Just need to talk to my friends (200)
Comments
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David…looks good. I cart stuff around on my rollator seat too.
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David, your room and the DR look nice! Enjoy your surroundings and the activities there.
Mint, I am so glad for the decisions you have made with your sister regarding your mother's care. It will mean increased freedom and quality of life for all of you.
JeriLynn, it sounds like you could run a catering company. The amazing and voluminous amount of food you prepare! I'm in awe. Can I join y'all for Thanksgiving? There will be 8 at my Thanksgiving table - my son, DIL and their 4 kids who are at home (14, 10, 10 and 9 - their 23 y.o. lives on his own out of state) and the two of us. We'll have turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, relish tray, corn casserole, green bean casserole, maybe sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie or other pumpkin dessert. After lunch we'll put up the trees and have the kids decorate them. They love to do that.
JeriLynn, you mentioned going to purchase flowers for graves. Would you like to know where I have gotten mine in the past? Well, when the cemetery requires the decor be removed after Memorial Day, for mowing purposes, a lot of perfectly nice flowers find their way into a dumpster at the cemetery. Free flowers for my relatives' graves. I hope this doesn't sound disrespectful; it's not meant to be.
HB, I hope you get rain. We had a dry summer and dry September but have gotten some nice rains lately and hope you do too. When we get home, I'll need to mow our lawn for the final time this year.
Iris, you mentioned getting a Starbucks in the area. We have none in our town but do have an independent coffee shop. At Starbucks, I like Cinnamon dolce latte (hot or iced), and Brown Sugar Oat milk shaken espresso (iced drink).
Judith, regarding the memory boxes - In going through items with our move, I found a scrapbook of my mom's. Her report cards were in it. Also newspaper clippings. She was a very good basketball player in h.s. and once made 28 points in a game. I looked through it and then let it go. I cannot keep everything. Kind of sad but necessary to declutter.
Lorita, we are on deck 10. There are 18 decks but not all of them have rooms for the guests. It's a big ship with capacity for around 3200 guests and 1200 crew. Lots of activities on board. Lots of places to eat, lots of places to drink, lots of places to hear live music.
Carl, your posts are interesting. I imagine you and your wife have had an interesting life. So have I, sometimes "too" interesting. ha!
The peaks and the valleys all make up a life and we just try to make the best of it. It is easy for me to look at others who seem to have a "better" life but you know what? Take a look at how people live in a third world country. But for the grace of God, there go I. Truly, I am blessed. I had good parents who did a lot for me and taught me to serve God, I had wonderful times showing Quarter horses when I was a girl, I had the opportunity to get a nursing degree, including a Bachelor's and a Master's, I had a good career, I have a loving husband (48 yrs and counting), two great kids and 8 grandkids. I have a nice home and have been able to travel a lot (but would like to do more). And I have the little sweetie pie whose pic I am attaching.
Eagle, do you have a lot of Christmas trees? Are they all full sized? Do you have a Barbie tree (or is that HB)?
I've been eating shredded carrots on my salads here quite frequently and feel fine. I imagine the carrots on the ship are from somewhere besides the U.S. ???
Josey Rose, 12 years old Miniature schnauzer Chilling at the dog sitter's house (my son's)
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Carl, how awful for you! Big Brother is watching!
Mint, your mom has anosognosia. It is real. Don't take her lack of appreciation personally. It's the disease.
Beth, I will be going on a cruise to Costa Rica and through the Panama Canal. I'm glad you are having a great time. I have also been to Grand Cayman Island. Your pooch looks thoughtful!
Iris
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Hi, Beth, your trip sounds wonderful. I know you all are having a great time. Our VA Hospital actually had a very small Starbucks in the lobby but that was ten years ago. Haven't been back there since then.
David, your new place looks great. I'm sure you'll be fine there. Do you know how many people live there? Does your room have a small refrigerator and mucrowave? The ALC where Jack was had these.
Mint, I know it's hard for you to not visit your mom more but it's better to not until she fully adjusts and you get rested. You've had a pretty tough time dealing with all of this.
I stayed in bed until 9 this morning. Sandy, watching the Denim & Co. Rerun.
I have really dry eyes so put in drops when I go to bed. The excess dries and I guess some got in my left eye during the night. Hurt like everything, like something in my eye, and there was. Kept adding drops and finally improved. Eye is a little sore with slight headache, but better. No more drops at bedtime!
Sunny and cooler today. Zetta and Joan, we really need to hear from each of you. Been way too long.
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I've met four veterans so far no fridge or microwaves. If you wa t anything just ask for it and the will get it.
They woke me up at 6 a.m. for my morning pills then at 7 a.m. I went to breakfast it's only served until 8a.m. but if you do not get there by 8 they will bring it to your room so you never go without your meal. Even if you go out for the day (unless you tell them you are going out for a trip home a d won't be back) when you get back your meals will be in your room waiting for you.
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Hi again, guess who I just talked with-:Joan (Telinde). Sandy, got to thinking about our conversation last night and thought I would try those phone numbers. Joan has had some problems, had hip replacement and then back surgery. She is recovering but has some breathing problems. She Said she has caregivers 24. hrs. A day. She lives close to her daughter. She plans on trying to catch up and post when she feels a little better. She remembers those who were posting when she did Sandy, Judith and Iris. So good to talk with her.
Now for Zetta!! No idea what her last name is but she moved to Maricopa County, Arizona. Anyone know more?
hsd
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Sorry this is so large, I don't know how to make it smaller. This is the puppy ( 22 months) Madison, that I've referred to frequently. I just happened to catch this picture and thought it catches her personality. She's been very good for the both of us, but certainly for DH. My goal is to get her Canine Certified at some point. She has the personality for it, but do I have the energy / time for the training involved? The answer is yes, I think!
David your room looks very nice. Slow and steady, you'll get the new routine down.
Beth, both of my trees are big time full sized. I don't have a Barbie tree, but I remember someone saying that they had one. Both of my trees are naked except for lights and garland!!
Mint your doing the right thing for your mom. It just stinks and is hard. My mom had Parkinson's and I had to place her in an AL. She was NOT happy with me in the least little bit. But it was a safety issue for her living alone and me being 587 miles from her. Anyway, I'd set up her room and went to her house to get her. She said she wasn't going. I said fine, DH and I were going back because lunch smelled great and they had a fire in the fireplace, bye. She said she'd go! (She loved fireplaces.) We stayed awhile then left and she was fine. The next day when we got there she seems upset, but ok. Then came lunch, I looked at her and ask if she was coming. Her answer was "no, not if your leaving me here." I said nothing and walked out the door to lunch, she came in about 30 minutes and never said another word about leaving. I hope your mom can adjust that well. Yes, different problems, but I think your mom will come around.
Time to finish up dinner. Be safe everyone.
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Thank you Eagle I hope so too. Madison, how cute
Sorry to hear Joan is having such a hard time
David thinking if you
Ron hope you are ok too
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Eagle, Madison is adorable. What breed is he? Makes me want a little dog again. Wonder how the Pyrenees would react? However, they liked Barclee. He came up their knees and could walk under them.
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Eagle, Madison is a doll! Pets make our lives better!
David, Ron, Joan, Jo - sorry for the health issues you all have had. Prayers that things will go better for you. David, your place looks very nice.
I miss Zetta too. Wonder if she is just super busy…she talked of doing the cooking and cleaning for her daughter, if I recall correctly.
Lorita, thanks for the update on Joan. She is missed here.
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Bethl thank you this place is fantastic.
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I was to that kind all of you for all you prayers.
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David, I wish I was a veteran, I'd go live there too!
Porchsitters, my post about the water meter wasn't just a complaint (well, it mostly was.) This is an EPA regulation, which means it is nationwide. Coming soon to a water meter near you :-(
I sure do enjoy your posts about the dogs and trips. I haven't had either lately, but I have in the past. We once had a Basenji named Bethlehem Star, because she was born on December 24 and was black with a white star on her chest. We just called her Beth. I'd like to have a dog now, but DW doesn't want one and I'm not going to push it. Plus I have plenty to do besides take care of a dog.
My in-laws had a miniature pinscher named Troubles, because he was trouble from day one. His mother couldn't nurse him, so my MIL got up every two hours and fed him with a tiny baby bottle. He grew up to be dumb and aggressive, a bad combination especially for a miniature. One of the things he hated was thistles. We would be at the lake and he would see one, and he had to attack it. He would circle it, growling, until he thought he had a shot, and then charge in. Never worked, the thistle got him every time, because a Russian thistle is sort of like a 4' fir tree with thorns instead of needles. Dumb dog, but we all loved him. He would lie on my lap sometimes when we were sitting in the in-law's den, lying on one thigh with his head near my knee, left legs hanging off one side, right legs hanging of the other side, and go to sleep.
Beth, you are absolutely right about life sometimes being too interesting. "May you live in interesting times" is supposedly a Chinese curse.
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I helped my friend move this morning, then I played bunco. Tomorrow I can rest!
Iris
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You're a good friend, Iris. Enjoy your well-deserved rest!
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Good morning everyone
made some stovetop mac&cheese with American cheese, some homemade velveeta and homemade evaporated milk. It was very good.
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Goodmorning everyone, day 2 at the "home " last night I had a nightmare first time in a couple of days it was so scary I wound up all tangled up in my blankets I had to call the nurse to help me get untangled and I was sweating profusely.
The meals are fantastic today for breakfast I had fried eggs,English muffin, oj, coffee,banana, a cornflakes. for lunch yesterday I had meatloaf, mashed potato, jello, can not to see what we have today.
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G'morning Porchies.
We have rain today. This is great news. Not only have there been a number of small brush fires all over the county, there've been a couple of tragic house fires in the area as well including a large Victorian in mom's town that was converted to 6 apartments. It'll be good the lawns and tress, but my knee has enjoyed the drought. The municipal center— police, fire, ambulance and administration— is directly across the street and the sirens have been going off at least twice as often as usual. The rut is on as well— there were no less than 41 deer-related "incidents" in the township last month and this month is the peak. DH just missed one by about 2' last night.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Beth— that's a big boat. How tight was it going through the locks? I've heard there's little room for error.
I am the one with the Barbie tree. She's not up yet. I have her on a four-footer. I wanted a 5" which would be better for the space and hold the collection more easily, but Costco had the 4' one for $20 and it was took good to pass up. Some year, I'll treat myself to a pink 5' tree and decorate the current one to DS's Lionel train ornaments. He's been getting 2 or 3 every year since 1996.
Iris— The trip to Costa Rica sounds wonderful. My niece participated in an archeological dig when she was in grad school. I have no idea why as she was headed to a MPH. Will you be visiting the Caribbean or Pacific side?
Lorita— Thanks for the update on Joan. I hope she has a complete and speedy recovery.
Would your doctor OK an OTC eye ointment or gel? I've used the Systane ones when my ortho wanted me to hold my prescription drops after my TKR. It seemed an odd request, but this is better than drops overnight. A bit tricky to apply for some folks. (FTR— neither my DH nor DS is able to self-administer eye drops. DH's cataract surgery regimen clipped my wings for 6 weeks)Systane® Dry Eye Drops and Eye Care Products | Systane® US
Mint— The mac'n'cheese sounds tasty. I love a good creamy version, but DH likes the crusty baked kind, so I rarely get my fix. Back when DS was in scouts, they had a holiday camp-in near Gettysburg where they got to cabin-camp and parents did the cooking. My contribution was always 150 servings of USDA school lunch mac'n'cheese. It's incredible how little cheese the recipe calls for but there were never any leftovers.
David— The place looks wonderful. It's very like the one in Philly. It's sounds like you are being waited on like a prince. You deserve it. What sorts of activities do they offer?
Carl— We got a version of that letter, dated 11/06/2024, last week. Ours is really vague as to next steps. Talk about not being senior-friendly— ours offers a QR code to scan for instructions. My mom would absolutely have no idea where to go with that. TBH, I only showed DH, 76, how to use a QR code a few weeks ago to read a tap list at my favorite brew pub.
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It's a quiet day here. DS has the dentist at 3pm, so he'll need the car. He might have his car back today. Last I heard it was on the lift being put back together. The mechanic apologized to DS and said "he had sh— to take car of" which was kind of what I expected.
I hope all have a good day.
HB0 -
This is today's lunch
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Morning, chilly out here on the porch but sunny and calm. Still predicting a freeze in the morning. I haven't had grass in the yard most of the summer except crab grass but now the yard is green, mostly, so hate for it to freeze.
Dogs: love them, couldn't do without them. My Pyrenees know exactly what I say and can almost know what I'm going to do before I do it.
Mint, love mac and cheese but have never made it from scrstch. Mostly just cook the pasta and add Velveeta or other cheese and that's it. Never have made the white sauce with cheese. I cook farfalle, then sprinkle on parmesan and ranch seasoning.
HB, I use Systane gel some along with GenTeal gel at night. Also use Refresh and another brand or two. It is hard to get the GenTeal ointment in especially when you wear glasses. Didn't put in drops last night and it was better. I have always had dry eyes. When I was in my early twenties I tried wearing contacts but didn't have enough tears to float them. Seems like dry weather may be better for it but not sure, not really good anytime.
Hope Everyone has a really good day and you get rain if you need it.
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here….
lazyed around this morning…will continue with memory containers….
David…love the dessert listing on top the menu…lol
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I will post more along the way
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I'm still around everyone and reading. Haven't been out of te house this week, my life has been like a Rollercoaster. Thought I was doing so good till the holiday season hit. Now I'm going backwards! Have been invited to several Thanksgiving dinners next week, but don't want to go to any. Mental health nurse for depression has requested a increase in my medicine until holiday season is over. I just want it to be January 2nd.
Ron
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Thanks everyone for the nice comments about Madison. She is a purebred Shih Tzu. She is 12 lbs, but big boned with so much hair she appears larger than she truly is. She is our 5th Shih Tzu, with a Lhasa Apso tossed in and a Lhasa Pom. Love them all dearly, they are part of the family. As I said, I want Madison to get her Canine Good Citizen certification as some point. She has identified me as 'her person' and thus doesn't listen quite as well to DH. She really comforts him and calms him. As it is now, she goes places with us. She love putting on her harness and sitting in her car seat!!
Beautiful day here. Lots of people putting up Christmas lights or having them put up. Things going into yards and all. I imagine by the weekend with this nice weather lights will be everywhere.
Funny story about the neighbor. The one who lost her husband unexpectedly two years ago and I gladly stepped in to help. She's the one when we were at the funeral home makes arrangements she pulled out her credit card to pay. They'd said several times no payment until later, they (funeral home) understood people need to collect/gather money, she said "oh no, he'd kill me if he thought I put him on lay a way." Still one of the funniest lines I've ever heard. Anyway, she's been thinking about a new car and looking. She went to a dealership and of course the sales person fell all over himself telling her about this car. She listened, but she knew what she wanted and that car wasn't it. They didn't have what she wanted exactly, so why didn't she test drive this one. She agreed, but only a female sales person could be in the car with her! They didn't have any - only men - so she started walking away. They decided she could drive it alone. She went to McDonalds and got a coffee, waited a bit then took the car back. Yes, she liked it but it wasn't what she wanted. The sales man said drive it home, its closing time and come back tomorrow. She didn't want to argue, so she did just that. She was back at the dealership at opening, returning the car and getting her car back. Except the dealership pulled the "we sold your car" on her. She said you were closed when I left last night and just opened, how is that possible? Next the dealer said he would take a $1000 off the car she'd driven. She said she wanted her car back immediately. Now he'd take $1500 off the car. She stood up - all 5'4" 95 lbs of her & she looked around, saying nothing. Then she opened her purse and pulled out her phone - now she had the sale mans attention. He wanted to know what she was doing. She said "I'm calling 9 1 1. You have robbed me of my car & now are holding me hostage because I won't purchase what you want me to buy." Mr sales man didn't like that - wait wait wait - I think maybe your car is here still. She said you have 5 minutes before I call. In 3 minutes her car was up front waiting for her!! She walked out without saying a word, got in and drove off.
So when she was telling me the story I said you know that place is the one who gave your husband such trouble, and he told you to never go there. She smiled great big and said, oh I know. I had then and never will purchase anything from them. But I certainly don't mind messing with them!!! She cracks me up. All of that rambling to say, I'm going with her to a different dealership this afternoon. It's where her husband purchased their cars and they will treat her as she should be treated. I'm just along for the ride!
Later.
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Eaglemom, what a great story about your neighbor! She stood up for herself!
HB, I think I will try Systane again. I have used Systane and other brands in the past. My eyes are very dry and I have not been able to wear my contact lenses for many years.
The Costa Rica cruise will be on the Pacific side. I think it's great for college students to get a lot of experiences while they can.
Near where I live, the rains from the last two years had softened the ground so much that landslides happened and houses collapsed. Since we've had no rain for over six months and due to efforts of the geologists, the landslides had stopped. But we are anticipating heavy rains beginning this weekend. People are terrorfied of the landslides resuming.
David, how interesting that dessert is listed first on the menu. It sounds like a very nice place.
Ron, are you able to find small things to do around the house? Keeping busy always helps me. But it is important to rest and even to pamper oneself when feeling depressed. Can you get a massage?
My friend has Parkinson's Disease and her voice is very soft. Does anyone think that speech therapy could help her?
The weather is a bit warmer today, in the 70s.
Iris
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Good for her standing up to the.bully. Some men think they can do or say anything and a woman will take it.
Eagle, Barclee was a Shih Tzu, blond,, and we loved him dearly. Still miss that little guy. We've had so many different kinds of dogs and loved each one.
David, that menu sounds good. So happy you are settling in.
Ron, good to hear from you. Holidays are hard. Charles left in mid January so I had a while to adjust, if we ever do, before the holidays. Scarlet and Logan came to be with me on Thanksgiving and Sarah and Todd came on Christmas so I wouldn't be alone and that helped.
Charles and I were never much for those two holidays, especially Christmas. We never watched the Christmas shows on tv. The last Christmas tree we had was probably in the late 70s and that was because his mother was with us. We never decorated much. I have a little five inch tall chalk Santa that my friend Karen gave me 30+ Years ago. It sits on the tv cabinet all year so that is my decoration.
Will any of your relatives be with you on the two upcoming holidays? We will be here so post often and let us help you get through the rest of the holidays and after that. Maybe a cute little guy like Madison would help you.
FedEx just brought my green paint for the barn trim. I may wait and let the two guys do all of the trim and both entryways. They're wood painted white with green metal gates.
Time for Jeopardy
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Ron…the holidays can be rough. Bypassing them is OK in my book. I am perfectly happy by myself doing not much if anything. I think they are highly over rated.
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It's very nice
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Life is short. Eat dessert first.
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I would love to ditch Thanksgiving this year, but DS will have to spend it at the RFC with the other residents who have nowhere to go if I do, plus a few staffers who would rather be somewhere else. And it's his birthday besides. He was born on Thanksgiving Day in 1974, and ever so many years his BD falls on T day. So, I bought a small turkey and will put it in the oven Thursday morning, drive to get him, and take him home later. It's a chore, but I guess I can do it one more time.
We used to have DS here overnight and host Thanksgiving for a dozen people, but it will just be the three of us this year. Fewer than that next year probably.
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Commonly Used Abbreviations
DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
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