thread for middle age to older Christian women.
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Nancy, we are thankful for the good news about your eyes, and praying that your home projects can be done in a timely manner. I was thinking back to a post where you said you felt like a slacker after hearing about pies and pico. But remember you are the energizer bunny for sure! Hershey, what a scary experience in the parking garage, praying for your safety also, and good parking in future appointments. Carol, praying for your health and casting all cares upon Him. Chris, also praying for your good health all around the cruise and your being able to have a wonderful time. Teka, I never thought of the brrr, coming up! My hand is doing better but definitely needs some work on exercise and massaging it to smooth out the scar tissue. My nurse friend, is still struggling to get a good nights rest. She did do the home sleep test but it didn't show sleep apnea. They did suggest a hospital one, to see if that shows something more, but have to check with medicare first. She struggles with hot flashes and also having to "go" often in the night, but the check up with the urologist showed nothing unusual. Praying for you all.
Love, Wheatfields
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Teka, Cammie gets her underneath all shaved off so I think it does make her more chilly in the cold nights we have had. I love that pic. If I could just skip the cold part of the year I would be happy!
I received more good news at my endocrinologist apt on Thursday. Nine years ago when they were prepping me for radiation treatments they scan all of your body. Rather large thyroid nodules showed up so I have had to have a couple of biopsies and lots of ultrasounds which I had a few weeks ago. These scans were different and they showed the nodules not only shrinking but being spongy which is a sign of benign nodules. So I don't have to have any more ultrasounds unless a problem occurs. My doctor increased my thyroid meds as I have been so fatigued and just not great emotionally. It takes a few weeks to notice improvement in symptoms but I am hopeful. So I wasn't feeling like the Energizer Bunny at all.
My knee has made great improvements. I went to the Butterfly House yesterday and it was a perfect day. They close up today for the season. I didn't think I would be able to go yesterday but I was so thankful that I was able to go. Then, right before I was going to leave I ran into the buyer of the butterflies. I told him I made greeting cards from my photos and how much I loved this place. There were many chrysalises and I asked if they just let the butterflies fly in the house until they die. He said yes. He said if I wanted to come after today as long as someone was on the grounds in their main house I could come but I would need to call first. That made me so excited. So we'll see what happens. Yesterday definitely lifted my spirits. I was just weary of everything prior to that.
Wheatfields, I imagine it will take some time with that scar tissue. I hope your friend can get a more in depth sleep study and see what is going on. I still struggle with that.
GB, I still have at least one tiny little female hummingbird still coming to my feeder. Others have said theirs have already migrated. That might mean she will stay until Oct. which I have never had before. Praying things are improving for you.
Carol and Chris, you are always in my prayers.
Hershey, I hop you don't have to go to that parking garage for a long time!!
Have a good rest or your weekend dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, that’s such good news in so many areas! What a privilege to get to come “visit” your butterflies. That’s good news about the thyroid nodules, too. I hope your energy picks up a bit. Thank you for the continued prayers.
My coughing has improved dramatically, for which I am grateful. I’m having some rib, or maybe intercostal, pain. I’m hoping I just pulled a muscle, although I don’t recall doing that. I have an appointment with the pulmonologist on Monday, so I’ll mention it to him.
Love to all,
Carol
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Nancy, great news from your endocrinologist. Also, what a blessing to be able to visit your butterflies. Nice people!
Carol, happy for some improvement. Praying for more.
I am in great pain today from my shots Friday. But this too shall pass! I am copying my FB post today. It is just as powerful and meaningful today as it was eight years ago, six months before my diagnosis.
My devotional this morning from Our Daily Bread: "In moments when we don’t understand God’s ways, we need to trust His unchanging character. That’s exactly what Habakkuk did. He believed that God is a God of justice, mercy, and truth (Ps. 89:14). In the process, he learned to look at his circumstances from the framework of God’s character instead of looking at God’s character from the context of his own circumstances. He concluded, 'The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights'" (Hab. 3:19).
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Carol, I am so glad to hear of improvement in your coughing. That is huge. I will be specific in my prayers for your rib pain. After my last visit in July to the Butterfly House one of the ladies that is in charge of releasing the butterflies has seen me numerous times. She said give me a call when you come next time. She gave me her card. I may give her a call and mention my invitation to come to see the butterflies after the season closed yesterday and see if she will still be working and maybe that will be my chance to go again.
Chris, I am sorry you have so much pain after your shots. I hope that will fade quickly. That devotional is really good. Did the workers get much done on the deck roof? I sure hope so. I will be praying for you.
We had the most unusual and incredible church service today. Years ago one of our assistant pastors from Ethiopia was a huge part of our church. He is back in Ethiopia ministering there. His son is now preaching and he gave the message today. It was on the subject of praise. He said many times sacrificial praise (when we don't feel like it or see any hint of answers to our prayers) is when breakthrough happens. He mentioned the walls of Jericho falling down from praise. He had us act as children and and on the count of three he wanted us to shout without any inhibitions in praise to God. I have never experienced anything like that. This shouting and praising went on for minutes not seconds. It was such a release for me that I couldn't help but cry during a big part of it. I think we all left feeling a touch from God and changed forever with a new light shown on what praise is and what it can do as a result.
This is a picture outside of the Butterfly House I took on Friday. Maybe someone knows what kind of flower these are. I loved their colors.
This was my first day back to church in six or more weeks. It was so great to get a part of my life back.
Love,
Nancy
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Good morning, sisters. I just got back from the pulmonologist. It was a good visit. He suggested a couple of options based on my recent CT scans. He said we (he) scan scope the area of my lung with the findings now or we can wait until after my next scans in November. He’s OK with waiting since my coughing seems to have resolved. He did say that if the ground glass opacities are still there, he’s going to “insist” on a scope to see what’s going on. I’m OK with that. He’s very thorough and I feel confident in his judgement.
Nancy, your photo was lovely. What an amazing church service. I like the term sacrificial praise. There’s a Hillsong song titled, “Even When it Hurts.” It’s along those lines.
Have a blessed Monday and week, everyone. Next test is an MRI of my C5 spine on Friday.
Love to all,
Carol
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Nancy, those are beautiful flowers outside the Butterfly House. PlantNet is a free app that's regularly recommended on my Nextdoor feed. Neighbors write that it's easy to use, very accurate, and able to provide quick identification. It's available on Android, iOS, and web platforms. There are also free spider, insect, and snake identification apps if anyone is interested. ;-)
I'm so appreciative reading Chris' devotional and Nancy's praise encouragement. Thank you for posting them.
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Carol, I'm glad that you feel confidence in your pulmonologist and that he gave you some options. I'll be praying for your MRI on Friday. I am very familiar with that song. In fact Taya inspires me so much. I recently was watching a very long interview with her. She is only in her 30's and yet she has such maturity and passion in her Christian life. Is it possible to have a role model half your age!!! I want to listen to that church service online because this guest preacher had so many good things to say on praise.
Hershey, I hope to see those flowers in person again. I haven't had a chance to call this lady that works at the Butterfly House to see if I can go for one last time this Wed. Thanks for the app info. I knew there were such things but never have actually looked into it. I need a butterfly app as I took some nice pics of this one particular species which I can't seem to find in one of my Butterfly books or online. I will have to check out Plantnet.
Chris, I hope you are feeling better.
Glad you enjoyed the photo. Hope to post some butterfly pics soon.
Enjoy this day. I hope it is as nice in your area as it is in ours.
Love,
Nancy
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Gazania or treasure flower. I found it thanks to Hershey.
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Chris, I'm praying that you are feeling better and thank you for sharing the devotional, so very true. Carol, I'm glad that your appointment went well and you have a good pulmonologist, we will be praying for your appointment on Friday. Nancy, thank you for sharing your beautiful flower picture and recently a beautiful banner, and about the praise service, also praising the Lord for your good report on your appointment at the endocrinologist. I'm excited to hear that you may be able to visit the butterfly house again and also thankful your knee is doing better. Hershey, one time you asked if I make my own pie crust, well, I used to but the last few years I decided to just use the pillsbury pie crusts from the store, and think they are very good and like homemade. I tried the store brand once but that was not as good as the Pillsbury ones. Have a blessed week!
Love, Wheatfields
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Good morning, dear ones.
I've now had seven nights in a row with good sleep. That's a miracle, praise the Lord!
A friend came over yesterday because I want to learn how to crochet. I can knit, but crocheting just doesn't click with me. She was trying to show me this one cast on method for amigurumi (it's for making little figures or shapes) but I just couldn't get it. She finally said, "Why don't we just try chaining?" Then there was the question of whether I wanted to stitch left or right-handed. I'm left-handed, but do a few things right-handed. I think we settled on left-handed stitching. She's left-handed so it was easy for her to teach me. She's a good teacher either way.
The other thing (silly, I know) is copying my collection of I Love Lucy DVDs to my computer. It's like comfort food to me.
teka, you've really been through it. Praying that the coming weeks and months will be better for you.
Nancy, how are your bathroom and window latch projects coming?
Wheatfields, there was a time I wouldn't have dreamed of using a store-bought pie shell or store-bought pasta sauce. I got over it. I don't like sugar in my pasta sauce and have found a few brands that don't having any added. One is from Safeway/Vons and the other I get at Costco. Life's too short. Lately, I've been eating instant mashed potatoes - mostly because they're quick to prepare and easy to eat.
I hope everyone is having a good Tuesday.
Love to all,
Carol
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Wheatfields, do you happen to subscribe to Pillsbury's daily recipe email? Today's featured article was entitled "Apple Pie 2.0" -
Teka, I'm sorry the last two months have been so rough healthwise. I hope autumn brings healing and rest.
Carol, a good night's sleep is a wonderful elixir. My family doesn't like sugar in pasta sauce either. The Safeway brand is quite good as is their pizza sauce. Have you had a chance to try any of the Rao's sauces?
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Teka, I hope the fall will be a time of closing the door on all of these health issues!!!! I hope October will be a time for you to enjoy pumpkins and all the fun things that fall brings and of course the cooler weather with gorgeous leaves and NO health issues. Having a year of rehabbing from your knee replacement it is time for a break!!!! Alice is not enjoying her PJ's. LOL If I tried that with Cammie I might lose a hand!
Carol, I am so pleased to hear you have had seven good nights of sleep in a row. You got me beat there. I hope you can learn how to crochet. I would guess that both knitting and crocheting would be like I feel in the moment when I am out with my camera. It is great therapy and I hope it is for you too. I remember watching old reruns of I Love Lucy when I was recovering from one of my surgeries. It would be on in the middle of the night and helped me too. I hope you can get them on your computer.
My bathroom project is resuming on Thursday. The window locks are either being ordered (for the second time) or if they can find them in their warehouses. So that is all up in the air.
Wheatfields and Hershey, I will just have to live vicariously through you cooking wizards making these delicious foods and pies. If I made pies I would easily be weighing enough to be one one of those TV shows.
Chris, how are you feeling? I hope the pain has diminished at this point. I'm excited for you and your Alaskan cruise.
GB, any news on possible insurance change?
Have a good day everyone.
Love,
Nancy I
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Good morning, sisters. I'm feeling gutted this morning. I learned last night that a classmate died. We went to church school together from third grade through college. She had Stage IV breast cancer and had shared with her friends that it had spread to her brain.
This feels like a kick in the stomach. I'm sad and angry but thankful she is not suffering any longer. Please pray for her family. She had a husband and a son. She was a much-loved teacher for many years at the same church school we both attended.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
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Carol, I am so sorry for the loss of your friend. It is so hard when we lose a good friend to this awful disease. May God comfort you and her family.
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I was all excited to share that I am going the Butterfly House today and how God worked it all out and then I saw your post Carol.
I am so very sorry for you to have received this news. I will be praying for you and for the family today while on the road.
Love,
Nancy
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Carol, I'm sorry to read about the loss of your dear friend. I pray that God's comfort and peace will surround you and her family.
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Thank you for the encouragement. I don't know why this hit me so hard. She lived 4+ years after her Stage IV diagnosis. I'm at 3.5 years. It's hard not to compare.
She taught third grade at the church school we both attended. From all accounts, she was a fantastic, amazing teacher who was beloved by her students and their parents. She retired from teaching and went on to write curriculum. Her FIL was the principal at the academy we attended for four years, and then she lived down the hall from me in the girls' dormitory our freshman year of college.
I appreciate the prayers.
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My deck is done (well, except for finalizing the lighting next week.) So I ordered furniture this morning. Maybe I can eke out a little mild weather yet! Yesterday my DD and I traveled the city looking for outdoor furniture but everyone was out declaring the season was over, and I am reluctant to travel 70 miles to Denver. I was so hoping for sales! But Amazon to the rescue. I looked at other sites but Amazon was actually the best. Unfortunately it will arrive the day we leave for Alaska. At least it will be here.
I will get my flu shot tomorrow after my pulmonology appointment, and I am starting to pack. I need a lot of equipment lol. I am not feeling great yet but I am improving everyday. I will just manage whatever comes. My DH also got a Covid shot but I am not going to do that. Last time I got sick and I just don't want to chance it. Here is a peek at what we did. I will send more once I decorate a bit. Thanks for letting me be a little selfish today. I do pray for everyone as posts come in. Blessings on you all.
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Carol, your friend sounds amazing. I continue to pray for you and your lose and for her family.
Chris, all I can say is WOW! That is awesome. I was only imagining some of my neighbors new decks and trying to figure out why it was taking your crew so long to finish. That looks like a whole addition to your house. You are going to love it once you get your furniture and can sit and enjoy the view. I do hope there will be more warm days to come that you can enjoy it. I do hope you feel better.
My contractors are here today. The owner came and left to finish a job they had been working on. I have to smile. One of the guys has a high pitched voice and I don't know if he has ear buds and is trying to sing along with a song but I will hear these strange outbursts periodically and can just imagine Cammies big eyes. She is hiding under my bed right next to where they are working.
Some of the guys do not speak English but I asked how the wallpaper was coming off and he said it was easy. That you Lord.
Take care everyone. Praying for you.
Love,
Nancy
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My bathroom crew came today as I had mentioned in my previous post. They were here for 11- 12 hrs !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm worn out and I didn't do anything but try to stay out of their way. They didn't come until a little after 9:30 so they were here quite late. They had no trouble taking the wallpaper down. They spent a long time prepping the walls and the ceiling I am assuming. They put primer on and then the boss will come back tomorrow to paint. I am so tickled this is getting done so fast. I am not exactly sure how I will take a bath in the morning but I may have to go without washing my hair since the shower curtains are down.
If the guys would have been here much longer I could have easily wiped out my bank account from buying all things black and white online while they were here. LOL I had already bought quite a few things. I will post some pics when it all comes together.
Have a good night.
Love,
Nancy
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Carol, I'm praying for you MRI today.
Don't forget to scroll back and see Chris's pics of their beautiful deck.
Have a good day dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
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Teka, the stairs go down to the back yard. The house is a ranch with a walk-out so I can enter the deck straight from the main level…no stairs. I don't ever have to use them. Living all on one level was the main "must-have" when we bought out house a year ago. I live on the main level and my DD and DGD live on the basement level. I can do stairs but they are difficult especially because I need oxygen.
Nancy, so happy your bathroom is finally getting finished and so quickly! Can't wait to see the pictures.
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Chris, your deck looks fantastic! It's like adding another living space to your home. You and your family will immensely enjoy it.
Nancy, what hardworking handymen to turn around your bathroom so quickly. I'm eager to see the finished project.
We have a painter coming next week to do an estimate on painting the exterior of our house. He'll need to do measurements, so yesterday I moved gardening tools and equipment away from the north side of the house. I spied a baby bull snake, sound asleep, right where I was working. Now I know why I haven't seen any mice hanging around the garden! ☺
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Hershey, I hope you can get a good contractor for your outside painting of your house. I know that is a job. Oh boy, the snake I could do without. LOL It brought back memories of my Mom's house.
Well my bathroom I have been talking about seemingly forever is finally done. I have to wait for the paint to cure as the boss said today. I have a big clean up job. He told me that the guys said the wallpaper came off easily but the walls were in bad shape so the sound I hear for hours was them sanding the walls. So there is micro fine dust everywhere and especially on the floor. I made my gray and white tile almost look completely white in places. I can't clean until tomorrow and I am chopping at the bit to get some of my new purchases out of the packages to see what they are going to look like. I am guessing just as there are many shades of white that there are different shades of black as well. I have already had two people tell me that black rugs shows every little thing and my sister said with Cammie's white hair that should be interesting.
My living room looks like Christmas came early. I have boxes stacked up and packages unopened. I am certainly keeping Amazon in business.
In my whole life this is really the first almost remodel of a room for me ever so that is why I am so excited. Of course the replacing all the windows and doors was a huge effort but this is somehow different. I will eventually replace the toilet and maybe put in a bidet especially with my issues after surgery. I did not replace any tile because my tile around my tub is in amazingly in good shape for me living here 32 years. I didn't want to replace the floor tiles as this started out as a simple update. I am now realizing the idea of simple and update don't belong in the same sentence! I have to wait on my black curtain rods to come on Monday and then I will have most of my new things delivered. I am like a kid in a candy store. LOL
Carol, praying for good results on your MRI today.
Cammie has been through an ordeal this past few months with being scared with all the guys in making noises and using loud drills. She is asleep on the foot of my Lazy Boy and she has a funny sound that I can only call a snore. LOL I hope we can both recover from all of the intrusion this whole year. Getting back to normal will a great thing for both of us.
Have a good weekend dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
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I have another UTI…ugh! I need to be more diligent with the cranberry juice. Made a virtual appointment this morning so I can get antibiotics. This one is quite painful. Need to get well by our trip this Friday. I am thankful for virtual appointments and virtual church.
Hershey, snakes do have their place but I want them to stay in their place!
Have a blessed and peaceful Sabbath.
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Oh Chris, Say it ain't so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't realize this Friday was the big day. I just hate it that this is happening to you and so close to your trip. We will just have to storm the gates of heaven with prayers for your rapid healing. I am so glad you got a virtual apt. and I hope you can get antibiotics asap.
Love,
Nancy
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Chris, I'm so thankful your doctor offers virtual appointments. And wow, weekend appointments to boot! We are praying that the antibiotics curtail the infection and your trip is nothing but smooth sailing and full steam ahead.
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Intolight, that is lovely. How exciting! I agree about Amazon to the rescue. We needed a new coverlet for one of our beds. We used to go to multiple stores to find what would work and then pay so much more. I found a perfect one in the perfect color for a good price. It arrives tomorrow.
Good luck with the prep for your Alaska trip. I hope you don’t wear yourself out with everything you have to do. Do you have neighbors who will grab your package and keep it for you until you get back?
Nancy, thank you for the prayers for my friend’s family. Your contractor story made me smile. I will continue to pray for the entire process. Yesterday, we had a repairman out to look at the washing machine at our desert house. It was leaking and we (DH) couldn’t find the source. $300+ dollars later, the problem was fixed. DH kept the part so that he can maybe do it himself if it happens again. Don’t know if we got “taken,” but it had to be fixed.
My MIR went well and I read the report and it said everything was stable. I messaged the neurosurgeon to see if I need to keep my appointment with him. My next appointment is an EEG (brain) on Thursday.
Chris, it’s nice that your deck is a walk-out and that you don’t have to do stairs every day.
We had a good visit with my dad. He commented many times that he was so glad I was feeling better (coughing-wise) and was sleeping better. I had no idea he had been so concerned. He’s prepping for his move to Seattle and is doing surprisingly well with it. He tends to get stressed over stuff, but God is blessing him with peace. We watched “The Pineapple Story” with him the last time we were there, and he kept talking about it during this visit. Amazing! I’m so thankful.
Hersheykiss, good luck with the house painting. That’s a big job – and well worth paying someone else to do!
We’re having our hardscape re-done at our desert house starting next week. There’s a brick-looking concrete surface in the front and back and we’re having it torn out and having pavers put in. It should be really nice when it’s finished. We’ve seen other work they’ve done and we’re very impressed with it. DH has been wanting to do this for a long time. It’s not cheap, but it will be a nice upgrade to the property.
My crocheting is improving, or so I think. I’m just making lots of swatches to learn the stitches. Nothing too fancy for this girl – just single, half-double, and double, so far. I did buy a baby blanket pattern (only $2.99 in case it’s above my skill level) and may give that a try. The pattern maker has some good tutorials, and she does some of them in both right and left-handed versions.
Sorry for the ramble… It’s so much easier on my home PC than my laptop. Maybe I should get an external keyboard for my laptop…
Oops, just saw the second page of posts. Nancy, congrats on the bathroom job FINALLY being done. It must feel wonderful!
Intolight, YUCK! I’m so sorry about the returning UTI. You definitely want to be well before your trip.
Love to all,
Carol
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