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

Over the years I have come to believe that life is full of unchosen circumstances, that being human has to do with the evolution of our individual consciousness and with it, responsibilities for choice. Pain and joy both come with life.  I believe that how we respond to what happens to us and around us shapes who we become and has to do with the psyche or the soul’s growth.

Jean Shinoda Bolen

My hands are enough more comfortable that I can do some sewing. I am happy that the hormone suppressants were not necessary for me. Life with a bleeding ulcer is not fun, though.

Just found out that the rescue who gave us BangBang & Roxy lost their beloved dog Gilligan to a ruptured stomach tumor. She was 14 and loved everyone: prospective adopter visitors, other dogs, cats, hamsters, and guinea pigs. (She even located a runaway hamster).

Coming in late today — just had some other things to do — nothing all that important, but did start off with getting my hair cut. I like my new gal just fine although she is a bit more expensive then Beth. Still, I really wanted someone (even if I had to pay a little more) that was really good on the 'cutting' end because I've found with my hair — if you don't do a good cut you can pretty much forget anything else. My hair has ALWAYS been thin and fine. A bit worse of course, after lots of chemo. At least it re-colored itself although it was more mousy brown rather than the much lighter brown it had been. But, even today I have scant gray hairs. Guess I can be thankful for that for sure.

Chris, I too am glad your hands are a bit better. It's wonderful to be able to do something you really truly enjoy.

Petite, I can relate to forgetting a lot of what I read. We do get pretty chatty here at times as well. The coleslaw sounds great to me as well.

Betrayal, I have put raisins in my coleslaw before as well. My Dh is pretty much game for anything. He always seemed from very early on to like a whole lot more dishes than I did, so usually he is just fine with anything I fix. I've a tendency to toss in lots of things in a lot of my food that others would not. For instance, I put thin sliced green olives in my egg salad. I have also put raisins in my tuna fish along with other add ins. I finally had to stop though — could barely taste the tuna anymore. In went apples, sweet pickle, raisins, onions, nuts, celery. Guess you could say it was my smorgasbord lunch sandwich.

I'm not sure I could handle a Dalmatian. We did have our rescues and did fairly well with all of them for the most part but most were a mix of something outside of the Pomeranian whose owner passed away. Of course, now Lil Red is all Schnauzer, but mainly only due to looking for a rescue and not finding anyone right for our household. I got so desperate that when I heard my friend down the road has puppies — and the rest if history. We are thrilled with Lil' Red (still fairly un-disciplined) but had we realized sooner that we were really missing having a dog around we might have started looking sooner and found a rescue. It's okay — Lil' Red will likely be out last dog. So — maybe it was time to have another purebred as the last one. My feeling has always been though — if they need a home, I have one.

I hope you all have had a really good day.

Happy Independence Day - wish I felt freer. I worry about the unhoused and those with limited income as the legislation kicks in. And the long steps backward in climate control.

No plans for tomorrow. Our club has a buffet, band, and fireworks but we have never gone. Too long a time between food and fireworks if one doesn't dance.

Dogs are doing well. They have gotten protective of each other, especially when walking. Each has found the respective sleeping and eating places and leaves the other's alone. My friend hopes to take Bella back this weekend but we'll see. Haven't heard from her yet tonight.

I did two different AI's and still quit early because of the SE's. I ran the predictor test and it said they wouldn't give me any more time. This was 6 months after my TKR and my orthopedist admitted that they could very well be the reason that my knee wasn't (and isn't) right.

Heavy rain last night. Badly needed although it came so fast and hard, I don't know how much seeped into the ground. Just watching the overflowing rivers farther north on the evening news.

Stay safe everyone and have a good weekend.

Met with contractor today, and things have dramatically improved. City inspection was this morning—passed. He says once I get the junk piles in the bedrooms disposed of (this comong Wed.), his cleaning crew will come in and blitz the place to get it ready for furniture, appliances, and return of possessions. Will also take care of the blinds & shades (I'm on my own to replace sheer curtains, and will hold off on drapes & valances/swags till I've gotten the linen patterns & colors). Need to arrange for RCN to hook cable back up: they now offer DirecTV streaming as well as setup of new mesh network. Without internet we can't use the TVs (buying one new large one for den, along with a base/cabinet for it). We could always hook the dish back up, but the satellite boxes are obsolete. If the fax machine in the printer still works, we may reinstate just the fax line. No need to have landlines for voice calls any more—we've gotten used to our cells.

Contractor suggests turning the 1st or 2d fl bath to a shower stall instead—but we do need one working tub for city code, so we'll keep the 2d floor tub, but with extra grab bar installed for getting into & out of the tub.

Will need a new window AC unit for the front of the first floor, as the current one makes banging rattling noises (hope no critters got in over the winter. And we need a dinette set for the kitchen, and chairs for the deck (the wrought iron table & umbrella were salvaged but the chairs we have are a lost cause. Finally, may replace the BBQ tools (they have wooden handles so they can't go in the dishwasher) and have a service come and do maintenance on the gas grill.

We may just be back home by 7/20, which gives us leeway to clean this rental back to its pre-cat status. Public adjuster is negotiating with State Farm adjuster to get us at least partial reimbursement for July's rent.

Bought steaks & brats to grill, mini-cucumbers for a Thai spicy cuke salad, brioche buns (for brats and maybe some salmon burgers). BFF bringing green beans (I will saute them with almonds & mushrooms) and corn to grill. Bought new bag of charcoal, as the ones left from last summer have gotten rained on etc. Will grill outdoors but eat inside, where there's AC. Now, if the ice maker will just cooperate…if not, I'll freeze some ice trays in the morning, Maybe get a bag of ice—what with the monthly Zepbound deliveries we have plenty of foam ice chests now.

I pointed out what should go where when delivered.

I'm with Taco and Minus on the gigantic legislation just passed. It will harm a lot of people. Many of them voted for the people in power. It's mind-boggling that legislators who spoke out about the harmfulness of the BBB voted for it.

The possibility of storms last night remained just that, a possibility. Now we have to wait and see if the planned potluck for late afternoon today gets rained on. There is also a corn hole competition planned.

DH is playing golf this morning. I'm thinking about going to the gym. Yesterday I walked two miles.

I hope no one brought do-it-yourself fireworks to set off here in the campground/resort tonight. There will probably be booms in the neighborhood. At home there would be lots of booms since people spend a fortune on fireworks in the upscale subdivisions.

Tomorrow at the farmers market is iffy if it rains as much as predicted.

Hope everyone has a good 4th. Sorry not to feel more optimistic about the future of our planet.

I had a long post, lost it.

The gist was I like salt, I don’t like coleslaw. HA!

And I too am concerned by the latest bill passing. Environmental rules thrown out. Coal?!? I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone

I hung the tv on the bedroom wall last night. It hasn’t fell off, all good.

Have a great 4th.

My Dalmatian, picture from 1995 - note my decor! I’ve only owned one. He was blind in his last year or two, and actually passed from cancer. He was my buddy.

cindyny, we were posting at the same time. Love your Dalmatian, he's handsome. Our first one was a real escape artist and the only way you could catch him was to lay on the ground and play dead, lol. However, he was firmly attached to my children and very protective of them. If they were in the yard, he would not let anyone near them and don't put your hand over the fence, he'd go after you. He never bit anyone, just scared them off.

We had a cruel neighbor behind us who hated the dog (dog never had any contact with him) because if he got too close to the fence, he'd bark at him. I kept finding unripe peaches in the yard and they are rock hard. Here he was throwing them at the dog and hitting him. When I saw this, I went out in the year to say something to him and he told me to f**k off. So when he turned his back I lobbed a peach at him hitting him between his shoulder blades and told him if I found another peach in my yard, I was calling the police. It stopped.

He loved to dig holes in the yard and DH would start filling them in and when he moved on to the next one the dog would did the recently filled hole out again. It was so funny to watch, especially when DH would chase him around the yard. He loved to be chased. He was our one and only male, the last 4 have been females.

My DH just put some ribs in the smoker. I will add corn the last hour. With some leftover potato salad from last night we are good for dinner. It is just the four of us with one being a picky 10-year old, so that is enough for us. I may garlic the rest of the french bread but we really don't need it. Usually we have family over to watch the fireworks off our deck but they are travelling this year. That will be fine as I don't feel particularly good. It is 73° right now and won't get much hotter before rain hits around 4:00. It will clear for tonight, so it is good. Such is the weather in the Rockies. The illegal fireworks started last night so it will be a long night…

We have always had cats and a smattering of dogs but no dalmations. We don't have cats anymore but we do have a lovely maltipoo who is loving and very obedient. She knows when I don't feel well. She is my DGDs dog but prefers my DD; however, she knows who wants/needs her and will act accordingly. She will obediently follow my DH around outside while he waters the plants in the front never straying except when our next-door neighbors are out front. She will then run over, say hello, and return. We have never had such an obedient dog.

Happy fourth to all US members. Thank you for those whose family members serve/ed in the military.

Cindy, I am sorry you lost your post. I lost one a few weeks back which had not happened to me for years. I lose things often when I'm posting on the other thread where I leave a lot of memes with written details.

I understand about the coleslaw. I do like it a lot, but I also think if is something one may have to acquire a taste for over time. How about macaroni salad. That has a number of the same ingredients. I'm very fond of both. There is also a cold spaghetti salad as well and I find that a great delight.

I also enjoyed (I think for the first time) the picture of your best ever pal. I'm sorry he is gone. I feel certain you made his life a happy one despite his last two rough years. I'm always a bit ambivalent — I miss my pals so much but at the same time I'm relieved for them that there suffering ended. Being a rescue person I now have a lot to miss.

We never tried to find homes for any of our rescues, but always took them with our commitment to them to give them the best home that we could. So, when we lose one it is always a bit devastating.

Betrayal, I got a kick from your stories of your fist Dalmatian. Digging those holes. Brought to mind our first dog when I was a kid growing up. Her name was Digger and we called her Diggy. My mom named her because she really was my Mom's dog. Your neighbor was definitely cruel. I always think of adults who mistreat animals as extraordinarily cruel. They would not have the guts to be so aggressive with other people more than likely. He compounded the sin by being nasty while the dog was in his own private space.. Glad you got results and stopped the abuse.

Limelight, hugs to your sweet dog as well. I think the major goal in dogs lives is just to love us which they always do and that kind of loyalty is definitely a treasure. Hope you feel better soon and enjoy the fireworks, even is you have to bundle a bit outside later.

Chris, I think I will never tire of hearing what Tippy has to say. I'm glad you're feeling better. I'm all for a little help for the animals who get upset with too much loud noise (fireworks, thunder, etc. ) so good for you doing what you can for Tippy.

Hotter today with more humidity and no breeze so working outside was a tad brutal. I did get to work on yesterday's plan today for 2 hours and accomplished what was my goal for the day. Found excess chicken wire fencing extending into woods so freed it from the weeds and straightened it out. Want DH to give me poles I can use to enclose this area. He will work on cleaning those we used in front of the house so we can repurpose them for this area. I'd like to mulch this area since it has been 2 years since last done and it will help control the weeds.

Looks like the deer did eat the 2 oak leaf hydrangeas and they have been at the redbud, too. It survived but we need to include it in the fencing. The weeds are doing so well this year. The white hydrangea is bursting out of its enclosure but I won't free it until we can enclose the entire area.

Walked over 5,000 steps yesterday and have not done that for quite awhile. Happy with that progress and hope I can keep it up. Had bought Voltaren (real stuff) overseas and it has an applicator top that makes application easier. I used it liberally last night and it helped keep discomfort to a minimum. So I will use it each night given how much I have been walking, standing, etc.

Doe is in back yard so I'll see what she's up to since DH hasn't filled bird feeder yet. She can't get at the feeder because he put mesh around the edges so she grazes on what hits the ground as do the squirrels, chipmunks, crows and various birds.

Have hummingbird feeder nectar exchange and Misty to brush to complete morning chores.

Hope everyone had a lovely day yesterday and will have another today.

Slept in yesterday morning—Bob fed the kitties. I got a head start on making the Asian smashed cuke salad. I don't have a meat pounder here in the rental, so I got creative and used the bottom of a heavy mug and leaned on it till the slices split. Thought I had rice vinegar on hand, so I bought mirin. When I got home I found I already had a bottle of mirin. Made a dressing out of mirin, sesame oil, sherry vinegar, light soy sauce and red pepper flakes—turned out pretty good. I defrosted the big bone-in ribeye from last August—and it turned out to be fresher than the boneless ones I bought yesterday.

My BFF's DH started the grill (plain WholeFoods charcoal instead of "match-light"). But I had enough scrap paper to stuff in the bottom of the chimney starter. He & my BFF brought corn on the cob and pre-washed green beans. I soaked the corn and nuked it for 3 min. before grilling it; I parcooked the green beans in the microwave, then sauteed them in "Sizzle" olive oil with kosher salt, roasted garlic granules, herbes de Provence and slivered almonds. The steaks turned out great—rare-to-medium rare, just pepper & sea salt. Was going to make elote butter for the corn (salt butter with Tajin) but everyone just wanted the corn buttered.

We channel-surfed the various fireworks concerts—CNN had the best music (inc, Sting & Noah Kahan), the Boston Pops on WGN was short & sweet (missed the fireworks, just got the concerts). A Capitol Fourth was kinda meh musically. And the Macy's show was so nonstop we finally got burnt out (pun intended)—the only live music was host Ariana deBose, with everything else canned.

We never did get to dessert, though—my BFF had a backache that spasmed during the meal and they had to go home (the Baclofen I offered didn't make a dent—she'd already taken some Vicodin which barely kicked in). Good thing she didn't drink any wine..Too bad: we had 4 assorted pints of Culver's frozen custard. After they left I want outside to find out if any of the nonstop audible barrages were visible—at one point the middle school two blocks south and the parking lot of the yeshiva on the next block north had dueling displays; off in the distance I could catch a glimpse of the country club's display. Neighbors all around had sparklers & fountains. My cats were fine, but I pity those whose dogs—especially the toys & minis who are higher-strung) freaked out; and I winced at the thought of veterans' ADHD getting triggered. The explosions began before 5 and lasted pastl midnight.

Today was a waste—had planned to go out testing mattresses, picking berries, dropping off the hat my BFF left as well as some Sodastream carbonators that I brought from the house last year but don't fit the machine I bought for here (that's right—we used up ONE carbonator over the whole year)—the "Fizzi" we had that takes the screw-in kind and the "Terra" we bought for here that takes the "Quick-Connect" kind look exactly alike. Our friends had stopped making seltzer because they can't afford the carbonators, even with the trade-in. They're pinching every penny they can for their hoped-for emigration to Nova Scotia. But it was just too darn hot (95) to spend more than a few minutes outdoors. Tomorrow there'll be rain, but it'll be only in the 80s.

Mattress testing tomorrow! (Including everything we'd meant to do today). Monday, going through the junk piles again for anything else salvageable—turns out Gordy can use the Rockports, and Bob the briefcase. Also found a parchment copy of the Declaration of Independence my mom had brought with her from FL when she visited us. Will transfer the contents of the plastic underbed and sweater storage boxes to trash bags—contractor says his cleaning crew can clean them (and the flight bag and underseat spinner) so I needn't buy new ones. May buy spice racks and drawer organizers at the Container Store in Northbrook, since I have to return some Skechers and drop off used shoes at DSW next door. Wednesday the junk guys are coming.

Was going to buy a replacement Cuisinart & Vitamix from Amazon for Prime Days, but it doesn't make sense to deliver them here and then have to schlep them over to the house, nor to have them delivered there and drag them into the new kitchen, boxes and all, before the stove & fridge have been installed.

We are going to have to limit dining out these last couple of weeks—we have just too much food in the freezer here we need to use up and not have to pack into the little foam cooler boxes (in which my Zepbound vials are shipped monthly) to haul to the house. No Idea yet whether the fridge(s) will even work—the old 30-yr-old Kenmore top-freezer we kept in the basement is probably way more reliable, as it lacks an icemaker; the 6-yr-old LG French door with icemaker & water dispenser might be finicky, as it's already gone through a compressor. No sense in bringing food over till the fridges are up & running for at least 24-36 hrs.

Contractor is wondering why we want such a big house for just the two of us. Well, with the job market and rents the way they are these days, you never know when our "nest" may no longer be empty. They Gordy & DDIL Leslie) are paying through the nose as it is and there may be another rent increase come Oct. Moving is stressful enough, never mind having to do it all over again on top of selling the house (and deciding whether to downsize into a townhouse, condo or senior community—which has its own set of hassles & expenses). When I told the contractor that the county estimates the fair market value is $950K (up from $580K last year), he replied that he wouldn't be surprised to see it go for $1.2M. (I'm skeptical, as it's a buyer's market for home purchases but just the opposite for rentals).

The Tao Te Ching says, When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.  When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need. Have you ever struggled to find work or love, only to find them after you have given up?  This is the paradox of letting go. Let go, in order to achieve.  Letting go is God's law.

Mary Manin Morrissey

@harley07 Sorry to hear about your bug bite. I use "Salonpas" as anything that bites me reacts strongly. It is a topical cream that has lidocaine in it and is the only thing I know that stops the itch. You can buy it anywhere but I usually buy through Amazon.

Sandy, sounds like you are super organized and have everything under control. Eleven years ago we downsized to a small condo in San Diego, but three years ago moved back to Colorado Springs and we bought a large house and are buying stuff again. I love it when my kids and grandkids visit and can stay with us. Anyone else who pops in can stay also. It is worth it to us. Our DD and DGD live downstairs (it's a walkout with high ceilings) and have almost as much square footage minus a storage area, but with only two bedrooms and one bath plus a small kitchenette instead of the four bedrooms and three baths we have on the main level. It is a good arrangement for us. My DD is a nurse so we help with the childcare and she helps me when I need it. She takes care of the backyard and my DH takes care of the front. You should do what makes you happy in this stage in your life.