Just need to talk to my friends ,(193)

Lorita · February 20

Hi, Thanks, HB, for the information. May try it in a few days. Eyes are not so dry today.

Mint, so sorry to hear about your aunt. Hopefully she'll improve. You have many wonderful memories of her I'm sure.

Ron, hope your appointments went well today. Glad you posted.

Quiet day here. Weather is beautiful.. Most of the girls have come down to graze. They fed this morning and Toad left feed for Gray Lady. His son in law is going to repair road in a couple of weeks when it's dry enough. Trying to get cat and dog food and what I might need because I'm not sure how long it might take.

Iris, how funny! Doing a good deed and increasing the number she had. Bet she was surprised. Good they got along. Did you ever find where the third dog belonged?

Enjoy the day.

Iris L. · February 20

Thanks for the recipe for rumtopf, HB.

Mint, you have a lot on your hands.

I didn't mention another problem regarding rain in SoCal. It rains so seldom here that drivers are unsure of driving in the rain, so accidents are increased. After these rains are over, we can go six to eight months without rain. But we need the rain, otherwise we will have drought.

Iris

Mint · February 20

My neighbor put her house up for sale last friday . See it is sale pending now so guess I’ll be getting a new neighbor.

Lorita · February 21

Sara, do you know most of your neighbors? Are you still watching your mom a couple of days a week?

I think I remember you saying you had never tried making cinnamon rolls- I think I'd like to try those. It doesn't sound hard except for dealing with the dough. Maybe some day. The kind you buy in the can aren't too good.

Ron, how are things today? Hope your appointments went well.

Still need to get into town to pick up a few things from WM and get the car things taken care of. Trying to figure out the best day. Have to get GL up because FedEx will deliver the next three days so we'll see. Still have this and all of next week to get it done.

Have a good evening.

ButterflyWings · February 21

Iris - that is funny. Dog napper by accident. I guess they enjoyed the playdate. That would never have worked at my house. Our very goofy Lab when my kids were growing up, was an escape artist. If anyone had opened our gate she would have been out gallivanting around the neighborhood in a flash. I was always so afraid she'd get lost or injured but never did, thank goodness. Oh, she led me on a wild goose chase more than once, trying to catch and lure her back home. She'd pause, let you get really close to her and then take off like a shot just before you could grab her collar. Fun. Especially when I was all dressed up and late for work.

If I got the car and drove around keeping her in my sight, she'd eventually agree to get in. But always looked at me so disgusted when we ended up right back at home. As if to say, I thought you were taking me somewhere for real this time! Funny, she loved it at home too and had the run of the yard but just liked the adventure of running as fast as she could, being completely free also. She's probably running around heaven all day, now lol.

Posting - I am trying the bold option now. Seems like it is easier on the eyes for some here, so hoping it works. I am long-winded so it takes up lots of space. I will have to learn to be more brief. Thank you for the warm greetings. It is good to be back on the front porch.

Mint - thank you for the puree recipe ideas. Tuna sandwich went in the blender today, wheat bread and all, with a little extra pickle juice to moisten and he was happy. I love texture, so make mine chunky with celery, onion, boiled egg, bread and butter pickles, and my mother got me hooked on diced apples in my tuna. So, that was our dinner today but I'm going for the casserole tomorrow.

HB - Thank you. I am praying we prevail. This whole court thing is a nightmare as it benefits no one that I can see, but the lawyers. Rumtopf sounds SO good! I want to try that.

Zetta - Sounds like it was time for you to leave that job. It had served its purpose.

Ron - Feel better!

Barbara - I am going to read one of your books this year and maybe start writing one of my own. Longtime dream for this stage of life, but dementia wasn't in my imaginings at all. Did you write when you were still caregiving every day?

OK, I'm going to turn in again for the night. Wishing everyone pleasant dreams and a good day and week ahead.

ronald71111 · February 21

Guess I'm now officially a old man! Now wearing a knee bracelet when I'm on my feet a lot and a can to keep me from falling. Next month I will be starting the process for upper and lower full dental implants. I didn't realize the process took so long. I will need a bone graph for the uppers and will have to take longer on them. Maybe I can loose a little weight with the healing process.

80 degrees yesterday which is typical louisiana! I woke up yesterday at 28 degrees and ended the day with a high of 80.

Ron

Mint · February 21

I have no problems with any neighbors for which I'm thankful. That bring said i really don’t feel i know any of them either. If i really needed something there are ones that i would ask. The young girl that was kind to me they moved so her family is gone.

The house that just sold, this will be the third neighbor in 6 years.

Butterfly i put apple in my side salad sometimes. Will have to try and remember to try it in tuna salad.

Ron you do have a load.

Lorita hope it works out for you to get some things caught up today. yes my sister and I are still taking turns. Today is the day I clean her house.

Good morning JoC and Joan. Hope that shoulder is feeling a little better eaglemom

ronald71111 · February 21

Going to call about knee brace, it's not working for me. Need to puck up groceries today after Lou's sitter arrives. Therapist said it was better to have the brace next to your skin. Struggle to get all the fasteners tightened down and than the job of socks, pants and shoes. Worn out; heart rate up and oxygen low. Next, my body desided I needed to use the restroom. OK, got to sit down with my leg not bending. Off it comes and I'll just use the cane for now till I figure this out.

Ron

dayn2nite2 · February 21

Oh Ron, do I remember having to keep my leg stretched out in the whole-leg brace I had to wear. It's very difficult to do a lot of things and at first my "good" leg wasn't strong enough to handle the burden of all the getting up and sitting down. Then the brace was slipping...it was a mess.

The flu seems to have gone...I went back to work Saturday and really didn't feel normal until Monday. I'm hoping that kind of illness stays away for a few years.

I have decided that I'm going to take my Social Security early (62 years) and work part-time starting in 2025. My full retirement age isn't until 67 and frankly, my family doesn't live long, so waiting for full retirement for a couple hundred more dollars monthly doesn't seem like a good gamble, especially since I've already had cancer. Everyone in my family dies around age 70. My first check will be November 1, I can apply starting July 1 and then I'll be figuring out how much I can work without incurring a bunch of taxes that will come out of my SS.

If my company won't let me work from home part-time then I'll go work at one of our hotels that's company-owned, and I do have one near me. That way I can keep my seniority and while I'm pretty sure I can still work from home, my Plan B of working in-house is a sure thing, they have trouble keeping people.

jfkoc · February 21

Ron...please consider a rollater...I love mine and can carry stuff around on the seat. I also use it next to my desk to hold papers.

David1946 · February 21

Use a rollater I love mine

David1946 · February 21

Lorita · February 21

Morning, Glad you're back posting, Butterfly Wings. Thanks for bolding - it really helps. Today is not the day to go to town or start new projects or finishing ones started because I'm a bit out of sorts. No patience here, at least this morning. No idea why. Cats are rambunctious, Sheena doesn't want to get up so things need to calm down. Didn't get closer gate open in time so FedEx came early and left pkg.by gate. Then he had to back a quarter mile back to main road. Deliveries are scheduled for next two days. Now what? It's like a full moon used to be when I was caregiving.

The girls went to the northeast pasture this morning so got to see both new babies. It won't be too long before their moms let them get a little way from them,then they'll get together.

Ron, what's wrong with your knee? Sarah had to wear braces when she was young and she said it was very hard and to this day still brings back not good memories.

About the implants - don't know much about them except Darwin's wife had them put in three or four years ago. She talked about the long periods of sitting in the chair. Recently one fell out. Darwin said she just reached into her mouth and pulled the other one out. No idea how that could happen. Are you really up to all of that work?

Supposed to be 81 today which will be a daily record. Fed the birds and they were ready. A while back I ordered 40 lbs. of bird feed and when I opened it, it was all black oil sunflower seeds. I'm thinking I may plant some of them. The birds really like them.

David, good to see your post and know you're reading.

Day, I'm glad the flu symptoms are leaving. I had it many years ago and I was in bed two weeks and off work three weeks. Take it easy and don't relapse. I'm glad you're going to take your social security early. I took early retirement at 52- best thing I ever did.

It's a beautiful day very warm- 81 but windy. All the animals are kind of out of sorts even the bigger calves are sparring. Maybe this is spring fever. Several clumps of daffodils are blooming and look so pretty.

jfkoc · February 21

I would be out of sorts every single day if I lived way out in the country where everything is a major task. I do not know how you do it.

David1946 · February 21

Just sit back and relax (Know that is easier said than done) and things will work out

Lorita · February 21

Things are calming down. All the cats and GPs are asleep. Always lived here, Judith but some days when everyone is hyperactive pays to stay home. I'd be scared to death if I lived in town. Karen always said we lived in the boonies. I have lived in town a total of close to two years in my life but not at one time.

Thanks, David. I'll do that right now and watch Andy Griffith. Hope things care going well with you tiday.

Still have not gotten the window sticker. Called dealer and he said they had sent a couple so went to the mailbox and not there. Getting aggravated. When I go to town I'll go by there and get one.

Finally got my crackers I ordered three weeks ago! Guess they had to order flour and make them. Feels like summer out there. Didn't even light the stove today.

JeriLynn, hope your FIL today hope things are going okay. What did you name the new puppy? I bet the babies are running everywhere by now. I bet they and the puppy will be good friends.

Mint · February 21

Butterfly yesterday I was watching the YouTube channel celebrating Appalachia. She cooked hamburger up with some onion. Then she poured in some baked beans, and heated that all up together. They eat it on buns like a sloppy Joe. She said sometimes they eat it over rice. Don’t think that rice would probably purée well but I don’t know for sure. I think as a sandwich this might be pretty tasty. I’m thinking about trying it when I get a chance .

JeriLynn66 · February 21

Lorita I haven’t named the puppy because DH still says he must go to a new but safe home. So I call him Puppy, or Mister, or Fuzzy . He’s very smart! He used the puppy pad after watching AnnaBelle. He saw her go out the doggie door and looked shocked! Now he goes to the doggie door. I’m trying not to get attached but it’s hard.! He obviously hasn’t had much of anyone fooling with him. I held out a piece of chicken and he didn’t take it. I had to coax him. He doesn’t really care about cuddles but will lay by my feet, I cuddle him anyway

Lorita · February 21

JeriLynn, you need that puppy so you can teach him and train him to be a good, watchful GP. If you can't keep him, hopefully you can find him a good home. I know you will. Keep trying. When I got Sheena I didn't think she had been treated too well or been socialized. . Sad that people do or don't do those things.

harshedbuzz · February 22

Good morning rockers.

I have a busy day. Mom has a fasting blood draw at 10am and then an echo at 1pm. Maybe we'll grab breakfast in between. Once that's done, I can pick up my Honda from the body shop. It's been different driving the Terrain but I'll be happy to get back into my Accord. DS loved the backseat and DH is a fan of the heated seats, but I wouldn't want this as my full time car. The ride is rough, it feels underpowered on highways and the engine/transmission does this weird thing where it seems to cut out and the lurch forward. I agree with DH, I'll miss the seats and the ease of the Car Play feature. Maybe in my next car.

I am amazed how seamlessly this repair went. It was scheduled within 2 weeks of the claim and was done in 6 days. The entire time I was looped in with text updates which was nice.

Have a nice day all.

HB

Lorita · February 22

Morning, Another beautiful day on tap. A front is just north of us so the wind will pick up later. Toad just fed. Had quite a time getting the girls to feed because they had already drifted off to graze. After he left put feed and water in the west paddock and got Gray Lady over there so, hopefully FedEx will bring things to the house today. GL ate half of a small bale of hay last night so won't need more until tonight. She has a big, round bale to munch on until I put her up. Will need to do it all again in the morning.

HB, glad you're getting your car back. I think when we get used to one, it's kind of hard to adjust to a new one.

I was going to start 194 this morning but forgot how to do it. Maybe I'll remember later today.

Ron, how are you today? Zetta, haven't seen a post from you lately. Back later.

L

Mint · February 22

Good evening

A rainy day and that is ok. Not much going on.

ronald71111 · February 22

Windy day and a little cooler! Lou is getting more difficult each day and I'm about to my wits end. ? Where is the wits end??

Lorita, on the inplants; I hope I'll be able to tolerate the long procedure, I just want to be able and sit down and chew food of any kind. I have not been able to eat with my dentures since I've had them.

Appointment at VA tommorow to address the dizzyness!

Ron

Caro_Lynne · February 22

Ron, so sorry Lou is getting difficult to care for. I can relate unfortunately. Do you mean they are doing all your implants at the same time? How many total? I had three done at once and can't imagine doing more. Or is the dentist placing two at each end and putting a bridge in between? I hope you can get some resolution for your dizziness tomorrow. Good luck, will be thinking about you xo

I'm making twin lobster tails with baked potato tonight. It's interesting that prior to my LO's stroke and dementia he did not like sea food, well except shrimp once in a while. Now he eats whatever I give him, I see that as a positive since I can feed him healthier food :-)

Lorita how's your ankle? Did GL have her baby? How's the new ride? My son just bought a new Ford Explorer XLT and he loves it. He loved his 2005 Tahoe but it needed too much work; it was not worth putting more money into it.

JeriLynn that puppy is adorable! Hopefully works out that you can keep him. I have the NextDoor app and it makes me so sad and angry at how some people just abandon their pets! They are perpetual babies and need us forever.

HB how was your mom's birthday? Did she already spend her Talbot's card, LOL.

Love the new handle Mint.

Hope everyone else on the porch is well! xo

Mint · February 22

Caro_lynne that sounds so good.

Caro_Lynne · February 22

Thanks Mint. Broiling them now!

ronald71111 · February 23

Caro_Lynne, I will be getting full uppers and lowers. Was not enough bone in the uppers, so that is where I'll have bone graphs. It will start March 27th and 28th. It will take about a year to complete due to the extra healing time for the graph.

Ron

harshedbuzz · February 23

@ronald71111

That must be miserable not being able to eat with your current dentures. I know my MIL struggled with her in later years because of extreme weight fluctuations caused by high dose steroid treatment for vasculitis. Same with her hearing aids.

When mom got her lower implants, the doctor anchored the dentures with 4 implants. She didn't have enough bone to reliably anchor uppers but new dentures helped a lot there. The guy we see is a professor who teaches this at Penn's Dental School-- he's pretty conservative. With DH's individual implants the posts were done and got temporaries. Mom's lower denture anchors got a temporary plate with teeth in the front for cosmetic and speech reasons but not biting surface. She got her "real" dentures about 7 months later. She was 82 at the time and needed a cadaver graft because of thinning of the bone. The whole process took her about 7 months, but she's had a wonderful result and is thrilled with them. She had quite a bit of bruising from the procedure but says it was not painful at all.

Have you spoken with Lou's doctor about something to help her be more settled? It might be time. Behavior is communication.

@Caro_Lynne

Mom's birthday was great. Thanks for asking. It was a little spendy as we had both my DH and my niece in the party. The pair of them love to order "appetizers for the table" and spring for the nicer bottle of wine (which is actually a better deal compared to 4 glasses). It was $300 out-the-door which niece and I split. DH and DS had sandwiches, but the rest of us did the skirt steaks which were perfect. Mom cleaned her plate, finished my steak and took half DH's Reuben home with her. Let's just say she's gotten her money's worth out of the implants.

We went back to her place for cake which she dropped on the floor after serving. The bakery botched my order and made me a cake to serve 16 rather than 8, so she would have had a nice stash of her favorite cake had she not. She wasn't happy. My niece took her to Talbot's after to look at a sweater I though she might like that was on sale 70% off. It was a heavy cashmere funnel-neck with cables but it was final sale. She's seen it the week before but doesn't "math", so the price tag scared her off it. It had been $289 and came down with the sale and her card discount so she still has $22 to spend.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

It's dreary and damp here today. My daffodil buds are getting fat. Maybe I'll have blooms by midweek when it supposed to be unseasonably warm.

I had a busy day yesterday. Mom had a fasting blood draw at 10:15, then we did breakfast and a trip to the library to kill time and get her some books. After we did her echo and rescheduled an appointment her PCP had to cancel. After I was able to collect my Honda from the body shop. I must say, I am thrilled to have the car back and a full week before my initial estimated time.

We went out for pizzas and beer-wall and as I was walking out the door I realized I'd lost an earring. Not just any earring, one of my pearl studs. These were a "freebie" that were included in a Mikimoto promotion when DH bought me my strand. I don't often get to wear the necklace, but the pearls are a favorite-- the quality is amazing and they're just so comfortable and look great with anything. They were the first jewelry he ever bought me and a sentimental favorite. I wore them at my wedding and they have been a something borrowed for my niece and BFF. I was devastated. DH offered to buy me a new pair-- bigger and with diamonds, no less. But I really just wanted mine back.

After dinner, I started to retrace my steps and may have gotten lucky on my second call. Someone turned in a pearl stud earring, "real small-- smaller than my shirt button"-- at the library yesterday. That's got to be it. I was afraid someone might find it and toss it as it doesn't look like much. I so hope I'm right.

In even better news, nothing especially horrible came back in mom's bloodwork or echo except a worsening of her pulmonary hypertension from mild to borderline moderate which would explain her symptoms. She seems to be doing OK and we'll see if her doc wants to tweak her meds around that on Tuesday.

Laundry is calling. Y'all have a pleasant day here on the porch.

HB

Lorita · February 23

Morning,

HB, sounds like you had a busy but productive day. Glad things with your mother turned out well. Her birthday of celebration sounds wonderful bet she really enjoyed it.

Thanks for asking about my ankle. It's doing pretty well. I'm wearing the compression sock and it gives support. Trying to not walk too much but that doesn't seem to be working.

The car is okay but wish there was a little more horsepower. The seats are pretty firm but so are the ones in the Ram. I have enough padding myself so it's okay. I checked and my first new car had about 130 HP and it was okay. I'm not going to be racing anyway. Still have to go to town and get the tag, title and pay the taxes on it but I have until March 3.

Gray Lady hasn't calved and am wondering if she's going to. Mike is going to move her to one of his pastures where he has some older girls so he can feed them better. Hate to see her leave her home. Today is the last FedEx delivery for this order so will need to get her west of the house and get the gate open.

Girls have gone to the NE pasture to graze so there's some grass. The sun us shining, wind is calm, birds are singing and daffodils are blooming so ir's a wonderful day. Supposed to be about 80.

Barbara, I'm watching a show about Australia- David Attenborough. Really enjoying seeing all the different animals. It said most of your animals are marsupials. Wonder why that is? We only have one in the US- opossum. Hope you're well. Any trips planned for this fall?

Ron, hope the VA doctors can find the reason for your dizziness. It's awful to be dizzy. I went through that many years ago when I was working. Felt like I had to almost hold onto the hallway walls when I was walking. How is that Lou is getting harder to care for?

Guess I should stop and go feed GL and get some water in the paddock for her. Got another metal hose yesterday so need to get it on the float valve. Back later.

jfkoc · February 23

Was Gray Lady pregnant? Why do you have to move her so a delivery can be made? Do have your ankle x-rayed when you go to town.

Love pearls.

Weather is spectacular here in OK. Tulips are up enough to blossom any day. I planted white bulbs 3 years ago. They came up cream. They keep coming up cream....