WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR NOVEMBER 2025

My middle sister was very athletic in high school playing golf, basketball, and volleyball. She also was the major accompanist for the girls glee, the barbershop quartet, and the choir in high school. Plus she had a piano teacher that challenged her to do recitals etc. So athletic that they have a girls athletic award named after her! So its quite sad to see her holed up in her basement, in a wheelchair. 😥

Rebecca Whidbey Wa

Hi, it's me again,

I had a patient who came in with possible cat scratch disease. It causes the spleen to enlarge, blood counts to be all out of whack, and intense pain. I told the family that if he has that, then the cat has to stay outside. He is a teen and wants to discuss everything we do. I put him on oxygen because his lung sounds were diminished, and his oxygen saturation went down to 85%; the brain needs more oxygen than that. When he got pain meds, my student asked me if we should wake him to see how he is doing. I told her no, that we will use the FLACC scale. I hate to wake someone up to see if they are in pain. They will let you know if they are. I saw a video of a nurse waking a patient from a deep sleep to give her a sleeping pill.🤷‍♀️ I was wondering if anyone has ever heard of a cat scratch causing some illness.

Lisa, I love that sweater, it is stunning. I say keep it and wear it. Show off your talent.

Flea, your hair has a slight curl to it, and soon the ponytail will start. That last meal you posted looks so good.

Machka, your motivation posts are helping me keep them coming. Thank you, I needed it. So insightful. Have you been swimming lately?

Pip, I am so happy that you found your love for running again. How was the marathon?

Heather, your book sounds quite interesting. I can not wait to read it. I enjoyed your other one. Did the girls finish their bottles?

Barbara, I am so happy to hear the Tumble is doing great. Now pamper you. Do something that makes you happy, like a massage, alone time, mani-pedi, journal, or whatever floats your boat. In fact, we all should. This time of year, I tend to get the blues.

Tracey, I am glad you got to vent in Ceramics. I hope it all works out. Did Kaitllyn and Brody decide to take a break in their fertility? I saw her picture and see how she is with your MIL, and yes, she would be a great mom.

Terri, I am so happy that everything looks good for BIL. Will continue to pray for you all.

Debbie, those meals look great. I hope you get to walk around the wetlands again.

Okie, are you into crafts? Just curious since we wanted your storage room to be a craft room too.

Melanie, is that a thing at our age that our phones are always missing?

Lanette, how is that fawn doing? Does it still come around? Do you have many farm animals to care for?

Carol, are you going to have family over for Thanksgiving?

Rebecca, I purchased a box of Kodiak, made a waffle, and it was delicious! Thanks for talking about it. As for the 202 weight, it will go down. I was at 201 and excited, but then I went the wrong direction. I need to get back into step aerobics.

Yesterday, the appraiser came and went through my house with a fine-tooth comb. Rose thought he was there for her. It was a 2.5-hour process. We kept scaring each other. He would be in the pantry, and I was about to cut off the light, and then he would say I am here. I scream because I thought he was long gone. Then I would be in the garage, organizing my scrapbook stuff to pack, and then I scare him, and then he yells, and then I scream. It was quite the comedy act.

For Thanksgiving, I was going to buy a rotisserie chicken for Rose and me and all the fixings. Julia wants one more family dinner in this house. So, I will cook a turkey, make dressing, and order sides from the Corner Market. I don't want to marathon cook anymore. It is exhausting; I would rather run 10 miles than do that. (I am not a runner unless something is chasing me.) DH is flying in to be with me for a week. He can work remotely. He is traveling for work currently.

By the way, I did wash my hair before going to work last week and dyed it black cherry, and I love it. I think once-a-week washing for my hair is good enough, unless I swim. I want a bike for Christmas, and I will get myself one. It may be after Christmas, because I have to give to all my Munchies first. Munchies are my kids, my dog Rose, my Hubby, my mom, my framily, and my little patients that I love so much. Then my co-workers. Giving makes me happy, too.

Got an eye doctor's appointment tomorrow. I broke my favorite glasses at the end of my shift😫. So, hopefully, I can purchase another pair. Well, I talked enough now. Have a fantastic night, everyone.

XO,

Mo in Mississippi

Mo -

I am the least crafty person I know! I can paint my backyard garden gnomes when they need refreshed, but that’s about it!

Okie in the TX Hill Country

Hidee ho all

For whoever asked,im advocating for myself there isn't anyone else who will do it

Got my insurance worked out today,and contacted my GP I figured with no muscle tone ,I need PT ,so I will be getting that soon ,I think If I work on that I might feel a bit better.

Only thing that ticks me off is when you call customer service for the insurance, you get someone from India who you can barely understand, and never really gets you the information you need.

Luckily I got mail from them yesterday and figured out everything is still OK

Can't wait to go to N.H and see my brother

You aren't old and stupid.

1. Do you need to do these things now? Can they wait another week or two? Or even a month or two? You are still recovering.
2. Can your son help you? It would be better for someone to help you in person.

I could help you. I have gone through the same sorts of things you are trying to do when my husband had his brain injury accident and was in a coma for weeks, then couldn't remember anything for many more weeks. I got quite good at accessing accounts.

And I am going through a similar process now as I have started getting rid of accounts we don't need.

But it is best done in person.

One tip -- never delete or get rid of your phone number or your husband's phone number until you are completely finished getting everything into your name and have ensured there is at least 1 active phone number and 1 active email address associated with the account.

It is still possible to access accounts without the phone number but it is a lot harder.

Why is your scanned photo in Word? Why is it not in jpg, png or possibly pdf? What formats does Amazon accept?

Machka in Oz

A few tips regarding the "paperwork" stuff … when you're cancelling accounts or changing who is responsible for accounts etc. in situations where your partner or parent is gone or unable to deal with accounts anymore

• Do the phones and emails last or close to last. Figure out how to get into them so you can get the verification codes etc. but don't change anything with them until you are sure you've done everything with all the other accounts. In fact, I'd leave them for a full year before cancelling a phone number or email address so that you are sure you won't need them.
  
• If you're talking to a call centre located in a place like India and are having difficulty understanding the person, turn the volume up on your phone to improve your chances of hearing, but talk very slowly and quietly. One thing I've noticed over the years since mobile phones became a thing is that if Person A can't hear Person B on the other end of the phone, Person A will start talking louder and may start enunciating better. So be Person B. Talk quietly and force the person in the call centre to talk louder and enunciate better. It has worked for me.
  
• Google it. If you don't know, ask the question in Google. "How do I get into my Amazon account if I cannot receive my verification code?" "What validation questions might a bank ask me to prove who I am?"
  
• With the information you get from Google, write a plan of action.
  Step 1, I need to do this. Step 2, I need to do that.
  Create a table of possible questions they might ask and your answers.
  Create a table of possible questions you might need to ask.
  It might even help to write a script to follow when you make a call — they'll likely say this, so I'll answer with that.
  To help you create the script, you can call the help number, make note of what number you need to press for certain things … and hang up. A few minutes later, call again, and go further, press a number and see if there's another set of numbers to press. If you go far enough that you get a person, ask a very general question: "I just wondered about the steps I would need to change my address on this account." If they tell you they can do that for you right now, ask them for what information you would need to provide, then thank them, decline their offer to do it for you and hang up. Use the information to put your script together.
  When you've got all your ducks in a row, do the call for real.
  With some things you might need to Step 1 on one day and then wait for the change to filter through the system, then do Step 2 a week later.
  
  

Machka in Oz

Last evening, I was able to video chat with middle son and kids, then birthday son finally popped on. We all talked for quite some time. It does my heart so good. I felt so awful for not being able to send anything to him, like I just failed in the Mommy dept! But its not my fault he's living in kind of a Navy void mail wise! At the end Athena left me a cute message on her Gizmo watch for me. Hearing a 6 yr old say you're the bestest grandma ever is like "ouch my poor heart, its just too cute"!

Rebecca Whidbey Wa

Michele ~ Thanks for sharing your photos. The new deck looks NEW! Know you will enjoy using it.

Ginny ~ Healing prayers for you.

Terri ~ Glad your brother’s operation was successful and hope he heals quickly.

Lisa ~ I like your new cardigan, and I really like the blue outside walls of your house and the flower beds you created.

Barbara ~ Glad the massages and other means helped your sciatica. My back and leg pain finally subsided after all the walking I did in the hospital my husband was in.

Allie ~ So sorry about Doris’s eye problems causing her to move into assisted living. Glad you are finally feeling a bit better.

Barbie ~ Annie looks great among her toys. Thank you for your encouraging words.

Lanette ~ You are so lucky to have close friends who help you move through life. Your friend K is a blessing to the community.

Flea ~ Your hair looks pretty and it has grown out well.

Rebecca ~ Three sisters who all have talents in diverse ways. Know your parents must have been very proud of all of you.

MO ~ You and Allie are both giving people. You both are a blessing to those who receive.

Machka ~ I wish I had read your post about handling accounts before I messed up. You have good advice. I have printed it. Regarding Amazon, I finally downloaded a PDF Text reader program and was able to add the image of my driver's license to Word. I then sent this to the recovery link and hope I will hear from them.

Carol in GA

Carol the few things I needed to scan I did not use our scanner. It was too old and complicated to run. Instead I went to the library they had a scanning system that I could e-mail what I needed to my e-mail account. From there I downloaded it and then added it as an attachment to whom ever was asking for the info. They no longer hold any of the info that you copy or scan at the library. Doing it this way saved me much frustration and time in the long run.

You can do this! Agree ask grandchildren for help. When you are up to it prioritize the accounts that are costing you money or is a source of your income. This is partly why I never add to auto billing anymore. I figure it will be easier to close the accounts without it. Make sure you have the right documents you will need to close accounts. Most will need a death certificate. Some will return it to you. I was able to complete most of what needed to be done. The only thing I didn't get done was the credit bureaus. I sent what they asked for and then they turned around and wanted power of attorney documentation. I had already shredded this because power of attorney is set up for a living relative and is no longer legal once they pass. Social security was done by the Funeral Home…If you need to apply for Social Security Survior Benefits…That is one piece of business that is done sooner than later.

Morning, my dears,

I really do love the big weather radar maps - they show how many of us are in one picture, without showing any of us! This current system stretches all the way down to Okie in the Hill Country of Texas, over to Rita in New Mexico, to Rori in Colorado, over my head to Sherry in Tennessee, and soon will be moving toward Kylia and Ginny in Ohio. I don't know why it makes me happy, but it does.

The rain is supposed to start again in about a half hour. I skated out between the raindrops and did a quick shop at Walmart to get some baking potatoes, which are now in the crockpot (thank you, Carla!) and a few other things we needed, like Red Diamond iced tea bags to brew a gallon at a time.

Not a lot else going on. Need to get bed linens in the wash, and then and go get my yoga and rowing done while that is swooshing. After that, just relaxing and crocheting this afternoon, I think.

Thoughts out to those in pain or distress, hope it's a peaceful and joyful Tuesday for everyone.

Later,
Lisa in AR

Awe, sweet of you to say. It was hard to find my way Freshman year of HS because everyone was still singing praises regarding my middle sister who had just graduated. Shoes I couldn't fill! I remember going out for basketball, and I went up for a lay up, and it was pathetic. The coach said, "are you really Cindy's sister"? Uugh! Then like I tried to play piano but she hogged the piano all the time because she had to practice. But I found my own thing in time.

I must say Carol, you are doing well! You might not think so, but you are! We all will lose our husbands one day, and we look to the members here who have weathered the storm of it all. You are evidence that though death of a spouse is devastating, that you still stand. You are reaching out for support. Do you know how positive that is? Well I am proud of you. Keep showing up here periodically. We got you!💖

Rebecca Whidbey Wa