Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?

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  • mcbaker
    mcbaker Member Posts: 1,833
    edited March 2023

    Glad your surgery is done, MM. You will feel much better, knowing that this chapter is most probably done.

    Carole, my gardening this summer is going to be dialed way back. It is heavily mulched with leaves. I will fill my pots from around my apartment with leaves, soil on top, and plant them with red nasturtiums. I have some single serving size muskmelon seeds to plant in the middle of the garden, and bee and butterfly mixes with my own harvested nasturtium seeds broadcast in the rest of the space. My strawberries will be a problem, but maybe I will declare pick your own for them.

    Betrayal, that snowman chair is cool!! And I agree about eye candy.

    Sandy, what a wonderful vacation, even though it is continuing education for Bob.

    I took Tippy for a nice long ride this morning, with me on the bike. Later, I went outside to go to church, and discovered a flat tire. Called a friend who generally leaves at the last minute and got a ride. Called my mechanic, and asked him to come over at noon to teach me how to repair a flat. After quick coffee and doughnuts, my friend dropped me off, and I called the mechanic. He is notoriously unreliable, but finally appeared. The lesson was interesting, and I discovered that it was really easy. I have the pinhole located, but not patched. Ordered a patch kit and a tool kit. Had a fun ride/walk with Tippy afterwards (spare innertube).

    Otherwise, I have been reading for a class at church.

    I need to go to Wal-Mart sometime this week and stock up on generic Voltaren and Astelastin paid for with my insurance OTC allowance. Those meds recently taken off of prescription status can be awfully expensive. And who knows when my knee will get bad again?


  • mavericksmom
    mavericksmom Member Posts: 1,275
    edited March 2023

    Betrayal, I never got to thank you for the great photo's! I loved them! I am sorry to read about Smudge, which by the way, is a great and unusual name!

    Cardplayer, congrats on the upcoming birth of your grand nephew! Babies always bring hope into the world!

    Petite, I can relate to compression garments. They are definitely not fun to wear, especially in the heat!

    Jackie, so glad the sun was out for you yesterday, and hope it is today too! Sunshine is so important, makes the day feel so much better!

    Sandy, thank you for the comments on post-op weight gain! It made me feel so much better! About the police incident, all I can say is WOW and YIKES!

    Cindy, so nice to read about the game, minus the heat and sunburn! My DH was born and raised on a dairy farm in MI.

    Mary, you continue to be an inspiration. So glad you had a nice long ride with Tippy yesterday! Sorry to hear about the tire, but glad you know how to fix it. Also great that you were able to get a ride to church. I haven't been in a church for a very long time, but hopefully will be when I attend my grandson's first Holy Communion in May! I hope life is more normal for me then.

    Not much to say about myself. I am continuing to recuperate and heal. Abdomen doesn't feel as hard anymore, no additional weight gain, no pain, (but starting to itch, ugh!) so what else could I ask for? I plan to walk outside in a little while, just down to the end of my street and back. We have nice sidewalks in my neighborhood. I will take the walker just to be safe, I don't think I really need it as I don't use it around the house.

    I typed out a list of comments/concerns/questions for my doctor or PA at my first follow up visit tomorrow. I keep them short and to the point, but if I don't write things down, I forget to ask!

    Have a great day everyone! I look forward to reading all of your posts! Oh, and the sun is out which makes me very happy!

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,544
    edited March 2023

    A single act of kindness may have a long trajectory and touch those we will never meet or see. Something that we casually offer may move through a web of connection far beyond ourselves to have effects that we may have never imagined. And so each of us may have left far more behind us than we may ever know.

    image
    Rachel Naomi Remen

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,544
    edited March 2023

    A single act of kindness may have a long trajectory and touch those we will never meet or see. Something that we casually offer may move through a web of connection far beyond ourselves to have effects that we may have never imagined. And so each of us may have left far more behind us than we may ever know.

    image
    Rachel Naomi Remen

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,544
    edited March 2023

    Sun for me today. Makes me think of John Denver (rip) and that beauty of a song " Sunshine On My Sholders". How fortunate for us that so many souls having resided here on earth for a time have given us such uplifting gifts. Hope all having any procedures recover well and stay well. That is good compensation for getting older. Retirement seems to be the time when we have time to catch up with health issues. I joke with Dh all the time about how fortunate for us that we no longer work and have time for all these medical appts.

    I'm off this afternoon to go have a haircut. Right now (today) my hair seems almost perfect, but one week can make such a difference that I'm glad I got this appt. I'm (not complaining because I'm ok with it ) a very plain Jane so I do NOTICE constantly when my hair gets to the un-ruly and can't do anything with it, state. Hard enough when it is freshly cut and permed. I have found that using my curling iron is quite difficult now with the previously broken arm. I get "Big, Curly Hair" and spray after a wash and scrunch my hair while it dries. About the only way to keep up for me.

    I hope you all have a really pretty day with sunshine. Not too hot, but just right. Happy walks to the walkers. Something that hopefully can be on my do-do list soon. The nice weather is coming.

  • cindyny
    cindyny Member Posts: 1,319
    edited March 2023

    imageimageThese are my azaleas. One is a pink and one is a red - names escape me, I’d have to go in the garage and look for the tags. These are the plants one of our community landscapers told me “they don’t do well.” I’m loving them. I know my NY plants won’t be looking like this for another 2+ months.

    Read everyone updates but remember not a lot. Surgery’s healing. Sandy in NOLA enjoying herself. Mary learning bike tire repairs, you go girl! Jackie hair cut time- I haven’t had mine cut since I left NY in November. If I just blow dry without the brush or some hair treatment, it looks like a Q-tip run amuck. Betrayal, eye candy indeed. Always love the pictures.

    Garden dreams - I’ve got a large desert rose plant that hurricane Ian beat up. I spent some time this morning watching YouTube to see how to save it. It’s not sounding good. The actual stems are soft and yucky (garden term). I’ve cut a lot of them off. But sone that are soft and look destroyed have new growth on the ends. I think I might have to propagate the new froth and get rid of the main plant. It breaks my heat as it was always beautiful. I’ll try to find a picture of it - then & now.

  • cindyny
    cindyny Member Posts: 1,319
    edited March 2023

    image

    imagePot was changed out, old one got a hole in the side. As I took the picture I could see some green leaves sprouting here and there. Any ideas? I think I have to cut off the good live parts, dry the ends, use stuff to root, then repot. I leave in 2 months so who knows. Sad.

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,544
    edited March 2023

    Cindy, I no longer ( I think I did somewhat for a short while) have a green thumb but I sure hope you are able to be successful with your plant. I think of all things that are alive and although we don't see it, much of what is on our Earth is. I think sometimes it is just a certain amt. of energy in things. Whatever, I do hope your plant does okay. Everything seems to have some kind of limit.

    I also wanted to share wih you something I found about John Denver's music.

    • Denver wrote this song on an early spring day in Minnesota when the rain was gently falling. He found himself looking forward to spending more time outdoors and enjoying the sunshine. He said of the song, "On one level it was about the virtues of love. On another, more deeply felt level, it reached for something the whole world could embrace."
  • mavericksmom
    mavericksmom Member Posts: 1,275
    edited March 2023

    Cindy, nice pictures! Personally, I would leave the plant alone, the tiny leaves on the one branch seems to be trying to show life! Of course from the following paragraph you will know I am probably not the person to comment on your plant, hahaha!

    That made me think of my father way back in the late 60's. We had been down south and he loved the Crap Myrtle trees (bushes). He bought one and planted it in our front yard in PA. It was looking great all summer, of course by winter it lost all it's flowers and leaves. Then spring came and everything was blooming except the Crape Myrtle. He gave it some time, but felt it was dead and dug it out. Fast forward to 2004, when I went to visit my friends in VA and brought back a Crape Myrtle and planted it in our yard. Come spring it was a repeat of what happened to my dad's tree. I told my husband to dig it out, that it was dead, but he said no, it wasn't dead, it just takes longer to start sprouting leaves and flowers. He was 100% right! It has been thriving ever since!

    I have my follow up appointment tomorrow morning at 8:00. Of course, of all nights, we might get wet snow starting early in the morning. They said it might leave wet snow on the grassy areas and we might need to brush it off of the cars for the morning commute! Great, my DH plans to drive, although I know I can if need be, but I can't brush any snow off anything! So crossing my fingers my DH gets up and is ready in time for us to leave around 7:20! I am sure it will all work out. I REALLY NEED to take a shower and wash my hair and these compression garments are becoming very itchy and tight, so I have never wanted to see a doctor as much as I want to see my Plastic Surgeon tomorrow!!!! I was told not to shower until after my FU visit.

  • mcbaker
    mcbaker Member Posts: 1,833
    edited March 2023

    We had wet snow last night and it is still falling and wet. and I had a haircut appt today. On top of it all, the screw holding the front fender to the handlebar post came out. I went a block leaning over, holding it up with one hand while biking with the rest of me. Stopped in at an overstock store and got a tarp for parking it in wet weather, some miscellaneous screws, and a small piece of wire. I might just zip-tie it.

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Member Posts: 8,187
    edited March 2023

    I have ten crepe myrtle trees, eight lining the driveway on either side and two in the front yard. Also two very old trees out near the street. They're heavy feeders and need to be fertilized. They're very popular landscaping trees in this area. Unfortunately, many homeowners and even landscaping professionals over prune the trees and commit "crepe murder." The trees are slow to leaf out. We don't prune ours at all since they're so tall we would have to use a tall ladder. We just let them grow. Sadly they bloom in June and we're gone. The trunks are very pretty, silky smooth and a silvery gray color.

    On either side of the entrance of the driveway, I planted a wisteria shrub. They bloom on bare branches and make quite a beautiful show for about a week. Then they turn into a relative of the plant in Little Shop of Horrors and have to be pruned to prevent them from blocking the driveway entrance.

    DH and I both had our annual eye checkups today. We both got good reports for which we are grateful.

    Mary, you're quite a resourceful woman!

    We definitely seem to have skipped spring this year, jumping right into summer.

  • betrayal
    betrayal Member Posts: 3,154
    edited March 2023

    While I am not familiar with this specific plant, it does resemble my rubber tree plant which is also sort of a succulent. One was damaged by accident becoming a ghost of its former self. I decided to just let nature take its course but to continue to water it. Surprisingly, ignoring it meant it started to send out new leaves on stems I thought were dead and it is now beyond its former glory. It took time and I did do cuttings that have also flourished. Now it looks like I have a rubber tree nursery and all are quite large. Good luck with it.

  • petite1
    petite1 Member Posts: 2,291
    edited March 2023

    Carole, your driveway sounds amazing. I would love to see it when they are all blooming.


  • puffin2014
    puffin2014 Member Posts: 979
    edited March 2023

    Last Thursday I joined friends at a restaurant to celebrate their joint birthdays, along with 5 of their other friends. The gal I was sitting beside started coughing, and I point out asked her about her cough. She passed it off as "allergies" but as the evening went on I was noticing that her cough sounded rather congested to me. I should have listened to my gut feeling and left at her first cough.

    Within 24 hours my head was stuffed up and I had a fever. So much for allergies, she had a cough following a cold. So here I am less than 2 weeks from my cruise. We have to go through a health inspection before we're allowed on the ship, if I'm not totally well and they let me on and I end up giving my roommate my cold we'd both be quarantined in our cabin for the entire cruise. With my asthma often my colds end up as bronchitis and I cough for weeks.

    I was so looking forward to this cruise. I've been careful not to fall on our icy sidewalks as I was afraid of breaking something; never dreamed a cold would be the culprit. I did a home Covid test, that was negative. My flight leaves a week from Wednesday, the cruise leaves Friday the 17th at 4 (giving me extra time for weather related flight delays). I probably should decide by Monday what I'm going to do, so I have 1 week to get back to normal. I'd also hate to cancel, and then be feeling OK by Friday afternoon. I'm still sneezing, have a hoarse sounding voice, am breathing OK as long as I take my mucumyst and decongestant, even had a couple coughs try and start up this afternoon.

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Member Posts: 8,187
    edited March 2023

    What rotten luck, Puffin. Hope you are able to go on your cruise.

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,544
    edited March 2023

    Keep in mind that you were created by God and then that mold was broken. No one else is like you. You're unique. You're special. It's all right to be you. Don't let others shape you—what you do, say, or think. That's God's task. He started with you and he will finish with you. And he really does want you to be you. -H. Norman Wright

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,544
    edited March 2023

    Oh, hope somehow things can work out for you Puffin. It is sometimes difficult at the moment to do what we find out later is the right thing. We get direction, but like many things, it is not crystal clear at the time and we fall heir to ambiguity and only getting the clearer sight full blown later.

    Cloudy this morning. Won't be as warm either. Dh will go to the hospital later to be checked out. He really thinks it is an old injury kicking up and I do too. His health is generally quite good for his age, but he has a lot of G.E.R.D. issues which turned up several yrs. ago. The V.A. nurse did tell him that he should be seen though to be certain of what it is. So, we will see later. He wants to have breakfast because going to the ER usually means something of a wait. I think all will be ok, but hopefully he will get further direction on the Gerd

    Hope you all have a really nice day..

  • mavericksmom
    mavericksmom Member Posts: 1,275
    edited March 2023

    Puffin, sending you lots of "hopeful sailing" vibes. Just know that if you can't take the cruise, it is for the best and things will resolve themselves.

    illinoislady, wishing for a good visit for your DH. Yep, wait time in ER's can be very long. Hopefully it won't be today!

    Sunny but cold today, NO snow as predicted, woohoo!!!! I drove both ways to my first PO visit. DH came with me in case I felt too sore after the exam. I expected the normal 15 min, no surprise visit, but I guess I should know better by now. Turns out I have a very large yeast infection on my breast. I wondered why it itched so bad, really was driving me crazy, but I did as told and kept my bandages and compression bra on so I couldn't see the reason for the itching. I am on an anti-fungal pill for three days. He said it should clear up fast and I should see results by Thursday. To me it looks way worse than it is. I am not concerned. He told me to call him by Friday to let him know how things are, but I might just stop by his office on Thursday and leave a message at the desk because I have an appointment in the same building with my medical oncologist.

    Then he told me about something that happened in the OR. He was using a cauterizing instrument, which is perfectly normal, but during my operation it malfunctioned and started spewing sparks all over, including on my skin. He was really upset by it, and I appreciated the fact that he told me, after all, how would I know? The sparks burned my skin, but it was on an area that he excised, so no injury to me now. It did explain a small black dot high up on my chest, above the pads and bra, that I noticed the other day. I wondered what it was. I lightly scratched at it and it fell off when I touched it. My surgeon reported the faulty instrument and called the company. He said he will report back to me when he hears the final word back from them. I am very glad I was asleep when all this went on! And for people who wonder why no hair spray or certain other products prior to surgery, all it takes is a spark to ignite a fire!

    I am so thankful to have such a wonderful PS! Because he is also a lymphedema specialist, which I desperately need, we discussed two minor surgeries I will hopefully have sometime next year on my lymphedema arm. Two will involve liposuction, the second will also involve lymph transfer. The downside is that I will need to wear compression garments on my arm and hand 24/7 for life, but without it I risk worsening of my skin/arm condition and possible cancer. I have a lot of time to think about it. A lot depends on Medicare paying for it. They have paid for the procedures before but just because they did, doesn't mean they will continue to. I do know they will start paying towards the cost of garments in 2024, which is huge, because right now, I couldn't afford the garments.

    Sorry for the long post. For all those in Florida or NOLA, enjoy the warm, sunny, weather!


  • cardplayer
    cardplayer Member Posts: 2,051
    edited March 2023

    Cindy - your trips to the minor league parks had me missing baseball. I’m glad the season is starting, although I expect the NATS to have another down season. I did look up our local D league games. They start in June and go for about 6 week. Not the same as minor league, but it’s close by, in a brand new ballpark. I think we may try to go see a few games. Beautiful azaleas. Can’t wait for mine to bloom.

    Mary - so glad that your knee has improved so that your able to ride your bike and walk Tippy, weather permitting.

    Mavericksmom - hope your appointment went well this morning and that you’re doing well since your surgery. We have two crape myrtles in our back yard. They usually bloom mid-summer, to give us some color.

    Carole - your lawn sounds lovely. We have a small yard, no trees in the front. Our neighborhood was built on farmland- probably a cow pasture. There’s some locust trees and pines, but so large trees. With a small front yard, there’s probably too many electrical wires and water pipes crisscrossing our yard to be able to plant any trees.

    Puffin - sorry to hear you caught cold before cruise. I hope it clears up before you’re scheduled to,leave.

    Illinois - I hope your DH is okay and that the trip to the ER is uneventful.

    I hope everyone is doing well. Enjoy the rest of your day.

  • cindyny
    cindyny Member Posts: 1,319
    edited March 2023

    Puffin, I hope you get well quickly and can make the cruise. Jackie, hoping ER today wasn’t a horrific wait. Betrayal, I think I’ll heed your advise and leave the desert rose alone. I’m here for 2 more months and if I have to play with it I won’t see how it’s doing for months. The woman we purchased the house from left it to us so beautiful, I’d hate to lose it.

    imageMore baseball today, Twins v Oriole’s. We sat in shade watching the workouts. Traffic wasn’t bad so we had plenty of time before the game to hang out. Then we had to move to our own seats, out in full sun, for the game. We were drinking water, Gatorade, and a tropical punch. Stayed hydrated, sunscreened my lips good, used Neutrogena sunscreen on our faces and it didn’t sweat into our eyes. Tomorrow is a night game. Phew!

    Hoping everyone is doing well tonight.

  • betrayal
    betrayal Member Posts: 3,154
    edited March 2023

    Cindyny: Love the baseball photos and wish I were at a game. I will attach 2 photos of the original rubber plant which is in the appleplaimageplanter and the 2 cuttings taken from this plant which are now huge. image

    Carole, loved the azaleas.

    Yesterday was not a good day for me. Tawny managed to launch her butt onto the top shelf of the etagere and break 2 large Hummels. I was able to find replacements at a reasonable price on ebay (compared to the original price) but was not planning on this expenditure. Seller turned out to be a very nice person selling her mother's collection and gave me a great deal on them. I know that they are no longer fashionable but have been a collector since 1967, so they have memories attached to them.

    GS had a final game in his basketball tournament and they lost. Seemed they could just not get their shots to sink and blew their lead after initially trailing. Disappointing for them since they did have a good season.

    Smudge is not responding well to the meds for her IBD and we are hoping that the newest one will bring her some relief. She did not eat at all yesterday but today she is at least tasting her food. She will be 12 in April so we have decided to let her dictate the outcome here. If she responds we will continue the regimen.

    The crape myrtles I have were a gift from a neighbor of my mother's who had a green thumb. She grew them from cuttings she took from her trees. The one at the top of the driveway blooms in late July to August and is a dark pink. Another blooms earlier but is still small; it is white. The third is still slowly growing and hasn't bloomed yet. I love the silvery peeling bark. The one at the top of the driveway has gotten quite tall and I just love when it blooms with a profusion of flowers.

    Jackie, hope hubbies issues were resolved with ER visit. i have GERD but never had heartburn. My voice just got gravelly and hoarse.

    Mary, you are resourceful in learning how to repair a flat tire. Glad to see the knee seems better.

    Puffin: hope your cruise comes off with no issues and that you do not have my experience.

    Cardplayer: how's the grandbaby?

    MM: glad you got your compression garments off. Hope skin issue resolves and glad you missed the excitement during your surgery. What a great surgeon who disclosed the intra-op problem he encountered. He's a keeper.

    Sun is out but breezy so temps will remain in 40's today. Tonight is Regan's 4th class of the 6 and not sure what we will focus on this evening.

  • cardplayer
    cardplayer Member Posts: 2,051
    edited March 2023

    Betrayal - Grandbaby turned 6 months yesterday. We’ve been enjoying lots of pictures as she tries various foods for the first time. We hope to see her in the next weekend or so. Sorry to hear about your broken Hummels. Glad you were able to replace them. Years ago I had a Roseville vase that our cat knocked over and broke into pieces. I thought I had it better protected, but you know cats.

    Another indoor day. Seems winter has returned temporarily. Cooler temperatures and very windy. A dusting of snow is possible for Friday. Cataract surgery #1 tomorrow morning. Will be glad to be able to see again. Hope everyone is doing well. Have a healthy and peaceful day. Happy International Women’s Day!

  • betrayal
    betrayal Member Posts: 3,154
    edited March 2023

    Cardplayer: hope the cataract surgery gives you the outcome you desire. So glad I had mine done because now I only need glasses for reading small print whereas I used to need them for distance. Enjoy the grandbaby, they grow so fast.

  • mavericksmom
    mavericksmom Member Posts: 1,275
    edited March 2023

    Cardplayer, I too am hopeful for you to have a successful cataract surgery! My DH, two sisters, DB, DBIL, all had successful cataract surgeries in the past few years. Isn't it absolutely amazing how fortunate we are to live longer with more quality of life, than former generations! I am truly thankful!

    Betrayal, interesting plants, look similar to jade plant but seem to have thinner leaves. Beautiful nonetheless.

    illinoislady, missing you and concerned for you and your DH. I hope all went well with his trip to ER on Tuesday. I am hopefully optimistic that your absence on here the past few days is due to being busy or tired or both!

    I have an appointment today with my medical oncologist, but expect it to be uneventful. So far I have had few issues being on Letrozole as far as how I am feeling. I get flushed in the face different times, menopause like symptoms, but nothing I am concerned about. I will find out in April how it is affecting my cholesterol level because I need to get blood work done for my cardiologist. I am on cholesterol meds now, low dose, all because of how Letrozole affected my cholesterol back in 2019, and between that time and prior to going back on it, my levels had been in the low range. Hopefully, it is still within normal range. I assumed when I went off the Letrozole in 2019, that my cardiologist would take me off of the medication, but he kept me on it.

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,544
    edited March 2023

    The perfume of sandalwood, the scent of bay leaf and jasmine, travel only as far as the wind. But the fragrance of goodness travels with us through all the worlds. Like garlands woven from flowers, fashion your life as a garland of beautiful deeds. -the Buddha

  • petite1
    petite1 Member Posts: 2,291
    edited March 2023

    Good morning. Today is my birthday. I am going to lunch and dinner with different friends.

    Puffin, I hope your cold clears up in time for your trip.

    Maverick, OMG on the malfunctioning equipment. Hope the infection clears quickly.

    Betrayal, Sorry to hear about your Hummels. My SIL has a large collection of them and Precious Moments. Glad you could find replacements.

    Cardplayer, best wishes on the cataract surgery. My friend and my late mother, both, were so pleased with the results.

    Jackie, How is DH?

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Member Posts: 8,187
    edited March 2023

    Happy Birthday, Petite! My birthday was yesterday. I moved into the next decade, leaving the 70's behind. Glad to be alive but it's daunting to be this old.

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,544
    edited March 2023

    Firstly, things seem fine with Dh. I talked him into spending the night at the hospital because we were at our local hospital that is nearly within walking (albeit a bit of a long walk) of us. Also Dh had a rather high reading on his blood pressure at the time. While he likely would have been okay to come home, we likely would have had to turn around and go to Marion to make sure things were being either found or treated properly.

    Anyway, the upshot was that they did a few tests, mainly on his heart and everything checked out fine. They recommended a stress test which they were willing to have us use the V.A. cardiologist at Marion since Dh does not have a "cardiologist". I'm not convinced that he actually needs an assigned heart Dr. yet -- but I'm certainly not a Dr., so better to follow up correctly. In the meantime though, the Dr. at St. Mary's did order Lisinopril which Dh actually took before (low dose) and seemed not to need lately. Seems like he might do better if he kept on with it.

    In any case the on and off pain in the chest he was having seems to have resolved to some extent. Seems almost like once you take something in hand, it decides to go away. So weird to thin you have to go through a hospital stay to have something behave. Well, I'm sure it is something they will watch now. I still think it could have had something of a G.E.R.D. connection, but I'm a 'thinker' and think a lot of things, whether wrong or right.

    Thanks to those who missed me. Yesterday (not wishing to start anything while waiting to hear Dh. was released) I decided not to start anything -- including being on my computer. Had to do some errands before bring Dh home. He was fine with going with me. In fact, since we needed to go to Walmart he was able to put hp his prescription. Came home and put away groceries and then right into cooking dinner. So threw myself in the recliner afterwards and stayed there.

    Hummels. I'm sorry to hear of the breakage too, betrayal. I as well as some Hummels that I treasure. They came direct from the factory which my mother and Aunt visited while on a trip to Germany. Back in those days, since the exchange rate was iffy for my family, they just held out their money in their hands, and the salesperson just took what was the right amt. My Aunt got me this really wonderful little chimney sweep and it was lovely. Several yrs. later, after a stroke, I dropped him and a part broke off. It was glued back and you can barely tell. My mom also got me a girl with a scarf on holding a goose in her arms, withs more around her feet. It is a lot larger than the chimney sweep. I now keep them, as well as a number of other things in a glass closed cabinet. I'd love to have them out, but the number of cats that roam our house just doesn't allow it.

    Mary, it is invaluable to know how to repair things, and especially something as vulnerable as a bicycle. Good for you with the will to learn and seeking out the training.

    Hope you all have a really goodThurs.

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,544
    edited March 2023

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY to

    Petite

    Carole.

    In-between my long post and having to get up several times while typing it, other entries came in. Birthdays are proof you have other things to accomplish here, and I'm glad you are here. Hope any celebrations are fantastic. Enjoy.

  • betrayal
    betrayal Member Posts: 3,154
    edited March 2023

    Happy birthday petite1 and a wish for many more. May you really enjoy this special day with those who love you.

    Carole: belated happy birthday and welcome to the 70's. It is not a bad decade to be in.

    Had eyes examined this morning so I have pupils that are very dilated and will unfortunately remain this way for hours. Light sensitive, too.

    MM: they are jade plants. Must have had a brain fart yesterday when I was naming them. The one in the apple planter is about 10 years old so it is a true survivor after the damage it incurred. Hope your skin is clearing up.

    ChiSandy: Hope NO is relaxing. we bought the best King Cake with a custard filling at the flea market there. It was so good and I have not been able to find a comparable one since.

    Regan did well in class last night but is still reactive to several dogs in the class and had to be restrained several times. Her walk mate was a Havanese named Lucas who is the class clown. He doesn't listen well but entertains us with his shenanigans. She did well with that and ignoring planned distractions on the walk. She has no interest in rawhide chews or rubber squeak toys. She has 2 more classes in this level and we may pursue the advanced class to get her to where she is more comfortable and manageable with heeling, etc.

    Smudge, on the other hand, is not doing well. Her steroid dosage has been lowered to the weaning stage, she is on liquid metronidazole to decrease irritation and I give the appetite stimulant but she is barely eating. She is drinking and using the litter box . Not cuddling as much either. We have to make the tough decision soon. It is not one I want to make but don't want her to suffer either.

    Brilliant sunny day with temps to reach the 50's this afternoon. I'll take it. Hope everyone has a beautiful day.