WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR OCTOBER 2025

Hey, kids,

Jumped WAY in the WABAC machine to bring you pics of the two spare bedrooms when we literally walked through the house, just before we bought it in July 2018, and today, plus a few extras below of their current decor/state.

I only took one snap of each room as we were doing the walkthrough, and that was from the door - and part of me now looks at the originals and wonders "What were we thinking?!" The floor in this room, we had to completely rip out and replace, it was so rotten. This is the spare bedroom at the northwest corner of the house. We have been using it for storage for five years, after replacing the floor completely. 🙂 All pictures were just taken with natural light. I love the light in this house, and even more so now that the walls aren't blue and/or yellow.

This next room is the one we finished yesterday, and is at the southeast corner of the house. There were four of the metal rolling racks you can see in the corner, and by using both closets well, and all the underbed storage, I was able to empty two of them completely. There is one in the closet of the now-exercise room, where we put all extra paper goods, garbage bags, paper towels, toilet tissue, etc., plus the one you can see that holds all kinds of miscellaneous things we didn't feel like we could donate or trash. The old parquet floor is real wood, and very solid, so it worked well for a home gym, just had to be cleaned. A lot. Like a lotalot.

A few extra views of the two rooms now:

I have an arched bookshelf that will go in that small alcove you can see between the gallery wall and the window. The alcove was created when we pushed the half bath wall out far enough to actually sit on the toilet without putting your knees through the tile wall. Below right is the bathroom, once Corey completed building and finishing the wall in March - there wasn't enough room for us both to work in there, so I couldn't help much!

And this, finally, is the hallway that leads to both bedrooms and the bathroom. I cannot find an original picture of it - but it was the same parquet floor as in the exercise room. We covered it with vinyl plank, which does no damage to the floor, it just floats over it.

Of course these rooms had been cleaned within an inch of their lives after we moved in, and as I said, the northwest bedroom floor had been replaced, so we could use it for storage.

But building the new wall on the bathroom and all the rest of the painting, etc., has been done between March and today.

I am pleased to say that the back third of the house is now completely renovated, usable, and ready for guests.

Seven years later.

The only true renovation that still needs doing is the kitchen, and I just really do not want to think about that for six months to a year. It works fine, it just needs new countertops and floor.

Maybe in 2027.

Maybe.

Sorry for the flood of pics - just wanted to see for myself what all the hard work has been for. Really proud of us and what we've accomplished. Also glad to take a break from it for awhile.

Later, my dears,
Love, Lisa

love the pics! Great job!

We are going to be doing some upgrades too. Going to recarpet the stairs and upstairs bedrooms. Going to paint one wall I the master bedroom. We were going back and forth with doing the stairs with hardwood and bedrooms in carpet. It’s about a 2 thousand dollar difference so if we did all carpet then we could get the higher quality carpet instead of the medium range. pics will come later

13191319

sad news from our neck of the woods.. a Paulding County Elementary School student (autistic, runner) slipped away from the class while on a field trip to a local pumpkin patch/farm. They found her in a nearby pool unresponsive. She was in my daughter’s kindergarten class last year. My daughter is, of course, heartbroken. It happened Thursday, I think. They did not release the name until today. Sarah had two autistic girls who were transferred from her school to that one. She was so afraid it was one of hers, and unfortunately, that proved to be the case. I feel for everyone involved - the parents and her family, the teacher, the kids in the class who had to witness this, the farm owners, everyone. It’s just awful.

I’m just sad today. So much tragedy, hurt, pain, sickness. So many of you need hugs.

On a more positive note, i worked out all 5 weekdays last week and plan to do so again this week. It does help with the stress.

Dear ones, I’ve been reading along but not saving for comments, sorry. Tumble is doing fine, eating, drinking, peeing, pooping, jumping, barking, chasing Mooch, she is back IN CHARGE.

Arthritic knee pain complicated by sciatica/piriformis syndrome whatever continues to limit my activity. No chair yoga, no dog group, few short strolls, barely an hour of line dancing. Result? Low spirits and continued discomfort. D persuaded me yesterday that this has gone on too long, so will ask MD to refer for PT when discussing results of breast ultrasound next week.

Carol you and your DH have been on my heart and in my prayers.

Allie thankful you’re in hospital. Pray your doctors are communicating with each other and coordinating your care. What Kylia, Kim and others said about your family taking care of things for you for a change. ;}

Rita you’ve been on my heart too. Prayers and hugs.

Barbie would you consider teaching line dancing at the community center where you go for balance and fall prevention class? You lost me at “… I like to vacuum…” ;}

Carla your cards are gorgeous, but please, no, I have enough stuff!!! ;)

Pip ((hugs)).

Tracey Bravissima for getting your MIL out of that situation. You’ll have to face many battles to get her free permanently. Trust Rodger will step up and support you, know your daughters will. ((hugs))

Rebecca there is a big difference between the way we share food/health information/caring comments here … and the nasty tone of those food police. Spare yourself, stop sharing with those unworthies, Beautiful snow bird, your sister has the gift.

Melanie I’d read your book for sure! Congrats on the 32 years last month. Hooray for the helmet! ;}

Flea brava for doing what’s best for your body, despite salty DH’s teasing. He’s just lucky you’re cooking your family’s meals according to their preference. If it were me, when he got sarcastic I’d tell him “Keep it up buster and you’ll be eating this way too… “ ;} When Joe suggested we get livestock for meat, I told him, “Nope! I was a veg for 7 years and can live on peanut butter and tofu just fine.” Nowadays he eats more vegetables than I do ;)

Lanette wish that transporter was working. We’d all show up at Allie’s bedside to advocate for her.

Kim so happy to hear you’re back in the garden.

Debbie great reunion pics. BTW you look SOO much younger than your cousin ;)

Heather would restringing that favorite glass necklace be a good project for the grands?

Ditto about the Metis, I’m so abysmally ignorant of Canada’s first nations.

Margaret sorry to hear about your part B supplemental. You’re right. Sooner is better. Thank you for the “never stop believing…” meme.

Lisa, beautiful, very well done! “… knees through the wall…” LOL! I had a bathroom once where I could only sit on the toilet by stepping into the shower… ;}

Mo hope you’re feeling better. Many mixed emotions about your impending move. Will you be able to move your mom to somewhere nearby?

Autumn color, like at Debbie’s we don’t get much. A few big leaf maples turn bright yellow but mostly evergreen is the word. The only brilliant scarlets and reds are in the poison oak [shudder]. Long ago, I heard of a woman who picked some because the leaves were so pretty. Her neighbor saw them in a vase on the mantle and threw them into the fireplace ! Big mistake the smoke carried the toxin and they both ended up in hospital. Ugh.

Hundred dollar tooth fairy? That’s not inflation, that’s ridiculous. Setting such extreme expectations is damaging to kids. Yep I got a dime. I could see a buck, or maybe even a fiver today but not a hundred.

There were other comments I intended, but poof!

Later, lighter, lovelies!
Barbara, the Southern Oregon Coastie AHMOD

October focus tidier: Dailyish: listen to part of a Clutterbug podcast while looking around for one tiny thing that can be done in 5 mins or less.
2025: Chose NOW: to move more than yesterday (see action plan), fuel better than yesterday (hold that after dinner sweet down to two pieces of dark chocolate max), open heart and mind before mouth

Thanks for your words of encouragement ladies! Yes, only I know my story, and strangers giving me advice is just a fast track to woesville! I learned a valuable lesson regarding all that!

Today was a nice bowl of ramen with bok choy, a white mushroom, some mung bean sprouts, rotisserie chicken shredded, homemade chicken stock, crunchy garlic oil, and a bit of half & half. It was glorious! I had some iced protein coffee, and some yogurt. Not a high calorie day but a nice day.

Love this! Used about 1/2 tsp. A small amount goes a long way.

Wearing one of my new fall themed shirts. 💖🎃

Rebecca Whidbey Wa

Just close your eyes and pretend you're a walk on, on the series MASH, (and you've time traveled back to when it was on).🙃😁💖. Rest up sweet friend!🙏💖

Rebecca Whidbey Wa

Morning, my dears,

Still dark here, with sunrise more than an hour away as we move toward winter. Slept well, after all the hard work the last few days, and pleased to get back to my ordinary Monday morning chores that I've been fitting in and around the rest of the things. Last reno bits:

And… that's about it for plans for the week. I have a follow up next week with the orthopod for my shoulder (and PT did wonders for that rotator cuff thing), and then nothing medical until the end of November!

Allie, Rita, Kay, everyone who's hurting, whether physically, mentally or emotionally, thinking about you.

Machka - you sound like you're feeling better. That must have been one heck of a sickness if it kept you down that long.

Rebecca - You looked lovely before you lost the weight, but you look lovely AND happy about the weight loss in that picture. I'm glad you're doing well with this, and most of all, making the shots work for your life instead of the other way around. You know your body better than anyone.

Heather - You're very welcome to come stay - and yep, the light in that bathroom is brutal. But that is largely Corey's space; I almost always use the main bathroom, other than in a pinch, and the light in it is bright, but not as harsh!

I want to make a quilt that I would like (would be the first one I made for my own taste!) for that back bedroom and curtains that match. The ones that are up are the ones I had from when we first moved in, and will do for now. And I woke up thinking about moving furniture around in the living room! My brain never stops, even when my body says it's done for now… 🤷🏻‍♀️😂👀

Laters!
Lisa in AR

DrKatie, I am so very sorry for your daughter and everyone. We've had that happen here too. Such a sad turn.

Lisa, your remodel is amazing! I'm so jealous. Wanna come work on my house? So old. hehehe...

Completely understand Barbara! That's why I don't sign my cards. So you can pass the LOVE onto others. It's something I learned from my upline. I even include a little poem that explains. All you need to do is grab another envelope and pass it forward.

SO PROUD OF YOU Rebecca!!!

That's right!
Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

Love and Blessings
Carla, in MN

V short night. Awake from 2.40. I'm looking forward to a nap once the cleaner has finished cleaning in there.

I've packed my evening wear and shoes. Not a lot of room left in that suitcase for John's bits. Oops! I've overdone it on the shoes, I know! Almost everything else is on my bed, ready to go into another suitcase. I will bring it down when the cleaner has finished.

I had a bath this morning and did my nails.

Tomorrow we have said that we are going to pick Bea up, but not stay late. I think it will be takeaway pizza for dinner.

Love Heather UK xxxxxxxx

Kay - so sorry to hear of that child's drowning. Tragedy like that impacts the whole community. Praying for comfort for all impacted by this loss.

Lisa - so glad you posted those "before" and "after" pictures. You and Corey have sure made your house into a wonderful living space. Great job you two - not only for the final result, but the fact that you worked together as a team and got so much accomplished without coming to blows, lol. Maturity helps, right?

Beth - did you ever get a resolution on the mattress situation?

Barbie - "you can do it all, but you can't do it all at once" is a perfect recipe for sanity. I'll be glad to have a couple days of sunshine. My huge Sunset maple is starting to shed leaves. I'll get a photo posted. I share your feelings about getting a cat, but I sure miss not having a lap-cat. Rosie is not a lap dog and she thinks her job is to make me throw toys and look out the window to warn me that some robber disguised as the mailman or the UPS delivery is coming to probably cause mayhem.

Rebecca - cute sweatshirt and you are looking great. 😉Love love love your hair, so becoming.

Kylia - you have superhuman energy, woman. Are you done mowing that big front yard?

Carla - your travel plans after you retire sound like a lot of fun.

Mo - have you told your current employer about your new job? I'm sure they'll be very sorry to see you leave.

Barbara - I can't remember - have you had a recent X-Ray of your lower back? The reason I ask is that before Dr. Lisa ordered one for me this summer, nothing seemed to reduce the pain. Depressing. I couldn't do S2S, the PT didn't seem to help as much as I hoped it would. Once we got the diagnosis of the facet joint arthritis and a month on the Cele coxib, it's been more manageable. (And recent labs show kidneys just fine, in fact, a tiny bit improved.) Somehow just knowing has helped. Glad to hear Tumble is getting back to her former self and keeping Mooch in line. 😁

Rosemarie - are you back from your cruise?

Melanie and Tracey and Evie - Happy Thanksgiving! Seeing Melanie's haystacks had me looking at recipes yesterday, lol. My mom had a great chicken casserole recipe using crunchy chow mien noodles. Diced chicken, cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup, and a big container of those noodles. I'm sure carbs were through the roof = extra yummy.

It's near 35F outside (close to 0C) and my deck is a sheet of ice. 🤨 Glad I stapled down those little cheap mats I got at Dollar Tree a few years ago, they give great traction unless there's freezing rain and everything has a coat of ice. I tacked down a few more last week to widen my track.

Make it a fantastic week.😍

Lanette 😎

SW WA State

Tried to nap and couldn't. 😶 I did get John's presents wrapped while he was out getting his hair cut, and painted him a v quick card. I will give him the card and his favourite chocolates on the ship, on the actual day, and the other two small presents tomorrow. Then I decided to toddle round the corner to get some asparagus for tonight, more to stretch my legs than anything. The cleaner is just finishing up, and John is packing. I'm still in panic mode. I have no idea why I do this to myself. 😳

Oh well. Sigh.

Love to all the people with far bigger problems than mine. 💗

Heather UK xxxxxxxx