Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?

Good morning. It is extremely white outside my house. Hopefully we can start to shovel the snow from the deck again. Even though its a sturdy deck — it's not new and snow can weigh a lot when there is too much of it.

Had hoped for the snow to stop around noon yesterday, but it kept going. Didn't stop until suppertime. Not sure how much more we got since it can be hard to judge out here. We have hilly yards and not much for snow plows on our roads either — so mounds of snow everywhere. SIL had to go to work after all on Friday so my car now has more snow and did not get started. I think we will try it today. I may even go out and give it a go. I have not been outside for a few days now. the sun isn't bright and maybe that's good. It would be absolutely dazzling looking out if it were.

Reader, I second your call-out to Cindy. Hope all is well with her.

No special plans for today. Likely good since there is extra snow. I am so glad that the General Dollar store got built on the corner (our side of the road) a few blocks from here. We have (in town) an actual Dollar store although a few months ago they did have to increase prices a bit. But we also have two more General Dollar stores in town as well as the one out here. Seems to me there are usually a fair amt. of people in those stores when I go by. They are truly convenient to their neighborhoods and I read somewhere that older people often use them to avoid having to be in HUGE stores like our Super Walmart.

The one here (likely all of them) close to us has a section that they put in a while ago where you can get some fresh type vegetables and fruits as well as their huge, refrigerated section. I never expected to use it as much as we do. It has worked out to be so handy for forgotten items etc.

Hope you all have a good day and not too much of any one kind of weather. Prayers continue for the people of California.

It snowed overnight and there are still small squalls occurring, It is 30 degrees with a slight breeze. It is downright cold and I agree with Chris, Carole, your temperature sounds warm to me.

My DB and DSIL have a second home in FL and it was 50 degrees the other day. My SIL was meeting a neighbor for a walk wearing jeans and a sweatshirt whereas the neighbor had a winter coat, hat, scarf wrapped around her neck and face, and gloves. She had to laugh when the woman explained that while she was originally from IN she now had "FL" blood.

Regan likes the snow but being a short-haired dog she gets cold quickly. DH puts her coat on when they take their morning walks which have been few this week due to temps as low as 9 degrees. I feel for the deer because even with their winter coats they are struggling to find food and warm areas.

DGD's basketball game was fun to watch since the 2 teams are composed of a mix of 3rd and 4th graders. She is a big kid, tall and chunky, who looks older than her age 9, and her grade, which is 3rd. There are some real dainty girls on the teams that look like they are 1st or second graders by size. These are 4-10 minute periods to the game and low scoring. At the game end the score was 13-10 so it shows that many basket attempts were misses. It's fun to see them try to figure out how to be a team and assist each other. DGD has a tendency to lose focus so we call out reminders as do the other parents " if you have the ball, your feet and dribbling must happen together" type coaching. She had another game today but we need to clear snow to be able to get out of the house. Maybe we will be able to make DGS's game tomorrow.

Finished last 2 upper cabinets in kitchen with a better organization in the one where the lower shelf holds my spices. The lazy Susan one got rearranged and it seems I really like to buy sea salt/kosher salt. I found several packages and considering how infrequently I use salt (I use this in my salt grinder shaker), I will see if anyone wants some. Threw some items out and found duplicates of others that have been grouped together. I now have a better handle on what I have so I won't be tempted to buy more.

Bumblebee was making the funniest noises at his bells today. Normally he serenades them but this sounded more like he was chastising them. Now he's back to serenading me with his beautiful songs as he sings them to his swing.

Now I can get back to the sweeping, dusting and vacuuming that have been ignored lately.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Stay warm and safe. Hey, Cindy, where are you? Hi to petite1, harley7 and anyone else I have overlooked.

Cindy, FYI, if you are on Medicare, gel injections x 4, do not require prior approval. Pre-Medicare, I had to get prior approval for injections and could only get 3. Good luck.

I have a dining room that needs painting if you need another project. I painted small squares on the wall to see which color I liked and it has been that way for at least 6 months. I need to create a Household projects list for 2025 and then get to it.

I have a curved glass china cabinet that was my Dh's grandmother's and several of her dining room chairs I would like to get refinished. DB started the china closet and then quit on me so it has been stained, it just needs the poly coat and reassembly.

Decided to make chicken cacciatore today and opened a can of Contadina tomato paste to find that it is only half full. Had another can purchased at the same time and it was full so I used it, but was afraid to use half-empty one. I will contact Contadina because it is not cheap and hope they will replace it. Took photos of the can interior. It looks like a tomato doughnut inside with hole in the middle that has some liquid in it.

Back to work. I'm trying to getting vacuuming done. The kitchen, laundry room and powder room have been vacuumed and then I mopped them. Dusted these areas and hope to get family room done this evening.

Lovely photos and yes, I can see the eagle. I always think of puffin when someone posts photos of birds. She would love them.

I would love to have some rooms painted but the painter (me) hasn't worked up the courage to tackle the job. Quite a few years ago, I painted all the trim in this house. A massive undertaking. Hard to believe I accomplished the job.

Today is gloomy and cold. Currently 41 degrees. Nothing on my agenda today. I could use some exercise but a walk outside doesn't seem likely. I think rain is in the forecast for later.

Wishing everyone a peaceful Sunday.

I still see the green, but cleaner white. I’m going to ignore it for now. I’m not sure any guest cares one way or the other. I did order new hooks for the door; no more over the door type, they were making a mess out of the door and the trim.

We’re up to 71 and it’s glorious. I’m in the garage puttering. I put the shelving rack together; it was inexpensive and it shows. LOL It serves its purpose so that’s that.

I’ve got the football game in out there while I read a book while sitting in the sun. I’ve got a tan line above my sports sock, and I’m tan under my knee down to the sock - my walking Capri workout pants. Trying to fill in the area and get my feet to match, but the sun is hot.

This mornings walk I could hear a really loud bird. I look up and see the parrot. Take some pictures and start back walking, when I turn and see it’s 2 parrots! Other developments have them, but I think this is my first time seeing them here.

Back out I go. Leftovers for dinner again!

Yes. Snakes, parrots, and monkeys are invasive species in Florida.

I enjoyed the parrots as well. I wondered as well if they were escapees from somewhere so glad to get your answer Chris. I think I could do okay for sure with the parrots, and the monkeys likely too, but not sure I'd do too well with the snakes.

We are fine here with snakes. They mainly stay pretty much out of sight unless it becomes really hot and dry. Thankfully that has not been too often here. Once or twice in the 22 years we have lived in this house. Not even sure which kind of snake I saw — they were so quick at getting away so as to avoid me. But we have found black snakes (the really good kind) a couple of times. Dh has just taken a good-sized stick and encouraged them to wind themselves around it and then he tosses the snake back in the woods. They don't seem to feel the need to get away as much as the others.

It's 18 degrees with a nice sun out so I think the rays will help some of the melting process. It will still be slow since we have plenty of snow on the ground. I think the roads to the highway will likely be just fine. I haven't been out but the kids have kept going from the first moment on. Well, when I was younger so did I, but I don't feel the need anymore — though if not for them living here I would likely have to. I do have some things that have been on hold, and I'll have to consider starting to move about — like it or not. It's not so much the roads for me as the cold, but with a bright sun all should be fine.

I hope you all have a good day and good weather.

Betrayal - I saw the opportunity to read cursive documents for the National Archives. I will be interested to hear how that goes.

You can easily judge the character of people by how they treat those who can do nothing for them.

James D. Miles

I was finally able to navigate the National Archives site to find some entries that I was able to transcribe. One was written in old copperplate style cursive and there were some words I was unable to decipher. I have read many such articles while doing genealogical research and then many years of making out physician's chicken scratch on their orders and notes has provided lots of experience. I had one physician who would ask me to read his old notes to him; the hospital finally ordered him to hire someone to write his notes in charts and on order sheets. I need to learn how they prefer transcriptions to be posted so I have avoided any that require a great deal of detail. I did find some for nurses from the 1920's that recorded their military or ARC service and those were easy to do. There is a lot of information on these records that need to be transcribed for researchers. So I spent a few hours today and think I will save this exercise for those night when there is nothing on TV.

minustwo and reader 425, I would encourage you to explore this opportunity. It is a chance to learn something as you contribute and there is a large selection of documents you can access.

Previously I had volunteered with Family Search to review and transcribe 1950 census records. The persons hired to collect the data had to be able to speak English but their ability to spell was not required and this latter dates back well into the early 1900's. I enjoyed it and they tallied how many records I had worked on and sent it to me. Hopefully, it helped researchers find the person they were looking for.

Cold, blustery and sunny today. Remained in the high 20's and seems it will drop down to single digits overnight with maybe just the teens tomorrow.

cindyny, we saw huge flocks of those green parrots in Uruguay. They are beautiful in flight and quite noisy when they sit in the trees. Sometimes birds are misplaced by being blown off course during hurricanes and not necessarily escapees.

Hope everyone had a great day.

I like the statement " They were probably Quaker/Monk parrots, considered invasive" There are some invasive species with no known negative effects on the environment.

I am resting my thumbs. Tried to sew a bit, and aggravated them. Did get some cooking done. It is nice to get some big recipes in the freezer. I have only about fifteen Hillshire Farms lunchmeat containers filled with stuff like meatloaf and potatoes in the freezer. Used to have the freezer almost filled with them. I'm going to spend more time reading, I think. Tippy has the TV all tied up with birds, but I will try to get some viewing time.

It is -4 right now, but, scheduled to get up to 21. Tippy hadn't had a BM for several days, so I called the doctor, and the vet tech told me that my plan was very good. So when I got home from church last night, he had his hangy-tongue cuteness expression, and told me he wanted to go for a walk. He produced. I don't think he wanted to go to the doctor's office.

Beauty of a morning — for the sun. The temperature is at 0 degrees, and not so much of a beauty. Indoor/outdoor cat came in — with a bird in his mouth (aarg) and caused much excitement with all the indoor furry people — so had to toss cat and bird back outside in the cold.

Chris, when my dogs have had a bit too much slow down on BM's I give them pumpkin to eat. Not the kind with pie spices in it, but pumpkin only. It works wonders around here. It has been an easy fix for me and all my dogs so far have eaten the pumpkin with almost a bit of gusto — like they know it will do them a lot of good.

Cindy, I thought your tree where the ibis were was interesting. So tidy around the bottom — almost looks like someone just plopped it there. We have ibis here at the lake. My friend who had one of the only spots where her house only had a very gentle small slope to the water's edge use to call them Big Birds, and they are. They were always interesting to see.

For years this lady would go to what we called the day-old bread store to get bread to feed the ducks that hung around on the lake. The store was a re-sale on all the bread items like loaves of bread, little cakes, cookies and all those sorts of things needing to be taken off the shelves date-wise at the local outlets. I got most of my bread and a few 'goodies' at the store. I called it the used bread store — since the things there use to sit on other stores shelves first. Sadly, it got closed. I'm still hating that and it's been several years now.

Hope your weather gets better, Betrayal. Not sure how long we will be stuck with our snow. The sun is trying but there was a lot of snow and sounds like we could get some more first of next week. Another round on the way — and sounds like it will go all the way across to the east coast.

Hope you all have a good day. And if you alligators on your property that they all behave.

I'm cringing as I see the weather forecast for Monday, dh's 2nd knee surgery day. High in the 30's. Then the forecast for Tuesday, when he will be discharged from the surgery center, a chance of mixed precipitation. This is serious winter weather for us. We don't know the time yet when he will have to arrive at the surgery center. We're hoping it isn't the early slot, 5 am. He did well with the first surgery but I'm still feeling nervousness/anxiety.

Last night he suggested we drive to the MS gulf coast today to a casino, the nicest one. There we can gamble away our small allotment of gambling money and have lunch at the restaurant with table service. It's very nice and we have eaten there a number of times over the years. His suggestion came as a surprise. Perhaps he wants to do "something" before his surgery. We rarely go to casinos.

It's 47 degrees this morning and overcast. Yesterday started out the same way and the sun came out.

Happy Wednesday to all.

Today the temperature is officially 25 degrees but due to the wind factor, feels like 9 degrees. Regan did not get her walk today and DD read us some info on how long dogs of different sizes should be exposed to these temperatures. It varied from 15 minutes for her puppy, to 30 minutes for Regan and up to 60 minutes for large dogs with more fur than either of these dogs have. I do think it meant the dogs should also have the benefit of a jacket.

I contacted Contadina about the tomato paste incident and the guy who answered the phone was very helpful. I told him what had happened and how I have used Contadina products for probably over 40 years. He asked my name and then asked if I resided at my address. It seems I called them 15 years ago with a problem they didn't have recorded now and when I said I had short-term memory loss about that one, he laughed. Surprised that kept records for that long. So they will send me a replacement. Nice to do business with reputable companies.

Misty gets brushed daily to cut down on the number of hairball cough ups. Seems if I don't get to her quickly enough she decides to unroll the toilet paper in the powder room in protest. She is getting very picky about the brushing as well. I do her in the garden window so I don't have to bend over but she leaves prematurely lately and then isn't happy.

We are expected to stay in this weather pattern with snow predicted for Sunday and the playoff game. Should be interesting and the game tickets are being sold for astronomical sums. The greed of people still astonishes me. There is a significant difference between making a profit and price gouging in my book. The cheapest SRO tickets are going for over $300.

Plan for today is still in progress. Not sure of what I want to do yet. Did 2 loads of laundry and may throw a load of towels in later. Not leaving the house due to the cold. It seems once I get cold it stays in my bones for the rest of the day. Don't get cabin fever as easily as DH so he loves to run errands and I let him. I am not fond of going to the grocery store so if he wants to go, I let him knowing that there will be extras purchased that would never have made my list. There is plenty for me to do but no incentive at this time.

Taco, hope Ken's recovery continues.

harley, hope all is well with you.

petite1, loved your new pool and hope all is well with you.

Illinoislady, sorry that your cat brought a bird in. My older and now gone ones used to bring in mice from garage that were still alive and then the merry chase would begin when they dropped them. Or I would find a disembodied head, ugh. Neither Leo nor Misty are mousers that I know of.

Chris, glad Tippy decided to poop. Bet if you had taken him to the vet he would have done it outside the doors before you even got in. Love your stories about him communicating using the buttons. He is one smart dog.

Hope everyone has a warm and safe day.