Just need to talk to my friends ,(193)

harshedbuzz

@ronald71111

The oral device would be a great option for you. I have a friend who has one and feels so much better on it. Do you have insurance to cover the implants? Or will medical kick in because of the need for them to treat a medical condition? The medical/dental divide can be tricky. And the cost of implants can be comparable to a new sedan.

My mom was told by 2 oral surgeons that she didn't have sufficient bone to support implants because of age and osteopenia. I'm not sure if technology changed or if the oral surgeon my dentist refers to is a wizard (he's also a professor at Penn's dental school) but he was able to do the lowers she wanted to anchor her plate. The mother of a friend who lives in a rural part of the state did implants at a kind of dental mill that promised "same day results". She had nothing but trouble and never got to a point where she could eat comfortably. Mom's procedure was more time consuming. She did get a temporary set of dentures the morning after the implants were inserted but she was on a strictly soft diet for 6 months until she got her permanent set installed. It's almost 6 years since she did this and she wishes she'd been able to do it sooner. LOL, she's the only one I know who looks forward to going to the dentist.

@Lorita

Oof on the torn skin. My mom does things like that all too often. Her skin is like paper these days. Her derm would say to lose the Neosporin (She calls it the Devil's Ointment) -- let warm soapy water run over it, pat dry, apply a thin film of Vaseline or Aquaphor and bandage it well. Repeat daily.

@Sayra

I do a lot of shopping at my local dairy's store. They have (according to my friend who grew up on a farm in Idaho) mostly Holsteins with a smaller herd of Jerseys. They're outside grazing when the weather is nice and indoors the rest of the time. Folks often stop for ice cream and watch the cows as the fence borders their parking lot. I've not noticed a difference in the taste of their milk, but their summer grass-fed butter has a nicer flavor IMO than in the winter. My friend says they likely use the Jerseys for their ice cream and chocolate milk which has an entirely different mouthfeel than their regular whole or strawberry milk. We're fortunate to have the place. It's gotten so if I get milk from the grocery store it tastes "funny" to me.

____________________________________________________________________

We ended up with pretty snow staring around 1pm that changed over to rain around 4pm. We met friends about 8 miles south of here. They had no snow at all. By the time we got home, we had a messy 3" of slush. If it doesn't wash away or melt, I'm going to have to scrape it before it freezes overnight.

Maybe I'll tackle my trees today.

HB

Mint

HB you must be an early bird too. They probably have nice pastures with no weeds.

JeriLynn66

I’m up.

loveskitties

Here in the northern part of Virginia, we had about 3 inches of snow, ice and freezing rain. I did not go out to clear things since that would have left just an icy walk. Even though crunchy, easier walking that ice alone.

Wishing sunshine today to melt it and dry it out before freezing again...we will see. Fortunately don't have to go anywhere the next day or so.

Bluebird

We’re celebrating a delayed Christmas today. My daughter and granddaughter had Covid over Christmas so we put it off until today.

Lorita

Hi, No rain or snow here yet. It's pretty and sunny but the wind is cold. I think we have rain or snow tomorrow.

My arm is sore and a little swollen. I put a gauze bandage on it last night and it bled some. The skin, which is grayish now, mostly covers it. When it touches anything it burns. I've always used Neosporin with good results. I've read and there are both schools of thought; use it or not use it. Also about bandaging. I did overnight, not this morning.

HB, I remember when my grandma's skin got so thin. Any time she might hit her arm or hand on something, there would be a bruise or blood. Same with daddy. He was a farmer/rancher so his arms were always bruised or skinned. Now, it's no my time! Now, this us awful but it reminds me of watching daddy skin a rabbit or catfish. I don't remember that he did it often-wish I hadn't watched.

Hope you all don't get much snow and no ice. Haven't seen the weather report this morning.

Lorita

Bluebird, how can PE you all have a Merry belated Christmas. It's good for kids anytime. It's been a pretty day here but chilly. Took the GPs for their walk then took down the trash for tomorrow morning. Thought I would see if Sheena might get in the car. Stormy jumped right in and wanted to go for another ride. Sheena would have nothing of it. I'll keep trying. Time for the Chiefs'game. Have a good evening.

jfkoc

Uncle on all or at least most of the abbreviations, especially the medical ones.

"how can PE you all have a Merry belated Christmas". What does this mean????

Me and mt CPAP slept 11 hours straight through last night. I guess I was tired...lol.

Today cleaning out emails and contacts. Then, as a reward I am going on Hulu.

eaglemom

I am finally back. I've so missed being on the back porch with y'all. I had some stone work done in the back yard. As luck would have it they cut the cable line - hmm, I'd notified cable and they'd marked where the line was - it was a good 6 ft. from where they marked. So four days without house phone, internet or TV. I could make Hot Spot work, but what a pain. The guy came to drop the new line & he didn't leave enough 'extra' play in the line so when they came to bury the line they unhooked everything. That was the shout heard around the world!!! I wasn't happy. As of now another cable is laying on the new stone work and tossed over the fence to the neighbors where the connection box is located. What a bunch of goobers.

I'm glad your car is here and your enjoying it Lorita. I know several people who have an Equinox & they are very happy.

Iris I'm glad Simon is doing well.

Ron, hang in there. My mom used to say she thought physicians kept sending you to different physicians until you finally said enough. Then they handled everything. Goodness you've been to the physicians. I'm glad Lou has been good.

Everyone else, I'm glad your on the porch with us. We are a close group whom can discuss absolutory anything or nothing!!

Time to see if my KC Chief's are going to be on tv. I'm betting they won't - some other regional team. Be safe everyone, I know of more & more people contacting Covid. Ugh.

ladyzetta

Hello porch. friends. Iam still out here.

My life the past 2 months has been a bit crazy. The care facility I was working in was having trouble keeping staff and motivating the staff that they did have. It's a hard place to work, the ones who want to do a good job are highly overworked. I still did my dishwashing job, but it got pretty hard when the help I needed was not available. I was doing a lot of bending over and lifting it got so bad at times when i was sitting down I had a hard time standing back up my back was locking in place, and it took me a few minutes to be able to walk.

My doctor told me to take a few months off and see if my back gets better. Then I went to the eye doctor to get stronger glasses and was told it was time to have my cataracts removed. So, I quit my job a week ago and my back is much better and next week I go in for cataract surgery.

I enjoyed working at the facility, I miss all the residents and some of the coworkers, but dealing with that many people there was a lot of stress, so I don't plan on going back.

I see we have a few new front porch friends. Thats always nice. I live in central Oregon not too far from Bend, Oregon. I was the caregiver for my DH what passed away 6 years ago. I have a little dog her name is Molly, she is 9 years old, and I had 2 cates, Sammy who is 2 and Emmy who is 1. Iam also a pet sitter and I may start doing some more of that.

Right now, Iam doing a lot of resting hoping my back gets better and planning for my eye surgery, the first one is 16th of this month.

Hugs to all, Zetta

Iris L.

Welcome back, Zetta! It's very cold (46 degrees this am) and very windy today. I'm watching the trees blow in the wind.

Iris

ronald71111

Welcome back Zetta, we have missed you and always worry about our front porch friends when they have a empty rocker. I was wearing bifocals before my cataract surgery, now all I need is glasses for reading.

Harshedbuzz, I am treated at the VA with total and permanent disability, so I have no cost for any treatments. Even when I'm sent to a Dr out in the community I have no out of pocket expense. This is one good thing that came from my Vietnam experence, but I would have gladly paid myself for any coverage rather than have gone to Vietnam. Many veterans that didn't lose their life there are slowly dieing off due to agent orange.

I actually made it to Sunday school and church today. Lou's sitter came earlier than usually today and since I hadn't been able to make Sunday school in the past I went. I really enjoyed the fellowship!

Son in Missouri called yesterday when it was snowing and told me they were expecting a lot of snow next week. Saturday wasn't suppose to be much. He said if it's just snow they can make it to work, but ice they wouldn't be leaving the farm.

Ron

ladyzetta

Hi Ron,

Yes, that is what the doctor is saying. He says I will be able to see far away, and I will need reading glasses. I have worn glasses for so long and I can read without them on. So Iam not sure if I will like all the changes. I am glad I will be able to see farther away and take the fuzziness away from TV watching.

It sounds like things are going well for you and Lou. That is good that you are able to attend church and enjoy it. Hugs Zetta

Sasue

Welcome to all the new posters on Lorita’s porch. I’m an everyday reader but don’t post often. I’m from Illinois but have been transplanted to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, now living with my son and daughter in law. My husband had Alzheimer’s and died 7 years ago. My son and DIL have rescued 3 horses, 2 mules and 3 dogs. We also have 5 chickens ( lost one to a hawk). We are dealing with a chocolate lab with a fractured tail. We don’t know what he did but after several trips to the vet, the X-ray showed a fracture. He’s now wearing a cone and is not very happy.

I’m so glad the hectic holidays are over. Three granddaughters flying in from different states, then boyfriends flying in from other states required many trips to airports. Some were an hour away and another was 3 hours away. The last boyfriend left today and the last granddaughter leaves for Vermont next weekend. It’s been great having them here but it’s the quiet will be good for awhile, then I’ll be wishing they were back.

Lorita, I’m sorry you hurt your arm. Make sure to watch for infection. I’m so happy you got a car you like. Equinox was the one I would have picked. I sure hope Sarah can get some help, I include her in my prayers every night. Glad to see you back Zetta, it sounds like it was best for you to quit that job. Taking care of yourself is a priority. I’m sure your fur babies will be happy you’re home more.

Ron, you have such patience and love for your dear wife. It shows in your posts. It makes me sad we have to watch our loved ones suffer through this terrible illness. Glad you are having some fellowship through your church.

Saying prayers for Jo, her husband and son, Joan, Day and all others struggling with health issues at this time. I’m going to send a picture of the sun shining on House Mountain taken from the front of our house.

Sandy

Lorita

Hi,

Judith, that doesn't make a bit of sense, does it? My tablet has a terrible habit of writing what it wants to. Bluebird had Christmas this weekend and that was what it was about. I normally proofread but that got past me.Glad you slept that long - you needed it and it was good for you.

Zetta, glad to see your post - we were about ready to send out a search party. Sorry you've had a bad two months - working hard without much help creates a lot of stress along with your back problem. Probably a good thing you decided to quit. You enjoy pet setting and that will be much better for you. Cataract extraction - hate to think about that but I think my time has come, too. It's getting harder for me to read small print - that along with my dry eyes makes reading not pleasant. Hope you get along well.

I worked for several years for an EENT specialist. This was in the early 60s and I typed many surgery reports involving cataract extractions. I know the procedure has improved so much from then. My ophthalmologist retired a couple of years ago - he did both mother and daddy's and Charles' cataracts and I always hoped he'd do mine but things change. My problem will be getting there or rather getting home afterwards. Our neighbor was going to have cataract surgery at Triad and he said they would pick up a patient so maybe they still do that. We told him we'd take him and he was so happy but he fell and passed away before he had it done.

Iris, here in Oklahoma we have so much wind, I spend time watching the trees blow, too. We're supposed to have very high winds tomorrow. Give Simon a hug for me.

Eagle, you're near Dallas and you like the Chiefs instead of the Cowboys? The Chiefs' game wasn't shown here either - guess they weren't good enough this year. I never did really like the Cowboys. We went to a lot of the Chiefs' games but never to Dallas. Sorry about the power outage - I know how it used to be here when we were without electricity.

Ron, glad you got to go to Church and Sunday School. Good for you to get out and have fellowship. Glad Lou has been good the last few days. You've earned every penny of the cost of your care being in VietNam. That's the way I always felt about Charles' care, too. He always received top notch care from our VA and the other two he had to go to for treatment ours didn't provide.

Sandy, the picture is really pretty. I think that must have been the one you sent that I couldn't get to show up. Glad you're doing all right. How is Petunia or is it Pansy?

I think I'll like my car when it gets dry enough to drive it. Not sure how it'll do on muddy roads. Stormy likes it - he jumped in today and wanted to go for a ride. Now if I can just get Sheena in it. I think it's pretty - silver with dark gray and ash gray seats. I wish they were a solid gray so the middle part of them wouldn't get dirty but I'll keep something over them when the GPs are with me.

I know you'll be happy for it to be quieter and to get back in your routine. Did you have any snow? My arm isn't hurting now except when I get something against it. It looks dry so I think the healing has begun. It almost looks like someone kissed my arm with lipstick on - the skin isn't over what would be the top of the lips so that part is red and the rest is purplish.

Iris, I guess I need to start shuffling, too, when I get up and it's dark. Twice today I almost stepped on Sammy. Can't imagine why I fell backwards - may have stepped on the back of one of my shoes with the other foot. Anyway it was over in a split second. I think I'll bandage it again tonight to keep it from getting against my gown - which I've had on since 4 p.m. I shampooed my hair so knew I wouldn't be going out again. And, just then Mike and Sidney came to set out mineral tubs so just waved at them.

Hope all of you have a good night's sleep. Did get a text from Sarah saying she doesn't have a voice today and hasn't been feeling well. She was going to try to get some rest. Sleep well everyone - will see you tomorrow.

Iris L.

You all are great cooks! Does anyone have a sure-fire way of cooking hardboiled eggs so the shells come off cleanly?

Iris

ronald71111

Iris, I recently learned a trick that the eggs shells come right off. I remembered seeing on TV where they were advertising a; I believe microwave egg cooker. After the egg cooked they shook the container. I started this with Lou's egg every morning; once the egg starts boiling in hot water, I put the timer on 3 minutes. After the 10 minutes I put the pot in my sink, run cold water after emptying the hot, sometimes adding ice cubes. Once it cools enough to put my hand in the water I gently bounce the egg around on side of the pot. I then roll the egg back and forth gently on my counter. After that the egg shell slides right off!

Been up and down with Lou since 2 this morning, finally just stayed up. I've had a scratchey throat since Saturday and it kept me up a lot. I noticed last night regurgitated some of the little pellets out of my prostate capsule I take. Remember me telling about the capsule coming back up without it breaking down, this is the first time I've had the little pellets come up. I have that visit with the Gastrologist this afternoon about the esophagus nodule and will mention the pill come up.

Guess I'll have my coffee now and a little me time.

Ron

harshedbuzz

@Sasue

That's a beautiful shot. I have a friend who lives near Roanoke-- the landscape there is breathtaking.

@ronald71111

I am sorry for the Viet Nam experience. Both my BILs are 100% permanently disabled because of exposure to Agent Orange. Both have had a lot of joint and cardiovascular issues. They have a strong family history for the heart issues (DH and my nephew do too), but not the joint stuff. BIL #2 gets much of his care through the VA and they've been exceptional in allowing access to new and cutting-edge procedures. BIL #1 avoided the VA medical system entirely, but he was a doctor himself and had strong opinions about who he'd see for treatment.

@Iris L.

My hack for cooking eggs is to steam then in a basket and then plunge into ice water. Steaming avoids that harmless but ugly gray layer around the yolks. For an extra-large egg, 12- 13 minutes works here; 6 1/2 for a soft-cooked runny yolk.

The ice bath helps with peeling. It's better to use an older egg for boiling as they will have lost a little moisture and the air pocket between the membrane and white will be a bit bigger. You can test by floating in water. Fresher eggs don't float as well as slightly older ones. If I'm making Deviled Eggs, I get them from the grocery store rather than the local egg guy who sells his at the beer store which is sort of weird.

I've also heard you can tap the broader end of the raw egg lightly until you hear a little "pop" which supposedly separates the membrane from the shell. I've tried this when I want to get all the white possible when making a meringue, too. The downside is that it requires a deft touch to avoid breaking the egg.

@ladyzetta

Good luck with your cataract surgery. DH was amazed at how much better he sees now. My eyes will need to be done at some point but my eye doctor assures me it's too soon. I don't love driving at night.

Pizza tonight. I got one tree down yesterday and plan to tackle a second one later. The little 4-footers with the integrated LED lights come down fast. I am not looked forward to the eight-footer.

HB

ronald71111

Egg after boiling for 10 minutes, ice bath, gentle beat against pan in water and gentle roll on counter. Lous breakfast. Last, Lou saying oh boy FOOD

Mint

Good morning everyone

Lorita keep a good eye on that arm.

Lady Zetta i miss the near vision i had without my glasses prior to cataract surgery. But cataracts have to be treated not really an option to me.

Sandy that is a beautiful picture that you shared.

We get to watch the wind in Ohio a lot too lol.

Ron going to try and remember to tell my sister about the egg trick. She makes lot of boiled eggs.

I’m trying to be more diligent about turning lights on instead of wandering in the dark. Felt like that was a better plan as im getting older. Im trying to become more vigilant about preventing a fall. They can really mess you up.

Made something new for myself today. Fixed PicoDeGallo, will fix it again. Didn't know if I would like the spices, had never had coriander before. The cumin basically stood out above everything else and i like cumin as long as not too strong.

Beth did your DH get home?

hi JoC

BethL

Looks like a nice meal, Ron!

We are expecting up to 7 or 8" of snow from this afternoon to tomorrow evening. We are going to stay inside and be cozy!

Good to hear from Zetta and Sasue again - lovely photo, Sandy!

eaglemom

Yes please Ron. I'll be by around 10:30 to have breakfast with Lou. That looks delicious.

Lorita, we are KC Chief's fans. I was born and raised in KS and both of us graduated from Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. We came to TX in 1979 after graduation for jobs. However, our loyalty to to Chief's never left. Frankly we both despise the Cowboy. (I hope I don't offend anyone here by that statement.)

Rainy day here, but they are saying by the end of the week we'll have our first artic blast and temps in the 20's. Nope, not looking forward to that at all.

Be safe and well my porch friends.

Lorita

Morning, It's an awful morning - dark, rainy, windy and cold. I woke up a couple of times during the night and it was raining. Wish I had the rain gauge out so I'd know how much - but was afraid it would freeze and break. I think it's supposed to quit raining this afternoon.

The outside door to the stalls at the barn is opened so I'll need to close that before night. I saw one of the girls out at the barn but I'm sure there's more inside. I hate this kind of weather because most cows have to be outside in it and getting wet and cold isn't good for them.

Iris, I start my eggs in cold water and when they come to a boil I let them cook three minutes, then turn off the burner and let them set, covered, for at least 15 minutes, then put them in cold water. I crack them om the counter and hope they peel easily. If I start peeling from the big end, they peel easier - that's where the air pocket is. Older eggs, that don't float, peel easier; fresh eggs are harder to peel. If I'm going to mash them up with mustard, I cut the egg, shell and all, in half, then scoop out the egg. I usually buy a dozen eggs and seldom use all of them. I check to see if they're good, then boil them for the GPs.

Ron, Lou's meal looks good. Can she chew the grapes and other fruits all right? Charles and I used to make a platter of fruits, cheeses and some kind of meats and that's what we'd have for supper with crackers - and boiled eggs.

I think I might make a pot of soup today - or maybe tomorrow. A few weeks ago I cooked diced potatoes and sliced carrots - didn't use all of them so froze them so won't have to do that.

The skinned place on my arm bled a little bit last might. I put Neosporin on it and bandaged it - mostly dry now so don't think I'll bandage it again. Wish I hadn't done that - makes it uncomfortable when my sleeve gets on it.

I feel sorry for the guys who have to get out to feed cattle this morning or for the next week or so. Supposed to get really cold Friday and for the next week with highs in the teens with wind.

Hope everyone's okay this morning - stay in and stay warm. I'll be back later today.

Sasue

Lorita, you asked about Petunia and Pansy. They are fine. I have to explain their story for the group. My DIL bought 6 baby chicks and raised them. They have a very nice coop with heat. Everyone got along fine for the first year. They we all named after flowers. We thought we had 6 hens but unfortunately 2 are roosters, Petunia and Pansy. Petunia ruled the roost and guarded the hens when they were out of the coop. One day Pansy decided he wanted to rule and there was a big fight. Now Petunia is only allowed in the coop at night to sleep, he spends his days outside looking in, I the protecting the hens from the outside. Unfortunately Dahlia was killed by a hawk, she was the only friendly one.

This photo is of Apollo and Chaos. Apollo is a draft horse, he was a show horse until he had a spinal injury. Chaos is an Appaloosa that was untrainable. All our horses were rescued from a slaughter auction. Now they can live their lives without stress. None can be ridden due to their health issues.

Sandy

jfkoc

FYI...I have no particular way to hard boil an egg...lol.

Lorita

Sandy, the pictures are gorgeous. Chaos is quite a lot smaller than Apollo, isn't he? Have they all become good friends? Both of them look so good and healthy. They're getting a second lease on life for sure-' lots of good hay, feed, carrots and apples

Which rooster is that in the picture? Thanks for posting the pictures. We enjoy seeing them. You live in such a pretty area . Hope you're well. Are you expecting snow from the big storms on the way and then much colder weather?

It's been rainy here all day but finally stopped so I could go out and see how things are. Heifers and girls are either grazing or eating hay. I took down the flag so it wouldn't blow down. Going to have to get another one. Went out to the barn and got the stall door closed. There's probably half a dozen or more girls already in the barn- Gray Lady among them. Glad she's in for the night .

The wind is really strong and cold. I imagine all of them will come in for the night.' Wish the heifers and their babies had a good shelter. I'll stop for now - almost time for the news and weather and I'm getting hungry.

ronald71111

Just got back from Gastrologist and they will once again be going in to look or the nodule. I mentioned my swallowing problem getting worse and they will stretch the esophagus while they're doing the other. When I got there the wind was blowing so hard I had to hold my umbrella with both hands. Afraid for a minute I was going to be a Mary Poppins.

Ron

Bluebird

I have a question for my porch friends. We are very excited for our daughter to get married. She lives 500 miles away from us. She, of course, wants her dad at her wedding. He dad refuses to travel so she is going to have her wedding where we live. She is trying to do everything she can to make her dad comfortable and hopefully enjoy her wedding. She asked me to help with the wedding since she doesn’t live here. Her main concern is her dad. I’ll probably be asking for a lot of advice from you all in the coming months.  

What size wedding would you recommend? She’s worried her dad will be overwhelmed if it’s too big. I come from a large family. If she invites just my siblings and her cousins that’s about 50 people. So the choice is have a medium size wedding with around 100 people and invite family or a small wedding of about 20 people, but not have family attend. She also thought about having a private wedding ceremony with 10 people, no family and a larger reception that includes family. Her dad has a tendency to get up and leave if he feels uncomfortable and she’s worried he will leave in the middle of the wedding.

JeriLynn66

Well, I do boiled eggs like Lorita, lol. As for nighttime bathroom trips: I have a motion sensor nite light in the bedroom that comes on when I sit up in bed and stays on long enough to make my way to the 2nd one in the hallway to our master bath. Then in reverse on my way back. Much safer than stumbling around and they go out quickly enough so as not to disturb DH,

Ron that breakfast looked delicious! Sandy, the horses are beautiful.

For breakfast here DH makes himself a burrito now that he’s trying to lose some weight. I’m going to start eating one too adding that to a breakfast fruit smoothie.

Well we made another trip today to pick up some engine parts but home now waiting on this weather to roll in. Be safe everyone!

ronald71111

Bluebird, I personally would keep the wedding small and as large as a reception that she would like. That way her father could take part in the reception and be able to leave the reception whenever he wanted. Lou and I had our wedding with just our parents, best man and bridesmaid., and reception for the rest. That was just our choice to keep wedding small.

Ron