WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR OCTOBER 2025

Wow! I can’t believe how much I look forward to reading these posts and seeing the photos every morning. Gets my day off to a wonderful start ☺️🩷

I am planning on heading to the city for a look at some bikes. If, no when, I do this Aquabike race I need a bike that will be of use on pavement as well. I currently ride a fat bike which is great on gravel but not so great on anything else. I have seen some bikes that supposedly work well on most surfaces. If I find one I will sell the fat bike. Hopefully there are some good salespeople that can help me out.

The funeral was of course very sad. I keep thinking that he was only a month older than me. The funeral was in a town 1 1/2 hours from us so on the way home my husband wanted to stop and see the Métis Crossing. Métis are half indigenous and half French. My husband is carded as are my kids from his mom’s side. The crossing is a historic site built to commemorate where the Métis settled in the 1800s. We ran into some friends at the restaurant that were also at the funeral and had a wine and some snacks. So the day ended a little better than it began.

Lisa- a memoir 🤔 Many of my clients often suggested the same. The problem is I have forgotten so much. Years 28 through 45 are a real blur. Interestingly one of the people we ran into yesterday came up to me as he was leaving and he said- do you remember that time you came an did a c section on that inside out calf ( a defect where the calf’s spine is in a U shape so it’s internal organs are exposed and it’s back feet are also pointing forwards) and I had to push it back in through the back so you could reach it and our hands met and I said we really need to stop meeting like this? I laughed and said- oh yes, when really I don’t remember ☹️ Too much going on at that time.
But I will head over to substack to see what it is (and more of what you are) about 🙂 And boy egg sure adores you. Obviously you are her tribe.

Heather- congrats on all the good things that have come your son’s way ☺️

Allie- I hope they get you healed up soon 🩷

Carol- wishing your husband a strong recovery- take care of yourself as well.

Rebecca- nothing worse than the food police, whether on line or commenting on your plate. I do not discuss diet or weight with anyone- it is a huge trigger for me. I, and you, know what is best for our bodies- what to put into them and how to move them. Anyone else needs to worry about their own selves. Keep going- you are doing a great job!

Rita- LUCY 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷 She’s the best! Don’t tell my doggos I said that 😬

Pip- 💕Lenny💕 Sounds like you were lucky to have him for the time you did.
I miss those sweaty runs.

Machka- love the 🐧 Have you seen the movie The Penguin Lessons? Sooooooo good. But bring Kleenex. I never cry at movies but this one got me.

Lanette- thanks for the memoir suggestion as well. Maybe I’ll try to start jotting down some memories. My husband brought one up yesterday where when the phone rang for another calving and I had been up all night the kids would flip a coin to see who had to go wake me up. They said it was like poking a bear in its den with a stick.
I met my husband between years 3 and 4 of vet school. I was a summer student at a mixed animal practice. He was announcing at a Tennessee walking horse show and I was helping the vets at it. That was the first weekend in August. I went back to school at the end of the month. We saw each other about every other weekend as we were 5 hours apart. He asked me to marry him on my birthday, Sept 26, a little shy of 2 months since we had met and seen each other maybe 4 weekends. It felt right. That was 32 years ago. Needless to say I was extremely lucky. He’s a really good guy.

Happy Thanksgiving to the other Canadians here.

Melanie, Alberta

Back from our Tahoe adventure. The real world starts on Monday.

Praying for you and your husband, Carol. This is such a a difficult time.

Also you, Allie. I agree with Machka. I think those injections are not doing your body any favors. If you haven't already, a heart to heart talk about it with an objective doctor may be in order. It would be tragic to go through the surgery only to find out that's not the problem.

Rebecca, diets, girl. Other people don't know our bodies like we do. Yes, we are all human and have the same basic requirements. On the other hand, we are individuals with varying cultural, lifestyle, and medical needs.

I stopped eating animal protein, limiting myself to just fish, two years ago after a nutrition conversation with my kidney doc. He recommended DASH diet for me, where he might have recommended limiting all animal proteins for someone who didn't also have cancer. About six months ago, eating my last bit of shrimp on a salad, I realized that I no longer liked or enjoyed it, and since I've had two years of clean scans, maybe I should eat like I don't have cancer to protect my kidneys. Now I'm whole foods plant based. The significant word there being "based." I'm probably 90 to 95% vegan eating. My husband started giving me a hard time about it on this trip. We hadn't eaten every meal together for a week since I went wfpb. Every time he got sarcastic or salty about it, I just responded, "protecting my kidneys as well as I can."

Do I evangelize this diet for everyone? No. I still incorporate animal protein dishes for my family. I'm still the cook of the house. I also can't eat gluten, because I'm celiac, but we have wheat products in our pantry, and I cook them for my family. My dietary needs are not my husband's, and I'm fine with that. He is slowly coming around.

So you do what's best for you, girl. You are doing a fantastic job, and everyone else should just keep their opinions to themselves!

Stepping off the soapbox.

Love you all.

Flea

Willamette Valley OR

Melanie - is your DH related to Louis Riel? I was just thinking about him a couple days ago. My DH's French Canadian mother and relatives were from Quebec and legend has it they were shirt-tail relation to Riel. So DH probably would have enjoyed that Metis site. DH didn't talk much about his mom's side, other than as a child, he remembered visiting uncles and their families who were very poor and lived way out in the woods. Drank heavily and most of his cousins died young. When I watched "Three Pines" on Amazon Prime a few years ago, I thought - this might be familiar to him. Quite beautiful. I need to watch it again.

I think you're right about not sharing diet or weight with anyone - it's safe to share here. I do have a couple friends my age I don't mind sharing with. I trust their input and they are supportive and not pushy. It's so nice to have someone to share with who isn't judgmental.

Have fun bike shopping😉

Tracey - how is MIL settling in? Wow, what a mess. Sounds like her daughter could be in big legal trouble. Glad to hear MIL had friends and other relatives that were concerned for her welfare out there.

Flea - I think you're doing great with your diet. Your body is telling you what you need to feel good and function well. Who knows, in a couple years you might get a real craving for a juicy burger. Or maybe not. 😁 You are doing what's best for you and that's what's important.

Allie - if you were my sister, I'd be right there with you with a list of all the medications you are on and demanding from the docs which of them have interactions that could be causing your symptoms. Do you have an advocate at your side to help you navigate all this? Someone that feels comfortable asking these questions? To me, unless you are diabetic, seems that you risk becoming medically fragile and weight loss drugs should be stopped. However, I'm not a doctor and don't play one on TV and there might be a very good reason why you are being kept on the GLP-1 shots. We ladies want the best for you and the current plan doesn't make sense to us. If you are losing muscle as a result of not being able to keep food or liquid down, seems like that's not good for your new kidney.

Rebecca - Regarding all the questions you're getting from that group. People need to keep their eyes on their own plate. It's tempting to open up and share, thinking you'll gain support - and often you do. And others can glean ideas from your experience to help them on their own journey. But wading through all the critics is dis-heartening. Perhaps they are just trying to help, but are coming across as the "food police" as Melanie mentioned. If it's working for you and your doctor and nutritionist are walking with you, that's what counts. Maybe it would help to just go quiet in that group for a while and stand in the corner and perhaps pick up some ideas from others sharing.

Rita - again, love that Lucy. Isn't it amazing how she joined your family at just the right time? I'm tempted to say some angels were at work. She brings you great comfort and joy. Good luck with your son's situation next week. Hope things work out and ease your worry.😊

Lanette😎

SW WA State kind of catching up after being AWOL a lot last week.😁

Allie and Carol's DH sending good thoughts. Allie ask - no, tell your family you need help and what you need brought to you, and what they need to do to take care of siri. Carol - if you are choosing to stay at the hospital with DH - please ask your family to step up and stay with DH while you get a break here and there.

Food police are an interesting bunch, my guess is most of them are not having success and are a bit jealous that you are. Occasionally there is one who is truly speaking out of concern and knowledge but they will say something measurable like I don't see enough calcium in that diet….

I went to volunteer at a garden my garden club manages yesterday. It is about 1/2 an acre and we grow all sorts of things to donate to a couple of agencies that feed folks in need. We donate 3-500 lbs of food a week, depending on the time of year. There is a small orchard (30 trees) a few beds of "permanent" (berries, asparagus, artichokes) but most of the rest is annual veggies. I harvested string beans, green, purple and yellow - We had about 30 lbs, and it is the end of the season. It was the first time I had been back to a garden club event it was fun to see a few of the other members.

Rita take care of yourself. Thinking of you.

Melanie - I wonder if you could talk to your hubby and kids, and also clients to have them write/record/ or just tell you their memories of times you came to help their animals. There might be a place on a farm newsletter/ vet newsletter/ regional paper (of course all of that is online) that would pay for short stories - then you could combine the stories into a memoir.

Tooth Fairy - the tooth fairy brought me a dime. My mom was the tooth fairy for my nephew who is now 26 and she gave him a quarter. My thought with the over the top gifts or parties is as parents (or aunts) you need to do similar/even for each of the kids involved, and you are teaching money is the measurement that you are using. Not time, or creativity. The easter bunny for years would put a few candies and small toy and a book in our baskets (I still have my basket we used the same one from year to year) not much. But the easter bunny would hide our baskets and we had to search the house It was the most fun.

Well off to get laundry on the line….

Love ya,

Kim in N. california

Happy Thanksgiving!

Machka the Canadian/Australian in Oz

I did get most of the things on my list done- the last one got done this afternoon.
We don't get many changes in the leaves on the trees- but we do on the grape vines- They turn amazing colors-part of the red in the leaves is from a virus but it is pretty.

My supplemental insurance will no longer be available to me as of Dec. 31st. The first step for me is to talk to my clinic and find out what insurance they take. Next step is to call those carriers they recommend. I knew my insurance cost was too good to be true so I know my new premium will be higher with whomever I go with. The earliest I can start is October 15th. and have until Dec 7th to make the change. I guess because of the circumstances I have more time, but for budget sake the sooner I know what I change to the better. I have a friend in a similar boat who goes to the same clinic and has a financial broker who looks into these things for them, so I will talk to her too. Their medical needs are much different than mine so I know if I do decide to use the carrier recommended to them I will have a different policy. .

With my change in health for the better I have had minimal doctor visits, no meds, no vaccines, and no major dental bills. Just routine medical visits.

This year I have had only one minor cold that lasted a few days!

Got my bike! On sale too 🙂 And a helmet. Excited to try it out. Smaller tires and much lighter than my fat bike. Weather is terrible here today though. 1C and very windy. So going for a swim instead. Brunch here at 10 then will leave for the pool around 11. Haven’t been swimming in well over a year so it’ll be slow. Trying to learn how to take a breath from both sides when doing the crawl. I currently only take a breath from the left side. I also signed up for a 6 week challenge- 3 days week of lifting, a brisk walk or other cardio 30 minutes a day 7 days a week. Before and after photos is so inclined to win cash prizes- I may get brave and do that with my face blurred. The woman is in her late 50s. A veterinary technician from Ontario. Challenge starts tomorrow. I need to be more structured in my workouts and start with progressive overload. Like I said before, I have been flailing lately. I need structure (type A anyone?!).

Making these for tomorrow’s thanksgiving meal. Anyone tried them? Peanut butter haystacks made with dried chow mein noodles. My MIL used to make them. Highly addictive:

Rita- I really hope your son is able to find help. I don’t think you can truly understand addiction unless you have been through it. As for Lucy- as Lanette said and I truly believe, they are angels sent to earth for us. Cats too I think in their own way 🙂 You are lucky to have her and she you. The look on her face is saying “c’mon Mom let’s goooooooo!”.

Kim- good idea, starting with short stories. Much less intimidating.

Rebecca- green toes! How fun! Love the painting. And the grandkids pics 🩷 How could you not love them all 💕

Barbie- Feeling better! Yay! 🎉 All of my dogs are terrified of the vacuum. It’s nails on laminate scrambling to get to the door to go outside. It’s funny but not really- they are really scared.

Lisa- thank you for the advice. Little chunks like Kim suggested area good place to start. I’ll let you know if I start to post anything there. It is a little scary knowing others may read as I am like you. I tend not to hold back at times.

Stay well everyone,

Melanie, Alberta