    Machka in Oz
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,681 Member
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    November Highlights - What I Did in November

    Intellectual/Occupational/Financial or Education/Career:
    • Excellent leadership conference on November 1.
    • Usual meetings, webinars, etc. - always learning.
    • Finished Clinical Costing uni course.
    • Heaps of SQL coding.

    Medical:
    • Doctor appointments - need more tests.
    • Dental cleaning - need more work.

    Fitness/Sports > Cycling > Audax Tasmania:
    • Best exercise time for the month.
    • Attended a cycling event for our club to see/meet the cyclists (as President of the club, I figured it's not a bad idea to be out there sometimes).
    • Organised a big cycling event.
    • Attended another cycling event to raise money for mental health - dinner on one day and a 55 km bicycle ride the next day

    House > Office > Computer:
    • Got taxes done.
    • Decluttered and got rid of some stuff.
    • Unpacked a bit.
    • Organised and tidied house.

    Garden:
    • Started digging out areas in front garden for planting.

    Spiritual:
    • Read the Bible every day.

    Emotional/Social/Recreation:
    • Beekeeping webinar.
    • Beekeeping meeting.
    • Added 3rd box to beehive. Busy bees!
    • Attended Brain Injury Association AGM.
    • Got to see a friend we haven't seen in years.
    • Read books just about every day this month.
    • Did a tiny bit of colouring.


    Machka in Oz
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,681 Member
    edited December 1
    barbiecat wrote: »
    🐕🐾Today was Bessie's annual wellness visit to the vet. She has short legs and can't jump into the car and after several recent events with his heart Jake realized that he can't lift a 50 pound dog so he was able to get a friend to help.
    🌻Barbie in NW WA

    Step stool?

    I will get her a 50.00 Amazon gift card..im not going out of my way to do anything extravagant for someone who ignores me.

    $50 is huge! That's the most we give anyone. Only rarely throughout my adult life have I gone over that amount. I've never felt that Christmas is a time to go into debt (i.e charging things on credit card) or generally spending much. For me, it's not about the gifts.

    Poerava14 wrote: »
    Hello from Phuket. I've tried to write a proper travelogue but too difficult on my phone. Will fill in more details once I'm home after the 3rd December. Meanwhile, this where I am now. Going to take a long swim soon as I post this.

    Google Phi Phi islands for a glimpse of where I went snorkeling. Truly amazing.

    vdflch6daomi.jpg

    Rori
    Living the Island Life
    Phuket, Thailand

    Nice!

    Kind of like where I live but probably warmer.

    Looks like you're about 4 hours behind me.

    Machka - I have exchanged gifts since grade 2,and for the last probably 20 years, if not more, we have had an ornament passed back and forth that opens and you put a little trinket of some kind in it. I love this little tradition we have and I won’t stop it.
    Tracey in Edmonton

    I like that tradition. :)

    Cute snowmen!



    Crepes - they were one of the things I learned to make in high school cooking class.

    Plus I've eaten quite a few of them while in France. :) I wasn't as fond of the savoury ones.




    Machka in Oz
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,681 Member
    All of you who are stiff and sore when you first get out of bed, raise your hands (if your shoulders and elbows aren't hurting!). I'm grateful for the miracle of black coffee and stretching to set things right, and grateful I can generally get 6 or 7 hours of good sleep.

    But I'm going to stop by the "M" store next week and see what they have for "natural" pain relief that I can take at night when my back and/or neck are sore, something other than ibuprofen or muscle relaxers. I haven't been in that store for over 2 years - I'd stop in and buy DH some goodies from time to time. I think things have come a long way as far as medical applications. Right now I have a crick in my neck, it's been there the past few days. Heat and ice seem to help, plus I have PT exercises I've been doing.

    Lanette B)
    SW WA State

    I'm rarely stiff and sore when I get out of bed.

    If that happens, I start thinking about why:

    Exercise
    - did I do exercise the day before that I don't normally do? Sometimes I'm stiff and sore if I've wielded my mattock for 3 hours the day before.

    Sitting
    - did I spend more time sitting than usual? I get stiff and sore if I sit in bed (with my legs out in front of me), or sit in a chair for a lengthy period of time. I need to get up and move at least once an hour ... and limit the amount of time I sit.
    - If I have to sit, is my sitting and computer setup ergonomically correct? For example, I don't like arms on my office chairs because they force my shoulders up and I need to concentrate on sitting in such a way that my shoulders don't go up. I also need to focus on lowering/dropping my shoulders throughout the day if I find myself hunching.
    - Am I sitting upright or am I slouching? I have to make sure I sit upright more often.
    - Another thing to think about is the seat in the vehicle you use. One lady I know had terrible back pain for years. Then her company changed her company car, and her back was cured! It was the seat! I've also had to make several adjustments to my seat - raising it higher and making it more upright - to ease some back pain.

    Standing
    - When I stand, am I standing upright or am I slouching? First thing in the morning, I stand in front of the mirror and then stand as tall as I can, then extend my neck up as long as I can, and drop my shoulders. That seems to unscrunch me. When I stand up at work, I try to do the same thing.

    Lying down
    - What about the bed? Is it too hard? Too soft? Is the pillow the right height? How old is the mattress? Recently, I realised that my pillow had packed down too much and was a bit too low - this was causing some neck pain. I purchased a memory foam pillow cover with a bit of thickness to it, and the pillow is good again. The neck pain is gone. Recently, I also realised that my 11 year old firm mattress is probably aging and may need replacing but meanwhile, I needed something a little bit softer for my hip and feet. I have that now and it's great to wake up without hip and feet pain.

    Stretching
    - Do I stretch enough? I've started stretching much more than I used to and the results are amazing! I should have started this years ago.


    I'm waking up with less stiffness and soreness than I have in a while.

    Machka in Oz
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,681 Member
    edited December 1
    Memory Books ... Modern Heirloom Books ... Life Books, etc.

    The idea of capturing the lives of your parents has been around for a little while. I forwarded an email to that effect to my parents a few years ago. They didn't respond at the time, but a couple years later, my father started writing some of his life experiences.

    It's a nice idea. So often a relative passes away, and a little while later we think about them and wonder what various aspects of their lives were like.

    To me, it seems like a huge compliment that a child wants to know about their parents.

    I wouldn't want to handwrite my answers, but they're easily typed.

    These are some websites along those lines ... or, of course, a person could use Word.

    https://www.modernheirloombooks.com/new-blog/2020/3/28/50-essential-questions-to-ask-your-parents-to-capture-your-family-history

    https://www.lifetales.com/blog/best-questions-to-capture-familys-memories

    https://pageandpodium.com/blog/questions-record-family-stories/


    Of course, questions like "Take me on an imaginary tour of the house where you grew up. " presume that a parent grew up in one house. Neither of my parents did. Nor did my grandparents. I come from two lines of nomads. It would take them a while to take me on an imaginary tour of the houses where they grew up!! And it would be a book in itself to go through all the houses I've lived in!

    So perhaps the collection of questions could be limited to those the child does not know the answers to.

    Machka in Oz
  • 1948CWB
    1948CWB Posts: 1,648 Member
    :) Happy December 1st :)
  • pipcd34
    pipcd34 Posts: 17,344 Member
    691691
  • jenferbar
    jenferbar Posts: 66 Member
    Morning, my dears, so pleased to have made it to December.

    @jenferbar - Welcome! This is a lovely group of women who provide support around all aspects of our lives. Just let us know what name you'd like to be called and about where you are--if you sign your posts that way, we'll soon get to know you, like I sign mine as Lisa in AR. We do tend to avoid politics and religion, which makes this a safe place to be part of each others lives. Losing weight and keeping it off is about our whole lives, not just the scale. Glad you're here, join in wherever you feel comfy, don't forget to bookmark us so you can find us again.

    Jennifer From CT...I use my first 3 letters from first name, maiden name, married name as my id on MFP. : )
  • dlfk202000
    dlfk202000 Posts: 3,241 Member
    exermom wrote: »

    Deb – sure hope your experience with a tree with new kittens turns out better then ours...lol. I can’t think of a way to make the missing pieces for the tree. Oh well...recyclables go out Monday



    Holy guacamole! Already the Dec. thread. Thanks barbie

    Michele NC
    who really needs to get to her cards

    Do you have any pictures of the tree? Maybe we can figure out a way to fix it- would hate for you to have to just toss it. Sorry there were pieces missing. How hard was it to put together? I looked at it and was clueless.