Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
Comments
-
I've never been a coffee drinker. Everyone told me my taste buds would change as I aged, and I'd love it. Well I've aged, LOL , and still don't like it, or tea.
I drank Pepsi after getting to work way way back, then switched to diet Coke in 1985 - quit smoking & gained 10 pounds. Usually I'd sip on one for hours, probably drink 2-3 in a work day, 2-3 at home - right up to putting my head on the pillow to sleep.
Then one day my trainer said I had to give it up. I complained I'm not a smoker, not a big drinker, and don't really gamble, this was my vise! But he won out. I gave up all fake sugar.
Soon after we took our yearly trip to Puerto Rico, and I drank 1 a day at my normal pace. Two weeks later I'm back to work, opened up a diet Coke, and it tasted awful. I was done. I switched to Polar flavored seltzer, and its been 7 or 8 years now.
I had 1 day with a minimal headache, took 2 Advil and was fine. If you're lucky you too won't suffer much withdrawal. My dad, in his later years, was a Sanka drinker! He loved his Sanka.
0 -
Sanka, except for the first pot after you open the can, is gross. Might as well drink herb tea. Really, grinding your own beans just before brewing makes a world of difference. You don't have to spend big bucks on a good burr grinder, either--a little blade grinder can be had for $10-20. You don't need an electric drip coffee maker: a teakettle and a filter cone is all it takes. Fresh beans, freshly ground, can make decaf as good or better than any regular coffee that comes from a can or even a Keurig. Buy only as much as you will use w/in 2-3 weeks. Store it in the ziplock bag in which it's sold (has a one-way valve that lets the CO2 out and keeps air from getting in), but NOT in the fridge or freezer. (Roasting your own beans is even better, but I got tired of trying to keep the smoke down and cleaning up the chaff afterwards).
Instant? Bleccccchhhh..... (except for unflavored Starbucks Via, and then only on the road).
0 -
I'm a coffee-aholic. For years we drank half and half and then decaf for dh's benefit. Caffeine causes him to have a rapid and erratic heart beat. Then several years ago he lost his taste for the decaf and stopped drinking it. He switched to a K cup of hot chocolate in the morning. I didn't pass GO or collect $200 before I began making regular coffee. Our brand is a Louisiana brand called Community. I buy the ground dark roast. I drink at least 3 mugs of coffee in the morning. Black. During cool or cold weather I might drink additional coffee during the day made with K cups. The caffeine doesn't seem to bother my sleep.
I also have a little brew machine for making cappucino and latte but I haven't used it much this year.
It looks like Mother Nature is going to be a real adversary this week with the weather. We are scheduled to have our dying oak tree taken down on Tuesday and the weather outlook isn't good. We are departing next Monday. Not sure whether the tree removal company will have a problem with our absence. A headache.
I feel like such an observer with what is happening in the country with human behavior and the coronavirus. I happen to believe in science and trust the knowledge of the medical scientists so I will wear a mask, wash my hands and try to social distance as much as possible. All my life I've experienced the power of Mother Nature with hurricanes and, to me, this virus is another manifestation of nature. During hurricanes some people party and ignore the power of Nature until it's too late for them to travel to safer territory. The same kind of defiance is happening with the virus.
I plan to go for my walk and sweat. The lovely weather of April and the first part of May is gone. It's hot and humid. But wonderfully cool inside.
Happy Memorial Day.
0 -
Good morning, Ladies. When I drink decaf it is Maxwell House Medium Roast. It is not too bad. It is hot and overcast. We have no plans for the day. We might just sit around the pool and grill hotdogs.
0 -
Both my Mother and my Dad loved Sanka. To each his own.
Anybody remember Ovaltine?
0 -
Oh yes! Enjoy hearing of the old brands.
0 -
My great grandmother had a cup of Ovaltine every morning. Mom drank coffee and Dad didn't like either tea or coffee. He used to tease Mom about her coffee until the time they were on the Turner Turnpike and the car over heated. She put her coffee in a paper bag and he carried water from the ditch to the radiator in the coffee container. Never teased her again.
0 -
Community Coffee's taste reminds me of beignets at Cafe du Monde...I miss beignets...I miss NOLA even more.
I must have been the only kid who hated Ovaltine. Before I discovered different teas, my hot drink of choice was cocoa (ashamed to admit it was instant Nestle or Swiss Miss--both of which suffered when they removed the powdered milk from the formula). Then in my senior year in college, I went on a date to Ferrara Pastry in NYC's Little Italy and discovered espresso & cappuccino. When we got married & moved to Seattle, I would grind A&P beans in my blender and brew coffee in the electric percolator we got as a wedding present. A friend visiting from NYC brought us some McNulty's beans--the next day I went out to the hardware store and bought a blade grinder and a Melitta cone with filters.
I had never heard of Starbucks till they opened up their first branch outside Pike Place--in the University Village shopping center. At first, I bought only beans, teas and chunks of chocolate. Then one day after Thanksgiving, I walked in and saw one of those giant copper espresso machines with brass trim and eagles on top, festooned with tinsel garlands. Now, mind you, Starbucks was over a decade away from selling espresso-based drinks, just brewed coffee-of-the-day from an air-pot. But they were giving away little teeny cappuccinos until New Year's. Then the machine got sold to a restaurant, and they served me a cup of Celebes Kalossi (now called Sulawesi) because I'd mentioned Bob & I liked cream in our coffee. It was so good I began drinking it black, and the rest is history.
BTW, Seattle did not have a "coffee culture" back then (early 1970s). The only espresso bar in town was Last Exit on Brooklyn, in the n. part of the U. District, which specialized in foo-foo flavored espresso drinks with whipped cream, and catered to 'beat" poets and chess players. I didn't know any better back then, but the owner used to grind a week's worth of beans and keep them in a plastic-covered bowl on the counter. Of course, now I know that you shouldn't grind your beans until you're about to brew them. I remember coming home from 3 weeks in Berkeley and being unable to find a cup of cappuccino or espresso...on a Saturday night!
I have a full "prosumer" espresso rig: semi-automatic "levetta" machine and a pro grinder I got on eBay from a cafe that was going out of business. Have had both for over 15 yrs. now. About 6 years ago I bought a little Nespresso capsule machine (many restaurants were using them by then) for travel (it fits in a tote bag), and later an Aeroccino milk frother for when I didn't want to heat up the kitchen and use so much electricity. Still have them (though I've gone through a succession of Aeroccinos, which are super-finicky about the type and freshness of milk)!
0 -
DS loved Last Exit on Brooklyn. He's hyperactive so drinking coffee late at night helps him get to sleep. His cousin is an artist and sold paintings from the Exit's walls. We've always used coffee in a Melita cone for camping.
0 -
Love coffe of all types (except Exxon, haha). And love Ovaltine. It became my signal to hubby during the Arimidex years that I had had a bad night's sleep when he would find my mug, spoon and jar of Ovaltine on the counter when he got up!
0 -
Good morning, Ladies. I do enjoy most types of coffee, but the favored ones all taste the same. If I want French Vanilla, I will use the creamer. I prefer black.
0 -
Sandy - Oh yeah, cannoli & espresso at Ferrara Pastry. I remember it well. Hope when I can travel again to NYC to visit again.
First coffee I had that I liked was in Rome, during visits to international offices. The Rome controller (dishy Englishman, with an equally dishy Italian fiancee) would collect me from the hotel and we stopped for espresso on the way to the office every day.
As a sign in my favorite local shop says, "Some things are just better rich . . . men, coffee and chocolate."
0 -
DH grinds the beans and sets the coffee up the night before. We prefer medium roast, both flavored and not. We have an elderly dog who requires a medication first thing in the morning and then must wait an hour before eating so we enjoy our first cup(mug) during that wait.
0 -
I cannot claim to be an epicurean when it comes to coffee. Folger's, made by the cup in a faux Keurig -- I cannot stand coffee that has been standing on a burner for more than twenty minutes. However, I also use it to make herbal tea. I just started ordering from Davidsons in Nevada again. They have a really nice chamomile. I spent this past winter drinking mint tea from my mint patch, and now it comes time to drink tea made from FRESH mint.
My parents drank coffee and tea, and they were vocal of their appreciation of that. We often went to grandpa's house for old fashioned teatime, with grandma being mistress of the teapot. It was a big thing partially because we lived in a county with a Mormon presence. <subtle giggle>
0 -
Just catching up over several forums. Sandy, when you were telling your history of rehab after tibia, knees, I realized again why we had moved to a CCRC, the assurance of very good rehab, assisted living, skilled nursing, memory care being available, if/ when we needed it. But, boy, has that backfired at this time with the virus. Our safety play has become, I fear, a death trap, so we had to escape to a really lovely ranch house with all of a house’s attendant problems, flooded, mud filled dryer, temperamental AC, and, though we gave a forwarding address to the Evanston post office 3 weeks before we moved on May 15, we have received no mail at all and we’re told today by Evanston Post Office that it will take a further 4-6 weeks to receive any.
On another note, I loved Bob Gibson. Heard him so many many years ago at Gate of Horn where we always were since my late DH was their attorney. I think “Blowing in the Wind,” was one I always played.
In the 80’s, I had a young, early twenties, gay client, whose greatest wish was that he could one day come home from work, yell, “Hi honey“ to his husband and be able to adopt a child. Not possible then.. He would come to my office from his job in Boys’s Town at Starbucks.He would brink me a venti latte and tell me to buy Starbucks stock. Wish I had listened. Hope he has now what he wanted then.
I hated the grittiness of Ovaltine, but loved the decoder ring
0 -
The world has a way of giving what is demanded of it. If you are frightened and look for failure and poverty, you will get them, no matter how hard you may try to succeed. Lack of faith in yourself, in what life will do for you, cuts you off from the good things of the world. Expect victory and you make victory.
Preston Bradley
Life is a magic vase filled to the brim, so made that you cannot dip from it nor draw from it; but it overflows into the hand that drops treasures into it. Drop in malice and it overflows hate; drop in charity and it overflows love.
John Ruskin0 -
Been away for a short bit but love hearing all the coffee stories. I have only drank instant coffee when there was absolutely nothing else. The nothing else makes it tolerable but just barely. We did go through a period when we ground our own beans, both regular and flavored. Back then I still used table sugar in my coffee. Now I drink it black. Had no luck finding Sanka in any of our stores. We may just stick with the Aldi's -- we will see. I sort of hate knowing I won't get the LIFT from the caffeine every day, but I'm such a go-getter in the morning that I'll likely be fine. For a while we had a glad decanter, and boiled water on the stove and put the grounds and a filter in the decanter and slowly poured the water through. I loved it. That works best though if you pretty much plan to drink all the coffee pretty much right away. We used a percolator ( Faberware ) for yrs. because perked coffee had a yum factor that seemed missing elsewise. Now we used Kitchenaid drip machine. Worn out a couple. I think we could scale back to something less pricy when this one goes.
Have been having tests and my PCP cleared me ( one test to go that needs read, but she thinks it will be fine ) pretty much for the test on the 5th. of June. I'm glad. I would like to know if there is reason to be concerned and being put under is the only way I will be able to find out. Otherwise I feel fine, knowing of course, you can feel better than ever and have un-diagnosed problems. As I have enough problems I'm looking for not adding to them. Best way to know is get the test. The only other thing I will have to do is go on the 2nd' and have a covid test done.
It is in and out that day so likely not a big deal at all.
Hope you all have a marvelous day.
0 -
Judy, I loved Bob Gibson too! I saw him play solo, with Hamilton Camp (at Chicagofest on Navy Pier), Tom Paxton and my mentor Anne Hills. (I utterly adored his duet with Paxton on the Christmas-in-prison song "Box of Candy & a Piece of Fruit," which has since become a mainstay in my holiday sets). One especially wonderful memory was on a frigid winter open mic night at the late, lamented Holstein's (formerly occupied by either Troubles, Orphans or Ratso's, I forget--they predated my 1978 arrival here, or at least the start of my music career). At first, there was no audience, and Fred (alev hasholom) was about to call it a night--then the door opened and in walked Gibson, with his entire Old Town School songwriting class in tow. He and they sat through the entire open mic lineup, applauding and cheering...and drinking (Gibson teetotaled). I had recently started playing out professionally, and did open mics both to keep up my chops, hang and jam with colleagues, promote my gigs and try out new songs on a non-paying audience. There were some pretty mediocre performers that night, but Gibson & his students were supportive and appreciative.
Bob called today from work to tell me that the colleague with whom he trades call and his wife had their cars stolen from their garage overnight. (Both later model Lexuses). He suspects that the thieves had been casing his colleague at one of the hospitals and followed him home, "cloning" the garage-door-opener remote. It was an attached garage--lucky there was no break-in to the house itself. Bob drives a 2011 Fusion Hybrid plastered with lefty bumper stickers (had been my car) and I a 2014 Subaru Outback--not exactly thief-bait except perhaps for the catalytic convertors. Our garage is detached. We're wondering if we should just unplug the garage door opener while we're home. The thieves would have to use power saws to get through the steel garage lift and side doors.
Lovely day today--warm but not hot. Sat out on my front porch, conversing with neighbors passing by and noodling on my dulcimer. (L hand nails a bit too long now to cleanly fret a guitar). Got a new shipment of T-shirts that fit me--using the XLs for working out, and as PJs when it's too hot for scrubs.
The other day I forgot to turn off the TV after the evening news, and "Wheel of Fortune" (home of some of the stupidest people ever to be game-show contestants) was on. The theme of the game in question was "events." One woman carefully went through a bevy of consonants and bought a few vowels, to arrive at "BR_D_L & _OLD SHOWERS." She confidently declared "I'll solve." She carefully enunciated: "BRIDAL & GOLD SHOWERS." You can't make this stuff up. All I could think of was hookers in a Russian hotel room....
0 -
.0 -
IllinoisLady jogged my memory of a percolator! In jr hs I'd go to my GF house to pick her up as we'd walk to the school bus. Her mom had a percolator on the stove and the whole house smelled like coffee! I still love the smell.
Key West - we've been back just over a week, and although not as bad as your mud flood sounds, we've had: a woodchuck under the detached garage; hornets nest under the back door awning - took it down, rebuilt by the next day, RAID and gone; and stink bugs in the garage too. I took out a yoga mat to use, unrolled it and saw 3 or 4 stink bugs on it. Yuk!
Our FL neighborhood had a black bear running around in it. So my woodchuck/hornets/stink bugs are mild in comparison. HA!
0 -
Reading your posts made me chuckle and brought back memories. When I was little - my mother bought A & P brand coffee (grind) and used a Melitta coffee filter before it was popular thing to use. Eventually she went to a drip maker. She loved good coffee but would buy whatever was on sale in the later years. I would buy her good coffee as a treat and she loved it but would never pay for it herself. DH loves good french roast coffee - he buys beans and grinds them daily. He bought a commercial grinder many years ago and it sits in the garage as it is too big for the kitchen. When he bought it he was also drinking expresso etc. Today he uses a good old perculator. Once in a while he'll use a french press. DS loves a milder roast than DH so he buys his own beans and uses a hand grinder and french. press. Youngest daughter loves good coffee - she also grinds her beans if she has time - I think she has a hand grinder as well, but in a hurry she drinks the Starbucks tube instant which is many mornings when she has an early class. DD#1 doesn't drink coffee, but will eat coffee ice cream etc. Me I DO NOT like coffee. I've had 2 cups in my life, both probably over 40 years ago and probably lousy coffee but I've never had another cup. I also do not like the taste of anything coffee. I remember as a little girl my auntie making my cousin and me coffee with lots of milk (maybe 1/4 coffee and the rest milk and I didn't like it then - I was 8 or 9). AS much as I don't like coffee, I enjoy the smell of fresh ground beans. And as a little girl I think Sanka was the only instant. The only "hot" beverage I like is fruit flavored herbal tea - I make it every morning and let it get to room temp before I drink it!! Its been fun reading all the coffee stories.
0 -
When I was growing up, my mother made drip coffee. She sewed a little white cotton fabric bag and attached it to a wire ring. Heated water in a kettle and stood at the stove as she poured it onto the coffee grounds. The brew was very strong. I started drinking coffee diluted with cream and sweetened with sugar when I was a child. Coffee was a breakfast beverage for the whole family.
For quite a few years dh and I used a nice percolator that his parents gave us as a present. We set it up at night and plugged it in when we got up the next morning. Next we moved to a Mr. Coffee coffee maker and I continue to use one. We also have a Keurig single cup machine and I have a little expresso machine that is noisy but works very well. We once drank a lot of hot tea during winters but I hardly drink hot tea at all now. Not sure why I stopped. DH buys K cups of Swiss Miss hot chocolate.
One of my BC.org friends lives in Thunder Bay, Ontario. DH and I have visited them and stayed at their house. They have a "serious" expresso machine and served us cappuccino in the morning. What a luxury. They consider their expresso machine a necessary kitchen appliance.
I have used a tea maker for many years since we drink a lot of iced tea. During the summer I might make a pitcher of tea every day.
It was pouring rain yesterday when the tree removal people arrived and parked their vehicles out on the street. So our dying oak tree is still with us. I hope it can/will be removed between today and Sunday so that we can depart on Monday as planned. Best laid plans.
I plan to walk and sweat in a few minutes. I'm not exaggerating the sweating. When I get back to my house after a walk, my clothes are as wet as clothes being transferred from washer to dryer. Or wetter. I could wring out my cotton tee shirt. My father perspired heavily and I must have inherited that tendency. When I played tennis, my socks and shoes would get wet from sweat running down my legs. It's not pleasant but some people who don't perspire say that that's worse.
0 -
I'm a heavy sweater, too, but my one sister never perspired until she hit menopause. She used to carry a spray bottle of water and spray herself down whenever she got too warm when she exercised.
0 -
Hi, Ladies. Very hot and muggy today. The only coffee I would want today is iced coffee. LOL I have only seen a Florida bear once. It was just after a hurricane and I think the little bear was lost and looking for dry ground. We are waiting for the second quote on a new roof. My RO cancelled the appointment until August. So, I will probably jump in the pool. Too hot to walk.
0 -
We had iced tea for every meal except breakfast in the summer. I remember going to the cafeteria for lunch with my parents. They had a tray of tea without ice, a tray of tea with ice, and a tray of sweet tea with ice. In Seattle it is not usually that warm (except for a week in August), so we don't crave it here like we did in OK and TX. Black tea in the morning makes me nauseous, but I love the fruit and herb teas. SIL brings back really good tea from Asia when he visits his Mom, but we don't drink it enough to justify the expense.
Our coffee is a Mr. Coffee because it's the only automatic coffee maker that will fit under our cabinets. Evidently they're not a standard height.
0 -
The book of life is filled with incoherent riddles.
Life's true lessons are inscribed in a corner of the margin.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie0 -
Had no idea that there are bears in FL! Gators, yeah (my mom's retirement complex had them in the flood-control canals and the golf course water hazards--giving new meaning to the term "water hazard"). I used to practice law in Bellevue, a suburb of Seattle across Lake Washington--there was an area nearby called Cougar Mt., and it was quite aptly named. Here in my Chicago neighborhood, we have a colony of coyotes living behind the neighborhood firehouse--so we don't have as many alley-rats as elsewhere on the N. Side. (We're seeing fewer rabbits, too). When we encroach ever further into animal habitats, things are guaranteed to get ugly.
Found out today that a friend, who is an ace Federal prosecutor and extremely talented ("triple-threat") Bar Show castmate, underwent a bilateral mastectomy yesterday and came home this afternoon. (I think she's only in her 50s). Details on the type & stage of breast cancer were not forthcoming, but apparently she felt a BMX was the right choice for her. She has always been the person who filled us in on others' various health and bereavement issues--caring, compassionate, supportive. Now it's our turn to pay it forward. Hope her recovery is swift & uneventful and her treatments bearable & successful. (I did mention BCO, so we'll see whether she pops up here when she's feeling well enough to go back online).
0 -
Our true home is in the present moment. To live in the present moment is a miracle. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now. Peace is all around us—in the world and in nature—and within us—in our bodies and spirits. Once we learn to touch this peace, we will be healed and transformed. It is not a matter of faith; it is a matter of practice. -Thich Nhat Hanh
0 -
Good morning, Ladies. Hot and muggy, again. We are getting another roof estimate, today. Tomorrow I am taking my best friend to lunch for her birthday. She turns 71. It seems like yesterday she turned 55 and she got a senior discount card at one of our favorite department stores. I was jealous. LOL
0 -
Nice here today. It rained a lot last night but has been okay so far. Has clouded up a few times but otherwise about 78 and not humid to me -- though I am used to mild humidity and don't notice it much. We have windows open and a couple of fans running and it is nearly perfect inside.
I didn't hear back from my pcp so I think my potassium is stabilizing all right. She said if I needed to change anything she would call and she hasn't -- so -- I think I'm on to have the tests on the 5th. I think I won't need to go to Sandoval either that day so I'll get some good rest for a change and do next to nothing. I'm enjoying watching the baby kitties at both places I go. In Sandoval there are three kittens ( 2 orange and white and one black one with little yellow end tips here and there ) so the black one is Sassy because it comes out and looks at you and plays a bit while the others stay timid. The orange and white with the darker hair on the back I named Ginger, and the other that has lighter orange and white is Blondie. I'm doubt whomever gets them will keep those names but it is fun for me to keep track of someone with a name.
At the house here in town my friend's outdoor cat seems to have just one kitten. I'm thinking maybe the others didn't make it -- especially if they were males. The little one is light gray and white -- a real charmer. It has been a long time since we had actual kittens here and I had forgotten how playfully cute they are. We won't have any more kittens here either. We have attempted to quit taking in felines but have made a couple of exceptions in special cases. Mainly they were older cats because we want to outlive these friends so they won't be re-home at an advanced age or god forbid, homeless. So no more kitties for us.
I hope you are all having a marvelous day. Most of mine are back to being pretty good. I think the potassium is doing its job and my outlook is far sunnier than it was for a few days.
0
