Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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illinois, glad you aren't staying with Dr B. because you have the kindest heart, but understand your limitations. Sometimes we just have to say no, even though it isn't what we want to do.
harley, I too think volunteering in a food pantry is awesome! I hope to do some volunteer work next year.
I am feeling so sad for a member of BCO, Jo-Jo 2018, who had stopped treatment for her MBC. Her cancer metastasized to her lymph nodes in her neck, collar bone, and axillary. Her courage is astounding to me, as are so many BCO members. I feel angry too, that my co-worker took his own life, while so many people would gladly have exchanged places with him if they could. I know suicide is a mental illness, but even so, the irony of it, that people think their life isn't worth living, while so many are fighting to stay alive, is truly heart breaking.
On a happier note, I am waiting for my step son and step grandson to come over to move my DH's dresser and a few other pieces of furniture upstairs, to his new bedroom downstairs. I am so thankful they can help us out with this. I know DH and I will both have some adjustments to make but they are worth making! One floor living is really what we need. I can tolerate going upstairs occasionally, but I will feel so much better knowing my DH won't have to use the stairs multiple times every day! We never thought we would stay in the same house for 43 years but since we did, I am thankful we picked this house that allows us to do one story living vs the other one we liked that had all the bedrooms upstairs.
It is sunny today, but supposed to rain tonight, only 30%-40% chance Monday and Tuesday. I hope my neighbors aren't too crazy with the fireworks. For many years most private sales of fireworks were illegal in PA, but they made them legal several years ago. We can see professional fireworks from our house. For a number of years we went to the Phillies game on their fireworks nights. Wonderful display, and fun!
Speaking of the Phillies, sorry Washington fans! Yesterday's Phillies game against the Nationals was epic, with a score of Nationals 4—Phillies 19! I am not a huge baseball fan, but DH is. I do like watching a game at the ball park, just not so much on TV.
Carole, I didn't want to forget to say how extremely impressed I was that you washed your trailer! As someone who only ever owned a pop-up, but has camped alongside the bigger trailers, I know I couldn't accomplish what you did in any amount of time! You definitely inspire me!
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Sad say for me as Tawny, our mischievious cat, knocked over the bird cage while DH was out walking Regan. When he came home 3 of the 4 parakeets were lose and as he tried to get Tawny out of the way, Regan got one of the boys. So now both boys are gone and Uno, the sister, only has the parents left. I managed to catch her and the other one, getting bit in the process and believe me, they can bite hard. Luckily it did not break the skin. So I had a huge mess to clean up having given them fresh seed last night.
DH was upset that he hadn't put Regan away before she got the bird. She has a strong prey instinct we have not experienced with other dogs and it is something we need to work on discouraging. While we are continuing to enforce what she had learned in obedience class, she still has a lot to learn about safety, manners (she still jumps on me though she is getting better about that) and listening. They say dogs listen about 85% of the time to the commands they are given and she could be the poster child for that.
Sandy, thanks for the info about your knees and the order in which you had them done. I do wish the ortho doc who did my rotator cuff repair also did knees because I just loved him. The MRI, showed minimal tear, was not fully representative of what he discovered when he did my shoulder. He felt I could still get better results with the surgery as did I. 2 other surgeons told me I did not need the surgery and would not get good results if I did. So their opinions turned out to be worthless because I went from not being able to use the arm to about 90% plus ROM. He found damage unseen on the MRI that also included a glenoid tear with shredding. So 10 years after I still am glad he agreed I would benefit from the surgery.
It is still hazy but the air quality is no longer in the red zone and I don't notice the smell of smoke. My neighbor has offered me more ferns that she is pulling out of her yard and I will add them to areas near the woods in my yard. They give it that woodland look I want since I do not want these to be formal flower beds. I do have bleeding hearts, daffodils and a tiny blue flower (that has a bulb) and comes up every year, which also naturalizes, but they die off by the beginning of June. So I try to hold off on mulching these areas to every other year because they are large areas.
Misty just upset a bathroom room diffuser spilling the oil all over the floor. What a job to clean that up because we had to use a degreaser on the porcelain tiles. At this rate with 2 disasters by noon or thereabouts, I think canceling the rest of the day is in order. DH was working in there and should have closed the door but didn't. If things come in 3's then I am not prepared for what is next.
I do hope others have a much better day than I am having.
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Oh, Betrayal, so sorry about your disastrous day thus far—especially the loss of your birdies.
Good news: great air quality and low pollen. Bad news: FLOODING! We've had almost 3" in under 2 hrs. To make matters worse, the city made a conscious decision to open the sewer diversion system so that the downtown NASCAR track would be clear…but the water has been diverted to the West Side and near west suburbs, with disastrous results. I-290—and the CTA tracks that run at or below grade level down the middle—are under water. Local news reporters are having trouble getting to the worst of it in order to show the mess; one shot of the Cicero Ave. viaduct at S. 5th (on the Cicero/Berwyn border) shows cars stuck underneath it in water up to & past window level—the tow truck is stuck on the higher side, helpless to get down there to pull them out.
My HK's block—and most of her Austin neighborhood (Harley, you doubtless can picture to where I'm referring) is under water. Her basement is full of backed-up sewer water & silt from soil washed down into the street drains—and her rain boots, which she keeps down there to deal with this, floated all the way over to the foot of her stairs (and are ruined of course). She & her neighbors are trying to find a way to get to Menard's or Wal-Mart to buy a new pair of cheap ones. (If she could get here I'd lend her mine…but they're 3 sizes too small for her). Saving grace is that after her DH died and her relatives went back to their respective homes, she began clearing stuff out of the basement to try & sell the house and move up here to rent. Just yesterday she dropped 3 carloads off at Goodwill. So she has little to have to schlep up to the street for discard—while her neighbors' lawns look like yard sales or eviction-aftermaths.
Thus far, up here in Edgewater we're ok (unlike last Sept., when manhole covers blew open with geysers and high-rise lobbies were flooded 2 ft. deep). Our flood control system seems to be working, thus far (knock wood). So Heidi was able to hobble downstairs to the litterboxes. Bob decided to drive to Calo (his fave Italian joint in Andersonville) for brunch—I was not in the mood to get dressed to go out in the rain and leave Heidi. He had offered to bring me their ribs, but I don't like them: they're baby backs (not spares), not real BBQ, but rather parboiled and then baked in sauce. Popular with most (white) N. Siders, but a hard pass for me. Instead, I'll sear a burger and have it with lettuce, tomato, onion & cheddar on a keto bun…when I get hungry. (Snacked very late last night while up with Heidi, watching a long program, so I can handle only my coffee thus far). We'll go out tonight if the rain lets up…otherwise I will freezer-forage.
Irony, of course, is that the weather has totally wrecked the NASCAR race—for which the city totally messed up the main streets to & around the Loop, snarling traffic for weeks, and will have to spend the next 2-3 weeks dismantling; and disgruntling the thousands of tourists who came here for nothing.
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Betrayal, I am so sad for your loss of the two boy birds. Are you thinking about buying another boy? I know how much you enjoyed watching those babies grow up. Or maybe birds are incompatible with dogs and cats? I was able to raise some finches, and sold two, many many years ago.
I am doing more of my exercises, took a shower, started wearing wrap skirts— quite convenient. Neighbor just brought over some ice. My brother called last night and gave me some advice on timing my pain meds.
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Harley - so nice that you’re volunteering at a food pantry. Glad that you’ve found a volunteering opportunity.
Sandy - didn’t realize that Chicago was hosting NASCAR. Sounds like the flooding the track setup has caused is a mess. Sorry to hear that Heidi is starting to slow down, but glad she is still eating.
Illinois - glad you’re having a relaxing day. Will you go visit Dr. B this week?
Mavericksmom - We moved 5 years ago so that we could have our master bedroom on the main level. We have a basement, but live mostly on the main level. Our neighborhood is a mix of ranch style homes with mostly seniors and 4+ bedrooms with young families. I’m sure you’ll be happy when the furniture is all moved. We watched the NATS - Phillies game yesterday. What an awful game for us NATS fans.So sorry to hear about the loss of your birds Betrayal.
Glad to hear you’re doing well Mary.
I’m glad to be done with the antibiotic. I’m allergic to penicillin and sulfa drugs so I keep a list of what I’ve taken before. The ER doctor put me one a higher dose of the medication than I’ve taken before and it really bothered my stomach. My back is still bothering me, but not as intense as before.
Staying close to home as usual for the holiday. Hope everyone has a wonderful afternoon.0 -
Betrayal, how awful losing another of your "boys!" I love parakeets. My grandparents had one and I had some growing up. I can't imagine losing one that way. Then to have Misty make a mess too, I really hope things didn't run in threes for you today!
Sandy, wow, what a mess having NASCAR come to Chicago! So unfair to homeowners to have damage to their homes due to changes for the race! Glad you sweet cat is doing well. I hope she continues to be pain free!
Mary, you continue to amaze me! Happy to read you are doing your exercises and keeping the pain under control! Nice that you were able to talk with your brother and he could give you some tips moving forward.
Cardplayer, your Nationals won today, which I think is their second win in the series? My rule with baseball is to wait until AFTER the All Star game! That is when teams on the bottom can end up on top! I couldn't believe the down pour at the game today! We live just north of Philly and only got gentle showers that lasted about 10 mins.
Yes, we will love one story living! Our neighborhood is mostly two story homes with a mix of young families and older adults. Many of our older friends moved away in the last five years. Made me really sad to see some of them leave. We have watched some of our older neighbors live to be over 100, and it is my hope that we can stay in our house for the rest of our lives as well. We like our location because it is close to everything we need and people keep up their properties. Our neighbors are also very nice! The young couples across the street always look out for us. They shovel our driveway and walks when it snows and check up on us which is really nice. One is an EMT and we have several on the street that are firemen.
We are staying home for the holiday and that suits me just fine!
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Need to clarify what happened this AM and for blaming Regan for death of boy parakeet today. Once I got story from DH, it seems the bird was on the floor next to her by the kitchen island. He did not observe her attack the bird and when I examined it, it appears it might have broken its neck by flying into something. There was no evidence she had touched it. They are kamikaze when they fly if loose because they do not have the opportunity to fly other than in their large cage.
The other boy had died suddenly while we were on vacation in the fall and DD was upset because he hadn't appeared ill. The sister seems lost because he was her grooming buddy and now she is deviling her parents who are not as receptive to her attention. She seems almost frenetic in seeking attention. T hey are back to chirping so that's a good sign. Regan has never been aggressive towards them but likes to watch them. If they do flap their wings she is a tad reactive but doesn't attack the cage.
I don't think I can introduce another bird into a bonded family. I did purchase a better cage stand than what I presently have that should be non-tippable because the cage sits low into the stand.
Sandy, sorry to hear about the flooding especially for your HK. What a mess and it appears the Nascar wasn't as successful as they hoped with all the rain. Sad that for the pleasure of a few, many will have to deal with waterlogged homes or cars.
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Wow, so much going on with everyone. I'm sorry about the parakeet as well, Betrayal especially as the sister parakeet is on her own. Perhaps the adults will be parents again at some point. Glad Regan was not actually responsible. Having parakeets as a kid, I do know that unless they are use to their space it is hard on them to take off flying. We had many things they could land on — like wall sconce lamps, and curtain rods and tops of lamp shades — and our rooms were mainly quite open with lots of light.
Good for you Mary and hope you continue to improve a lot, and can get extra benefit from timing your medications. A few rough spots now but hopeful freedom on the way with your knee afterwards. If I recall though you may need the other one done as well.
I commend anyone who chooses to be all on one floor. We started out in a nice sized Cape Cod house in town when we came home. I loved that house and still do, but it would have driven us crazy by now with Dh and his back operations — then all my medical incidents making stairs almost impossible. We are all one floor now. I do miss some of the extra storage having un upstairs and functioning basement provided. Also, we actually had two closets (sm. walk-ins) in my bedroom and we too the slightly smaller one and make a half bath for me. I had hoped to put a shower in, but despite looking all over we were never able to find one that would accommodate the room. My toilet stool sits in the corner of the room with a lg. pedestal sink and then there is a very sm. table and sm. dresser on the wall and which runs along the other side of this small room. Works well for me since I don't have to come out of my room and go clear across the house at night for the frequent trips I've been known to have to make.
MM your neighbors are a true gift. It is always great to hear that some of the 'older' fashioned ideas have hung on and that your neighbors actually take some interest in your well-being. Of course, it is good karma. Truly helpful kindness and caring is what gives all of us a boost when most needed and it is its own reward.
Sandy, I'm speechless. So much destruction for something that could not even happen. Despite not knowing it would turn out that way, it is hard to imagine what everyone has had to give up and I presume if you are lucky maybe some home owners insurance can cover losses. Can't cover the time and energy and total aggravations suffered by everyone.
Dr. B now has nutrition issues. Long story but he wasn't eating near like he should or was use to with the diabetes. So, now it seems the hosp. nutritionist will make some something to be administered nasally thru tube for him. He needs the services of the hospital's rehab department but first have to get his nutrition straightened out well. I think all are in for some difficult days. I will continue to go see the puppies now and then and may assist now and then with feedings as well.
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Well, a few clarifications are in order. The city did operate the diverter system ostensibly to prevent downtown basements from flooding—but the way it works (or is supposed to work) is to close off the curb drains (from a central control station); that sends waste water and rainwater via a diverter valve into smaller sewer pipes to hold down the volume coming up through floor drains & toilets—and the "ponding" (street flooding) that results is essentially to keep the water outside as much as possible until the rain lets up. Unfortunately, not all neighborhoods have the latest diverter valves; and the "ponding" backfires if people have leaky basement windows or foundation cracks. There was less "ponding" on the race course streets, but more ponding and sewer backups the further west you go—not a deliberate diversion to the poorer neighborhoods, just the result of lackadaisical city services to them in general (they're also usually the last to get their streets plowed after a snowfall). I can understand why the people living there put the wrong "2 & 2" together to come up with "5," so to speak. They always get the short end of the stick; and when they see the city moving heaven & earth for big events and privately-profiting music festivals (including those that trash neighborhood parks) for the sake of tourism, no wonder they're angry and cynical.
The Metropolitan Sanitary District even took the extraordinary step of opening the floodgates to the lake up at Wilmette so that branch of the Chicago River would flow into it as nature originally intended (instead of the famous 125-year-old engineering feat that made the lake feed the river, pushing waste upstream and keeping the lake, which is the source of drinking water, clean). 4" of rain in under 2 hrs. is indeed extraordinary, but what was considered a "100-year event" now seems to be happening every year (or oftener—last time was 9/11/22). This was a storm system that actually circled back in from over the lake, re-flooding streets & basements in late afternoon—including my HK's, this time all the way up to her basement stairs and even knocking over her freezer. She has neighbors who lived in basement apartments, and who lost everything.
The Xfinity series race was halted due to lightning less than halfway through yesterday, with a winner declared today rather than run the remaining 34 out of 50 laps tomorrow. (Dude will go through his career with an asterisk after his achievement). The Cup series (main event) was delayed today till 5:15—and because of the late start and inadequate lighting (street lights are ok for regular traffic, but not for this), it was shortened from 100 to 75 laps so it would end before it got too dark out. Turned out to be 78, because of a 3-lap overtime due to a caution flag on what had been the final lap—NASCAR rules forbid a race to end if there's a caution in force. Now it's gonna take 2 weeks to tear everything down. I only hope they don't try this again.
Meanwhile, my HK says she'll be in Wednesday…but more storms are forecast starting Tues. night (and there's no guarantee there won't be more flooding—no city seems to be spared these superstorms). I wouldn't blame her if she decided to retire and move down to B'ham now rather than later (though it'd upend our lives).
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A good, but long read.
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Go far enough on the inner journey, they all tell us--go past
ego toward true self--and you end up not lost in narcissism
but returning to the world, bearing more gracefully the
responsibilities that come with being human.
Parker J. Palmer
Let Your Life Speak0 -
Wow Sandy but good to hear that better planning then what it at first seemed for the Nascar city upsets took place. Still, not so good for the outer areas that weren't fully functional since not everyone can find the funds to upgrade at the same times.
Reminds me of our little town. All our water is routed to our drinking water lake — except it isn't always. Not sure who chooses the engineers who decide the levels of diversions for the water to get to the lake, but every now and then a big project and grounds dug up for different piping systems and culverts and then we wait to see if indeed it will actually produce what the engineers had planned. That lake was designed and built in the 50's and here we still are in 2023 trying to fill it. Sigh !!! Someday they may get it right and then we can work on the HUGE need for the lake to be dredged — so it can actually take in the amt. of water it can actually hold.
Warm today, but hope the humidity stays tolerable. It wasn't bad yesterday. Havel to go to the bank today and maybe pay a couple bills.
Lots of noise the past couple of night from home fireworks with a lot more to come. Just hoping all stay safe. The recent rain has the ground moist so that part is good but I always worry about people using a full set of fireworks for their home backyard displays.
It will be quiet for us. One of the nicest delights for getting a bit older is no one raises much of an eyebrow if there are a few activities that you skip and allow the 'youngsters' to enjoy. The noise and having to walk around in the dark afterwards with a lot of people leaving at the same time can be a bit of a challenge carrying your lawn chairs and the remains of the covered dish you brought to share.
Hope you are all going to have a wonderful day.
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What a wonderful story about the strength and resilience of women when faced with adversity plus the benefit of a friendship through the ages.
I just returned from the memorial service for my friend's son who was only 40 for just 2 months. As a lawyer he was working over 80 hours per week and it was a high stress position. He was in the midst of changing jobs and was to start a new one in 2 weeks time. It was very sad and I cannot find the words to comfort my friend. I am leaving shortly to attend the memorial luncheon since she made it a point to personally invite me. She wants her circle of friends there and that is the least we can do for her now.
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Betrayal, so sorry to hear about your friend's son.
The Evert-Navratilova article was a great read—inspirational but still sobering.
Got some sad news today. The wife of the producer of the Bar Show—a dancer, Jeff-Award-winning choreographer, director, activist and accomplished pastry chef—passed away this morning, 17 years after being diagnosed de novo Stage IV Luminal A-type bc. She was such a strong force of nature that we all thought she'd live forever. She was the embodiment of "Metavivor." Funeral and shiva will be Thursday.
(GRRR—half my post disappeared when my palm brushed my laptop's trackpad before I could hit "Save Draft").
My HK is fully insured, thank goodness. Her freezer and water heater do work, but her mini-fridge is toast. Turns out there was little the city & county could do to prevent flooding: the West Side & adjacent suburbs got EIGHT INCHES of rain yesterday. Went from "moderate drought" to "rain surplus" within a single day. The beaches were closed most of today due to the threat of bacterial contamination from untreated river water (upstream, basically a sewer) having to be released into Lake Michigan. Even downtown's famed Riverwalk only half-reopened: west of Clark St. the pathways are mostly mud; and some charter-boat companies lost docks and even had the tops of their boats crushed by rapidly rising river water raising them to the ceilings of their covered moorages before they could get out onto open water.
Checked with Gordy & Leslie over in Graceland West—their basement stayed dry, even though much of nearby Wrigleyville flooded. Waiting to hear back from our BFFs, who live in a garden-level (daylight basement, 2 steps below grade) condo in Rogers Park, about 2 mi. north of us.
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Betrayal - sorry to hear about the birds, but relieved that Regan was not responsible.
Mary - happy to hear you are progressing. Cheering you on as you work on your exercises.
Sandy - sorry to hear that Heidi’s health is deteriorating. Hopefully you can keep her comfortable for the remaining time. I’m waiting to hear from my son if he had any impact from the flooding. He’s on the 5th floor of an apartment building however, I’m not sure if the flooding caused any impact to mass transit which he uses to get to work. I hope Chicago does not follow through on another NASCAR street race. Even without the massive amount of rain, the concept causes too much disruption to the residents of the area.
Cardplayer - thanks for the link to the story about Chris and Martina. While their diagnoses are scary and treatment is brutal, it’s wonderful that they have each other for support.Maverick - kudos to you for being proactive in moving to single level living. Too often we don’t recognize that our abilities have changed as we age and inadvertently find ourselves living in a dangerous situation. Fingers crossed that we do the same when it’s necessary as we live in a 2 story home with all the bedrooms and full baths on the 2nd floor. We only have a 1/2 bath on the first floor.
Illinoislady - good for you to recognize that you can’t be everywhere and help everyone. First priority should be taking care of yourself.
As Sandy mentioned we got rain on Sunday. We received 2” inches in my area so we avoided flooding issues. It’s hot and humid here. I headed to the gym this morning for a yoga class. I really had to push myself to get out of the house, but was very happy once I did the class. Next few days are forecast in the low 90’s and high humidity. We plan a quiet day at home on the 4th with some lounging in our backyard pool. Forecasted rain on Wednesday should usher in cooler weather for the balance of the week.
Happy 4th of July!
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Happy 4th to all! Right now, the DIY fireworks have been going nonstop since dusk (we saw some from our cab, looked like they were being shot off from the park next to Senn HS). The fusillades sound at times like a pickleball tournament blasted through Spinal Täp's Marshall stacks. Seems Heidi may have a little hearing after all—she was flinching a bit in my arms with each "boom." Because her sense of smell is still excellent, she's more of a "nip-head" than she used to be. (Happy never cared for the stuff). I can lure her out of her lair with a paper plate of catnip. She decided several times today that I needed a massage from her.
Harley, not sure what transit your son takes to work, but at times all three CTA lines that run down the middle of expressways were halted due to the rails being submerged. The ones at grade level (and Metra rail) seemed to be okay. As to NASCAR, the bad news is that we're stuck hosting them in 2024 & 2025, thanks to the 3-year contract Lightfoot inked before losing her reelection campaign. A little parting-gift, though not quite as onerous as the one Daley ("Little Richard," not his dad) bestowed when he allowed the city's parking meters to be privatized just before he handed the reins to Emanuel.
Mary, glad you're healing well. I recall that during my at-home rehab, I could tell that I'd elevated my leg sufficiently when my ankle would shrink and my toes would elongate.
I'm still just shy of 170 lbs. at 5' 2.5". (Started in 2019 at 211). Hoping that I can get down to 160 by my Sept. wgt. mgmt. appt. My size M/10 tops and most of my size 12 Target & Old Navy skinny jeans & shorts still fit (though if I want my tops to be more like tunics, I have to go to size L). Unfortunately, in Levis "Super-skinny" jeans I'm in 14s (and until I break the newest pairs in, 16s). Regular straight-leg or boot-cut jeans don't give me as nice a silhouette…as my mom used to say, "the legs are the last to go." The only upside to regaining some weight is that my thighs don't "puddle" in regular (rather than Bermuda) shorts. At my thinnest (142), when in the shower I'd look down at my thighs and wince at all the loose skin. (Still have "bat wings," though—I don't think I'll ever go sleeveless or even cap-sleeved again. Elbow or longer sleeves are more sun-protective anyway).
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Happy 4th to everyone. We are off to the Kutztown Folk Festival with DD and DSIL today. We will stop at Longacre Dairy in Bally for their homemade ice cream on our way home. I will have my annual hot fudge sundae with butter pecan ice cream and buy several gallons to bring home. Their cherry vanilla has huge dark cherries in it and they also make a wicked teaberry which is also a favorite. So packing my freezer bags to bring them home for future snacks.
Sunny with storms predicted for late afternoon so we should be okay. Have a good day!
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Betrayal, so very sorry for your BFF! There are no words in time of loss. The best thing you can do for her is to keep up your friendship and support. She is so lucky to have you for a BFF!
Cloudy here. Not sure if we had the predicted storms last night or not because if we did, I didn't hear them! I slept pretty good and relatively pain free. Yesterday my knee gave me so much pain. I assumed it was the universe getting back at me for boasting how long the injections I had almost two years ago, helped keep me pain free! LOL I was surprised, but happy to find that when I woke up, my knee didn't hurt at all. Hope it stays that way.
Not much new here. Hope to talk to DS today as he celebrated his birthday yesterday. He said it would be better to talk today. I make myself available to my children's schedules because they are so busy, and I am not.
Happy 4th Everyone! May your furbabies not be too frightened by the fireworks!
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We had .7 inch of rain last night. Lonely for Tippy. PT yesterday. A lot of pain today. Did my exercises this morning. Had coffee and a kefir smoothie. Did not sleep well. Think I will go back to sleep. Happy Fourth of July, everyone!! Praying that we might continue to (or again) live in a representative Democracy.
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Sorry for the loss of your BFF son Betrayal. So glad you’re there to provide support and comfort.
Sorry for the loss of your friend Sandy. May her memory be for a blessing.
We’ve some rain yesterday, but not the down pours others have had. It’s another humid day though. DH and I walked earlier this morning trying to beat the heat. Saw a hot air balloon flying over during our walk. Our excitement for the day. We’ll stay in for the day, watch Wimbledon, the NATS, and the fireworks on A Capital 4th on PBS tonight.
Have a safe and Happy 4th!
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Happy 4th of July. My air conditioner is broken and the new one can't be installed until Weds. He put a small loaner in one bedroom, so at least I have a cool spot. Midnight Louie, the cat, is afraid of it and won't go in the room with me. He doesn't seem to mind the heat. The heat index has been running over 110 degrees. I am spending a lot of time in the pool and go out to eat in the hot part of the day. My house faces the west, so late afternoon is the worse.
Betrayal, sorry for the lost of your bird.
Sandy, the flooding sounds like a night mare!
cardplayer, thanks for the link. Interesting read
Mary, glad to hear about your progress.
Jackie, I agree. I prefer to stay home. It is wooded around me, so most of the time I can't see the fireworks, but can certainly hear them. Midnight Louie will be under the bed.
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The ideals that have lighted my way and, time after time, have given me new courage to face life cheerfully have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. -Albert Einstein
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I'm sorry for all losses anyone has had. So difficult (even though pain and huge disabilities would likely cause deep distress) to wake up w/o someone you love waking up to think about you too. Makes the world seem a bit cold and un-inviting for a time.
Will be quiet here today. Doing catch-up as always. Every one of my days seems to have to include something that didn't get done yesterday. Looking on the bright side, that means I'll always have something and not have to sit around and stare at the walls or something boing on t.v.
Mary, sure hope you are able to make some progress on your pain issues and get some restful healing sleep.
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My PT was late in the afternoon, so I took an oxy then, instead of at bedtime. Took another in the wee hours of the morning, but my night was trashed, anyway. I kept rolling over into my favorite positions, and hurt. I laid down, but the pain was too much. Took another oxy to help me do the dishes.
Sandy, I love the perception that your toes got longer. Yes, my toes are different one foot from the other. Sad to see the news about the death of a friend.
Petite, hope you get some relief from the heat soon.
I think I will try for a nap again. Maybe I will get lucky.
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No posts to read! Hope everyone had an enjoyable 4th. We joined the rest of the folks out on the lawn last night and watched the fireworks across the lake at Clancy's Restaurant. There were also a number of boats positioned in front of Clancy's, plus quite a crowd gathered at the restaurant. It wasn't a professional fireworks but lasted almost an hour and must have cost Clancy's quite a lot of money.
We had gentle rain the first part of the day but then it cleared up for a nice afternoon.
I'm looking forward to the weekend folks leaving today and the return of mid week peace and quiet with just us full timers here at the resort/campground. The owners are leaving on a trip to Texas tomorrow to visit their son and his family. They have three cats which we will feed and look after while they're gone. The cats are very shy and will hide when we refill their food bowls and tend to the litter boxes. We have to be careful and not let them go outside. Not a big job but some responsibility.
Happy Wednesday to all.
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Treetops, I discovered as a child, were made for praying. Time seemed to stop. Close to the sky and the movement of the clouds, I knew I was connected to something greater than myself. Best of all, I could survey the whole horizon. Trees taught me to look for the big picture, to seek a bird’s-eye view of things. -Frederic Brussat
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Good day yesterday. We didn't do much — a little work and made a dish for my daughter to take to a church function. We binged watched some Netflix documentaries. First one was following a Mormon couple through their traditional life of marriage and kids and on to the realization that the two women recognized and eventually made their peace about being gay.
The second was a female police officer who decided she wanted to be in the Missing Persons Div. of the department and what she went through wrestling with herself as to being able to handle the cases that did not turn out well. Quite interesting. Each program (the Mormon one as well as this one) was so interesting showing the long range of emotions each went through to the final growth and acceptance of how things really were and are.
Carole, glad you enjoyed the sm. fireworks show. Some of the home fireworks I've seen through the years has been pretty good for the backyard amateurs.
Peace and quiet is always a welcome after a lot of noisy randomicity. I would be looking forward to it for sure. You are fantastic to take care of the kitties. Not everyone is happy about cleaning out litter boxes, but likely not too strenuous if only three kits. Most cats will hide while 'strangers' are around. Sort of a good thing. Since they wish to avoid you, they will tend to stay well out of sight whenever you exit for the day. Kits that are only indoor usually (not always though) tend to freeze almost in place if they escape to the outside. Their world instantly expands, and they are totally confused for a bit.
Hope everyone had a good and safe day. We will go to Marion VA today. Erg. Dh continues to have issues with how they have treated his eye issues. He doesn't think about the fact that he is very rigid about how he WANTS things so causes them a lot of work —- unfortunately me too. I will have to drive him and give up over three hours of the things I would like to get done to accommodate this now long saga of getting what he thinks he wants now. It is roughly the 5th. time or so that we are dealing with the same original eye exam from several months ago. Sigh.
I think a decent day although I don't see much for air movement outside so maybe pretty warm down South.
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My ice machine is broken. I'll have to use the lidocaine patches until the replacement arrives. Not happy. But I am doing pretty good getting up and walking around the house.
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Mary, sorry about the ice machine failure and the wait for the replacement. Do you have a TENS unit you could use in the interim? I found that the velcro knee support from ortho which did not stay in place on my leg worked well for holding ice packs from my dental surgeon in place. I can make it as tight or as lose as I want and use more than one pack at a time.
Illinoislady, sorry your DH continues to have issues with his eye care and hope he can get the relief he seeks. Sometimes it requires re-enforcement of what he has been told by the experts as to what he can expect for an outcome. Glad your 4th was quiet.
Carole, your 4th sounds pleasant. I love fireworks and we can actually watch those sponsored by the local country club from our patio. We used to drive one street over and watch from there for a better perspective and mosquito free one, too but then learned we had a great view from the patio once we lost those trees.
Our day at the Kutztown Folk Festival was nice though we were disappointed at was a low turnout by previous vendors. It was always a great draw for artists from near and far but over the years we have noticed the exodus of some really good vendors that we usually purchased from. I had bought a painting of a heron last year only to discover, I had already purchased it previously. I reached out to the vendor as soon as I realized and asked if he would be willing to do a swap this year. He agreed and it was nice to see him again. He is a very talented man who has won prizes for his designs for postal stamps most of which involve water fowl though his paintings also involve wildlife like deer, elk, foxes, etc. So I swapped the heron for a new painting involving orange hooded mergansers. He was pleased when I showed him my Gerald W. Putt tribute wall that ascends my staircase. In fact, he kept me from duplicating by identifying the one painting by just a corner of it. So I will add that to the wall today.
I also collect these brightly colored fantasy birds composed of old rakes, trampoline springs, rebar, etc. This older gentleman makes them and I so enjoy them I have them scattered throughout the flower beds in the backyard. One was damaged by a falling tree branch and its trampoline spring neck is a bit wonky. He patiently told us how we could repair it ourselves (have welder in family) or we could bring it back to him for repairs if it fails. Even told us the color of the paint to use afterwards. It is this type of show that we enjoy.
There is a mother-daughter duo who weave wooden baskets that can be used for so many different applications: kitchen, bath, office, etc. I have one 3 section one on the back of all the toilets now and they hold 2 rolls of toilet paper and a small square box of tissues. Bought one for hall bath yesterday. That bath also has one that holds small bottles of shampoo/conditioner, lotion and soaps for guest use and one for hand soap bottle. I bought an organizer one for the kitchen to herd the clutter that accumulates on the one counter and it has 3 small cubbies in the front and one large one across the back. I took the clutter, separated it by use or need and still have more room to hold things I want easy access to including my weekly pill holder.
I got local honey from a man who maintains 200 hives distributed over multiple private properties where he has been granted access. So much better than the store bought taste. A new straw broom since I am finding the plastic ones aren't doing the best job on dog and cat hair. Dog biscuits for family's critters: DS and DD's included. A local produced liquor that gives free tastes versus the one who was charging $2 for the same amount. Guess who was getting the most business? Wasn't able to snag a wet bottom shoofly pie because they were out of the original and only had chocolate ones. Did purchase many perennial plants from the nursery place that has such reasonably priced plants. These will be used to fill in the beds down front and off the patio. Got a new climate acclimated hibiscus that can be planted out doors and waiting to see what the flowers will look like. The one from last year was so beautiful with salad plate sized flowers.
We stopped at Longacre's dairy in Bally for sundaes and to load up on half gallons of ice cream. They make their own and it is a tough decision to decide which ones for this trip: the winners were teaberry, cherry vanilla (large dark cherries), pralines and cream, and chocolate peanut butter ribbon. DSIL got a cherry vanilla to binge on.
So all in all a pleasant day though it was really hot and humid. I felt like I was melting at one point. We got a small sun shower that was refreshing and when DSIL checked the forecast later it said 5% chance of rain. Well, the heavens opened within 10 minutes of that post and it rained cats and dogs for about 10 minutes. The kids were running in the rain and loving it. No one minded getting drenched and even those of us who sought some shelter were damp which felt good. The humidity proof hairspray I used just on my bangs was a complete failure before the rain and worse after. LOL, they were plastered to my face. My knees held up though it was painful to walk or rise from sitting when I took a break. Today I will give then a rest while I do laundry.
It is hot, sunny and in the 90's today with humidity to match. Hope everyone had a great 4th and that today is as great.
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I actually got a nap with some things from the freezer on my leg. Gonna try something to hold them on. I was told to wait a while before using TENS. I got a phone call from the legal self-help office where I got the divorce, asking for more details, which I gave. Restoration of maiden name. She said something that made me giggle. Since it is imminent, I will make a change here.
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