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

And the heat goes on. Oops, the song actually said the beat. 91 here right now at not quite noon. With heat index it feels like 100. I have a quick Dr's appt. Shouldn't take up much time. Need a couple of things at the store on the way home. Not going to be great. My car needs some Freon added and no one got around to it. I'll need another shower by the time we get home.

The a/c is popping on fairly regular during this heat wave. Just glad we have it. Otherwise all is well for now . (((((((Chris))))))) glad you are feeling a mite better. I too wish you well on your upcoming appts. Sure does seem you retire for more leisure only to use so much of that on having to take care of different aspects of your health.

Carole, we are all envying your weather right now since most of us are going though a brutal period.

Hope all have an outstanding day and can stay out of the heat as much as possible.

Yay Chris on the chest scan. Praying tomorrow goes well too. Wow !!! There is SUCH weather going on everywhere it seems. Global issues which some admins don't wish to publicize other than it is not happening. But we get to live it anyway some way.

Speaking of weather — we went to Mt. Vernon — no a/c in my car because no one added the needed Freon. Okay. It wasn't great but passable. By the time we left Mt. Vernon, and it was a lot hotter yet it was a much more un-satisfactory ride home. We went to Walmart to pick up a prescription I needed. I could feel the heat, but once I walked into the inside cart area and got hit with a huge blast of a/c air (which felt like heaven at first) but almost as suddenly it seemed to have sucked every last iota of energy I had. By then we were in the 'greeting' area and I had to stop and bend over the basket — just needed a moment to give my legs a chance to recognize I needed to keep going. The pharmacy was just around a corner and there were benches. I knew I could buck up and make it there, if I gave my legs time to realize we had to keep going. We were able to make it and sit down — sure was a good feeling.

Soon a lady and young fellow came along and began to check on us producing three big bottles of cold water. I was fairly un-comfortable as yet but the addition of sitting down with water did make me feel given some time I would be okay. Took about a half an hour but I finally felt much cooler and while not bursting with energy able to do my business. The lady and young man stayed with us till we got up. Frankly, I've never needed attention in Walmart for anything and the fact that someone took charge of Dh and I so quickly was a surprise. Then again, they really don't want or need people falling out on trips to their store.

I will be fine. Just needed to go to Mt. Vernon to get a prescribed medication, because they needed to be sure of what I really needed. Some of the medications I take make you liable to pick up yeast infections easier than the law ought to allow. Sigh !!! So all that for one pill. It's nice that handling the yeast only takes one pill and I can sure be glad of that, but wow — a lot to go through for one little pill.

Hi, All. I had fun on my solo journey. Driving part way and stopping was a good idea. Unfortunately, I did not do that on the way home. I was exhausted and felt like I was getting a UTI. I slept 12 hours. I did not find my perfect cabin. I will keep looking.

Today I had the dermatologist and Tuesday the dentist.

intolight, welcome to our chatty group.

Sandy, good to hear you will be home soon.

Cindy, pool issues, I feel for you. I had my share of them

Chris, fingers crossed on your results

betrayal, hope the pain gets better soon

canarycat, love the photos

and I can't remember the rest I wanted to comment on

And the hits just keep on coming. State Farm adjuster called to say that he "received the pictures" and that "work has been completed." Say what? Unless there were an army of elves working nonstop 24/7 since last Thursday, that can't possibly be the case. Got the final settlement docs of what was done, and something is fishy—there are entries for wallpaper (there isn't any), painting of chair rails & cove moldings (also nonexistent), window shades (missing as of Thursday), blinds (nope), drapery hardware re-hung (double nope), the range and kitchen fridge installed (not so as I saw) but no mention of basement fridge or laundry pair. No mention of water line run to fridge either, as I kept insisting and was assured would be done. Claim that cedar shakes were painted—it must take quite a bit of skill to reproduce the look of peeling paint. (Crew chief said that was not in the specs). There are basement windows still with busted frames and torn screens. Pre-restoration specs and now the summary both claim that the deck was rebuilt, but all I could see is re-painting. I am meeting with my own plumber to get water pressure to the 1st floor tub & shower (problem predated the fire) but also to replace the sink faucet in that bathroom—which had worked during the project (I know because I used it) but now is busted. Contractor/public adjuster says I should talk to him tomorrow—I'm skeptical of turning over State Farm's check for work that may not have been performed as charged. Then there are the two massive piles of junk (primary BR and living room floors) that need to be winnowed out & removed before I can even buy a bed, much less have the boxes of stored stuff brought back. Den furniture (stereo rack & bookcase) are sitting in the middle of the dining room. Old fridge in basement (that we never used and contains the previous owners' pots & pans) supposed to be carted away but still there. If by some miracle the kitchen fridge and stove were reinstalled over the weekend, do they even work?

In the meantime I can cart stuff from the garage here (which I removed from my car before going to the body shop) back to our own garage; and I will load up all the winter coats from here and hang them in our own hall & den closet. I know the outerwear that was cleaned and stored no longer fits (too small for Bob, too big for me). Tomorrow will be a good day, once I get back, to start packing up sweaters & heavier sweats).

Also had to go online and prove my identity to the IRS so they can direct-deposit our pretty-large refund; and also filed an online appeal of our estimated market value ($950K—what are they smoking at the Assessor's office?) for our 2025 property tax. The 2024 estimate was $580K—did having the fire improve the market value? Went over our AmEx bill and found that AT&T is charging me $250/mo for "U-Verse" (which I don't have) and DirecTV is charging me $180. (For awhile the latter was part of AT&T). Then there's the matter of reinstating my ISP & cable (and buying a mesh network).

And of course, aside from the herculean effort it will take to broom-clean this place (not to mention how much over & above our pet deposit we'll be dinged for re-felting the pool table & some scratching on the sofa), is the looming dread of not being able to lure the kitties out from under the beds (low clearance, too heavy to lift) so we can take them home. At this point, this place is the longest they've lived anywhere since they were rescued in Jan. 2024. I am about to discover the upper limits of what Taskrabbit can handle.

(Friends are of no use here—they're at least as old and in no better shape than I am; and family is back East).

Thursday I have an online shrink appointment for "medication management;" and Friday (our anniversary) is my mammogram. Talk about scanxiety—not so much what they might find but if they do, how I'm gonna deal with it with everything else going on. If the system's shrink is dedicated to minimizing prescription of controlled substances, I will find one outside the system—maybe one of the psychiatrists at Bob's hospitals can see me as a "one-off" private patient. We're not hurting for money, but annual fee for membership in a concierge medical service costs more than country club dues (not that we'd ever join a country club) or a new car.

Sandy, take some deep breaths and remember "this too will pass". When we went through restoration, I actually told the project manager I could have had a new home built in much less time than it took them to fix our house. It would have been less stressful as well. We did have them add some incidentals like an extra electrical outlet in the primary bedroom but the jobs punch list they generated for SF had items they never did (I installed the new drapery rod in the 2nd bedroom), cleaning (what a joke that was), etc. So the wallpaper item is not all that unusual to find. You can use it to identify what they should do and challenge them for others. I had a sitdown with the project manager about things they were claiming that were not done and I wasn't willing to pay for. I got a refund.

It is to be above 100 degrees today and that is the real temp not the "feels like" one. Same is predicted for tomorrow so I think I may tackle the papers accumulated on my office desk. The basement needs a good cleaning as well with DH assigned the vacuuming and I'll do the rest. After he's done vacuuming, I'll see if the floor needs mopping. I don't spend a lot of time down there but DH virtually lives down there either in his office or watching TV. He likes shows I would never watch so it's a good thing plus it is a big screen TV.

It is sunny, temp at 9:30 is already 84 degrees so I do believe this is the calm before the heat hits. The humidity is high. I'll make sure the birdbath has water in it (it leaks and needs to be sealed) and I'll add some ice cubes to keep it cool.

reader425, nice to see you.

petite1, so glad you enjoyed your solo trip. I know you'll find your dream cabin.

chris, hope the ortho can help you with your thumbs.

Yeah, I rode the bike for 6 minutes yesterday and that is a leap forward considering it has taken me nearly 2 weeks to get to that point. The knee just didn't want to make that full revolution until then. Goal is to reach the 10 I was doing pre-op. Compared to harley07's 15 mile rides, it is laughable but I will never be in that class. Will try for 7 minutes tomorrow.

I hope everyone has a great and safe day. Stay cool and inside as needed. Wear sunscreen if you need to be outdoors.

As do I, even though I am going through my own problems. Please hire a consultant. People under stress tend to make rash decisions.

Chris, I gave up my Hulu subscription and all but totally quit watching the news. I have (at least it seems so to me) a healthier, happier outlook on life and while true I do peruse some news on the Internet, I even keep that rather light. Trying to do just enough so I can sort of keep up without coming near flooding my senses which is what was happening.

That roof collapse looked amazing — all that water pouring in. It would sure be nice if people would not turn away from global warming effects. We have gone so fast in complete innovations that we have not created much balance in our technological world.

Doing a p.s. here. Freon seems at this point successful. Rode home from O'Reilly's and turned a/c down. It was too cold for us. That said, I do have an old and somewhat tired car compressor. A good flush could help, but in the end I'm going to hope for now I can keep it juiced up just enough. I'm not planning on going out anyway if I can avoid it. Plenty to do inside while it is hot.

It has been interesting to go from what we usually considered late spring/early, early summer weather to this very intense heat wave. Something like this (hmmm, an odd preview) happened a few yrs. ago. One day in June that yr. our temps got up to a 100 and never got any lower till Fall. I sure hope this is not something like that. In fact, it looked like Fall a few weeks into summer with a dried up lawn and trees looking tired and ready to shed leaves. I was in great dislike.

No joy. I have an appointment with my plastic surgeon in TWO MONTHS. He is qualified to do it. There is something going on with Mayo. Our local hospital is affiliated with another organization, and my insurance covers it there. So I sent a message asking for a referral for there. Otherwise, I am on the list for Dr. S. if any appointments open up before. I was given some advice for pain management.

I think fitting in is highly overrated. I’d rather just fit out. . . . Fitting out means being who you are, even when people insist that you have to change.  Fitting out means taking up space, not apologizing for yourself, and not agreeing with those who seek to label you with stereotypes.

Golda Poretsky

Late today, but happy day to all. I wasn't doing a whole lot, but Dh had some things going and changed his schedule a bit this a.m. so I changed mine so we could still 'fit'. Not sure how hot outside, but the a/c is cycling on quite a bit. We keep the temp at 77, cool enough to come into from outside but we would not want to be a whole lot cooler when we are sitting around in summer clothes. In fact, I sit quite close to a register here at my desk and am almost cold by the time the a/c cycles off again.

All seems well around here save for the temps. I'm still enjoying not having much of anything for medical appts. at all. Only went the other day as I'm prone to yeast infections from Medications and I needed an area checked. Of course that was when I had my "incident" at Walmart. Since we/I brought the car back home from having Freon put in we have not used it. Likely the next time will be when I need something from Walmart and if still hot — we will make that an early morning excursion.

I'm hoping that we do get rain this week-end as it will cool a bit. First I complained/mentioned all the rain we were getting, and not I'm hoping we get some.

Hope you are all staying cool and able to do any chores or medical /hair or any other visits in the earlier hopefully cooler hrs.

Rode bike for nearly 7 minutes yesterday and hoping to be at 10 by next week. PT will be on vacation so appointments next week are earlier than I really like but it's only for 2 days. I should be reaching the end soon anyhow. I had a sciatica attack again and will discuss this with Pain Management when I see them. It originates in my back and disturbs my sleep and what I can do in PT. Time for another back MRI?

Temperature definitely lower as is humidity and there is a nice breeze. We will still be in the 80's but it is tolerable. I changed hummingbird nectar earlier because it ferments in very hot weather and we don't need any drunk or dehydrated hummingbirds. Bird bath has water, parakeets and canary have fresh water and seed. Misty has been brushed so it is peaceful. She will caterwaul until she is brushed on some days and she has a high pitch. She hasn't done this lately though.

I plan to weed one section of a bed near the driveway where my daffodils are in the spring. There is a really invasive weed called Creeping Charlie in that bed and it is so hard to eradicate. Some leave it as a ground cover but I hate it. So I will pull as much of it as I can.

The deer ate the hosta there and I noticed yesterday that they ate 2 of the 3 hydrangeas in front of the house, so no flowers for sure this year. I received the new butterfly bush I ordered but it was packed in an airtight cardboard box, it was totally dry and half dead. It did respond to water bath, but more than half of it is dead. Not sure it will make it.

Need to look for DD's birthday gifts which I put away after our Amazon trip for safekeeping. Now to remember where that was? LOL, I need a box with the places I put things but chances are I would misplace it, too.

Waving hello to everyone and wishing them a great day.

Temperatures have dropped here! It was 92 yesterday, and about 73 this morning. But then it started raining and temp dropped to 66; back to 71. I like that it cooled off but if it stays raining, I have to bag up my foot to go outside.

I went through Medicare paperwork yesterday, they send so much. Wish they’d go paperless! Anyway, I had been keeping a lot of it and yesterday I threw in the towel - shredded everything that’s not from 2025. I don’t even know if I need to keep 2025. I’ve never in my life received so much paper re: insurance.

Betrayal, a trick I’ve used is to use my phone calendar for birthdays. Then before I put something away, I put it on my calendar. Like: Kathy bday, gift in hall closet.

We’re going out to dinner tonight for my birthday. Family gathering is tomorrow at my house. The rain predicted for today set the days for when we’d get together.

I’ve got my hair up in a towel. I washed it in the sink, because last night my balance in the shower made me hesitate to do my hair. I need to dry it, or as I say all the time - it will dry like this!

Cindy - Happy Birthday! Enjoy your dinner and family get together.

I must say Betrayal that your deer certainly eat very well. I’m sure they appreciate the well rounded diet even if it is destroying your garden. Great news on the PT progress but darn, that sciatica is literally becoming a pain. I hope you find relief soon.

Illinoislady - I’m trying to get into working on puzzles to keep my brain active. DH and I are currently working on a large one of 1000 pieces. Do you have any tips or tricks on sorting the puzzle pieces? Starting a large puzzle seems daunting.

We had planned to drive to Milwaukee today to attend Summerfest but I have had two nights of very little sleep and that coupled with 90 degree temps made us decide to spend a quiet day at home. I did get up and go get a mammogram this morning, my first in four years. It annoys the heck out of me the number of reminders I was getting from various doctors along with weekly text messages from the hospital system. It was actually stressing me out and I wish my decisions on my health care would be respected. The tech this morning was very sweet and professional so it was a much, much better experience than what I had 4-5 years ago.

I did get my PCP notes corrected although clearly the RN is not happy. He made the corrections but added a note that I seemed annoyed and unenthusiastic about the visit and that due to my rude demeanor he did not feel comfortable completing the exam. I was most certainly not rude and he did most of the talking so this seems to be an excuse for not doing his job. I sent in another amendment request to remove that line as it is unprofessional and not objective and I do not want it part of my medical records. The practice manager left me a voice message this morning advising the records had been updated and did I have any additional concerns. If I think of it I’ll call her tomorrow or Monday.

Stay call everyone!