Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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Darn - I just learned the hard way that you (or at least I ) can’t start typing a comment, then decide to go back a few pages bc i wanted to comment on something, and then come back to my comment bc it totally disappeared. Does this always happen or am i missing some trick to this? Obviously I just need to remember to take notes as i am reading!
Harley - I love your pictures. Brought back memories of when we were stationed in the Philippines and traveled all around that country as well as Thailand and Hong Kong. We were able to fly Space A from Clark AB in the Phillippines to Bangkok for $10 each (in a C-130 which doesn’t have seats, just benches along the sides. The flights were used to re-supply the US Embassy in Bangkok, so the middle of the plane was full of these huge refrigerated boxes (like 8x8) so that the embassy workers could eat steak and potatoes instead of Thai food 🙄). Sorry if that sounded snippy, but the amount of money wasted by the US government is mind boggling and drives me crazy.
I had my first visit to the Fred Hutch cancer center in Seattle last week. My onc - whom i adore - switched over from Swedish to the Hutch so she could do more research and clinical trial stuff - so I switched too. It’s a much bigger facility (partly bc Swedish has a separate breast center so you never see all the other cancer people) with far more patients and providers. And my blood draw was done in a hallway in the lab - no curtain, nothing. I bet 20 people - both employees and other patients - walked by me and got to watch my blood filling up many many vials. It was a little weird.
My apologies to everyone for not being able to address their comments. Hope everyone is having a good week , most everyone sounds like their weather has definitely improved in the last couple of weeks - hopefully spring is here to stay. And it’s back to watching the Mariners most nights - the only team that has never been to the World Series There are high hopes for this year, but I am reserving judgement - we’ve been down this road before!
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Chris, you can use FamilySearch to do free research and it is affiliated with Ancestry. I have been able to find info on there that I was unable to find using Ancestry. You can do census searches on there to b see if you can track the other families. Do you know which port they arrived at? You were lucky to find someone on Facebook who was so willing to help you.
I am still plugging away on writing the one family history that is connected to my gp's house. The deed registrar has been very nice about helping me, but said that finding info prior to 1870 is time consuming because there are no indexes for grantors and grantees. I sent him the deed record I had made and he did send me some additional pages. I'll have to take my time reading them because they are written in the highly stylized cursive of the time. Plus the formal legalese.
Beautiful day today. High 70's, sunny and a light breeze. I called the fur storage company and took my furs in. I will get 2 cleaned and stored and the 3rd had already been cleaned. Charges comparable to what I had been paying at old place.
Taking 2 parakeets into vets tomorrow for bill trimming. They have really grown fast and I think they did not trim them enough last year. I had to wait until it warmed up to be able to take them. The Dad is approximately 11 years old and the daughter will be six this summer. They are still eating, but the concern is that the point of the bill is almost touching their chests.
DB is coming tomorrow to finish tub caulking and to put stain on the doors and baseboards as needed. I have a list for him where touch-ups are needed.
DD and DSIL stopped by to pickup the items I got for them from Costco.
petite1, glad you are feeling better.
cindyny, back is still giving me pain. Taking it easier today and no vacuuming or rug moving for the foreseeable future.
Hope everyone had a wonderful day and waving "hi" to everyone.
harley07, hoping your trip home was not too bad.
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janiehs - when you are typing your comment hit ‘save draft’ at the bottom of the comment. This will allow you to scroll back to review other’s comments and not lose your comment. I save frequently when typing my comments as I’ve lost too many to count.
Carole - yes, I did feel safe in Vietnam. We followed the usual travel precautions of being aware of our surroundings, keeping our phones and wallets in safe places etc. The biggest concerns were taxi scams, particularly at the airport so I had our hotels arrange transportation. We took tours arranged by the hotels as well, although I’m sure 3rd party sites like Viator, Tours by Locals and Get your Guide would have been fine. I was a little concerned about food poisoning but we stuck with bottled water, fully cooked food, and ate at the hotel restaurants more often than typical although we sampled plenty of local restaurants and we did not get sick.
betrayal - we left Hanoi shortly before midnight on Tuesday local time and arrived in Tokyo at 7am Wednesday local time. Our flight home leaves at 5pm Tokyo time so we are sitting in the airline lounge trying to stay awake. Four more hours to go before takeoff.
Regarding where to next - we have a three week cruise booked for March 2027 from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Barcelona, Spain. The idea is that we will spend 5-7 days in Argentina prior to the cruise and then a few days in Madrid at the end. Of course that depends on our health and the state of world affairs.
Waving hello to all.
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Great pics, Harley and Reader. And thanks for sharing your poetry, Jeannie.
Chris - nice find. I have birth and death for my Irish ancestor from her gravestone but can't get much else. When I has at the NEGHS, I worked with their Irish specialist with no hints.
Still in a holding pattern here. Dentist told DD that her tooth would be okay in 7-10 days (which will be the end of this week) but her other teeth have taken over 2 weeks to heal. So no date yet for her surgery. I did reschedule my knee May 21st. If I'm not home by then, who knows when we will be. My sister also suggested that we fly to Boston and take a regularly scheduled bus to Portland. Trying to decide which will make Ken less anxious. Carole, the anesiologist said he wouldn't operate until she had clearance from her dentist and he found a badly infected tooth. Don't know if that triggered the original Bell's Palsey but… Hence, the delay.
It's been over 100 already. Breaking all kinds of records with no rain.
Sending hugs to all who need them.
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The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.
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I am getting restless. It is time to get back to my usual activities. I was hoping my chicken soup diet would lead me to weight loss. It did for a couple of days, but now it is going up. I was hoping to return to my pre-hypothyroid and pre-holidays weight. Oh, well….
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I empathize with the weight issue, Petite.
We watched the launch on tv yesterday. Hoping for a safe trip for the astronauts.
Funny experience yesterday. I was at the gym before exercise class chatting with people when I happened to look down at my feet. No gym shoes. I was still wearing my house sandals with bare feet. I went home and cleaned the kitchen and waited until time to drive to Outback and meet my three exercise friends for our Wednesday lunch. Outback has a soup and salad special for $10. Only one of the four of us had attended exercise class but we all showed up for lunch. LOL.
I had the potato soup, which was ho hum, but the wedge salad was quite good. I'm a fan of wedge salad and have eaten it at a number of restaurants. I seldom eat iceberg lettuce except for wedge salads. Outback wasn't crowded. I think its popularity has waned or maybe it isn't a lunch place.
Today I have to buy a ham for Easter dinner at my younger sister's house. I am also making potato salad. One popular Easter meal in this area is a crawfish boil. The weather forecast for Sunday is 70 per cent rain, not the best weather for outdoor eating like a crawfish boil.
Happy Thursday to all.
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Vines will be planted, corn will spring up, a whole growth of new crops; and people will still fall in love in vintages and harvests yet to come. Life is eternal; it is a perpetual renewal of birth and growth.
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Talking about potatoes, this is my potato soup recipe. If you like dill pickle favored chips, this will be wonderful.
1 large yellow onion, 4 large stalks celery, 3 cloves garlic, 3 T olive oil, 2 1/4 t salt, 3/4 t pepper, 2 lb yellow potatoes, 2 cans cannellini or navy beans, 4 cups water or veg broth, 1 can full-fat coconut milk, 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar, dill, fresh preferred
Dice onion and celery, smash garlic. Heat 3 T oil in large pot, Cook vegetable mixture until soft, stirring often. Scrub and dice potatoes. Drain and rinse beans. Add all the ingredients except vinegar to pot. Heat on medium high until boiling, then reduce to simmer. When the potatoes are very soft, use immersion blender to desired consistency. Otherwise, use food processor to blend in batches. Add vinegar and adjust seasoning to your taste. Especially if you want the salt and vinegar to be a surprise.
The official version is to peel the potatoes, then fry the peelings, season, and use for garnish. However, these potatoes are so tender-skinned, and my hands are so troublesome that I skip this.
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Some of my daffodil beds. They look so lovely now. More to come.
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Betrayal - spring has arrived! Your daffodils are beautiful.
Chris - thanks for sharing potato soup recipe. We are getting lots of rain here today and appears it is moving through your area as well. I will not complain about the dreary weather as we badly need the rain which will hopefully mitigate some of the brush fires we are having.
Carole - I like the excuse for skipping out of the exercise class - I may use that myself. Happy to hear your crew still showed up for lunch.
Petite - give yourself some grace. It can take time to regain strength.
We arrived home on Wednesday afternoon. Our journey home included a 10 hour layover in the Tokyo airport - complete with a 5.0 earthquake which lasted for less than a minute. The locals are used to the shaking as Japan sits atop the ring of fire in the Pacific. Everything continued as normal.
We are unpacked, laundry is done and put away. Need to make a trip to the grocery store.
Waving hello to all.
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Met pulmonologist for the first time today to discuss dx of mild asthma. NP had put me on an inhaler which is causing my vocal cords to produce raspy voice. He introduced himself using his first name, reviewed my PFT results in depth, and why he wants to treat the asthma. Seems I may have had it for awhile, just undiagnosed and explained my options for treatment: do nothing; continue on current meds including option to use inhaler only as needed; or swap meds to another one. So after discussion, I opted to continue current treatment because real test of use might happen while I am on vacation and pace is faster. I will see him in September for follow-up and by then I should be able to determine if inhaler is beneficial. He is very nice and did a read on my CT, but says I should wait for read by radiologist. Seems they have a hiring issue and CT's take 10 days for reading.
Meanwhile, the x-ray of my knees for the Ortho appointment was available yesterday. It was just to evaluate the status of my knee replacements and all looked fine until I read the radiologist evaluation where it stated "bilateral hip replacements bilaterally". Okay, I have not and hope never to have hip replacements if possible, but this is a legal document in my chart. I wrote to the Ortho office since there is no way I can reach the radiologist (who will bill me for this report) and ask that this be corrected. I imagine that they are being overworked, but I do not want this in my chart.
Took parakeets in for annual checkups because they will not do bill trims without performing a physical exam. Dad is approximately 11 years old, and Uno, his daughter, will be six this June. Dad seems to have a swelling on his abdomen where his liver would be and she showed it to me and had me palpate it. Then she says, they'd like to do an x-ray, but it will cost$240. I politely declined after mentioning he is nearly 11 years old. Their bills look much better than they did after the last trim and hopefully they will now be able to use the mineral perch chew to keep them in shape. I love them, but there are times that reason has to prevail as far as care and cost.
Got a late start on laundry due to my doctor's appointment and then DH's this afternoon. So I am still working on getting it done.
We decided to use my reward for Sedona Taphouse and had a late lunch/dinner. It was really a good meal and we need to do this more often since we now have so many new eateries in the area. Some are very upscale like Ruth Chris's and LaScala Fire so we'll save them for other special occasions.
petite1, once you regain mobility and your normal activity level, I am sure you will see a change in your weight.
carole, had to laugh about your shoes and your rationale for continuing to luncheon date. You were not meant to attend that class.
harely07, so glad you made it home safely and hit the ground running. I am not sure the earth quake wouldn't have scared me silly. We have had several very small ones in the past and recently. The first one I experienced was when I was single, living in an apartment that was one building removed from the boiler that fed heat to the entire block. When my bed shook enough to move in the bedroom, waking me, my first thought was the boiler had blown up. However, was so unimpressed I rolled over, and went back to sleep.
Chris, thanks for the potato soup recipe. It sounds delicious, so I will copy and paste. I love soups and do make some milk based ones where I use potato cubes and then vary the other vegetable between peas, or asparagus. Calls for a generous dollop of butter to the milk broth, too.
Taco, hope Debbie gets cleared for her surgery soon and you can get yours done as well.
Ran to state store which is our liquor store to pick up gift for BFF's birthday party. Was able to get her the Bourbon she drinks, but seems they do not stock Sloe Gin anymore. So I will have to go out of state to get some. Wish I had known in advance because I could have asked DB to pick it up for me before he came to finish his jobs. I wanted this as a surprise because this was her "go-to" drink when we were in nursing school. Sloe gin fizzes with peanut butter toast. Don't knock it until you try it, lol.
Ran to Giant to get the last of the items I need for Easter and seems I qualify for free ham. I'll have to go back because I didn't look at the receipt or I would have gotten one before I leave. It will give me an excuse to go out tomorrow when the temps are to be back in the 70's. Yesterday got into the 80's and then overnight we had a temp drop into the 40's. It is gray, cold and drizzly. Sure has been weather yo-yo lately.
Picked up prescription and they want you to pay if the bill is not a round number, so you give them pennies, but they claim they won't give you any when they owe you pennies in change. Is this a CVS corporate policy now? I know it cost to make pennies, but when you need them because all prices are not rounded, what are we to do? So if less than 3 cents, they shouldn't expect them and if more than 3, you round to the nearest whole number. Works for me.
Hope everyone is having a great day and waving "hi" to everyone.
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Honest good humor is the oil and wine of a merry meeting, and there is no jovial companionship equal to that where the jokes are rather small and laughter abundant.
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Beautiful daffodil bloom. Such "happy" flowers.
Harley, glad you're safely home. The earthquake must have been a scary sensation.
Betrayal, lucky you, getting a free ham. I had to pay for mine yesterday. Glad all your medical interactions worked out to your satisfaction except the chart error about hip surgery that didn't happen. Ham doesn't rank as a healthy food with me, except for seasoning in soup or beans, but I offered to provide ham and potato salad for Easter noon dinner at my younger sister's house. I can expect to retain 3 to 4 lbs of fluid after a ham meal. Especially paired with potato salad.
I may not get to senior exercise today. DH is expecting the delivery of his smart watch with a new battery. Someone has to be on hand to accept delivery. I volunteered so that he can play golf. I'm hoping the delivery happens early enough that I can still go to the class. Otherwise, I can go to the gym and do my own routine or take a walk if it isn't too hot and humid. Or do neither. Options. LOL.
Our weather forecast for Easter weekend includes rain and storms. I would be just as happy staying home but will "go with the program."
Happy Friday to all.
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Yes, Carol. Sad that you cannot have any of my potato soup. Make sure nobody is on a low-salt diet, or warn the that it mimics potato chips. Actually, it would probably be good if you use dill pickles and potato chips as garnishes.
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The thing to do, it seems to me, is to prepare yourself so you can be a rainbow in somebody else's cloud. Somebody who may not look like you. May not call God the same name you call God - if they call God at all. I may not dance your dances or speak your language. But be a blessing to somebody. That's what I think.
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Jumping right in.
Betrayal, loved the daffodils pictures. The costs for a parakeet X-ray, wow.
Chris, great potato soup recipe.
Petite, glad you’re feeling somewhat better. Carole, perfect excuse for skipping the class! Taco, fingers crossed your daughter gets clears and you get an uneventful trip to her. Harley, welcome home. Looking forward to more pictures.
Janie, I’ve had my posts disappear too.
If I missed anyone, I’ve read the posts just didn’t take notes, and hope you’re all doing ok!Water heater - I can’t remember if I finished up with the story. No one could get the anode rod out. Two men, under my supervision haha, bent a metal pole used to add torque on the wrench. It’s flushed, it makes great hot water, and the smell dissipated somewhat. Until next year/season, it will wait.
NY pool - my sister stopped at my house mostly to see if any tree branches were in my yard, as they had a very bad storm. No tree limbs but, of course, my pool winter cover was half off and in the water of the pool. Mess. She couldn’t do anything but send me pictures. I called on my trusty cousin, who stopped over and removed it entirely. He’ll be back to scoop out the tons of pine needles, leaves and pine cones now resting inside it.
Add it to my “to do” list upon arrival in NY. Reminder, my fence was burnt down (two 6’ panels, 3 posts), garage singed, metal roof paint blistered off, etc… Oh joy, can’t wait to get back there!
AC finale - I bought a UV bulb based on the sticker on the Rudd unit; didn’t fit, plus they took the old one so I had nothing to compare it to. Thursday the HVAC company showed up. All new UV unit; took out the old, installed the new - it came with an extra bulb. $249 and if this bulb blows at least I have an extra.
Now I’m off to the post office for the second day in a row. Yesterday it cost me $8+ to ship old expired pain meds back to the last guest, that current guests found in the dresser. Today is to mail back the UV bulb. Bulb cost $44; shipping costs to get it back for a full refund, TBD. Might cost half the bulb for all I know.
We’ve got guests thru Monday morning - they’re headed to the keys but will be back on Thursday night, thru next Sunday. I’ll be taking them in the middle of the night/super early morning.
GF here leaves for the season on Wednesday - I’m taking her, her dh and a dog to the airport, guessing around 5 AM.
April 13 I’ll be without guests. Oh me oh my.And that’s it for this little crazy part of my life.
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Parakeet I took to the vets that was 11 years old, died this morning. He did not look good when I first saw him but he was by the feed dish trying to eat. Then he puffed out his wings which is not a good sign. I went upstairs to finally get to dusting DD's old room and to run the vacuum plus remove all items slated to hit the donation box. He was on the bottom of the cage when I came down again. I think his mate is calling out to him since she has been quite vocal today, more than usual. They were a bonded pair and parents of the one offspring still alive, Uno.
I stopped at CVS yesterday to discard an empty inhaler since they cannot be discarded in the trash. DH had tried to discard it 10 days ago and their med disposal bin was locked then and again yesterday. I asked when it would be available and when I heard " don't know", I told them I was leaving the inhaler and they could discard it. The tech protested, but the pharmacist said they would take it. When I asked the store supervisor about why this is not available I was told the company hadn't come. When I asked what the pick-up routine was she told me to take my meds for disposal to another CVS or to the Police Station. I asked if she knew which local CVS had the disposal units so I wouldn't be making useless trips, she told me to take a ride. I told her this was not good customer service and I shouldn't have to make useless trips to find one. I called corporate and got someone who blew me off and I really wish my medication insurance was not tied to CVS. Their service has seriously declined over the past 5 years and meanwhile the cost of meds has steadily increased.
I made 2 loaves of banana nut bread because I had some overripe bananas. They are in the oven at present, as are 2 pineapple casseroles for tomorrow. The bread takes at least 75 minutes to bake and the casseroles are at a lower temp than normal so they will take a bit longer, too. The kitchen smells really good because it is full of banana aroma. I'll probably freeze both of them.
Tomorrow I will cook a ham, make the Martha Stewart Escalloped potatoes and roast some asparagus. I need the oven space so that is why I made the pineapple casserole today. I did get a free ham from Giant and decided I will freeze it for later use. They run this offer at Thanksgiving , Christmas and Easter where if you have $400 worth of purchases in a specified time frame you qualify for a free turkey of ham. The ham had to be less than 14 lb and if you needed a larger one, you could have $1/lb taken off the price. Not sure of what the turkey was for Easter, but I have gotten then as large as 20 lb.
It is a beautiful day. I opened the bathroom window upstairs and have both the back door and patio door open. It is 72 degrees today after barely getting to 50 yesterday.
cindyny, glad you were able to get the HVAC fixed and now have a spare bulb. Sorry about the pool mess in NY. We have had a lot of wind storms lately with trees splitting and large branches falling. We still need to get someone to cut up the large branches in our woods.
I need t take a close-up of my oink daffodils. They are a very pale pink. I have many varieties of daffodils and found some 'tete a tete's" that have double "horns". I will post a photo of one. They had them at Giant and I bought 3 pots on my first visit and then yesterday bought the last 2 I could find. Each pot has 5 bulbs so I will plant them under the Japanese Maple and they will also naturalize.
I hope everyone had a wonderful day and waving "hi" to everyone.
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Seems correct term for the part of the daffodil I was trying to describe is the corona or trumpet. So here is the tete a tete multiple trumpet photo.
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Chris - sorry you are having so much pain.
Somebody asked about the "No Kings" demonstration. I have been to all 3 and have felt very safe. Very positive police presence as well as yellow vested organizers. Two darling little girls with their grandma stopped and asked us if we wanted donut holes. I don't go to downtown Phoenix anymore but it was estimated that we had over 3000 on the local main drag.
DD was cleared by her dentist on Thursday but is still waiting for a surgery date. She's gone back to work but they are making it easy for her and she can leave if she needs to. Says she still feels light-headed sometimes. She is so scared and I do wish we lived closer. Maybe now she will consider it.
Enjoying my StoryWorth. Last week I got to write about our romance. Our 60th anniversary is coming up and I really hope I have the book back by then. I need to work harder at getting the pictures posted.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Happy whatever religious holiday you are celebrating.
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Easter is meant to be a symbol of hope, renewal, and new life.
“The message of Passover remains as powerful as ever. Freedom is won not on the battlefield but in the classroom and the home. Teach your children the history of freedom if you want them never to lose it.” — Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
Happy Easter and Chag Pesach Sameach to all who celebrate.
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To all who celebrate:
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Harley- thanks for the tip on how to save my comments. Until recently, I rarely posted so am still figuring it out. And while I envy you your trip to the far east, I do NOT envy your trip home. Airports and airplanes have become one of my least favorite places on earth.
Betrayal - as for pennies, I don’t understand why “they” don’t just get rid of them. Given all the executive orders coming out of D.C. these days, how about one that says all prices of all goods must end in a “0” or a “5”. So no more $10.99 - it’s either $10.95 or $11.00. I realize Walmart will have to change almost every price sticker in their stores, but still. Considering how many places are going cashless these days, the whole problem may solve itself in the not too distant future. I was at a volleyball tournamnet in Spokane this weekend and the entire venue was cashless. And, as it turns out, apparently every 12 and 13 year old girl in the arena had an iPhone and AppleCash.
Cindy - it sounds like you have your work cut out for you when you get back to NY. We also have a second home but the older I get, the more I am starting to wonder about how much longer we can keep them both up. It’s not just the money, tho the expenses just keep getting worse, but just the hassle of running back and forth every week is becoming exhausting.
And my sympathies to Taco’s DD. Despite being married to one, I HATE going to the dentist. I had to have gum surgery several years ago, and when I saw the dentist for a check-up, i told him that he didn’t need to bother to reccommend it again because i would rather let all my teeth fall out than repeat that procedure. I mean, I’m pretty sure I could live for several years on milkshakes and soup.
I hope everyonne has a great week. We are suppose to have nice spring like weather this week, tho i know better than to really count on it. Last Thursday we left Seattle where it was 60 and partly sunny and an hour later were in a blinding snowstorm at the top of Snoqualmie Pass. And there were people skiing. I am not a skier, but I do not get the attraction of careening down frozen water with snow blowing in my face. Give me a beach (preferably on Maui) or a pool (also Maui) anyday!
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Imagine what a harmonious world it could be if every single person, both young and old shared a little of what he is good at doing.
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janiehs, getting rid of pennies still doesn't answer what happens when you add state taxes on purchases, especially when there are such wide disparities in the state taxes across the US. In PA we do not pay taxes on clothing, but in our travels we were charged unbelievable rates of taxes on clothing in other states, as well as any purchase in that state. We also don't pay taxes on necessities in the grocery store, but again that rule is not universal. So in the fall we get lots of shoppers from NY shopping for school clothing.
We can agree to disagree on Maui as well, since I found Maui to be too and humid to be enjoyable. I preferred the other islands. I used to teach my nursing students guided imagery and my "go to" place was Sorrento, Italy, where I could feel the warm, gentle breezes off the bay of Naples, smell the salt air or ripening lemons, see beautiful water and scenery, hear lovely music and enjoy a Campari and orange.
Yesterday was very enjoyable. My DD and DSIL joined us for dinner which was a ham decorated with pineapple slices and maraschino cherries, scalloped potatoes, pineapple casserole and roasted asparagus. It was delicious and of course, we all ate too much. DD had brought a fruit tray and a vegetable tray with dips for us to munch on before dinner. She also brought a chocolate cake shaped like half of a decorated Easter egg that had a peanut butter butter cream icing. It was so good. They gifted me a black calla lily and a box of chocolates for us to share.
It wasn't the nicest of days since it rained early in the morning complete with very dark skies, but as the day progressed it became sunnier, but remained cold. We are going to drop back down into freezing again this week which will damage some of the plants that have started to push up like my hostas and the ferns.
Today is sunny, but still chilly. I am taking the day off after a very busy weekend.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter, has a wonderful day today and waving "hi" to everyone.
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Cindy - what a mess with your pool in NY. At least you have family that can check on it but it’s another thing to add to the ‘to do’ list. I may have previously mentioned that we owned a second home in Wisconsin for about five years in the early 2000’s. It seemed that something was always broken at one house or the other. As our son moved into the early teen years he was reluctant to spend weekends in Wisconsin rather than at home with his friends. So we sold the cabin in the woods. I regret the purchase but not the sale of the cabin. Live and learn, I guess.
Our Easter was very quiet and relaxing - just the two of us. The sun was out for most of the afternoon which was a welcome change so we went out for a walk. Going for a haircut this morning and then planning on the gym this afternoon. My motivation for exercise is severely lacking so I need to work on that.
Wishing everyone a good day!
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A lot has happened. I discovered that Tippy has been peeing on the bedroom carpet. It was really bad, and I called in my cleaning lady. She is coming back today to put an old shower curtain on the floor under the bed.
Tippy and I are having a contest. I bought an inexpensive mesh dog-gate. Every morning I wake up to the gate partially detached. When AC time comes around, I will need to have this resolved. Also need to have the door open during the day to dissipate odors.
With this post impairment stuff, I need to change my eating habits, so I don't gain weight in response to lower activity levels. I need to lose 15 to 20 pounds to get out of the overweight range. Nearly everyone in my family ends up dying from cardiovascular problems. A low-carb diet is beneficial for people with arthritis pain. Saturday, I talked with my sister who is on a no-carb diet. Yesterday, I had a salmon steak with mushrooms and Brussels sprouts for dinner. So I need to get to the library and get the Atkins diet book; expected peak temp for today is 42deg. I downloaded a Kindle book with adaptations of the Atkins diet for seniors.
Eggs and cheese for breakfast.
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I enjoyed visiting Maui quite a few years ago. Our trip package included condo rentals and car rental. It snowed up on the mountain while we were there. We drove up the mountain and enjoyed the sight of the Hawaiians playing in the snow while far down below people were on the beach. Such a contrast in weather conditions. The white snow on the black hardened lava was a dramatic sight. On our way down we stopped at a little restaurant and were served a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I forgot to mention that we were there at Thanksgiving. I remember the farmers' fields being dotted with rocks.
From Maui we went to Kauai. One favorite memory was a plane ride to see rain forests. Kauai was actually our favorite of the two islands we visited. This was before a hurricane did substantial damage to Kauai.
One observation that pleased us was how much the Hawaiians enjoyed their islands. Families would gather on the beach and do cookouts.
Thanks for prodding my memory, Janie.
Our Thanksgiving day was a good day, though not enjoyable in a usual way. We went to my younger sister's home, taking a baked ham and a bowl of potato salad. The other guests were my sister's son and his wife and their two autistic children, aged 7 and 3 or 4. Not sure about the little girl. She talks, loudly, while her brother doesn't speak. They were constantly in motion, probably over stimulated by the circumstances. My sister tried to give them a "normal" children's Easter experience, an Easter egg hunt. She put plastic eggs outside in the grass and gave each child a plastic basket. They each had to be held by the hand, especially Jackson, because they have no concept of danger and will run off. We all went outside to participate.
It's a sad situation, especially because the parents aren't "normal" either. The mother has an incurable stomach illness and is just a step away from needing a feeding tube to survive. She isn't able to digest food. My nephew has always had acute anxiety. Strange as it may seem, I was glad to spend an hour or so with the parents and the children. They are part of the family. I help out by buying a supply of diapers every month. My sister does a lot to help out. She is able to handle Jackson and picks him up from a special school that he recently began to attend. At this school, the autistic children have individual attendants. I'm surprised that one is available in Louisiana, which is generally backward in almost all social services, thanks to right wing politics.
Not a lot of food was eaten. I shared the ham leftovers with my sister and brought home most of the potato salad, which I made mostly for dh and myself. Today is Monday senior exercise. I plan to go. A front came through this weekend and we have a week of nice weather ahead, not hot or humid.
Apologies if I have shared too much realism.
Happy Monday to all. The NYT crossword puzzle is workable on Mondays!
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I love that you ladies share real living. It is comforting to read how you handle life's challenges and frustrations, and makes me feel I am not so alone.
Our Easter was quiet with just the four of us. I finally felt well enough to cook a meal rather than just random food so I made a ham, potatoes and green beans. Simple, but it is all the energy I had as my DH aand DD don't cook much. My DD is a night nurse so we eat early enough so she can have a good meal before she leaves. On her off nights she takes care of her own food. She and my DGD live downstairs. My DH and I are then here for my DGD and my DH gets her up for school and takes her to the bus stop in the morning before my DD gets home as mornings are rough for me. Tomorrow is chemo day so I hope I feel well enough to catch up on some chores today. It is our cycle.
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Intolight - thinking of you tomorrow at chemo. Since yesterday was a busy day with cooking hopefully you can rest up today. (Hugs)
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