Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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Just finished catching up on posts. We arrived home from our Viking river cruise on Thursday night about 8 pm. The plane travel returning was much better than going. We, too, had a flight that was supposed to go to Newark. The cruise was a good experience and very educational. We started in Amsterdam and made stops in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania. The Viking ship had great places for relaxing and watching the scenery when we travelled during the day. The dining room was elegant and a good place to enjoy meals and get acquainted with different people. The food varied and beautifully presented. Well-trained and friendly waiters. Every day there was an included walking tour with a guide. Plus optional tours that cost extra.
Our stateroom was adequate but not a place for spending a lot of time. We had been advised not to spend a lot of money on a balcony or suite. We used the room for sleeping, getting dressed and, occasionally, for resting or napping but spent our spare waking time on the ship in the lounge or up on the sundeck. There was ample comfortable seating and the option of some solitary time for reading or phone puzzles or visiting with other shipmates. For us, going the economy route made sense. We did spend extra on upgrading the plane travel.
Dh did well with managing the walking and stair climbing. We did take advantage of signing up with the Leisure walking group which avoided steep climbs and moved at a slower pace. He made use of a putting green up on the sundeck.
The last two countries we visited, Bulgaria and Romania, weren't freed from Communist control until the late 1980's. Our guides had lived under Communism and shared the experience. They pointed out the ugly architecture built by the Russians. In Croatia, we visited a Croatian home and learned about the hard times of the Croatia/Serbia conflict.
All in all, we were happy with the trip and with Viking. I'll share some photos.
The bad news that awaited us at home was a refrigerator that had stopped running during our absence. It's a Maytag purchased in 2021 with a 10 year warranty on the compressor. Unfortunately, that warranty doesn't cover labor, which will be about $1100. Meanwhile we're using the refrigerator in an outbuilding. The authorized Maytag repairman said he had just replaced a compressor in a refrigerator less than a year old. He also said almost all refrigerators regardless of the name were Whirlpool with all the defects of Whirlpool.
It's good to be home for a short while. Soon we'll be heading north to MN.
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Betrayal, I see improvement, finally. This has to have been so discouraging for you. Keep hanging on, you are halfway through!!! In a year, you will barely remember it, for the joy of having a new knee. It is almost like having a baby.
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yea I have temperature envy too. It’s our May long weekend here in Canada as we celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday !
Here’s an AI summary: Canada celebrates Victoria Day (the last Monday before May 25th) to honor Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901 and was the monarch during the formation of Canada in 1867. Originally, Victoria Day was celebrated on Queen Victoria's actual birthday, May 24th, but was later moved to the last Monday before May 25th to create a long weekend.
we are a tourist town and lots of rain came! Good for the plants. My cats are upset as there catio stuff is piled up in the middle so it doesn’t get soaked.
I got some good photos of my azaleas before the rain pelted off the blossoms. I ventured out to see my wee lilac in almost full bloom. Yay.
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me again I just went out to check on my rhodo out back. I have two. The big one is over 30 years old the wee one is a rich magenta.
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I too have temperature envy too but in the opposite way. It is 97 here in Houston today with a heat index of 103. No rain, no rain, no rain…. but tons of humidity.
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Carole - glad your trip worked out so well. I too remember being in Croatia and Serbia - so sad that the effects of war are still there. I think of that every time I see current war locations.
Great pictures Canarycat. Some of you must have amazing yards/gardens.
Here we have rocks and a crew that trims monthly. Ken has lost the energy to do anything with our flowering plants and I don't have a green thumb. Maureen and Ella gave me a lovely orchid plant for Mother's Day and I am hoping I can keep it alive.
Sorry to hear all the stories of coming home to houses which have suffered from your absence. I know all our appliances are on their last legs. All but the dishwasher are more than 20 years old although I don't they were used much until we bought the house in '13.
Hang in there, Betrayal. Everyone but me seems to be pleased with TKR.
Anyone heard from Sandy? Wasn't she supposed to be back in her house by now?
Temperatures here have been up and down but we've already had too many days over 100. At least most nights we're still able to open the house. Huge unconfined fire in the northeast part of the state. Water gets to a bigger problem every year. At least the Phoenix area seems to be working on more cooling centers with longer hours open for the unhoused. Every summer we have heat-related deaths.
Please stay safe everyone. Weather conditions in so many places really sound scary. And we're losing weather forecasters and FEMA!
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Weather extremes all over the country. We could be weather “girls” reporting for our states.
Our weather forecast was a “weather alert” for extreme thunder storms in the morning, with another extreme thunder storm in late afternoon.
This morning was kind of gray, but no rain, no storm. We had plans to get the deck & patio furniture out so after lunch we got busy. I left seat cushions inside, and the table umbrella in the garage. I figured the big storm was coming about 4-5 pm, why risk it.
Rain started and I ran upstairs to close windows. Back downstairs I went, and within minutes the rain had stopped. It was a very strange day. It was 83, then down to 72; it’s at 62 now.
Jackie, sending birthday wishes to your dh.
Betrayal, this knee is trying your patience. So I’m not cheating with my flowers, just bring thrifty!
Carole, welcome back. I look forward to pictures.
Canary, I love the photos of your flowers! I came home to no blooms left on my lilac trees. Either they were short lived, or bloomed early. I planted a new rhododendron- looks pink, but as it fully blooms it turns to a pale blush, near white.
Minus, those temps you have would keep me inside with the AC on!I know I’m missing some ladies from the last page, and those too busy to post. Wishing you all a great weekend.
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cindyny, nothing wrong with being thrifty and no one will know unless you tell them. The prices at Giant and Produce Junction vs Home Depot are unbelievable. I rarely buy plants at Home Depot unless it is one I can't get elswehere. I have 3 large window boxes to fill plus all the planters I have on my patio and several planters I put on the front door steps, so I need to budget as much as possible. I don't spend as much on perennials in my flower beds since I have pretty much found things that spread or are reliable in returning. I do have some irises and a new plant called Alcea in red and yellow to plant.
Woke at 3:30 and it was after 5 before I could doze off again. I finished reading my book and then put on a boring show which sealed the deal. I took a pain pill and iced my knee but neither seemed to be the charm.
I tried an experiment yesterday with putting on my compression stocking on the left leg as soon as I woke to see if it would control swelling. I ironed for about an hour but did take a break and then had DH bring planter in so I could plant the dahlia bulbs I had purchased. I did 3 planters and still have 2 bulbs to plant. Kept leg elevated when seated in hopes it would limit swelling. It was a colossal failure. By 3 pm my calf was very swollen and painful, so I iced it and had to take pain med which I have been not using often during the day.
This being confined to a chair is a challenge because I prefer to be busier and I am bored with living in the recliner. It's beginning to resemble the recovery constraints I had after my abdominal surgery complications. My housework is slipping and DH is not good at much beyond running the vacuum.
Sunny today but breezy with temps in high 70's. It shoild remain this way until Wednesday when the rains move in and will be here until next Sunday. minus2, I would be in AC as well with your temperatures. We have been in Houston in May and its humidity matches what we get over our summers.
Will clean bird cages and then return to the recliner with legs elevated. Thank goodness I have been gifted Netflix, Acorn and Britbox for alternative watching formats.
Waving hello to everyone and wishing them a great day.
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Dwell not on the past. Use it to illustrate a point, then leave it behind. Nothing really matters except what you do now in this instant of time. From this moment onwards you can be an entirely different person, filled with love and understanding, ready with an outstretched hand, uplifted and positive in every thought and deed.
Eileen Caddy
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Good morning. Muted sun this morning. Looks to be a maybe and maybe not day. Perhaps similar to what Cindy just had. Our 'bad' storms missed up — in fact, we basically had nothing, so if it rains today i really couldn't totally complain. It's just that we don't really need it.
We can sure tell the time of yr. it is. Some of us have sinus issues, some heat issues, and some of us are having tick removals already. Dh had to take one embedded in my my neck this morning. I never know they are there until they start to itch. My tip off was that scratching at it didn't help at all — just produced more itching. Finally got up and looked in the mirror. We need to mow our lawn but SIL is having a major sinus attack. I'm pretty sure that is where a lot of the ticks are coming from.
Carol, your trip sounds like it was fantastic. I do recall your trepidation right before you left and am thrilled that all went so well. Sounds like you had good advice about your cabin. I will be thrilled to see your pics when you have time to get them together. Glad you are back home safe and sound. I am sorry to hear about your fridge though. Sounds like quality of appliances is definitely on the wane. Not like a few yrs. ago. In fact, for a long time (and likely still to some degree) Dh who sold appliances for yrs. from Sears and swore by Whirlpool as a premier. They made most of the Kenmore line of appliances and was always the brands he most recommended. The longer we go on it does seem the easier it becomes for appliance manufacturers to factor in a much shorter shelf life for their merchandise. I hope that you won't have to do anything more for the life of that fridge.
Canary, your flowers are gorgeous. The Azaleas wee stunning. Lilacs are one of my favorites of all time. The Lilacs of my youth were gorgeous old fashioned bushes that had become huge over time and the springtime was filled with the fragrance if you had the fortune of a bush in your yard. I'm so glad you were able to get such great pictures while the bushes were un-troubled from winds or rain or both.
Minus, wow!! Both too cold or too hot bother me, but your temps mixed with humidity would have me hiding indoors for the duration. Our humidity has actually been more tolerable the past few yrs. but I seem to recall in yrs. past when it is really bad elsewhere, it seems they are getting it all and so we get less. Will be interesting to see then how it goes here this yr.
Thrifty is good these days especially since we just heard Walmart will be raising some prices due to tariffs. I understand that some agreements have been reached, but there will still be some tariffs going on so prices of a number of things will creep up — even if egg prices have come down some now. Sadly, we never go back to pre-pricing. Once the price goes up it never seems able to return to what it was before the increases began.
I am going to Walmart's later. I've needed a new mattress pad/protector. So, I'm thinking that I'll do it now and try and save a bit. I generally don't need much and really don't know why I've put off the mattress pad — something I normally wouldn't have gone without for anything. Guess partly since Dh goes in Walmart generally while I stay out and babysit the dog in the car. Both of them are go-guys when I can be content not feeling the need. So, we will have to take turns today I guess because I'm not going to let anyone else pick out my bedding.
Hope you all have a great day. Waving hi to all.
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Since the storms, weather here has cooled down significantly, generally peaks in the 60's.
I was feeling uncomfortable with the guys going in and out of my neighbor's apt and being able to look in mine. Bought some window film but made a bad choice. It is a glass panes pattern and needs to be matched. To make things worse, the pattern is not regular. So I have that window covered imperfectly with one pane covered, and the other pane 1/3 covered. That leaves 2/3 of a pane uncovered, which Tippy appreciates.
I decided to also cover my bedroom window, but this time I chose a small pattern which does not require matching. I am feeling secure. The window is covered, short by one inch. I don't have to turn on the lights during the day, and I can even sleep in twilight if I want to. My apartment floor is generally level with the ground outside. Also used Rocco and Roxie pet stain soap in various places in bedroom.
I will go to see doctor about my thumbs on Tuesday, and have a phone conference with ex-smoker's lung monitoring on Wednesday. My Fitbit is trying to get me to be LESS active. I don't know what is going on, but I think I am taking more breaths after walking. Probably need to do BP more often.
Canary and Carol, your pictures were beautiful!
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I love Canarycat’s azealas and lilacs. We have lilac plants in our yard but they typically don’t bloom until June. Some years we see more blossoms than others. My clematis is hanging on for dear life. The rabbits continually gnaw at the base and nothing we put on it seems to deter them.
Chris, I so hope that the doctor can offer a solution to your painful thumbs. Not having use of them must impact your daily activities
Carole - welcome home! Sounds like a fabulous trip and I’d love to see pictures when you have time. Sorry to hear about the refrigerator (I can certainly relate). It’s so frustrating to need a repair on a fairly new appliance, especially an expensive repair. We received a future cruise voucher from Viking since our February cruise to Norway was severely impacted by weather and we missed all the scheduled ports. They are not obligated to provide a credit but did so for customer goodwill. So we’ve booked a transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to San Juan in December. The credit will cover 90% of the cost of this cruise. We’ll spend a week in Spain sightseeing in Seville and Barcelona on our own before hopping on the ship for a two week cruise back to the U.S. The schedule will allow us to be home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas and our holiday season is generally pretty low key.
I need to head over to the garden center this week to get plants for the three pots I have in my yard. I think I’ll do what I did last year which is to buy hanging pots (like Cindy) and replant them in my pots.Speaking of Cindy - do you have a surgery date for your toe yet?
Betrayal, I’m so sorry to hear about the continued swelling and pain in your leg. One of my BIL’s had a TKR a few weeks ago and another BIL had a hip replacement last week. On our family chat they were joking about having a foot race but then both decided a nap was a better option.
I finished sorting through the many tchotchkes I’ve collected from my travels along with fine china pieces and dishes handed down from my mother and grandmothers. My China cabinet is jam packed and I’m giving away about 80% of it to a thrift shop run by the local woman’s shelter. I took pictures of some things for a remembrance but I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders by purging this stuff which is never used. Neither of my brothers nor my son nor my nieces and nephews had any interest in it.
Yesterday was our 45th wedding anniversary so we went out to dinner at Bonefish Grill. Wishing all a good week.2 -
Harley, wish I didn't have to use them, but some things gotta get done to help me feel more secure.
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happy 45th Harley!!!!
had a great visit with a friend d who was supposed to come here in June 2022 but had a head on MVI. She still dealing with issues but can walk with cane and hubby beside her. Otherwise uses a wee walker
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Harley - sounds like a good swap. I loved Barcelona when we were there for our 50th wedding anniversary. So glad you're taking extra time in Spain. We've done crossings in both directions. Lots of time to relax and enjoy the ship. Happy Anniversary!
Interesting solution to your peeking neighbors, Chris. Really hope they can help you with the thumbs.
Betrayal, I know it's boring for someone as active as you but my advice is to keep your feet up as much as you can. I just finished "The Stolen Queen" and started "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo." Both are interesting but not too heavy reads. You might also like "Unsheltered" by Barbara Kingsolver (don't think that's quite the spelling of her last name.)
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Better than keeping blinds shut and lights on, or keeping windows shut and AC on. I have one of those little double fans and don't have to open the window way wide.
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Chris, good luck on Tuesday. And those films that cover windows are great for some privacy.
Taco, I’ve got 3 books going. “Hello Beautiful” on the Kindle; “The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits” hard cover, Book of the Month; a short story on my phone; and now that I’m typing I remember I have “The Demon of Unrest” on Audible - which when I looked, it says I have 4+ hours left!Harley, happy anniversary! My surgeons office said if I don’t hear back in a week with a surgery date, I should contact them. There is no good time for it, but I’ll work it around my vacations. I saw my black Velcro shoe in the garage. HA! I left it there.
Jackie, I hope you got to pick out the bedding of your choice. We have memory foam toppers on our beds, NY & FL. I think the NY one is harder, the FL one thicker; but I like them both.We had a busy day today. We went to my SO sister’s house for a brunch with her son and his family. The grandsons are 3 & 6, and as I don’t have to tell you, full of energy! But they busied themselves as we ate, and we had a good visit.
My nephew graduated with his bachelors degree this morning. So proud of him! We all met at a local restaurant at 6 pm to celebrate. I’m so over stuffed with food, I told my partner I may be sleeping sitting up a bit. Lasagna and reflux don’t mix. I’ll take Pepcid upstairs with me, just in case.
Someone mentioned Sandy. I too think she said she’d be back in their home by mid May.
Our week here looks like low 60’s, even mid 50’s as highs. I’m in jeans; hoping not to have to turn heat on.
Fingers crossed for a good Monday!
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Yesterday is experience. Tomorrow is hope. Today is getting from one to another as best we can.
John M. Henry
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I'm jealous of Cindy with those moderate temperatures. We're in the high 80's and up to 90 already during the day.
I don't know how dh and I would deal with apartment living. We have an uncovered windows policy during the day. At night we close the blinds in the bedroom. The down side to no close neighbors is that no one would hear if we screamed for HELP inside the house. The neighbors on both sides are too far away.
Harley, your planned trip sounds great. We were lucky that we got through a low area in one of the rivers and didn't have to change ships. The cruises after ours weren't so fortunate.
Most of the other people on our cruise were seasoned cruisers. I was first amused and then got a little weary of the travel one-up-man-ship conversation. A frequent question when meeting people was "Is this your first Viking cruise?" A lead-in to discussing multiple cruises. One man who was traveling by himself had done a round-the-world Viking cruise. Overall, I found the fellow cruisers to be interesting and good conversationalists.
Today I'm not feeling my best, thanks to not sleep through the entire night. But I plan to go to the gym for some exercise. It's already 80 degrees outside, hot for walking the neighborhood. I also plan to arrange jarred items in the outside refrigerator to make it easy to pack the cooler we'll take with us to MN.
Happy Monday to all.
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Good morning. Muted outside once again. More this morning than yesterday. Today, it might actually rain but we don't count on the weather report being right — not here in our little triangle.
I too have a memory gel foam topper on my bed. I swear by them. Especially since the last mattress and box spring I bought turned out to be too firm. Seems like no matter how long you lay on them in the store you won't really find out what it is going to feel like after 8 hrs. or more. I wanted somewhat firm which after 8 hrs. at home turned into hard as concrete. I don't know how, when, or why but my old mattress pad didn't have elastic sides long enough to go under the mattress anymore. It kept slipping until It was halfway across the bed underneath the fitted sheet.
For a while, I just used a fitted sheet underneath which stayed on, but it was only temporary till I decided what I might wish to do — get a thinner topper or another pad. The pad was a bit less expensive but more than that — I wanted to know that I could have a pad that would in time still support a newer topper when the time came. I use the 2-inch ones.
I do hope Sandy was able to get back into her house. I still can barely imagine having to suddenly move out of your home and rent somewhere for a time. It all seems so complicated and cumbersome. I feel for her having to restart everything in her home again. But, I'm sure it will be fantastic to have a home that is up to date and city codes etc. Less to 'fret' over for events like un-expected fires from faulty wiring etc.
Carol, speaking of appliances - it was good to hear you had an extra fridge so you could keep going at home till the one in your kitchen is back in operating order. We use to keep a freezer, but I gave it away since we often had too much in it that got shoved around inside and forgotten. Turned out to be wasteful for us. So now all we have is the fridge in the kitchen. Don't waste much now so it turned out to be the right answer. I wouldn't mind an extra fridge except we have no real place for it.
Chris, I'm all for privacy too which is why we love living where we do. All the houses around us are several acres away and we are separated by wooded areas as well. That means barely seeing others houses during the summer months when the trees are all so well dressed. I have some drapes on the East facing bank of windows on our deck — to take care of strong morning sun — especially when the 'heat' of summer feels uncomfortable. Other wise we have mainly cafe style valances (longer ends) just to dress up the window and add some balance rather then privacy. I would definitely use your solution if I had people closer. We learned with our first lake house that we needed to ditch carpet which we did at this house, and that we would not need much for drapery either. It has saved us a whole lot of replacement money. It is time to get new flooring here. We put our laminate wood planks down 22 years ago and it is really time for something else now.
Hope you all have an outstanding day.
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Carole, glad your cruise was wonderful and as seasoned cruise takers we try to avoid the one-up-manship others want to play. If someone asks which was our favorite we might offer suggestions but each cruise has its own memories and challenges including undesirable people. Please post photos of the sights when you can.
Sorry about the refrigerator debacle and hope you can get resolution quickly.
harley07, congratulations on your 45th anniversary. Hope you enjoyed your dinner.
taco, thank you for your kind words. I am frustrated by my lack of progress due to the swelling and night time pain. I did ambulate sooner this time but since then I seem to be in a rut. PT did increase the level of exercises today which I am happy about and I hope it helps.
Illinoislady, hope you found a mattress topper that you like. When I replaced our mattress, Boscov's had a test mattress (with electronic sensors) and questionnaire that helped determine which mattress best suited your sleep and comfort patterns. It narrowed it down to 2 types and then we sampled them to make our final decision. It was so much better then the old try on 10 mattresses and end up with something that didn't work.
Chris, glad you were able to find a film to cover your windows to provide privacy. Shame that you had to do it in the first place.
Today is sunny with temps to hit the mid to high 70's but so far it's only 68. The plants from Costco that just required placement of the bulbs for the lilies and uncovering the begonias needed watering only after this. The lilies are already sprouting stems and leaves and the begonias are starting, too. I still have 2 dahlia bulbs to plant and will look through the pots I have to see which one to use. These are full-sized dahlias, not miniatures so they will be quite tall.
DD told me the teacher who used to give her tomato plants planted by her students as a science project, retired at the end of last year, so it looks like no free tomato plants this year. I'll have to buy one or 2 at Produce Junction. I liked having the fresh tomatoes and so did the squirrels.
cindyny, you have been busy attending family shindigs. Had to laugh about your lasagna comments. I ate some leftover cheesecake last night and it did not sit well. I was uncomfortable for about 2 hours burping like a sailor. First tiem I had that experience but felt like it had fermented in my gut. It tasted wonderful though.
canarycat, love your flower photos. The lilac in the pot must smell divine.
I have a Black lace elderberry bush that is in bloom and it is so fragrant. We have it in a fenced in bed because though it was supposed to be deer-proof, it proved to be a deer magnet. I bought it at the local nursery after overhearing a guy discuss it with another shopper. It needs a larger area so we'll have to refence the area and move it to the middle of the bed. It is a lovely bush. The hibiscus in this bed is just starting to send up shoots. The rhododendron I moved there has died back but is sending up a new shoot, so I most likely will move it to another area once the new shoots form. I have an ideal spot for it.
Need to go elevate my leg since it is swelling even thpugh PT did massage it to decrease swelling. Hope everyone has a great day.
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I saw the Thorasic surgeon this morning. I had already read the CT report on my portal so no surprises there. But we were reviewing the scan and he mentioned multiples in my right lung. So I said here I was focused on the left lung, thinking from scatter radiation. He said it could be from asthma, infection, or reflux.
So I told him about having to sleep near sitting up from eating lasagna last night, and taking a Pepcid once I was home. He didn’t think I should be that bothered but because I have a hiatal hernia it would allow acid to move up.
My long story short, he sent in a prescription for famotidine, which is what Pepcid is, to take nightly.I’m not going to lie ladies, I clicked our heat on once I got back from the dr. It was 62 in the house and 58 outside with sun. It really felt warmer out than in. We’re down to 50 now, and the heat is still set at 68. I’ve got a chill!!
We had my cousins friend come over and give us an estimate for AC splits. I know, a cold day to think about AC. Anyway, his price was approximately $2k less than a gf got 2 years back. He’s also rangling my cousin into helping him, he’s had his knee replaced and isn’t doing ladders right now. So I think I got the friends & family discount. Why I haven’t done this years ago, I can’t explain. But I will be glad to be in a cool environment, and not have my only bedroom window blocked by my window AC unit. Or blasting the portable AC unit in the living room and having to blast the volume in the tv just to hear it.
That was my crazy day today. Cool weather with rain starting Thursday thru Saturday, with Memorial Day our first day with no rain - but temps estimated are 66-70. I’m hoping for 70+!
No plans for tomorrow. I may finally put things back in the “closet” that blocks the basement door. The AC guy could be 10+ days away, and I need things organized.
Enjoy the night, hopefully restful & peaceful for all of us.2 -
Cindy, good news on the lung checkup. And on installing central a/c. One thing that caught my attention in the poorer countries we visited in Europe, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, was the a/c window units in all the buildings. I questioned a guide and he said the buildings were not constructed for central air and heat. Some people in the southern US use window units but all homes built in recent years have central a/c.
Betrayal, I hope you had a good night's sleep. I slept much better than the past two nights but woke up at 6 am and decided to get up. The coffee pot was set for 6:30 so I clicked it on.
Today I have an 11 am appointment for a dental cleaning. Afterwards I plan to go to Sam's Club and buy several cartons of Premium Protein chocolate drink. It's pricey but a regular component in my breakfast and we don't have a Sam's Club nearby in MN. I tried buying the powder to mix my own but it wasn't an acceptable substitute.
Happy Tuesday to everyone.
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There is no physician like cheerful thought for dissipating the ills of the body; there is no comforter to compare with good will for dispersing the shadows of grief and sorrow. To live continually in thoughts of ill will, cynicism, suspicion, and envy, is to be confined in a self-made prison hole. But to think well of all, to be cheerful with all, to patiently learn to find the good in all—such unselfish thoughts are the very portals of happiness; and to dwell day by day in thoughts of peace toward every creature will bring abounding peace to their possessor.
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Finally had a night where I was able to sleep for several hours at a time. I woke twice for bathroom breaks and was able to fall back easily. I took pain med at bedtime only and did not require the ice pack. So I am hoping the non-sleep cycle has finally been broken. I slept in until 7:30 not hearing the dog start her morning bark. Normally she wakes me around 7 and considering she puts herself to bed in the crate at 10:30 pm, that's a good night's sleep for the most part. I don't wake her as I make my way to the powder room. She had been crated for 2 years before we got her and she still views her crate as a safe place. DH would like to have her sleep upstairs uncrated but she isn't happy when he's tried.
cindyny, what did doctor say about your right sided pulmonary nodules? Were they there before? I am trying to schedule my follow-up CT scan for the fall.
Today is sunny, in the mid 60's and less breezy than yesterday. Once I get this return call to schedule CT will try to get out side to do some plants in pots I have.
Leg still swollen though PT massage seems to be helping. Made my PT appointments through June to ensure I can get the time I like.
Chris, I hope you get good news on thumb treatment. I don't think anyone realizes how often they are used daily until they are painful.
Hope everyone has a great day.
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Good afternoon. I'm a bit late today. We had someone coming to work on our AC this morning and now all is well with it. Dh tried to take the condenser unit apart and clean it, but got 'stuck' somewhere along the way. The truth seems to be somewhere between I just turned 86 but I haven't figured out as yet that there are some things I can no longer do and things I can — especially if I don't have to take anything apart to do it.
Dh was extremely good at things of that nature in his younger years. I think his brother talked to him yesterday about some of his driving. I'm not sure what that is about, but I haven't driven with him for a really long time. I do most of the driving for us due to the fact that he has always seemed to have trouble with my car. He can't seem to judge it well despite the fact that the basic size of our cars and trucks ( all Chevy's for years) never changes much. Anyway Dh meets his brother at the Church meal and I don't go there due to not knowing salt content.
So we finally got our thunderstorm and rain last night sometime I think around the midnight hours. I awoke for a bathroom break to thunder and lightning. Twice. We have had muted sun today and some very minor sprinkles. So we are once again nice and wet. It is 79 so it is nice and warm. Our house is staying cool as it often does in the Spring months — and more so when we have a bit less strong sun.
After today and another rain ??? at 8p.m. (unless it waits till the wee hours again) it will be a good deal cooler. I'm keeping one set of winter pj's out as I almost always do for that reason. It then is not due to rain again until Saturday — but who knows. Sat. need to get there first because around here anything goes most of the time.
Betrayal, yipee, yahoo on the good sleep last night. I too hope the pain cycle/non-sleep pattern has been interrupted and hopefully for the rest of your recovery from your TKR. I know some ups and downs but it is time for a whole lot more ups.
As to the pulmonary nodules, my view is it would be a good thing to have them checked at a minimum at least once a yr. But then having had one decide to get some cancer cells going in it, I would have that view. Because a check was going on every 6 months it was discovered quickly — stayed in the nodule and was radiated out of existence. The usual method of fix I'm told is surgery but at the time my ejection fraction was too low so the next best thing was radiation. I think the fact it wasn't there long assisted the radiation in being a very successful treatment. Now as to being honest I will have to admit that it was something of an annoyance to me to be checked every 6 months, but it made sense and I was glad when it turned that within 6 mos. time the thing totally changed into something that needed attention. So that is why I would want a check on it at least once a yr.
I was not only a former smoker (been at least 25 or 30 yrs. now ) but was not always able to stay completely away from all smoke and smokers — though I did pretty good. I'm told that anyone who has smoked or been around a lot of smokers has a much bigger potential to have lung nodules pop up.
Glad for you Cindy. central air is a godsend. We keep ours set on 78. It is too warm for our kids (they keep their room like a freezer) but just about right for Dh and for me. We have kept it like that for yrs. and it is obviously a lot more economical for us as well. We won't turn it on hopefully till mid-June or so. That is always what we hope anyway. When we first came back home in 1997, we generally were able to wait till mid-July or first week in August. Haven't done that in yrs. I hope you are able to enjoy the peace and comfort of cooled rooms (all about the same) and no annoyances from excessive noises or care of window units.
Carol, I'm with you on the chocolate. Sometimes certain brands/companies do a better job with a product. I'm that way with my coffee creamer. I use Natural Bliss Sweet Cream. It only has 4our ingredients and real milk and cream are two of them. It for me allows the flavor of the coffee first, I with the 'cream' as the second supporting flavor. Like your chocolate it costs more but I do think it is superior and is among the few creamers I've found that allow me to continue to mainly taste coffee rather than different flavorings. Some of the flavorings are nice, but they still cover up the coffee flavor more than I really like.
Sorry for the length. I think I made up for being late, by being mouthy. My apologies. I hope you are all going to have a good day — not too much weather you don't like, success with your chores and or appts. and hugs to all.
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My lung nodules have remained stable since they were discovered; no change. I’ve had the ones in the right lung all along but I think BC in my head, I was focused on the left lung and rads causing it. He believes it’s from inhaling acid from the reflux. Caremark sent texts, they’re processing the new script.
I really should have gotten out for a walk today but chose to stay indoors futzing with my unpacking & organizing. It was in the 40’s this morning so that factored in.
As I was putting undergarments and socks away, I purged a lot too. Underwear that I just don’t like, into the trash they went. Lots of sport socks I put in a pile for rag bag. Too good to throw away not great enough to keep wearing; I bought a new pack of 10 or 12 low sport socks while I was in FL. I even moved crew socks and cashmere sport socks, my fall & winter wear, into a different drawer. Boring but felt good to get it done.The rest of my suitcase full…I just have to admit I have too much. I’ve gained weight and hate wearing anything that hugs my stomach. But I’d hope to lose said stomach, so there are things I wear and things I might wear.
Jackie, it’s good you got your AC fixed. No harm done by your dh.
Betrayal, finally some solid sleep for you! That had to feel great. It sounds like you are turning a corner.
Carole, I hope you got your chocolate protein drink. And your dental cleaning found nothing needing attention.
I don’t think we hit 60 today. I’m in long yoga pants, tank top, and a quilted 1/4 zip pullover to keep warm. This weather is for the birds!
Speaking of birds, I think the one nested over my back awning has flew the coop. I want all that nesting out of there. I may try expanding foam to make the spot uninviting.
I need to keep going with hanging clothes up in the closet. No fun, but I will get the empty suitcase put away too. Enjoy the rest of the day!
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Speaking of birds, I have to be careful to shut the door into the outbuilding that houses the refrigerator and a lot of stuff. The wrens will fly in and start building a nest. I had to shoo a couple of them out of the building. Our sliding glass door leading out to the porch has a housing over the top for the hurricane shutter. We've had a nest on top of the housing for years and it's used every year.
DH bought the Premium Protein yesterday and used the accumulated Sam's cash. Sam's has become more generous with its cash since Costco moved in not far away. We bought a Costco membership and I haven't been there since that day. DH bought some clothes there for the trip. When we return home in October I'll try to explore Costco and decide whether to continue the membership. Most of my What's For Dinner? friends are Costco shoppers.
I had a good night's sleep last night. Thankful for that. DH is playing golf today, hoping to dodge any showers. He said it's cooler out this morning, thanks to a weak cold front that's bringing the showers. I plan to go to the gym and probably do the senior exercise class if I can manage to get in and claim a spot. The senior classes get very crowded and are limited to 54. They're held in the gym.
Jackie, we used to keep our thermostat at 78 in the summer but now that's too hot. I set it at 75 and sometimes edge it down to 74. At night we have it at 68. All the health advice recommends a cool sleeping environment.
Hope everyone has a good day.
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Ten times a day something happens to me like this--some strengthening throb of amazement--some good sweet empathetic ping and swell. This is the first, the wildest and the wisest thing I know: that the soul exists and is built entirely out of attentiveness.
Mary Oliver
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Good morning. A nice sun out this morning, but only 60 degrees. I don't think we got the last rain which was due yesterday evening and had not made it at my bedtime. The ground outside does not look rained on, and only moist as yet from the previous rain. Next few days, ?? dry and cool. Should stay in the 50's and 60's. It's okay with me as long as we skip the rain.
The wrens wanting in an outbuilding remind me of the small birds who used to come to my deck everyday to take strings from an old string mop I had laying across one of the benches for their nest building🏢. I put it out every yr. for them as I didn't really need it anymore. We use to keep bird feeders when we first moved here, but it became such a challenging proposition trying to keep the squirrels out and we finally gave up. I did enjoy seeing the birds come though.
We don't have a Sam's card anymore although sometimes I miss it. The thing is we were by ourselves here for so long that it was generally too much for us. Not so much the money involved, but for the size of house we have there is little storage. I often think of getting another card though. I could likely eke out storage for a couple of things we seem to use in more excessive amts. Like toilet paper.
I've thought about Costco myself although I think the Sam's around here (close to the river crossing into St. Louis, Mo) may be easier to get to than the Costco which is in St. Louis I think. Kirkland is the big store Brand for Costco — Member's Mark for Sam's. I read on the Internet who actually supplied the items under the Kirkland name and it was fairly impressive. I was never able to find anything similar for Sam's signature brand. Due to buying in bulk amts. I think there will be savings no matter which store you use, but I'd like to know which turns out to be the better for your needs Carol and I guess that is generally what it comes to — if you can save on what you customarily buy all the time.
We have been warned that our electric company (Ameren) is going to up pricing again which doesn't make me happy at all. I think we pay enough. I've noticed (even in our small town) that people are apparently switching over to solar panels. They are showing up on smaller houses even on people's roofs. I presume this has something to do with the increase. Ameren is (in their eyes anyway) losing money. Our friend down the way who had big solar panels after having to rebuild his home from a fire said that he still has to pay something to Ameren — but it must not be near what he use to pay. He has a rather lg. house for a bachelor. Upstairs and basement — pool outside and sun porch on the back of house. Also two car attached garage as well as three car out on the far end of the property. The same thing to an extent has gone on with TV services here. People are shutting off a lot of their subscriptions in favor of free streaming if you have the right TV for it. Most of the newer TV's are built for free services. We use to bundle and do pretty good, but as more and more quit their bundles the price for the rest of us was inching up. Then we finally quit. They chg. more for our Internet (wi-fi) now but we don't have the bundle price as well as what we were paying for Hulu either. Sometimes I miss the Hulu but like a lot of people we didn't fully utilize it well — stuck almost exclusively to only our favorites and didn't branch out much.
Going to go now and only write a half a book today. I hope you are all going to have a really good day. Going for my haircut today. We made it for this coming Monday but found it Memorial Day which wasn't evident much back 6 wks. ago when we made the original appt. I'm okay with going early.
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