thread for middle age to older Christian women.
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Nancy, thank you for always knowing what to post and for being so encouraging. I am praying for your MRI and your eye issues. God knows what you need.
I am praying for all you ladies this morning. GB I hope your stomach issues resolve without using Prilosec but know it can help as it helps me.
Have a good day everyone.
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Thank you ladies for your prayers and kind words. It has been an interesting time of some terrible days after nights of insomnia. A couple of days ago I was finally getting to have some fun with my camera and I thought I should make a bathroom stop before leaving the house. As I looked down I had one turquoise shoe and one gray shoe on. It is obvious my head sometimes seems to not be screwed on straight!!! It is no secret that I am desperately trying to squeeze in some camera time that didn't happen for a good part of the summer because of fatigue from Covid. I am delving into flower photography which is a passion along with photographing butterflies and in this part of the country those beautiful flowers will disappear very quickly.
I can sense how some of you are feeling. I do pray for each one of you regularly multiple times a week. I know my temporary issues are nothing compared with what some of you are dealing with every single day. The one thing that I am so convinced of is that what sometimes feels like injustices in this life will be rewarded in the next. After all, this time on earth will be so fleeting in the scheme of eternity that our struggles here and now will quickly fade in the magnificence of heaven. When things get really difficult try to think on that.
Have a good night dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
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Whoa Teka, way to envision the fleeing summer. It is starting to cool down at night in Colorado Springs. Last night it dipped to 47* but will be 84* tomorrow. Then it will begin to dip into a high of 70s by the end of the week. Winter is coming. I haven't experienced winter in Colorado for ten years and I am trying to prepare my mind for it. We hit a little of it when we moved here in February this year.
Nancy, I am trying to get out a bit but haven't even made it to the mailboxes yet. The puppy is forcing me to get up and out more... Good for you to keep at it. I love your butterfly and flower photos.
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Teka, thanks for that reminder.
When August began one of our meteorologists said in August we will lose an hour of daylight. I usually go kicking and screaming into this period of darkness which really hits when the clocks change. I have vowed to buy flowers regularly and they will be my practice subjects during that time along with giving me some joy. Chris, I can't even imagine what a huge transition CO has been from CA. Our nights have dipped into the 60's but yours is quite a stark difference. I love having the windows open at night and feel a cool breeze. Your puppy is probably good for you and hopefully will give you some joy as well. Thanks for your nice comments. I am trying to master this specialty lens which makes for very dreamy kind of photos. When I think I am coming close I may post some pics. They will not be tack sharp as many prefer and some may think can't that girl get her pictures in focus!!! They would never pass in a photo competition which I am probably going to be participating less.
Have a wonderful day everyone.
Love,
Nancy
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Good morning, ladies. It's so nice to see all of your posts.
Nancy, I'm so sorry you're still dealing with insomnia. I've actually had a decent sleep the past three nights, for which I am very grateful. I loved your shoe story. Fortunately, I have only one pair of slip-on shoes that I wear, so not much chance of mixing them up. Keep up with the photos - they're always a bright spot in my day. Thank you for your prayers.
Teka, call me weird, but on my weather app on my phone, I like to track the sunrise and sunset times of other locations. Since we're in San Diego, our days are a bit shorter than, say, Seattle. I also track sunrise/sunset times in Anchorage. Just as an aside, I love my Hallmark Christmas movies. One of them is set in Alaska (Christmas Under Wraps.) It shows the main character waking up at 6:30 AM in DECEMBER with the sun fully risen. LOL
Intolight, are you looking forward to a Colorado winter? I'll bet the cooler weather is always welcome. San Diego is always so varied. I'm glad to be near the coast where temps are a bit more temperate. Evenings and mornings have been delightful with lows around the mid 60s. Of course, then we drive out to the desert to see my dad. The high this week is 109, but that's better than 117.
Wishing everyone a blessed, symptom-free day.
Carol
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Carol, I just moved from living in San Diego for eight years. I did love the weather while we lived there but am glad to be out of the craziness that was Pacific Beach, and California although I grew up there. I do miss the beach! We lived in Colorado Springs before so this is no surprise. We now live near family which is a nice trade-off. We'll see if I still feel this way come winter and single digit weather.
Nancy my oncologist told me to take Unisom for sleep and it works great. There is a specific one though and I will pm it to you when I get up again. I switch between Melatonin, Unisom, and a prescription Restoril per her orders so I don"t become dependent. I can go without any some nights.
Have a good week everyone.
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Intolight, would you mind PMing me with the specific Unisom, too? I don't want to become dependent, but I'd like to get into a pattern of good sleep.
I get wanting to leave the craziness of PB. We're in Mission Hills and although we have our share of "transient trouble" it's pretty tame here. We know all of our neighbors and we all look out for each other. We are very blessed.
Carol
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Here is a pic from a recent outing to really try out this specialty creative lens. I was very encouraged and inspired by the fact that I found this huge planter with dahlias at our local arboretum which are dream flowers for a photographer to shoot. I was so inspired I bought another one of these specialty lenses called Lensbaby lenses which will come in a few days. I hope to go back to the arboretum tomorrow and and see what I can find.
I had my MRI today. I was surprisingly very calm going into the whole procedure considering I do have claustrophobia. I choose not to take the meds and have done fine. The tech person who BTW looked so much like Jamie from the Progressive commercials had me lift my my head so he could put earphones on my ears. At that point I had already asked them to cover my eyes so I am not sure what was on my head but I just know that my neck was in a lot of pain the whole procedure which has not happened with previous MRI's. Then I started to feel a bit nauseated and that feeling has persisted even into the very late night. I hope a good night's sleep will make that go away. I got results this evening and there was so much more information that I don't remember from previous radiology reports. The main thing is that it appears that the tumor is stable. There are other concerning things which I will ask the neurologist next week at my follow up apt.
Have a good night dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, wow! Your dahlia picture is breathtaking! I miss the flowers in San Diego... I am glad your MRI is over and that your tumor is stable. Also that you got through it ok although the nausea bit is unsettling. Praying the rest is fine also.
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Nancy, I'm glad your MRI is over, but sorry you were dealing with nausea. I hope you get your results soon. Your photo is amazing. I'll bet you can't wait to get your new lens.
I hope everyone has a good Thursday. I slept well last night - hopefully not just because DH is out in the desert for a couple of nights working on an art project with my dad.
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Nancy, your photo is gorgeous. I especially like the fading around the edges. I'm glad that your MRI results indicate tumor stability, and I really hope the nausea passes quickly. That is such an unpleasant feeling. Perhaps some ginger tea or slices might help?
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Wow everyone. You all made my day. One of the rewards of photography for me is setting a goal and feeling like I achieved it. I knew this lens had a learning curve that I never mastered as I got distracted with other subjects and lenses. This time around I really wanted to delve into flower photography with these specialty Lensbaby lenses. My new Lensbaby is supposed to come tomorrow. I am very excited to try it out. I did go back to the arboretum today and I went right back to the same place I was at on Tuesday and I found some other dahlias as well. It has been fun trying new things even though it has been really hard on my upper back and I deal with a lot of pain while I am shooting with this lens. I feel really good that I am getting the hang of this lens early on and I am really thrilled with that even though it is a challenge physically.
I did get a message from my neurologist tonight and she said the tumor is stable. When I see her next week I will have several questions on some of the other things that were addressed in medical language I don't understand.
I do think my nausea yesterday during the MRI and that lingered into the night was possibly due to the contrast. There was quite a discussion regarding my weight. I have lost a lot of weight since the last MRI and I wrote in my new weight that I weigh at home with my doctor scales. I usually weigh 7 lbs more at the doctors office after eating and wearing clothes. I mentioned that to this tech. When I was just about ready to go in the MRI room this lady said your records say your weight is ........... I wasn't going to argue. I just finally said I have lost weigh since then but if you want to use that number go ahead. That meant that I would have gotten more contrast than I possibly should have. A discussion I will definitely have about this with my doctor next week.
I do appreciate your prayers and your encouragement. I hope you all have a great weekend. I will be having lunch with a friend tomorrow and then rain all weekend. That means doing some filing and getting my house in order.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, interesting comment about your weight. I always thought that they asked about my weight to make sure I wasn't obese and would fit on the scan table. They did ask when I was checking in one time for an MRI. Maybe it was to know how much contrast to give me. I never thought of it. I hope your nausea resolved quickly. I'm glad to hear your tumor is stable. I hope the "other stuff" is stable, too.
Carol
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Nancy, that's kind of weird that they insisted on using your previous weight. I would definitely let someone know about that...that a staff member didn't believe your weight was as you stated.
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The posts regarding my weight issue before my MRI may have been confusing. I was upfront and said the weight I put down was what MY scales (which are the old weighted doctor scales) say. I also told them that it is usually 7lbs higher at the doctor's office after I have eaten and am in clothes. So that put this person in the position of possibly not knowing which one was accurate. The number she gave me was not accurate as it was the last time I was in the doctor's office and that was just at the beginning of July. I did tell her I had lost weight since then. I couldn't figure the math in my head on the spot as I was already nervous to go into the MRI room. I finally said just do the weight you see in my chart. Before this time they would call me and ask a ton of questions before my MRI. So I don't know what weight they went by before and does 7lbs difference make that much of a difference in the amount of contrast they give. I don't know and was my nausea related to the contrast. The next day I had no nausea. I will discuss with my neurologist next week.
My neurologist did message me that the tumor was stable which I had presumed. So that part is definitely good news.
Have a great weekend dear sisters. It is raining here all weekend so time to do some filing and house cleaning.
Love,
Nancy
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This is the dreamy type of shot that I love with this specialty lens. I did get the new lens yesterday but it has rained pretty much all day today and more tomorrow but I am very anxious to try the new specialty lens out as well. For those interested this dahlia bud and my previous dahlia photos were both taken with the Lensbaby Velvet 56 lens.
I know this photography is not for everyone who wants to see only tack sharp images but this is what I love to do.
Love,
Nancy
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Good morning everyone.
I hope you have a great Sunday. I have some news from two of our sisters who have been a part of this thread for quite a long time.
Faith's husband is having carotid artery surgery tomorrow, Monday Aug. 22, as they are 60% blocked and he has recently had a TIA. I am sure that she would appreciate prayers for him and for her anxiety.
Ade and James have found a house in Ohio to be near their other children. The only caveat is that the person that wants to buy their house has not found a buyer for his house so they could use prayer that this will all work out for everyone involved. They both have lost a lot of weight on a Keto diet. She sent me a picture as they also celebrated their 50th anniversary this year. I am sure she would appreciate prayers for the sale of their house.
Off to church.
Love,
Nancy
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Hi everyone.
If you read my last post I have some recent news from Faith. Her husband's surgery for tomorrow (Monday) has been canceled because his surgeon is sick plus she was having some stomach issues today as well. Please continue to pray for them and I will update you when I hear of any more news.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, that makes more sense with the MRI!!
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I don't know if anyone else is having trouble logging on but my email links have not worked for a week or so. It has been erratic and sometimes works.
GB How is your situation with GERD? Did you start Prilosec? Migration will be starting soon so I bet you will get to see a lot of different birds on their way south. I know my hummingbirds are sure drinking a lot of nectar powering up for the long trek.
Have a good day everyone.
Love,
Nancy
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hello ladies,
Yes, Nancy I have trouble from time to time logging in. Thank you for the update on Faith and Ade, also for posting your beautiful flowers that you photographed! I love walking and taking pictures of the beauty of nature, but mine are just with my phone. My stomach is doing it's usual thing, but I think I've caught on to a few tricks to feeling better. I was reading about "food combining" and wonder if there isn't some truth in that.
Praying that everyone is having a wonderful week!
Wheatfields
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My GERD is about the same. Still working with pepcid and trying to change to small frequent meals because of the hiatal hernia.
Zometa #2 today, and Zoladex #8. Beside myself right now because I pulled a tick off my leg last night. Where it came from I haven't a clue. I went to work. I don't even walk through the short grass in the yard. No pets in the house. It clearly hadn't been there long because it wasn't engorged at all at all, and although attached, was easy to remove intact. I examined the little pest thoroughly and it doesn't appear at all to be the deer tick kind that spreads Lyme (which I did have years ago after pulling off a fat engorged tick). It looks like a nymphal lone star, so I'm not going to call to try to get prophylaxis...but thinking of scheduling a telehealth for early next week to deal with tick anxiety. I mean, watch for headache, joint pain, etc. I have all of this regularly, and I'm getting Zometa.. so how exactly would I know? Lol. Maybe presence of fever?
I will probably tell the oncologist about this today, but she's unlikely to do anything.
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gb, sorry about the tick. Praying you caught it soon and will not be a problem. You are on enough meds you don't need any more issues!
Nancy, thank you for the update on Ade and James. I pray for them often and am thankful to have specifics. I will continue to pray for Faith also.
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My Zometa got delayed a month. I'm glad because now I can more easily monitor symptoms for tick shenanigans.
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Hi friends. Sorry I have not been on here like I usually am. My desktop computer which I usually use when posting is almost non usable at this point. I have a Geek membership with Best Buy and I had a chat session which was very frustrating not being able to speak on the phone. After wasting a half hour of time the guy that I thought was going to help me said he would be passing this off to a senior tech person and the wait time was going to be something like 3hrs. I had to fix dinner and then have a zoom meeting so it was pretty crazy. I had three issues to fix. After the guy supposedly dealt with my issues he then called me on the phone and I could barely make out what he was saying with his very thick accent. It was obvious that he didn't even know what my three issues were. Long story short NONE of the three issues were fixed. Now I am limping along wasting a ton of time trying to work around a browser that won't work. I have had a really busy week this week. The good news from this week is that I saw my neurologist and I have graduated to having my brain MRI's every other year. That was very encouraging. Then yesterday I had my annual eye apt and I was really concerned about this one. I think I had mentioned that recently I didn't pass my vision test at the DMV without my glasses and I was dumbfounded. After telling my eye doctor about the DMV he tested me quickly and my vision without glasses is 20-30 and the requirements for our state is 20-40 so I passed easily. He said he could fill out a form for me and to take it to the DMV when I go to get my Real ID after I now have my county birth certificate. He said this form will waive any vision test that I would need to take and he said this is THEIR form too. He also explained that my macular degeneration was in the precursor stage and stable at this point and it isn't even called macular degeneration right now. I have no idea why he didn't explain that last year to me more clearly but that was like having a ten ton weight lifted from me. So it has been a very busy week but a good week. Our church is having several days of revival services so with that and trying to squeeze in as much camera time as possible I have not been home much.
Chris, I haven't heard any more from Faith to know if her husband was able to have the surgery but I am betting not. I wonder if his surgeon got Covid. I know this is hard for her in this waiting period and I am sure for him as well since he has already had a couple of TIA's going into this carotid artery surgery. Ade and James renewed their vows for their 50th anniversary and I believe she said all of her children were there to see that. I know they will appreciate your prayers. How are you feeling? I continue to pray for your side effects and hoping they will improve.
GB, how is your tick situation? Hopefully your tick identification skills have proven to be a good thing and that it was not the type of tick that carries Lyme Disease. That is a blessing that your Zometa got postponed for another month. My niece discovered the classic bulleye rash on herself and immediate was put on antibiotics in the early stages and so far she has not suffered any of the classic symptoms. That has been several years ago too.
Wheatfields, I do hope your stomach issues are improving. I would not be surprised if food combining will help. I know for weight loss I have read in the past a similar approach. I know your scopes will be coming in about a month. Praying that will give your doctor some important information on helping to treat you. One of the two lady photographers that I have been watching on YouTube has a gallery of I-phone photos which are just incredible plus her other camera. If you are interested Kathleen Clemons and Anne Belmont are the two photographers that have inspired me so much. Kathleen is the one who posts Iphone photos which look just as awesome as her big camera. You can find them on YouTube and then I believe they share where else to find them on their own websites.
I hope everyone is doing well. Have a great rest of the weekend. I am still dealing with fatigue from Covid I believe. I would appreciate your prayers that this will not turn into long Covid.
Love
Nancy
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Nancy, I am so happy to read the good news on your brain MRI that you have moved to longer test periods. Yay! Also about your eye issue. I never heard the doctor could override the DMV. That is great news too! I am sorry to read about your computer issues. Tech problems are always such a pain. Thank you for the good news about Ade and Faith. Your updates are very helpful.
I am doing ok. Tonight we went to a friend's house for a potluck dinner. They are living in a trailer while rebuilding their house so we ate in the garage. But I did fine (of course I took an Imodium and a pain pill before we left). They invited about ten additional adults and their kids. Our granddaughter had a great time with their kids who attend the same charter school she attends. They own about 80 acres so the kids ran and played. It was nice to feel normal and watch kids playing with each other and bugs and dogs instead of being on electronics. I also got an invitation to attend a women's retreat next month. I can't remember the last one I attended well over ten years ago. I am taking my daughter. I know it will be good for both of us. It is only one night, and is only a half-hour away so I think I can handle it. More on this later.
I am praying for you gb and Wheatfields. It is good to feel a part of a circle of friends again.
Have a blessed Sabbath. Chris
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Hi Nancy,
So far it's a little itchy bump, but I'm watching it. I have a telehealth with primary care on Tuesday. Last time with the Lyme rash it was pretty obvious that's what it was, but I know it doesn't always present like that. That was also a non issue. I found the rash and took the meds, and went on with my life.
If I'm right and this rude bug was a lone star tick, then I'm at risk for that crazy mammal product allergy. I made the mistake of reading about it, but I guess it's best to be prepared. Some people react to even byproducts, like fillers in medications. That stuff is in what looks like all of the AIs and GERD medications, along with most tablet/cap meds. Sigh. I need to not dwell on this because that is I think more rare. Looks like most of the time you just can't eat red meat which I would be ok with.
It also looks like it takes a awhile to settle in, like 4-6 weeks, so all I can do is wait. I will ask the doctor about all of this on Tues.
Praying for you that you won't have long covid.
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GB, I hope your visit via telehealth will give you some good direction. Praying it is nothing to be concerned with. When I was very young I was playing in the woods at my cousin's house who lived in the country. I don't recall if they normally did a hair check but they found a tick inside my ear. My Aunt who had seven kids and always as calm as a cucumber heated up a pin and was able to get it to retract it's hold on me. I don't recall anything bad happening. Hopefully yours won't be anything bad either.
Ladies, I had quite the scary night. I got to bed and it was very late for me for a Saturday night knowing church was the next morning. I no more got into bed and I started hearing this VERY loud man on a loud speaker. I was so annoyed I contemplated calling the police until I realized it WAS the police. Apparently a domestic violence situation became a hostage situation and he was threatening to kill the mother of the children that were there. The messages started around midnight and I could clearly hear this police officer pleading with the gunman that he was under arrest and to come out the front door. This went on until around 2 This happened in an apartment building about a block from my house. I finally heard this policeman change tactics and he said come out and we can talk. That must have worked because that was the last I heard on his loud speaker. I had received two calls from the city to shelter in place and for some reason my phone didn't ring and I didn't get either message. One came through around 10:20 to shelter in place and the last came through a little after 3 am that things were all clear. When I was laying in bed I was thinking if there were stray bullets could it hit my house as my bedroom is at the front of the house and on the second floor. Thankfully it was resolved and I even wrote our City Council praising this officer for his patient demeanor and sensitivity to a very grave situation. Thankfully no one was hurt or got killed and they did take the guy into custody. The poor kids will be traumatized as will the mother. I drug myself to church today knowing I could take a long nap this afternoon which I did. I just wonder what is going to happen to these children and if DCFS will come and take them. I have been walking at night and this situation makes me rethink that.
Have a good night dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
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Dear Nancy - please don't walk at night, I don't think it's safe hardly anywhere anymore, even out here on the prairie. I'm sorry you had a scary situation last night, I sleep through a lot of things because of my hearing, but hearing all of that does sound scary. GB I'm praying the the tick is going to be nothing to be concerned with and nothing develops with it. Praying for all of you dear ladies.
Wheatfields
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Wheatfields, I took your advice and walked inside my house this evening. I was tempted to walk outside and it is getting darker much earlier now so I will have to get used to walking inside again.
I would like to share another photo which is what I have been trying to capture with the ethereal look with this new lens. I have been going to the Arboretum several times and trying to get pics of their dahlias before they are done. I have only been able to find pink ones and am trying to gather courage to drive to the Chicago Botanic Garden as they will have millions of subjects to shoot. It has been a couple of years since I have done that and driving up there in the crazy traffic is a challenge as I may have shared the reason for that in the past.
Have a good evening dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
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