Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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Beautiful pictures!
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Lovely photos of what looks to be relaxing places.
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If everyone were clothed with integrity, if every heart were just, frank, and kindly, the other virtues would be well-nigh useless, since their chief purpose is to make us bear with patience the injustice of our fellows.
Moliere
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Nothing better I think than being on the water, with family and having memorable fun times. Sometimes when we least expect it, everything we do turns out to be a highly welcomed experience.
I think some more rain today, but so far our day rains have been fairly gentle ones. No heavy cloudbursts. Nothing special planned today, but whatever I do will be an inside activity. Some more laundry and some steam mopping maybe. Also have to start bill paying for the month.
Hope you all have a good day and no storms.
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Beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing!
It’s another hazy, hot day here. We have tickets to hear CCR tribute band music tonight outside. Hopefully the rain will hold off. Enjoy your day.
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Great pictures from you vacationing folks! I'm jealous. We haven't been anywhere in almost 3 years.
Covid is back here. I think I know moe people who are currently sick (even though vaccinated and boosted) than I have at any time/
Hot here but I'm still playing 9 holes four days a week.
Happy Weekend Everyone.
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Befriending the life in others is sometimes a complex matter. There are times when we offer our strength and protection, but these are usually only temporary measures. The greatest blessing we offer others may be the belief we have in their struggle for freedom, the courage to support and accompany them as they determine for themselves the strength that will become their refuge and the foundation for their lives. I think it is especially important to believe in someone at a time when they cannot yet believe in themselves. Then your belief will become their lifeline.
Rachel Naomi Remen0 -
Oh my. We are going to have rain. Had it last night -- a couple of real downpours, then more this morning. I slept like a baby. I think all those weather ions roaming around in the air. So a late start for my day. After 8 a.m. when I finally got up. It won't be so hot, but since you can't do much outside it won't matter much. Still having a/c come on plenty inside.
Have to feed our feral cats and make our Walmart run for the day. I don't need a lot thank goodness. I had hoped to defrost my freezer that fits in my pantry but due to possible rain I may not bother today. I traded my larger frostless freezer to my cousin because it wouldn't fit in my pantry. Hers is just right for my pantry but needs the defrosting -- sigh !!! Just how it works sometimes.
Hope you all have a really good Sat. and great week-end.
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It's rained most of the day. But we'll have good weather starting tomorrow. Mostly laundry, grocery store and cleaning. Enjoyed the outdoor music last evening. It was a tribute band that played Creedence Clearwater Revival music. They played without a break so they could beat the rain. We have tickets for later this summer to hear a local musician.
Having lunch with friends tomorrow to celebrate one of my friends completion of her chemo and radiation treatment. Will be nice to celebrate with her.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
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Lovely cool day here by the lake--dry, in the 70s. Glad to have to water the plants again. Bummer is that our 2d fl bathtub, the only one with a working shower (heck, the only one with any water flow), has a seized-up fill switch/overflow drain. The screws holding the escutcheon in place have rusted through--plumber says the drain/overflow unit is at least 40, if not 50 years old and irreparable. Only way to replace it is to go into the wall via the guest room (which we had to do 10 yrs ago to replace the shower pipes), which will cost $1300. It wouldn't be worth it because we don't take tub baths (can't get down into or up out of the tub, just climb over it to shower), but Bob likes to let the tub partially fill so he can soak his feet to cut his toenails afterward. (I can't get him to go to a podiatrist, much less get pedicures, and his toenails are pretty gross as befits his age). Temporary fix is to get one of those large suction mat drain covers, which are coming tomorrow from Amazon. I showed him the plastic dishpan I keep in the downstairs tub for soaking my own toes after minor toenail surgeries, but he doesn't want to have to bring it upstairs. Is it a "guy thing" to complain about stuff like that but refuse to make an effort to remedy it?
One more day of being cat-servant/cat-mattress before HK returns Monday. I'm lucky if I can get an hour at a time sitting by my laptop before Happy (15) insists on jumping on to me in my lounge chair, ramming his body against my chest and his face against mine, and getting hair all over everything (even my eyes and mouth) while he gets between me and the screen--sitting on the trackpad. They're on an every 4 hr schedule for wet food until my bedtime (I keep sensitive-stomach kibble out for them to free-feed), but Heidi (17) eats when she feels it's time--and I have to drop whatever I'm doing or else she will go back upstairs to sleep and miss her meal. Both of their peripheral vision is going--I have to stand over them to turn their dishes so they eat their food and not "nose" it off the rim and on to the floor (and protect Heidi's food from Happy while she goes down to the basement for a litterbox break). And I never know from meal to meal which canned food they will eat and which they'll reject. I'm also full of scratches from being kneaded on and used as a launching pad. As they get older they get more demanding and more clingy. I don't recall this happening when they were younger. I don't know how people with loads of kitties (like my friends up in MI who have SEVEN) manage to have a life.
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100F yesterday (record high) and 100F forecast for today. WAY too HOT for my blood.
Have a great Sunday
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I understand your trials as a cat-parent, Sandi. Tippy has worn a bark-collar for several years. I do not trust him off-leash, although he generally won't cross the street when off-leash. He needs the exercise of running, but I can't run with him. Even when I am walking him, if I am not watching the environment, he will take off lightning, barking at big dogs. That could get him attacked. With my impaired mobility, that could be dangerous. Seems like I almost fall daily. I understand that this has reached the point (injury for both of us) that I need to get a remote-control collar that addresses more problems than just barking. Explaining the problem has raised the issue to a "must deal with it" level.
We have a parish mass and picnic in the park today. I think I will leave him at home. Afterwards, laundry and working in the garden. With that, he will be my companion.
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The soul—your soul—knows all there is to know all the time.
There's nothing hidden to it, nothing unknown. Yet knowing is
not enough. The soul seeks to experience. You can know
yourself to be generous, but unless you do something which
displays generosity, you have nothing but a concept. You can
know yourself to be kind, but unless you do someone a kindness,
you have nothing but an idea about yourself. It is your soul's only
desire to turn its grandest concept about itself into its greatest experience.
Neale Donald Walsch0 -
Nothing special planned today so will just do what moves up in front of me although I do plan to at least sweep. Maybe I can work up to the steam mop. That would be nice. We did have rain off and on for a couple days so there will be some humidity, but the ealry morn temps in the low 60's makes it impossible to feel. The early mornings are pretty cool outside.
I have lots of cats and two dogs. I think for the most part after awhile when you have a lot, they all seem to know it, so their demands are easier to deal with. Except for being a rescuer, I don't really reccommend it though. I never feel like I have enough time with them. I justify my feelings by knowing that I make up for some of it by having given them a safe place to exist -- but often think it would be so nice to just spend all the time I'd like with each of them.
I do sort of hate when they knead. It is a loving response which makes it nice, but still it is sometimes a pain for sure to deal with. We have one cat here though who is feral ( from the first ) and she wants nothing to do with us. She is otherwise happy and generally content and I wouldn't dream of her not being here.
I hope you all have a great day.
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It’s warmer here today and no rain. DH and I took a walk this morning. His back is bothering him and he’s been icing since we returned. I’m off to have lunch with friends shortly. It’s an hour drive for me. It’s with ladies that I use to work with who have also retired. We get together for lunch monthly. Been doing this for 6+ years. We sometimes go out for lunch, but usually have lunch at our homes.
Enjoy your Sunday
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101 F today and 100 F yesterday (broke a record). Thankfully tomorrow will only be in the 80s
I've never owned a cat but many dogs - I had dogs starting at age 9 till almost 3 years ago - DH is thinking maybe in the fall, he wants to get a dog again - I'm on the fence!
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When I speak about attention, I mean literally, "How much attention
can we pay to ourselves?" As children, sometimes we cannot hold
our attention for more than a couple of seconds. Over the years we
are able to attend to more and more. Yet, we're seldom schooled
to hold life in respect, to enlarge our ability to love, take care of,
and be respectfully connected with all things around us.
Brooke Medicine Eagle0 -
The past 2 days have been warm but with low humidity so working in garden was ideal. Spread 10 bags of mulch each day on the largest flower bed and still need about 4 more to complete it. DH had to make Home Depot run for more so I will complete it this week weather permitting. It is supposed to rain tomorrow but so far the weather men are not as accurate in predictions. Predicted thunderstorms have been mere sprinkles so we have had to water mulched areas, new plantings and new grass. The hibiscus my DD bought me bloomed and the flowers are the size of salad plates and lovely. It is called Starry, Starry Night and is white with pink stripes.
Mary, I can understand your concern about Tippy engaging with larger dogs. We had a Scottish terrier who used to confront the very large German shepherd that lived a few doors down from us. His personality told him that he was of "equal size" and the one time they did engage, Mac got the shepherd by the neck so the dog could not bite him but he also refused to let go. My poor Dad had to squirt them with a hose to get them apart. Neither ended up being hurt and the German shepherd did avoid Mac in the future, but not something I would want to witness nor test again. Does he know the command "off"? Not sure if that would even work in the heat of a moment though.
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We always had both cats and dogs when the kids were growing up. Ken and I had cats first. Our first dog arrived at the door of our first house in 1973, full of mange and very thin. He was housebroken however so he stayed. Have had dogs pretty consistently since then. Two lab mixes, each living to a ripe old age and recently smaller dogs. It will be a very sad day for me when I can't care for one but I'm pretty certain that then I will look for a middle-age bonded pair of cats.
My daughter, the real cat lady even as a child, has had up to 10 when she was fostering kittens. I think it was a great experience but her two older cats are no longer well so she isn't taking any more right now.
VERY HOT here and we are desperate for rain. Thank goodness they are getting some farther north as the fires are bad.
I seem to know more people who currently have Covid (even boosted) than I have any one time during the pandemic. Just cancelled a birthday lunch with a friend.
Stay safe everyone.
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Having SERIOUS buyer's remorse over our new car (supposed to pick it up tomorrow, we've already paid--the dealership cashed the check). Bad enough I had to order an aftermarket spare tire (which is back-ordered) because it has only a "tire mobility kit:" plug-in compressor and a single-use bottle of tire sealant (which is useless for the tire damage caused by Chicago potholes). Otherwise, every time we get a flat we'd have to be towed. Apparently, spare tires weigh too much and so lower fuel economy.
Found out the trim line doesn't have a GPS navigation system--we'd have to use Apple CarPlay to see any maps. (Apparently, millennials don't want built-in navigation because they do everything in life via their phones and don't want to have to update GPS maps). Bob's never used his nav system but says "I'm okay as long as I have a compass." Well, where do you think the compass is on his Fusion--it's on the frickin' MAP! The only compass in this new car is on the rear view mirror...he'd have to look up to see it, and the typeface will be too small for his aging eyes.
He has never learned to use the nav system on the Fusion (much less on my Outback)--and I think he will have a nervous breakdown if he has to learn to set up Apple CarPlay. (And it doesn't support "Hey Siri," either, which has always been his go-to when he drives a rental). He thought he could pull up people's names in his call history, but got a rude awakening because "Recents" shows only the phone number--the only way to find a name is in Contacts...and he didn't know you have to "Create Contact."
Every time we'd want to use a different media device (like that USB CD player), or listen to music via Bluetooth instead, we'd have to disconnect CarPlay. And every time we start the car, we'd have to set it up all over again. (He has never paired his own phone to either of our cars' Bluetooth--either the dealer or I have to do it for him).
I know all of this only because I bothered to go on YouTube for instructional videos & reviews, and downloaded a user's manual. I suggested he do that and his eyes glazed over. He uses his computer only for reading EKGs/echoes, filling patients' prescriptions, and reading the NYTimes. I even had to go so far as to set up a patient portal for him. (And of course, who did all the research as to which cars to consider)?
He has used an iPhone since 2014, but except for texting, for him it might as well be an old-fashioned Jitterbug Flip.
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Hello everyone, I joined in late June and never came back, forgot to save this thread as a favorite. Originally I had asked about Anastrozole (which I stopped taking) after having 911 called on me for an emotional argument in my husband's doctor's office over a 2 year old bill. Gee whiz, the sheriff could have Baker Acted me, but he was much cooler than the lying young male receptionist who stated to 911 "I am afraid for my life" when he called 911 on me. What drama, but really, I'm sure it was the culmination of my AI side effects. And I was VERY vocal in the doctor's office (we were the only people there: my husband, me and the receptionist). I was acting out instead of being a quiet little old lady like I usually am. (5'2" 65 years old, 153 pounds) Ugh. That emotional uproar in my life, plus constant bone pain and horrible insomnia are ALL gone now after being off the AI for the last 4 weeks. I worry about recurrence if I don't take any AI, but honestly, my quality of life is sooooooo much better now that I am healed from the chemo, rads, covid, and AI. I feel almost as good as I was pre-cancer. Lovely.
One person some pages ago here mentioned pain causing inability to walk, oh my. I suffered through that a few years ago, my right hip would go "out" and only time, being in a certain position, and being helped to limp around would help. It's been gone now after 2 years of chiropractic and physical therapy. Thank God. I hope you are able to improve. I am a big believer in chiropractic.
Thank you all for your posts. It's nice to see a lively thread on this forum. I hope your weather is good and your day is beautiful.
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Oldladyblue - wow!!! no nice words for the receptionist. I endured side effect after side effect for 3.5 years before I said enough is enough. That was in March 2010. I am living life NED 12+ years later. I was stage 3A at diagnosis. Hopefully I'll live many more years healthy, but quality of life is so much better. You need to listen to your heart and do what is best for you. Wishing you all the best and welcome
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Betrayal, he goes deaf in the heat of the moment. Actually, he refuses treats, and pretends to be deaf to many commands. He loves me, and our ritual of "go to stay place", treats in front of TV, and doesn't eat them until I return is an assurance that I WILL return controls his separation anxiety. So there is no question that he is bonded to me. It is all a matter of who is alpha dog in the house. I can use the command "leave it" as we are walking past a doggy home, but only if I start doing those interventions BEFORE he shows any sign of reactivity. Which demands my constant attention-- even if my knee is causing problems. His new necklace arrives today.
Welcome back, lady blue.
Ooh! Sandy. I am surprised that Bob can do the computer stuff necessary for his job. Wonder what he would do if the demands for technological sophistication were to suddenly escalate.
So we will have training time today, I will have my yearly appt with PCP, need to type up all my questions, will drop off pillowcases with beautician, my bike mechanic will probably stop by, and might do some weeding of my neighbor's garden.
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Welcome back, ladyblue. Luckily yesterday's weather was pleasant without a/c because my power was off most of the day. There was work being done on a site in the campground that required turning off the electricity. It was definitely annoying since I could have taken a shower and shampooed my hair but would not have been able to dry and style it.
The power was on in the little laundry so I got two loads of clothes done.
Today is our 53rd anniversary. Where did all those years go? We plan to have dinner in town tonight at the Good Life Cafe. An appropriate name!
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I do not ask to walk smooth paths Nor bear an easy load, I pray for strength and fortitude To climb the rock strewn road. Give me such courage I can scale The hardest peaks alone, And transform every stumbling block Into a stepping stone.
Gail Brook Burket
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Let me add my welcome old lady blue. Glad you came back. The AL's do have ( as most meds ) side effects and some are quite difficult to take. I expperienced great and almost instaneous anger at just about almost anything. It took a while for me to figure it out though. At the time I only had three or four months left to take it -- but I tossed it. I still can get mad about things, but it is a more normal mad and not a " medicated " one. The AL's are a bit of extra insurance for us but some women have found that the percentage of insurance didn't match having to deal with the se's. So it is a matter of what your interior feelings/heart tells you.
I do my computer and have managed to teach myself a fair amt. but I feel almost hopeless when I get past what I've learned which isn't all that much, and is right next to nothing on any other electronic device. Not sure why I find most of them a ball of confusion, but they just are. I started late and never understood from the first -- so it carried over. Mainly as my exposure was generally around computers. I didn't get a cell phone till many yrs later. I was pretty much forced to when I got my real estate license. I only did real estate for two yrs. and so my phone at that point becaame an emergency phone. I had not really learned in the two yrs. to use it well and I still don't know how to operate it. It lays on the end-table most of the time and Dh takes the spam off everyday. I have no other devices except in my car and that is on a basic level for me as well -- just enough to get by and no more.
Happy Anniversary Carole. Dh and I will be on #47 in a little over a week from now. I hope you have many, many more happy and successsful yrs. together. The cafe does have a great name and it is wonderful that you see it as appropriate to celebrate an occasion that has brought you lots of love and satisfactions through the yr.
Hope you all have a really good day.
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Welcome back oldladyblue.
Happy Anniversary Carol!
I feel like my body resets itself overnight and as the day wears on the aches, pains and neuropathy get a little worse. But right now I have a purring cat on my lap, so I guess all is right with the world.
I’m between doctor appointments. My first one took all of 15 minutes and the doctor was on time. A follow up on my shoulder. I’m all done with PT. Just need to do the exercises at home. Next appointment is in 2 hours. The cat will be happy.
Enjoy your day
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Welcome, oldladyblue. The only improvement I've noticed from stopping my AI (after 6-1/3 years) has been my hair has been regrowing like crazy--those new little "baby hairs" are like flyaways, but overall my hair is fuller--especially right after shampooing & blow-drying. I have, and like, shoulder-length hair--never having had to deal with chemo, I can't picture myself with short hair (disturbing enough to see myself in photos from past Bar Show performances when I was in a short wig "in character" as Angela Merkel).
Rehearsal with my singing partner went well (first one in years; the last couple of times we had to tape concerts for online he'd said "we can do this in our sleep"--and frankly, it showed). Playing songs I hadn't touched since 2019--surprised how much came back to me and how quickly. Had to change a lyric or two to reflect current climate conditions, and must likely drop a couple of our originals that have become sociopolitically untenable.
But got jarring news from my ortho followup yesterday. She did some palpations (there are now trigger points in both knees) and she says at this point lidocaine/cortisone shots are the next logical step in order to help with PT--but she can't tell from X-rays alone where to place the needle. So I have to have an MRI on my spine & hip. She says the neuro would likely order an EMG in Sept., but first things first--an MRI would reveal much more than my X-rays did, since it could reveal which soft tissue structures are inflamed as evidence of which nerves are likely impinged and maybe even if a decade-old knee implant may be failing. So I have to make an MRI appt. on top of everything else I need to do. I'd try chiropractic, but they all want to sell "packages" of treatments.
I'm sorry if, in light of so many here having to deal with DHs who have cognitive impairment, I sound like a spoiled brat complaining about mine being so techno-resistant at 72. He gave up doing cardiac caths at 65 when he felt his hands weren't steady enough and his feet/back/knees couldn't take the long hours standing over a patient. He has no trouble using the computer to do charting and remotely read & interpret EKGs & heart imaging--other than the time it takes away from actually seeing & examining his patients; and, when we're on vacation, inability to penetrate the hospital firewall from a hotel's wi-fi.
But he says he intends to retire--except from his hands-on part-time union clinic job--at the end of this fiscal year. And he also says that, once retired, when my Outback breaks down to where it's irreparable, the new car will be our only one. I'm increasingly less comfortable with that unless we can find a workaround for the lack of a nav system--I might just insist on replacing my car (when it dies) with a later-model used one with the features I'm used to. Drives me nuts that in the meantime I might have to buy him a dashboard compass. (The new car doesn't even have the kind of A/C vents to which you can clip a cellphone holder like Uber drivers use). He asked me "why can't the dealer add a nav system?" I had to explain how heavily integrated various head units are into respective trim lines, and that cars haven't been easily "modular" in over a decade. We're dinosaurs, alas. The difference is that I'm scrambling to keep up with the times, while he is content to just complain about it. Tempted to tell millennial car-designers to "get off our lawn."
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Happy Anniversary Carole!
Sandy - oh, a lot going on with the knee. Good luck with all the testing. The newest car we have is 2015 so no fancy navigation systems!! We still use Waze.
Have a great week.
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Top of my head is blowing off. I volunteered to participate in a Mayo study on genetics. I am worried about a familial high cholesterol disorder, but not concerned about hereditary BC. I sent in a sample, and now they came back with a request for me to chart my family, cousin, nephew, niece and closer. Even though I have an Ancestry account, I am amazed how many of them I don't know their year of birth. Tippy wants to go outside. I am not yet ready to work with his little radio, but I can weed the neighbor's garden. That will relax me for a while.
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