WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR SEPTEMBER 2025

Came home from work and the guy who is doing the deck was here to talk to Vince. We had such lovely weather last week and the week before, this week they’re calling for rain. Wonderful! Got just about everything off the deck. We still need to get the grill in the house, it’s on the porch right now. Jess has some plants on the deck and porch, so she’ll need to get those off.

Deb – I would want to have a loved one get the MRI. At least you’ll know if you see signs that there’s a reason for it (or not).

Had chicken fettuccine last night. Normally, I wouldn’t have it, but I didn’t want to hurt Jess and not have it since that’s what she wanted to make. Well...once won’t kill me. I don’t think I’d want it all the time. I’ll have the soup for breakfast tomorrow that I prepared because I was thinking that Jess hadn’t planned anything so we’d have the ravioli that I have in the freezer.

Think I’ll go take Ganon for a walk.

Michele NC

Mo,

Thanks, logging is very much a daily habit, like brushing my teeth. Yesterday was a challenge because we were at the hospital for my husbands yearly liver appt, because he has a liver transplant in 2014. More of a oh you are doing fine, your numbers look good, see you next year kinda thing. So my choice for lunch was a turkey sandwich on a hearty potato bread, and a veggie, fruit tray little thing, with a piece of cheese in it. I saved the labels and hammer them in my purse. The sandwich was about 1,000+ sodium, crazy and of course way more carbs than if I had made the sandwich. It was convenient though as we didn't have to make a car run to get a cooler. So getting home I was hungry, but first thing I wanted was a tomato juice drink I make with low sodium can of V8, then the classic V8 bloody Mary mix. It is spicy but still has less sodium then if I bought the regular V8 cans of tomato juice. Plus get more juice! The cans are like 5.5 oz and then I add 2 or 4 oz of the bloody Mary mix.👍🏼😁.

Last night I called my youngest son to get an update. The had an appt last Tuesday with a surgeon, and he was a typical Navy surgeon that really hadn't read his file and son updated him on how things were going. He has a colonoscopy that needs to be done, but he needs to clear up the C Diff first. The surgeon talked about things that might happen, a reroute type surgery but its too early in the game to talk about that. Son met with a separation board panel mid week and they told him the process, about 2 months for paperwork to be done and sent to the headquarters, which will take the time line to Dec. Then he can take leave for holidays and he most likely will get separated with disabilities in Feb. He can qualify for SSDI as well. There's also VA benefits he will have access to, as there is a VA clinic annex on base here. At least he won't have to travel all the way to Seattle at the VA place there. He seemed very upbeat with how things were moving along finally. He seems to be eating well, typical young adult diet, though he avoids dairy, and chocolate. But like a pepperoni pizza he loves. Greasy foods are fine, just kind of go thru him. But he stills eats them. The doctors mentioned they aren't sure if purely Crohn's or diverticulitis as well.

Rebecca Whidbey Wa

Howdy Ladies!

Our trip to Seattle went well. Its nice traveling the freeways when they are not crowded. We brought our pillows and rested for 45 minutes until husband had his bloodwok, X-Ray, and ultrasound. The doctors were all happy with his process thus far, during his appt at 1 pm. Glad its all over. Slept so well last night!

Rebecca Whidbey Wa

Noticing my shoulders don't seem so rounded! My neck not so blobby! My 1X pants yesterday were quite comfortable and had extra fabric in the caboose area. Losing 10 lbs by Christmas time seems totally doable, and will get me into Onederland.

Today have to make biscuits for husband because he has biscuits and gravy most Sundays. He's such a creature of habit. I just make Bisquick ones, double batch and cut the biscuits with a pint glass. They are big!

Today I think I will make chicken salad, with apples, walnuts, celery and a handful of lettuce and rotisserie chicken I need to take out of the freezer. I will most likely have that at dinnertime. Lunch might just be something simple. Last nights dinner consisted of most of a large tomato I needed to use up, 1/2 a cucumber, dressing, splash of acv, and a spoonful of crunchy garlic oil. It was spicy but just a warm spicy.

Eldest sailor son traveled back from where the squadron is stationed to near where his carrier is. It was a C130 so sitting on the sides of the plane, with cargo everywhere. Fun times. I have been in planes, where passengers are kind of an afterthought! His past ship deployment though, so he is happy about that. We video chatted last weekend and have decided when he visits during the holidays, we will be going out to eat most nights! Well one night is home cooking with my chicken fried rice, then Ramen and gyoza at the Ultra House in Langley, then sushi at Sushimoto restaurant, and lots of other places! Poor husband will be on his own getting something else!

Rebecca Whidbey Wa

Melanie ~ Happy Birthday!

Ginny ~ So glad Duke arrived safely!

Kylia ~ Great photo of you and your hubby! You both look happy and relaxed.

Heather ~ Your friend is lovely.

Rebecca ~ Glad you got A+ news for your husband’s yearly visit.

Lisa ~ Your bedroom looks great.

Michele ~ Hope your deck will be finished quickly and know it will look great.

Carol in GA

I am 50+! I need friends! I am always interested to see what other people are eating...

I share what I eat....but the alcohol can be my achilles heel 👠

Well, England won against Canada, but it was a good match. 😁

Tracey - I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip home. Thinking of you on your journey. 😍

Ginny - How lovely! 🤩 Gosh, it must have been tiring looking after the toddler! Happy family.

Done my exercises. They are mainly for strength training, and to keep my back, core, hips and knees working. Like Terri, I do them first thing when I wake up. The first 15 minutes are a kind of Pilates, done in bed. Then a mixture of other things for strength, including dumbbells. Also balance. It all takes around half an hour. My old knee problem is recalcitrant.

John out today! I will finish cleaning the oven door. And put in a new light bulb. This one hasn't lasted long, but I suspect it's because of the very high temperature for the occasional homemade pizza. I'm not eating those often nowdays. I have a couple of programmes recorded to watch .

Love Heather UK xxxxxxxx

Heather and Terri: See, I thought I was being so innovative, because I moved to doing my alphabets with my toes in the bed, with my feet lifted about 12 inches up—helps strengthen my knees and my back. Plus I've started doing a few of the yoga stretches as well - It really makes putting on the dang compression socks soooo much easier. It had gotten quite painful to bend and twist to get those dragged on, and it's helping a lot to warm those muscles up first. And Heather, your friend is absolutely lovely and vibrant. I guess 70 really IS the new 50! 😂👀🥰

Tracey: I hope your travel is worry-free and relaxing, and I hope you have a wonderful time and get to fill up your heart with all kinds of joy with these people who love you.

All this, plus the pictures, really got me thinking about whether we could fly to Hawaii this winter, perhaps in January, see the kids… and then I checked plane flights, and that will not be happening.

Even if my body is ready for traveling, which is still a question, the expense is beyond anything resembling sense for us. I'll see them in the new year some time, and it's not the first time the world hasn't worked at the pace that I wanted time to fly. Time will pass at its own pace.

I do love the weather here right this minute - fall is really here, with the very cool mornings and pleasant afternoons. I got out and pulled all my morning glory vines down yesterday while Corey got the mowing done.

Some of those vines were as think as my pinky - tough stuff. There were only a few purple straggler blooms left, and the ants had just made lacework of most of the leaves, so it was all looking really raggedy. Time for it to go. I love it when it is all up and flowering, and love having the sun streaming back into the carport once they've gone for the winter.

Fascinates me that they spring from a seed the size of a BB to enough vines to cover a 20-foot long railing and climb all the way up to the ceiling down the whole length of the front. If this house becomes abandoned, for whatever reason, the morning glories WILL take over and turn it into a vine-covered lump of rock.

Weirdly reassuring, that.

Anyway… Corey and got up late, as we were up 'til nearly 11 last night. He was reading, and I was crocheting on my the cardigan I'm making and watching the documentary on The Biggest Loser. I watched a lot of seasons of that show.

Later,
Lisa in AR

This weekend, I finally have some of my energy back. September hasn't been a particularly good month - got sick with whatever plague (not COVID) is going around the office and schools and was out of action for a long time. Even when I was well enough to go to work, the plague left me feeling so fatigued and headachy I felt like I was moving in slow motion at work and could hardly do anything in the evenings.

But this weekend, I finished organising the living room part of our main room as well as dusting and cleaning the floor. My husband's section is not neat because order is not his strong suit - periodically, I rescue something from his heap and put it back where it belongs but otherwise I usually turn a blind eye to that particular area. However, the rest of the place looks good.

The living room is not set up conventionally or conversationally. It is set up for the 2 of us. But in the interests of having guests occasionally, we've added 2 chairs to make it possible to have a bit more of a conversation area.

On Friday, we also went to one of our favourite tip shops where I got a bench I'm using for my keyboard. And my keyboard is now accessible, so I've been plunking out a few songs and doing a scale or two. I've been kind of itching to get back into attempting to play again. The bench is great because it's a storage bench, so I'll be able to put my music books inside.

We also got the most fabulous doll house, all made of wood. I want to play with it! But of course, it will go to our granddaughters.

On Friday, we also donated a large bag of cat stuff to a cat rescue organisation. Rhody (our cat) has certain things he likes, and quite a number of things we got for him that he paid absolutely no attention to.

As we are in something of a decluttering mode this year, we decided we might as well donate the things he's not interested in.

I've also walked outside, I've done other housework, and I've done quite a bit for the cycling club.

I hope energy stays with me.

I also hope that we start having some warmer weather. 1 month of spring is almost gone and it's been cold and windy - not good for getting out in the garden.

Machka in Oz

John on his walk with his younger daughter. They walked about nine miles in all! Had a Sunday roast dinner at a slightly weird hotel. Food was ok, but the service was clueless. But he loved meeting up with her. (Another leopard!) Always good to catch up.

She will be 53 next birthday, and John 80. Not bad going! She plays a lot of pickleball.

Love Heather UK xxxxxxxx

Does anyone think this is silly…that at 50+ we're still battling the same battle?

Told my sister, we know this stuff; we just need to do what we know!

But my compulsion with food is not the only compulsion I battle, and doing it alone is not an option.

Though it is the end of September, I'm choosing to avail myself of support, for the month of October. And to support others.

Thank you for being here!

Pam

It always amazes me that some flowers have such amazing smells while others, same type, have basically no smell. Like my roses- some smell so strong while others barely any smell. The old fashioned carnations- I LOVE them, the new carnations kind of stink to me. The iris I have smelled are the old ones like my great grandmother grew-oh, one of my favorite scents but I did notice my friends who hybredizes, hers don't smell as sweet.
Another amazing scent is the freesia- I need to plant more of them this fall/spring

Debbie