Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
Comments
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A picture of a male Cardinal at the living room window feeder. It isn't snowing!
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Our home-made Christmas presents. Dh made the wooden tops on his lathe. I crocheted the ornaments. We had 20 quart jars.
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I've been busy all day puttering around the house. I packaged up some of my home-made crocheted hats and mailed them off to three nieces, one in TX, one in Milwaukee and one in Barrington, IL. It's kind of funny that I shop for yarn on sale to keep down the expense. Then I pay $20 to give the hats away! Mailing costs are out of sight. It was $8 each for the packages that went north and $4 for the package to Orange, TX, which is four hours away.
Today was a beautiful day here. Sunny with a high in the low or mid 50's. No wind to speak of. If it weren't so wet, I would play golf tomorrow. Instead I think I'll go back to the gym for a pilates class. Also I still haven't gotten to a store to buy those slacks. My $25 coupon at J. C. Penney's is good through Jan.
My clothes dryer just squawked so I'd better respond.
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Carole, the hats are fantastic. Well, the jars are as well, but I was sooo taken with the green and tan/ecru ( not sure what ) hat. I have always loved green so my eyes just went there like glue and stayed. You are very talented.
I know I mentioned once, or knowing me multiple times that I am not at all talented with my hands -- unless you call petting dogs and cats talented. I'm always in great envy of those who can do things like that. Somehow, despite desire, I just never, ever got the knack of knitting or crocheting, or even small projects on sewing machine. If I have to use my hands it just all seems to end up in a mess so I gave up long ago. Hats off to all who easily are able to do things that end up with a huge personal touch to them. No matter what it is, I'd look on it as priceless.
We had a really nice sun here today. Stayed cool, but since the warm sun was out following me everywhere I went I was pretty comfortable while outside. I think Dh said we may have some rain coming --- by Thurs. or so. Such dread for that news it went in one ear and right out the other. Today was the first day in a couple of weeks that I took a curling iron to my hair because it was dry enough outside from the last rounds of rains. Still have yet to see one single snowflake which is ok with me. I like snow on Christmas Day, and could easily get by without most of the rest of the time. I nearly prayed for snow when I first came back home in 97' but since I have spent the last several yrs. driving into town on a daily basis to feed feral cats --- I don't feel the need to desire it too strongly.
I really need to get myself inspired to get back into regular exercise. My willpower and inspiration both seem to have taken a vacation and are extending their stay. Hope I can fix that.
Jackie
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Feeling much better today, thanks!
Carole, those crafts are gorgeous! I'm such a klutz with my hands that it's a miracle I can play guitar and cook!
My eating plan is basically to keep from eating refined or other simple carbs. It's based on a mishmash of Atkins and South Beach. It's low-carb and unrestricted (not necessarily “high") protein & fat. I don't distinguish between saturated, polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats (though most of my cooking is done with olive oil). I like to refer to it as “dead animals & leaves" (got a good song out of that phrase). Essentially, the only carbohydrates I allow myself are: green, red, & yellow non-starchy vegetables; berries & melon; beans or lentils (unsweetened, as a main-dish protein once in a while); half a small sweet potato a couple of times a month; small amounts of full-fat lactose-free low-sugar dairy (e.g., pure Greek yogurt w/o fillers or sugar, FairLife milk, cream, half-and-half, unprocessed cheeses without fruits or wine in them); 100% whole-grain bread with no more than 4 net gm. of carb per slice; nuts and nut butters; olives; non-sweet pickles (but have to be careful of the sodium); Alyssa's Cookies once or twice a week (1 per day, no more than 4 gm. net carb per cookie); unsweetened coconut and almond milk; the occasional small (half-pour) glass of dry wine (and only with dinner); and one or two squares of very dark (at least 72% cocoa solids) chocolate--plain or with nuts or sea salt. I will occasionally eat sugar-free chocolates (my local custard parlor around the corner has wonderful sugar-free dark choc. salted caramels). But I try to keep that to a minimum, once or twice a week--they're sweetened with sugar alcohols, which tend to make me too much of a “regular gal." (The flatulence is also no fun--for me or those around me). I can very, very occasionally have a little bit of raw honey, pomegranate molasses (both per Dr. Michael Hyman’s “Blood Sugar Solution” plan), and maple syrup from a friend’s grove in NW Ohio.
I used to have a glass of wine a day if going to a good restaurant or cooking something worthy of it; I had steak at least twice a week; bacon or sausage with my eggs whenever I felt like it; and charcuterie/salumi. In light of my diagnosis and news reports, I've cut way back on all of that and most of my animal protein is fish, poultry and eggs. I don't eat cereal, jams, jellies, other candy, carrots (higher-glycemic than strawberries!), potatoes, pasta, parsnips, turnips, rutabaga, beets, rice, ice cream, syrups, pies, cakes, pastries. Very rarely do I eat citrus, tropical fruit, apples and pears. I backslid when visiting destinations known for their carb-dominant food (Paris, Spain, Italy, New Orleans): pastas, pizzas, artisanal breads, pastries, gelato--especially “comfort eating" during my pity-party autumn of 2015. It didn't help that Hoosier Mama Pies was on the way home from my radiation treatments. Back on the horse now, I also avoid fruit juices, beer, and any kind of soda pop (regular or diet). I drink mostly black coffee, tea, water and seltzer.
Looking back to 40+ yrs. ago, I am struck by how close that is to the original Weight Watchers plan--other than WW's gargantuan protein portions, ban on fats of any kind, mandated pint of skim milk and three fruits daily, and insistence that bread intake be two slices of “cheap" supermarket white bread--no more, no less, no whole grain.
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Carol, have you got a hat business going there. Really like the design on the grey one.
Was 2 here when I got up this morning, its 18 now! Havent been further than the porch today. Didn'i get much sleep last night between DH col from Hell and my own post nasal, be it catching his cold or allergies. Can't tell yet. Hope I get more tonight. Then he was up for a potty ru and next I hear him fall! Scared the daylights out of me. Says he doesnt know what happened. Dr is cutting his BP meds as it was low yesterday at his appt. When he called with lab results says he may have fallen cuz BP was low. Its usually the opposite. Thank Gos he didn't break anything, but is sore today.
Linda going to the lawyer to sign papers on DS to go to court , as he hasn't done anything on moving his stuff out.
About all from here. I guess a lot of people have this monster cold, Hope it goes away, you know men , even when it's not a bad cold!
Jean
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Jean,
Very glad that your Dh's fall didn't make life more disruptive for the two of you. Hoping the medication adjustment gets him going back in the right direction. Really sorry to hear that you will have to do the 'court' thing to get your son to do what needs to be done. I hope that goes ok, but who knows. My son, if he were around would likely do the same to us in the situation. Sometimes ( at least with him ) we got great surprises when he was in an almost reasonable phase, but other times --- we might as well have talked to the wind.
Hoping ( and I think it will be the case ) that we don't get any colds here. I have to admit, I seemed to have stopped having them when we moved back home here. I was much sicker in general when we lived in southern California. The Santa Ana winds would blow in from the dessert and give me sinusitis. Third day of the winds did it. There were a number of years when I lived on sinus pills. So, fortune has shined on me since we came home ---- and coming back to live in four seasons again, I had fears of really taking it on the chin. Sure glad I've stayed so well for colds and infections.
Jackie
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Carol, love the hats!
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We may think that happiness is a result of happy circumstances.
A more mature view of happiness is that it is a by-product of
sharing our good and serving others. It is a sense of doing a
job well, honest communication with another, visiting someone
who may be ill, or sharing a sense of humor. Happiness is a
spiritual principle that we can lay hold of and use, regardless
of outer conditions or circumstances.
It isn't necessary to wait for circumstances to bring happiness.
When we try to give it to others, it returns to us multiplied. We
can make our own joy, and let it act upon circumstances! One
of the great paradoxes of truth is that a happy heart draws to
itself what it needs for happiness.John Marks Templeton
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Carol, I love the hats too! I love to be crafty, but working with yarn is not one of my talents.
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Mornin all
Carol- I to love the hats and Christmas gifts. I have never been able to conquer knitting or crocheting, even though all the females on my Mom's side were experts at it. My sister inherited that gift, and does a great job with it. It's funny that we are opposites in so many ways. I loved school and was in all college bound classes by high school- school was a real struggle for her. In fact, the only course I failed in high school waS typing, it was the only class she got an A in. She's a very picky eater, I ate anything that was put in front of me. She is an angry, bitter person, I am calm and generally supportive. She has lost all her teeth except about five, I still have all mine. She knits but couldn't figure out how to use a sewing machine, where for years, I made all my own clothes and most of the kids clothes until we became Foster parents
Jean- so glad your DH didn't get hurt last night. My late DH had low blood pressure a lot after dialysis a few times- once passing out and needing 911. More often, he would forget where he was, usually when he was out, and he would find himself miles away from home with no memory of how he'd gotten there. One time, when I was away, my daughter was out to eat, and luckily was seated near a window at like 11:00 at night, and was totally shocked to see her dad stumble past. He had run the car into a divider, blowing two tires. Having no clue as to what to do, he left the car and started walking. Thank God, as they were driving him home, they found the car about half way between the house and where they'd found him. And of course, he resisted getting a cell phone for years, saying that when he got like that, he wouldn't know who to call. It would happen at home in the middle of the nights when he was i
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My keypad totally locked up on me - sorry.
Anyway to finish- Bob would be in his recliner in the living room and I would be in bed. I bought him a whistle so he could wake me up- but that was admitting he needed help so he never used it. When our DD move back in with us, it was the days of speed dialing, where your main contacts could be dialed by hitting one number. I came up with the phrase- too late, dial eight, which was her speed dial number. I turned my prom off at night, she didn't. So we drilled too late, dial eight over and over. Again, he was too stubborn to use it.
What I meant to say about my sister and I, is that as different as we are, we are extremely close, sometimes uncannily so. I remember once as teens, we went shopping for new Easter outfits on the same day, but at different places. We both came home with navy blue suits, and the exact same coats in different colors. As kids, we were always dressed the same, but in different colors. That kind of stuff continued to happen, even after I moved 1200 miles away. I called one night and mentioned we had just bought a VCR that day- so had she, with not a mention of VCRs ever to each other. That continued with appliances, gadgets, etc over the years. But the craziest was in 1977. I had just found out that I was pregnant with my third child. I was going to call her that night when the rates went down. She called me about noon to tell me she was pregnant. I haD not told her we were trying and she had been trying , unsuccessfully for over 7 years. The baBies were due one week apart, and wrre both girls, born 20 days apart, hers coming right on her due date, mine arriving via an emergency C-section, 13 days late.
This keyboard is driving me crazy so I'll sign off now
Anne
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I had finished the post and then saw a typo in it, so I clicked edit and it disappeared . I am too tired to try again. Will try later
Anne
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Carole, There's a thread 'Calling all artists, let's make an art gallery' which would love to have photos of your hats. Another member just posted a couple of pictures of hers.
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What is age but a number.
What you can dream, you can become, at any age.
Live your best life, not your age.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie0 -
Thank goodness it is sunny outside right now, but rain will come soon. Maybe it will warm a bit, but I am wondering if that prediction will be wrong and the rain will turn into things we'd rather now have --- like sleet, or snow. Sigh !!!! Guess I can't complain too much as we have gotten off pretty lightly so far. No snow and temps. staying well above freezing even at night. We will have to have something at some point resembling actual winter.
Well, going to the gym today and buy a gym pass. They are $32.00 for the month and you can go as often as you want --- three times a day if you are inclined. Well, that is way too much for me. I've been either so busy, or several times just too lazy to go use even my walking pass so I think I have to go into the more heavy-duty program. It will take a while to build back up but even more so --- I need some extra exercise for allowing some of my core muscles to go a little on the slack side. Also, having to pay more will help me since I won't want to "waste" the money. I've haven't actually gained more than about a lb. and a half, and that is not bad for all the time I've been off --- but I can feel that I've let some muscles go and that is not good for me. I have the left-side weakness from a stroke and I shouldn't ever back off for too long.
Otherwise, all is well here. Just so darn much to do, but I don't think anyone ever actually gets caught up. I'm just a lot less caught up than most. I'll be back later -- after working, gym, paying bills and a couple of other things. See you all then.
Blessings,
Jackie
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Jackie, $32 a month is a bargain. We pay $69 at the YMCA. Thanks to dh, I get there twice a week, Tues. & Thurs., but should go another day. When I'm finished, my tee shirt is always wet with sweat because I'm a "sweater." People say, "Boy, you must have had a good workout." One man today said he always quits before he starts to sweat! And I think he was serious. He looked like he hadn't exercised at all. Part of the pleasure of going to the gym is seeing the same people there. We get to feeling like we're acquainted. I usually finish before dh and sit down in the entrance area and have a cup of coffee and chat with people.
My mother didn't want to get out today so we re-scheduled for tomorrow. It was drizzling rain but not enough to keep me inside. So I went shopping in a couple of stores, actually Ross and Marshall's, which are side by side in a nearby shopping center. I found some brown pants at Marshall's, also three cardigans in practical colors, navy, beige and black. They're not heavy and are the longish style. I'm not taking the tags off the clothes I bought today or the ones I bought at Penney's. I still want to check out Belk and Kohl's. If I find some clothes I like better, I can always return items.
Minus, I have lots of yarn in different colors. If you can decide on several styles and colors, I'll be happy to send you some hats for your cousin's daughter, who is having chemo. The average size is about 20 inches around the head. I can make a hat smaller or bigger.
Hope everyone is having a good Thursday.
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This is my latest crocheted hat.
It's a pretty pale pink but the color isn't true in the photos.0 -
This is the hat pattern that got me started. I've made at least ten of them.
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Sounds like a TB ward around here. Neither of us went out at all today. Between meds and DH BP there isn't much we can take to help th cough and guck. Dr said to call him tomorrow if DH still had it, been a week, me i'm just mid week now.
Carole, you are quite creative. Can we buy them? Order one? Jean
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Carole, love the pink hat. You are so talented and I admire you and all the others who can take yarn and turn it into something lovely.
Mike had an echocardiogram, which apparently is routine for men "of a certain age" who have a history of smoking. (He smoked for 55 years but quit 11 months ago.) We didn't expect a thing but you guessed it. More bad news. He has an AAA (abdominal aortic aneurysm that measures 3.5 cm. Oh my goodness, it sent him into such a tailspin. He worried that it would mean he couldn't have the bone marrow transplant or that he wouldn't be allowed to have the operation to fix it since his platelets are low because of his disease. He tends to depression anyway but this was more than he could handle. After three full years of serious health issues, I'm beginning to wonder if we have an invisible neon sign over our house that says, "bad news welcome here." This week is a chemo week for him so he spoke to the oncologist about it Monday and was assured that 3.5 cm isn't especially concerning so he shouldn't panic. They don't operate until it gets to 5.5 cm or it shows an aggressive growth pattern of more than 1/2 of a cm in 6 months. Mike will get a consult to a vascular surgeon for an evaluation of his test results, but she doesn't think this will interfere with the transplant. Since he's doing so well, she continues to believe the chemo (Vidaza) will give him many more months before he has to go to transplant. He came home smiling and said he felt like he had lost 20 lbs of worry.
The oncologist ok'd a cruise I've had my eye on that goes to Columbia, South America, Panama, Costa Rica and two places in Mexico. It's a 12 day cruise so I was sure she would say he shouldn't be so far away for so long, but I was wrong. It's coming up at the end of March. I have to find a company that offers trip insurance for people with serious pre-existing conditions, and then see if we can afford it. I've looked in the past but didn't find anything at a price we can pay. Since it's possible (but not probable) that he could have to be flown back to Texas if his health takes a sudden dive or he is injured, trip insurance is a must.
Anyone dealt with this issue before?
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Jean, I'd be happy to make you a hat. You can pm me with a selection among those styles I have posted. And the color you think you would like. Also your mailing address.
Sandra, I hope that cruise works out for you and Mike.
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Carole, love the hats. You do a great job on them and it's great you offer different styles.
This week, I've started making jewelry again and it feels good. Making tree of life jewelry for the Jewish New Year for trees. And, I'm starting to inventory items for taxes. And I want to sell off some destash supplies I'm not going to use. It would have been nice to do this before the year ended ... but I didn't have the desire or energy then.
Bonnets - I'm so sorry you have to go to court for the eviction. Maybe it'll be better because you'll have an end date and know that you can put the stuff out by that date if he doesn't get it. I would find out if you can sell any of it (if you want to) or donate it - have people pick it up and haul it away.
I'm feeling a lot less anxious since BIL moved out, but I'm still having problems finding things I "hid." When I move things to a special place, it's like they disappear.
And, working from home these past few days, I'm trying to get my Smart TV connected to the Internet. It's aggravating ... it's been almost a year and I didn't care about it then, but now I think I want to get Netflix. So, I had to buy a new flash drive ... couldn't find the last new one I bought ... to download the TV software upgrade since it can't connect.
Then I probably have to call Comcast because there's no IP address ... Last time Comcast told me the modem was too far away and I had to drill a hole in the floor and get an ethernet cable. But other laptops, phones and devices work on the Wi-Fi, so that makes no sense to me. Anyone have any knowledge of this?
I'm soo glad it's Fri. and gotta get to work.
Linda
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Carole: don't you qualify for Senior Sneakers? Lew goes to our Y free as a Silver Sneakers member since he's over 65 and on Medicare.
Sandra: Glad that the doctor was able to reassure your hubby about the aneurysm and that he feels better about it now, that cruise sounds wonderful, hope you can work it all out0 -
I move through my day-to-day life with a sense of appreciation and gratitude that comes from knowing how fortunate I truly am and how unearned all that I am thankful for really is. To have this perspective in my everyday consciousness is in itself a gift, for it leads to feeling "graced," or blessed, each time. . . . Every time I see beauty around me I appreciate what I am seeing, and simultaneously I have this sense of appreciation—for being alive to have this particular moment. -Jean Shinoda Bolen
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Puffin, Can you only do the Silver Sneakers class or use the facility for anything?
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MySunshine - each insurance & facility has different parameters. Some places the membership is free and you pay for the classes. Other places &/or insurance - it's really cheap or free.
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I am going to check that out! Thank you!
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Somehow this forum was removed from my favorites. I must have accidentally clicked the Remove option.
Puffin, the Medicare Advantage companies offer free gym membership but not the government Medicare, which is what we have. But I will check to be sure. Our 2nd insurance is Blue Cross/Blue Shield Federal Basic, which is actually a full insurance, not a gap insurance. It includes prescription coverage. Between the two, we pay $500 a month but there's never a copay for dr. visits or hospital procedures. There is a copay for prescriptions.
Speaking of the gym, I should get dressed and go there this morning. It's a drizzly, rainy morning and dh is going to a woodturners' meeting. I was disappointed this morning when I stepped on the scales and there was no reward for the past two days of very moderate eating and no alcohol. I guess I should take the advice not to weigh every day.
Wishing everyone a good Saturday.
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