Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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I need to take a rest after reading a description of all your gardening, Betrayal. LOL. My neighbor Mary shares your enthusiasm for "digging around in the dirt," though on a smaller scale. Her words. I have grown tired of daily dead-heading my flowers on the deck. I have enjoyed the beauty of the blossoms.
Cindy, thanks for sharing with photos. I'm always nosy about good dinners. What did you have?
Good news about my friend with uterus cancer. Her surgery is done, and there was no evidence of cancer in nodes, ovaries or tubes. What a great relief.
I read an article in NYT this morning about the huge heat dome bringing us this severe heat. It amazes me that I hear no local conversation about the heating of the planet with climate change. I did see on Facebook that France is building frames with solar panels over parking lots. I also read an article a couple of days ago about states allowing electrical companies to pay less to customers for their excess electricity from solar panels than the companies charge for electricity. Louisiana is one of the states.
One interesting thing about the gas stations here is that there is no competition with pricing. Every station has exactly the same price per gallon, which yesterday went above $4. It had gone down to $3.63 recently. Our price in Louisiana is always lower than MN.
Meanwhile, our aging a/c units continue to keep us comfortable when the temperature soars during the afternoons.
Happy Friday to all.
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carole, my garden is your gym for exercise. It is a lot of work, but then so is your visits to the gym.
cindyny, love the photos and I want to know what you ate as well.
Chris, agree that george eliot was a character. Led her life the way she saw fit, so admirable in that sense, but shocking to the norms of the time and perhaps that persists unto today?
Today was warmer than yesterday with low humidity again, but breeze intermittent at best. Heat gets to you after a few outdoors though. DH and I pulled weeds on the fern side of the front hill, dug out some dead plants and some unwanted bushes. I dug out 2 large and 4 smaller ferns from the edge of the bed and in the lawn to transplant to the fern side. The weeds are definitely winning this year and are relentless. I went out about 11:15 and came back in around 1:45 so a bit more than yesterday. I worked my way up the hill, but the top of the hill needs to be addressed on another day. It will probably take 2 more days of focused weeding to finish.
I was holding off on mulching until the area until the tree guy came and looked at the tulip poplar which is dead center in this hill bed. He finally came this afternoon and declared the bark shed normal for a tree of this size and says it reflects its increasing girth. He estimates the tree to be as old as 150 years given it's size and height. There are 2 dead branches on it, but if they fall, they will fall into the hill bed, so no worries about house damage. He will remove the smaller dying tree and trim the crab apple selectively rather than topping it. I don't want it topped, just take some of the heaviness out to keep it from splitting.
I'm still debating about what to have the landscaper do as far as scope and total area, but we'll talk on Monday to determine that. He's the same guy who did the previous plantings, installed my new front steps and walkway, re-laid my flagstone patio (it had shifted) and rebuilt the stone wall on the edge of the patio. He's reasonably priced, takes into consideration my wants and lets me know what is happening. Plus his workers are wonderful.
DS is coming tomorrow to use the tiller on the area where we are trying to grow pachysandra. We have the soil analysis and the soil amendments (sulfur and urea) we need to add to restore the proper pH. It was too basic and we need to make it more acidic. So hopefully this will work. Just have to figure out how much to add. Need to measure area accurately for formula and will do that in the morning. I have a list of other things he can help us with, too.
Tried on black pants and Egyptian dress last night. Pants need to be shortened about 1/2 inch and dress was fine. I need to cut off several inches on the dress so I will measure that tonight and will leave a generous hem since dress is 100% cotton and may shrink in length. Once I finish it, I will do the same to the royal blue one. I can work on these while I listen to TV shows and relax.
DB is back in NJ and got to meet his new grandson today. Nice photo of him and his wife holding the baby. The baby looks so small. Happy for them. He's the 3rd grandchild, but first for this daughter.
Hoping everyone had a great day and waving "hi" to everyone.
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Dinner for me was a Caesar salad, and lemon garlic shrimp over rice.
Birdhouse Brewery, live music and brews.
Our last night on the lake. We’ll be home tomorrow.
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Betrayal, I have been wearing my silks. They are clothing for hot weather, and the bright colors are valued by the people of India. So what if they are "eccentric" here. So long as I wear double layers so as to not show off my underwear, they are perfectly comfortable. Sunday, I wore red, and father asked me if I was angry. Yes, I was.
Take out the hems and wash those cotton dresses before you alter them. You have no idea how much they will shrink. The long fibers may reduce the amount of shrinkage, but you can never tell how much.
I ruined some of my silks by putting them in the dryer. Now they all dry in the bathroom, and very quickly, I must say.
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cindyny, lovely photos of the lake. It seems so peaceful there.
Chris, I will heed your advice about the Egyptian dresses though I am hoping the gold figures on them will not wash off. I'll use a handwash cycle on my machine. I think your silks are lovely and you are a trend setter for wearing them. I have reached a point in my life where my style is what I want to wear and not necessarily what is the latest fad. I really like to be comfortable, too.
Today is another lovely day with mild breezes, lower temp than yesterday and really low humidity. Dh and I managed to finish the hill section I had planned for today. We filled 1-1/2 large leaf bags and the hill looks much better, however, there is a lot of bare ground now. I have to see what I can do about that.
I plan on mulching the fenced in landscaped area tomorrow and I need to put a few bags down on the daffodil bed. That should pretty much take care of most of the mulch I have left. I may have DH make a trip to Home Depot if we need more since I want to finish the landscaped area at the bottom of the front hill.
The hill is a steep incline and I made a stupid move after retrieving my weed pile and throwing it onto the lawn for DH to bag. I went down sideways and when I reached this one section it was uneven when I stepped down and down I went. I hit my left shoulder on the rock walls we have around the bed and fortunately I landed on dirt so my back is fine. So my dignity hurt more than anything else. I am sure I will feel it tomorrow, but I plan on soaking in the jetted tub after I finish power washing the patio.
I already power washed the one patio table and chair set because they had so much pollen stuck to them and they look great. I've done about 1/3 of the patio, it looks so much cleaner and I'm only using water on the flagstone. I want DH to work on installing the edging for the patio blocks tomorrow. I can assist, but he needs to do the work.
So we have spent the better part of the day working outside while this great weather lasts. I have appointments on Monday and Tuesday, so I'm not sure how much gardening I'll be able to do. And the hot weather is to return on Tuesday for our next round of climate change.
As far as climate change, I have lived in this house for 41 years and for the first 10 we seldom used the air conditioner and slept with the windows open at night. We could not do that now and I can see the changes in the flora since we moved here.
Took a break for lunch and went out to finish power washing patio. Had to do a second pass on patio chair legs because I didn't get all the pollen off on the first try. Love my power washer! The patio looks great. DH volunteered to put all the plants and furniture back in place. I offered to assist him, but got turned down.
Ferns arrived today so I will plant them tomorrow. I bought 10 bare roots, so they won't take long to plant.
I hope everyone had a great day and waving "hi" to everyone.
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Here is a photo of the Egyptian cotton dress I bought. This is the black one and I have a blue one, too. The figures are gold and they sit on top the fabric like a decal.
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My DD does our yardwork now. She lives in the walk-out basement so this is her world, and she loves it. Our back yard buts up against the open space in the housing tract so it feels larger and open. I wish I had the energy to work it myself, but that ship has sailed.
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Intothelight - what a lovely relaxing setting. Just enjoy! The gardeners make me tired.
Betrayal - I too can't believe people continue to deny climate change. I fear for today's children. Arizona is going to run out of water and we continue to encourage data centers and more population.
I'm worried about Sandy. Is she on any other threads?
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We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.
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Sandy used to post on the What's for Dinner? thread but hasn't in quite a while. I, too, hopes she is ok but too busy to post. After the extensive renovation of her home, things went wrong. At that point she stopped posting.
We had good sales yesterday at the farmers market. It got hot, 80's, but not unbearable. Today is supposed to be hotter. We won't open up the 5th wheel camper this morning. Better to keep the cool air inside and the a/c set to come on when it heats up outside. It looks hazy outside. We're wondering if the haze is smoke.
My gardening will be tending the plants on the deck. If the haze isn't smoke, I will take a two-mile walk that includes some hills. Walking up the last hill on my way home always gets my heartbeat up.
Summer in MN is half over for us.
Happy Sunday to all.
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Carole, visibility was limited first thing this morning. And Tippy was complaining about smoke. I took a couple of gulps off my inhaler before Mass. Got there, and was short of breath all the way through (incense, though). After, friends asked me what was wrong. I got the inhaler out, shook it well, and told them that I had forgotten to shake it. Sharon said, "That is VERY important." So, yes, they should have put warnings up. However, the heat alone is enough to warn vulnerable people to stay inside.
Intolight, that looks like the kind of place where my ex-FIL lived.
Betrayal, hand wash in warm water. Are there any washing instructions on them?
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Betrayal, I was sorry to hear you took a tumble. I’m hoping a soak in your jetted tub helps out. I was pulling weeds today, sitting on a cushion. As I moved along, in the stones, at one point I rolled backwards into the landscaping! I’m fine, and just happy no one could see me.
Intolight, the landscaping looks great, as does your home. Nice pictures.
Chris, inhalers can’t get too cold and can’t get too hot. Plus, as you learned, need to be shaken.
Carole, I think Sandy is on FB. If I get a moment I’ll try to search for her posts.
We were up way too early yesterday, as family got ready to leave. We emptied the camp, packed up our cars and left. We were bringing things to BIL home, which was about a half an hour away. Filled up with gas at BJ's on our way there, even with discount we paid $4.05; over $57 to fill. Drive home was about 3.5 hours. We were both exhausted. After unpacking the car, laundry and putting things away - within 2 hours I had to take a nap. Slept 1.5 hours!
That was oddball sleep … I was exhausted and nearly asleep sitting up by midnight. I went to bed 12:30-1. and slept until 6:30 AM which wasn’t enough sleep for me. I’m guessing I’ll be screwed up sleep wise for another day.
This morning I did get out for a walk at the park, after I took care of everything here - pool & garden. Then a stop at Sherwin Williams to dispose of paint. Ended up buying paint for my doors from them. It was 30% off but still cost me $43, for a quart! I told the kid it was a good thing I didn’t need a gallon.
Back home with that and back out. SO isn’t feeling great, thinks the beginning of something so I went out for DayQuil. Stopped at Home Depot for Rustoleum to do the wrought iron hand rails. That too was expensive, but not as bad as the door paint; $17.99 a quart. I really only wanted a pint but they don’t make them anymore; or they don’t carry them. Either way, I’m going to have a lot leftover. I must be living under a rock, paint prices were astounding.
I ate and rested. Then pulled the weeds as mentioned above.
Grabbing something from leftovers and calling it dinner. I hope you all enjoyed your Sunday!
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Chris, no instructions on the dresses other than to say they are 100% Egyptian cotton. I have them pinned up and I need to cut off about 4 inches on both so am considering hemming them anyway and then washing. They are long so if they shrink about an inch they will still be okay. Thanks for offering the washing instructions. I'll let you know how they turn out. I will hang them to dry.
The smoke from the fires is a problem for anyone with respiratory issues and even those without, because the particles in the smoke if inhaled, can cause permanent lung damage. Wear a mask so you don't develop lung disease. Struggling to breathe is not fun nor is having to use an inhaler. I stopped using mine due to side effects involving raspy voice from vocal cord issues, sore throat, and loss of taste buds. I will see the pulmonary guy in September. I had discussed stopping with the NP when I saw her and she had no issue with my stopping.
Today was a lovely day again with lower temps about 80, low humidity and a light breeze. I received the ostrich ferns I had ordered from a place in TN. They are bare roots and came with very good planting instructions. I had ordered 10, but they very nicely sent me about 13. They are all planted and I found two of the transplants that I had missed planting, so they were planted as well. DH watered them well for me while I worked on pulling the Beggar's Lice weeds from the fenced in landscaped bed. It needs to be mulched, but I ran out of steam today.
I also finished up power washing a few slates on the patio and gave the patio chairs another wash since that pollen was hard to remove even with the power washer. I'm thinking of using a gloss paint on the chairs to inhibit the pollen stains.
Tomorrow I have PT, so I may just do some inside house cleaning which gets relegated to later when I am gardening. I do keep up with dusting and sweeping, but need to pull out the vacuum. I should only have pets that don't shed, moult, or bring in dirt from the outside, lol.
carole, stay safe.
cindyny, keep us abreast of your next project.
taco, are you still having a heatwave? Been golfing lately?
To those who lurk and don't post, I wave "hi" and hope everyone has a great day.
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My search on FB, using my SO’s page - I’m not on FB, for Sandy: I found her page and the last post I could see, she might have it locked down, was a post from July 14; an update to her profile picture. She looked good. But that’s all I can tell. My guess is she’s busy.
I also checked out Gordy’s site, and he posts many concerts and musical events. No mention of Sandy or Bob, so again guessing she’s just busy with life.
And that’s it from Nosey Nancy Investigations.3 -
Thanks Cindy. I looked here and she hasn't posted since mid-April on any site as far as I can tell. But I'm not the smartest techie.
Yes, it's hot here - over 115 this weekend and more humid than usual. The Tuscon area and parts east of Phoenix are getting big rains but it petters out before it gets here. We just get the haboobs (big dust storms that I may not be spelling right). Really hard on the dogs. We've put out pee pads which Bella used in her other home but so far they are dry.
I played golf Tuesday and Thursday but we cancelled today. Next week is supposed to be a little cooler. I only play 9 and use an ice towel. My personal "rule" is that I won't start if it's supposed to be hotter than 100 before I finish. I carry both water and lemonade flavored with cranberry/apple juice. I probably work up less of a sweat than you gardeners do. My shirt gets wet mainly from the melting ice in the neck wrap.
Now that my "book" is finished, I'm back to reading, genealogy, and writing "get out the vote postcards" for mailing right before early voting starts. So many volunteers helped with my campaigns that it's the least I can do. I'm really pleased with my knee but I don't think I should do door to door campaigning. Walking the dogs is enough.
Be careful of the smoke if it's heading your way.
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When dh gets chunks of tree trunks for turning bowls, he paints the exposed grain. He found a quart at Ace's Hardware in the sale bin for $6. He has accumulated quite a bit of wood this summer. I worry a little about the weight.
Another hot day ahead.
I wonder how the Egyptians wearing the dresses launder them.
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I'll bet most of them don't have a washing machine.
Glad we have evidence of life from Sandy.
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If today were half as good as tomorrow is supposed to be, it would probably be twice as good as yesterday was.
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That's a catchy quotation.
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Everyone sounds very busy! I’m just going along with the summer. Still volunteering, going to the gym and riding my bike as weather and smoke haze allow (meaning not as often as I would like), and occasionally weeding the garden beds. My grandniece was married last Friday and it was a lovely evening. Most of my family was there and I enjoyed visiting with them. The wedding also meant that my son was home for two days so I was in heaven.
Thinking of all who are undergoing treatment, tests and waiting on results.
Waving ‘hi’ to all.
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Taco, 115! I like it warm in winter, but your temp is through the roof in sunmer! My gf has ordered postcards and we’ll get together to fill out & address them. I too don’t like doing door to door. I hate being interrupted myself so I don’t like interrupting others. I’ll stuff envelopes, make calls for rides, but leave me off of the list for door to door.
Carole, I’ve got 2 pint cans of Rustoleum pro enamel in “aluminum” as the color. But I have no recall of ever buying them, nor what I possibly wanted them for. If I could send them to your DH, I would!Chris, I was thinking Indian saris and I could ask a friend. But Egyptian cotton with the gold, no idea.
Harley, you too sound busy! Biking, golfing, and volunteering, you’re just as active as any of us.
Another early wake up this morning. I went to the park but humidity and a hot sun were killing me. So I looped around willy nilly in the shaded parts of the park. Then had to track back through full sun to get to my car - I did deviate off path to walk under shade. I must have looked like a nut, but hopefully others were to preoccupied with their walks to notice mine.Afterwards I went to a private fence company to get some prices. I’ll preempt my story by saying vinyl fence is now cheaper than wood. To get 2 panels that dowel into the post, with 2 posts, $877. To get 2 panels without dowels and 2 plain 4x4 posts, $239. I then stopped at Lowe’s and their rough panels, no dowel, were $55; I couldn’t see the post price. Tonight I went to Home Depot and purchased 2 pressure treated fence panels, 2 - 4x4 posts, and added in a bag of Quikrete fast setting concrete for the posts; total $179.17 with a $15 discount. My godson is picking it up tomorrow for me.
Yes, I have the money from the insurance company but I still found the prices astronomical. That $877 price wasn’t installing them either. Maybe tariffs on Canadian lumber?
I also asked about a repair to my vinyl fence gate - they don’t make gates, nor repair them. Back to square one on that.
Tomorrow the driveway is getting the commercial “hot crack” filler. I’m parked on the side street because I don’t want to be stuck in the driveway.
I wanted to go get my bloodwork this morning. But as I was brushing my teeth I realized I ate breakfast. So I’d like to try to get it done tomorrow. When I set up my morning meds and Benefiber water tonight, I’m not putting a Cliff bar out tonight. Fingers crossed I can get up & get out the door.Hoping everyone is safe from storms. Stay safe!
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