Just need to talk to my friends (209)

harshedbuzz

Good morning. It's another lovely sunny day here. 57F at the moment with a forecasted high of 77F which is perfect IMO.

Jerilynn— Enjoy your short respite away from the usual chores. It sounds like it'll be a lovely get-away.

Eve— I hope you found appliances you like at a fabulous Labor Day Sale price. What did you end up with?

What is MFR? Is it a medication? Sometimes a dramatic drop in consumer cost is related to either reaching one's out-of-pocket maximum cost (mom hit this is February this year- a new record for her) or the medication coming off patent and a generic being available.

Ron— Enjoy the new tires.

Carl— Shrinkflation. I remember the uproar when the major manufacturers downsized ground coffee from 1lb. to 15oz. back in the 1970s. LOL, I was in college and working PT as a cashier and endured a considerable amount of abuse over this tactic. These days it seems folks just shrug it off. With the aforementioned Club Crackers, I actually laughed at the deviousness of maintaining the proportions of the cracker and packaging. Clever.

Iris— That was an undeserved low blow. I am pleased others vouched for your kindness and the value of your participation on any board. Even without sharing your travels for our vicarious pleasure, you're an important voice here.

Judith— Shall 25 August forever be known as VA Day? Victory over Ants.

Lorita— In addition to Walmart, Amazon offers some non-smart TVs. Most of these do have an input for a stick that would allow streaming, and a few have a built-in DVD player. A concern I would have is the brands that still offer these might not be the brands offering the higher quality and reliability you want. My local Craigslist has a few people selling these used.

One concern about the tariffs is that the exemption for lower value (<$800) import packages for individuals no longer applies. This means everything coming in by mail/shipper will go through customs. Since no provisions were made to handle this increased responsibility, significant delays are expected. DH orders books from the UK fairly often and is not happy about this.

Yay for a cash refund you can use anywhere.

Gothic G— That's a pretty cool picture. We have hawks here. They're not shy especially if you have a birdfeeder. They're why I took my feeders down. Mom's community pool has those owls to scare off the ducks and geese in the area. They're not especially effective.

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Some of the schools have started around here, so the cross-county drive to the retina specialist took an extra 15 minutes both ways, then I got stuck in rush hour going home. To add insult to injury, I ordered take out and the food was ghastly. DS's "diablo" hoagies wasn't but he was able to add peppers at home to provide heat. The steak sandwich we were to split was inedible. They put pepperoni on it for some reason. I don't care for pepperoni. DH too one bite and tossed it in the trash. I ended up ordering from a second place— the sandwich was much better and $2 cheaper. I guess I have a new hoagie place.

The doctor's office wasn't as crowded as it normally is, but there was a chatty 92-year-old who was getting on mom's nerves. For some reason this woman was hell-bent on telling me about her injections, her vision, where she lived, etc. Her own daughter (DIL maybe) was with her and seemed happy to have mom grouse at someone else.

Today is the WATCH study interview at 1pm. The consent email arrived last night. It seems the study is being done to collect data on older adults to help PCPs identify people who are showing signs of a cognitive shift and might benefit from a neurology referral. Mom'll have an interview and do some tasks during the zoom and I'll be sent a questionnaire to complete about how I think she's functioning.

I have get her to call Citi to dispute a charge I saw on her Costco Visa. It looks like maybe an Amazon subscription which makes no sense. She doesn't shop online and when I do on her behalf, I use her Citi Mastercard.

I hope you all have a pleasant day.
HB

Lorita

Morning,no rain here this morning but it's not far south.of us. JeriLynn, your picture of the deer reminded me of a picture someone sent in to our local news which they showed. It was so sweet - a mother doe with four fawns nursing. It said this was very unusual. I know a calf can survive on one quarter so guess fawns can, too.

Our news is showing pictures of a black bear named Berths in SE Okla. She is 28 years o!d - normal lifespan of black bears is ten years. They had her tagged but have removed the collar.. It said she has raised lots of cubs.

I saw a show advertised yesterday called Morning Stretch and another one just after it called Sit and Be Fit. When I wss working there was an early exercise show that I exercised with before going to work.

HB, I used to order from Amazon but haven't for a couple of years but am getting ready to order floor mats for the car. Their price is less than other places. I like Vizio tvs. We have had them for years. Guess I just got a dud.

Getting darker here so maybe we will get a little more rain. I think we got about an inch yesterdsy.Nice and cool this morning. Everyone,have a happy day.

SS

eaglemom

Good morning

Lorita for your tv, Amazon might be a great option. They have a service called 'white glove' if believe. Which means they deliver the tv, unpack it, place it where you want and plug it in. We've used that service twice with tv's. I don't know if there is a Best Buy near you. If there is they offer the same type of service, but its slightly more expensive. But being more expensive, they program the tv / remote and hook everything up. (Speakers, cable box, receivers, DVD player, etc.)

The new hot top cover finally came in - it was ordered Feb 27th! I'd hope they get us on the schedule to deliver it quickly, but who knows. The price went up $455 from when we ordered it. I didn't say anything & when she very politely ask if I would 'care' to pay the extra, I declined. I have a signed contract for the price I agreed to pay. I hope I'm not being ugly. She said she didn't blame me. They dropped the ball on this several x's. If throughout this entire wait she would have mentioned a price increase I would have paid, but she said noting. Am I wrong here?

I'm going to get DH signed in for our Zoom, and I'm going to go work on the hot tub prior to the new cover. I plan on numerous soaks! Let's be safe everyone.

Lorita

Thanks, Eagle.Nearest Best Buy is about 70 miles away. When I order from Amazon, UPS delivers, often just to the mailbox a quarter mile away. Somehow I will have to get Directv to set it up. But, those are good options.

I think you did what I would have done. Why the difference- tariffs? That is ridiculous. I imagine things will bet wotse, too.

Darwin just called to tell me not to try to go anywhere today. I wasn't planning on it. The road along the north side of the farm leads to our tinyntown and he was going there to get diesel. He said he didn't even get to my driveway and almost got stuck, in the road, in his 4WD PU. Finally was able to.back out. He said the road is terrible. When I wss out turning off the water I saw a vehicle in that road going very slowly. When I went to the mailbox yesterday it looked like they had pulled out the ditches and piled the dirt up on the road. They had Put in a couple..of new tin horns but quite a lot smaller than the old ones.Nothing done on either side of my driveway. My gate is about 20 feet off the road but the tin horn is along the road. So, will need to be careful today. I may call the Commissioner later - he only lives a couple of miles away. I can't go through fall and Winter not being able to.get out..

The girls are grazing in three different pastures enjoying the coolness.

jfkoc

After the horrible go-round I had with the person who even feigned her death ( even had her daughter involved with this) I learned to copy posts. So….I did copy the thread that jumped on Iris. s

No ants…top of the tube of silicone is cut of so I will clean up the bathroom counter and caulk where it meets the backsplash. I have never used caulk but how hard can it be.

Sleeping with windows open…what a treat.

Lorita…are your grasshoppers one of these;

https://birdwatchinghq.com/grasshoppers-in-oklahoma/

GothicGremlin

No way am I clicking on that link 😄😄

Back later.

ladyzetta

Good afternoon Rockers 😊 Hugs Zetta

Lorita

Judith, when did that happen? I don't remember it. Was it on this thread? Not sure about the hoppers - haven't looked that closely. I can't stand to touch them even though I did rescue one from drowning in the water tank. GG, go ahead and look at the little things. Kind of creeped me out, too.

Hi, Zetta. How are things in Arizona today?

Judith, is your caulk in a kind of soft tube or is it the kind in a cardboard tube that you use in a caulk gun? I have a soft tube kind to caulk between wall and sink but haven't used it.

Iris L.

I thank everyone for your support and encouragement. I admit, I had a gut-punch but I'm going to put it past me.

SDianeL posted that there will be a tv show about Bruce Willis and his journey with FTD tonight on ABC network at 8 pm EDT.

HB, is the WATCH program just for your mom's medical plan?

JeriLynn, how nice to be able to see deer early in the morning.

Are your goats for milk and cheese? When I was in Kenya, I ate my first goat meat. It was tasty.

Eaglemom, I'll have to remember about Best Buy's "white glove" program because I will need help if I have to set up any technology.

GG, for what occasion is your new dress?

Would you believe, I don't now own any dress? I wear dressy tops with black slacks if I go somewhere that requires more than jeans.

I remember when Mt St Helen erupted years ago, we got ash down here.

My cat Adam came back from the pet hotel very matted. He has never come back matted before, I don't know what happened. I will have to spend days dematting him, because he tolerates only a little bit of tugging at a time.

Don't forget the TV show!

Iris

harshedbuzz

Iris— The WATCH Study (Warning Assessment and Alerting Tool for Cognitive Health) is a research study being done to create a new screening tool for people 65+ that could be used in a PCP setting. It's being conducted by Penn Medicine's Memory Center.

The test took about 30 minutes for her and included many of the same tasks found on MMSE and MoCA— serial subtraction by 7, orientation to date and place, immediate and delayed recall of 5 words, naming animals/words starting with "F" in 60 seconds, repeating number sequences. There were also a few motor skill pieces— clapping at a prompt, finger tapping and gait checks. After, I was sent a 6 or 7 question form about her level of independence in shopping, money management, recalling appointments, medications, etc.

She did better than I would have expected. She did better on the delayed recall of the 5 words than she did on the immediate one. Some of her motor movements seemed delayed compared to what I would do at 68. Her performance on the serial subtraction was abysmal. She got 100-7=93, then dithered guessed wrong several times and got stressed and stopped with 20 seconds to go. She is mathphobic and refuses to engage with the subject*. She did really well naming animals; the interviewer asked about her career and wasn't surprised that she was a teacher given one of her answers was terrapin. I pointed out that she wasn't a math teacher obviously.

The questionnaire didn't address any of the concerns I have about her— the uncharacteristic irritability when things don't go as she'd like, her lack of emotional resilience, her apathy, the word-finding issues and inability to stay on track in a conversation, etc. They wanted to know if she could shop independently. I should have showed them her Talbots statement.

She'll get a written report about her results in about 3 weeks. And a $25 gift card. She's very excited for the gift card.

HB

* The last time dad did MoCA about 6 months before his death, definitely in late stage mixed dementia, he was about to subtract by 7s until they stopped him at 44.

Lorita

Iris, sorry about Adam's mats. I imagine dematting him will take a while. He must be long haired. I used to have to demat our poodles and that was hard. Pierre ran down in the pasture once and got covered in cockleburrs- that was fun to take care of.

You know I can't remember the last time I wore a dress. Just got a new blue dress with tiny white flowers on it- first dress in years. Used to wear them a lot. Do have several skirts though. Better stop and let GPs in.

Chance Rider

Good afternoon/evening.
We had a brief rain this afternoon, only about 5 minutes but even that is rare for our area during the summer. I love the small of the air after a rain, and that it’s almost 10 degrees cooler today.
Fire update - holding at only 624 acres with 78 % containment. August 2021 we were evacuated for a fire that destroyed 220,000 acres and wiped out a local community. Some of us still get nervous when fires break out.

Got out of my own way (had been procrastinating) and bought a new washer and dryer at Best Buy. BB is about an hour away from us but not many options here. I also sold my old Toyota 4 Runner that I’d had for 29 years.

Lorita - sorry about the road challenges! Curious, what’s a tin horn?

jfkoc- what a horrible experience to have someone feign death!

HB - I wasn’t in the room when the cognitive tests were done with my husband but could hear the questions and answers. It was the first time I became aware of the extent of decline. He can recite our address but not answer when asked what street he lives on, or what town. Couldn’t do the first step of 100 - 7. Truely heartbreaking.

I enjoy my Tuesday mornings as I meet weekly with a few friends. I used to be a weight loss coach and they were some of my members. The company got into prescribing weight loss drugs and closed all our locations. The group are my Team Eve.

Goodness, I’ve written a chapter! Hope all’s as well as can be. Off for a walk with the dog.

Carl46

Eagle, I wouldn't pay extra just for the privilege of waiting six months for my order. If anything, you should get a discount for the inconvenience.

HB, serial 7's is a test of concentration, so I think the test did address inability to stay on track.

Grasshoppers and cicadas are noisy insects, but the resemblance stops there. Cicadas live underground and sip sap from tree roots for 13 or 17 years, depending on species, then climb trees, come out of their shells, sing love songs, mate, lay eggs, and die without eating anything as adults. Grasshoppers devour everything in their path, mate, lay eggs for next year, and die when the food is gone.

My son and I had lunch, got haircuts and did a little shopping this afternoon. The mail contained two insurance checks when I got home, a nice change from the usual crop of ads and bills.

We're expecting rain Wednesday night and Thursday, with Thursday's high in the 60's. September is coming! ⛈️

Lorita

Eve, a tin horn or culvert and probably other names is a metal.or heavy plastic tube, like a.huge straw, up to many inches in diameter that Is put underground from one side of the road to the other. Supposed to carry water across the road without flooding. The ones they're putting in is plastic and not very big. The one that would be across my entryway will be at least 20 ft. Long. Ours is stopped up with debris so the water doesn't go through so the water overflows onto the road.

Carl is so right about grasshoppers devouring everything. Last year on Darwin's place, they devoured two meadows before they could be baled. Mike said they made 2,000 1800 lb. bales of hay on the section east of me. That will be the hay for the girls this winter, at least some of it.

I'll say good night for now, sleep tight.

Lorita

Judith, I don't have e-mail. My provider quit having it. I.changed but never got it set up. I think I'm probably Better off without it for now. Lots of scams pulled by hacking e-mail.

Was this person on our thread? May be the one I had trouble with. Last name begins with M?

Decided I would go look at the road. They have put some rock on it. Wide enough for car tires so may be passable. Backed all the way to the house. Then couldn't find my.phone. Had it in my pocket when I left. Drove back down but couldn't find it. The neighbor on the farm West of us drove up on his ATV so we talked a.bit. He pulled a man out of the ditch this morning with his backhoe and said it was really slick. The road has been.blocked off most of the day. Backed up the quarter mile again and looked between the seats and there was the phone. Had to get a stick to push it out.

Came in the dark House, tripped and fell flat on the floor! My.goodness it was hard to get up. The GPs just watched and didn't help. Kind of skinned my hand and hit my knee but that's all. I should have stood in bed as the saying goes. I'm telling you this last two months have not been too good for me. It's gotta get better- at least I'm still kickin'_ sort.of. Good night again.

jfkoc

Lorita…No, not this thread and not M.

Carl46

Speaking of falls, I had wondered how to tell when my emergency pendant was low on battery. I received a call and a text yesterday, telling me the battery was low. I have been charging both at the same time and still will, but I won't let my phone get so low in the future. I leave a light on in the garage and in the house when I go out after dark, too. Old person survival skills.

GothicGremlin

Jerilynn - I love the deer photo!

Judith - she feigned her death?? I'm kind of stunned.

Hey there Zetta - I hope you're having a good day! I saw the pictures of the dust storm and Phoenix. I don't want to be anywhere near that. Then I saw the photos of Burning Man and the dust storms - glad I didn't decide to go this year.

Lorita - oh, no. Can't click on photos of grasshoppers. I don't know why I find them so freaky, but I do. Maybe it's the way their mouths move. They're all just little horrors on legs.

Iris - you got ash in the LA area from Mt. Saint Helens? I had no idea!

I'm planning on wearing that dress to the class reunion that happens in October. It's a very large, scary number of years that have gone by. I can also wear it to my mom-in-law's independent living facility for their fancy restaurant nights. Mom-in-law is kind of a stickler for dresses at nice restaurants. 🙂

I may watch the TV show about Bruce Willis. He's got the same diagnosis that Peggy had. It makes me very sad, but I'm glad he's got the support of his large family.

I'm sorry that Adam came back all matted. Poor kitty.

HB - I hear your mom about being mathphobic. I'm a bit like that myself, although I do all my own math…. but I do protest a bit.

When we were all looking after Peggy, every time she'd have a slide, this one friend of mine would immediately run off and draw a clock face. She was just petrified that a momentary lapse on the name of someone she knew twenty years ago meant she was sliding. She's all of 50 and definitely of sound mind.

Eve - my cousin and I waited outside the room when my sister (Peggy) had her neurology tests done. We could only hear a bit of what was going on, but when we got the results, with Peggy's permission, he told us that she had failed just about every test he gave her. Definitely not good.

Today was day two of boot camp - lots of upper body stuff, including my favorite, the earthquake bar (no, it really is my favorite). Tomorrow is "combat Wednesday", which means boxing, kickboxing and sticks. I'll enjoy it, but I expect to be very tired tomorrow.

The sun sets at 8pm today, definitely a sign that winter is coming.

Lorita

Judith, I must not have been aware of that going on. Sorry it happened. Did they close the thread?

Carl, when my pendant battery is !ow, it tells me to charge it. Of course, I didn't have it on this evening. I'm. becoming aware of more sore places from the fall. Good you wear your pendant. My BIL also wears one- he's 95 and lives alone. He tried to call me this morning but used my old landline number. He said the recording said that number had been disconnected. Scared him so he called Darwin, who called me to call Jerry. Darwin also has his number, just in case.

GG, I have never really looked st the hopper's mouths. Maybe I will tomorrow -still plenty of them around. What I hate about them is their sticky feet that stick to you when they get on you. See you all tomorrow.

Iris L.

Lorita, why don't you wear your pendant? Especially if you go outside to drive down to the road?

I keep my phone in my purse or my pocket, I never lay it down away from home. When I travel, I wear it on a lanyard around my neck.

Why were you out in the dark? I told my older neighbors that they had to be home by dark, because I worried about them.

I'm glad you weren't hurt from your fall Lorita!

My friend lay on her bedroom floor for a few hours until the other housemates returned home. She was hospitalized for a wee

Iris L.

My finger slipped before I finished typing and I am unable to edit.

My friend was hospitalized for a week then sent to a convalescent home where she has lived for almost three months. She has Parkinson's Disease and has poor balance.

HB, was your mom selected for the WATCH Study or are all older adults evaluated? It would be helpful for the study to address the other factors that you mentioned.

GG, all that dust was scary! I never heard of a haboob, glad they are not in CA.

Eve, those people who are on injections are not learning to change their eating habits. You will have to coach again. I speak from experience. I took a diet pill a long time ago and lost weight and maintained for a bit of time. But eventually the weight crept back on, and more. Weight loss meds can help, but there should be a total program to learn new habits.

GG, you will look great at your reunion!

Carl, are there any birds or lizards that eat grasshoppers?

Yesterday outside my door there was the largest spider I have ever seen with a huge web. I knocked the web down with a stick and squirted the spider with water to get it off the landing. I did get it to go down but it hid under a step. I haven't seen it since. I think that since I was away, the spider believed this would be a nice place to set up a web. But I'm back now, and this is no home for spiders!

Iris

Iris L.

Did anyone see the Bruce and Emma Willis show last night?

Iris

Mint

Good morning

harshedbuzz

Good morning. Another splendid day weatherwise on tap here today.

Lorita— Poor you, falling again. What was it you tripped on? I like the idea of wearing the pendant, remediating trip hazards and following Carl's advice to leave some lights on. My mom has a couple dusk-to-dawn nightlights at home that might be useful for you as they're automatic. DH insists on having one in our bathroom, too. Maybe something like that would work for you.

Maxxima MLN-16 LED Plug-in Indoor Night Light for Home, Wall, Stairs - Auto Dusk to Dawn Sensor, 5000K Daylight, 6 Pack - Walmart.com

Mom's are fancier than this, but work the same.

Iris— I'm sorry you came home to a matted kitty. I hope you were able to get him fixed up without too much stress for either of you.

I did ask the young man doing the scheduling/tests why mom was flagged. He said it was because she had a PCP in the Penn network and was over 65. I'm skeptical. Her PCP did a quick screening and ordered blood work and imaging for memory loss in April 2024 at our request. This was the testing that led to the Lyme Disease diagnosis and treatment. Her memory and concentration did improve considerably after a course of antibiotics. She's also on the waiting list to be scheduled at the same memory center conducting this study. Coincidentally, the call came the day after her annual Medicare PCP check up.

You make some good points about learning to eat healthier and appropriately for weight and activity level. Another concern are the reports coming out about vision side effects.

New Research Confirms Weight-Loss Drug Link With Sudden Vision Loss : ScienceAlert

This is more or less what happened to my mom that cost her the vision in her left eye and driving privileges.

Eve— Thanks for asking about the tin horn— I was confused by the term as well.

At dad's memory center, these tests were given in another room while we shared concerns with the doctor before meeting as a group. But dad's geripsych did do them with us in the office. I also sat through mom's mini-MMSE (3 questions and a drawing) done by her PCP. Dad did surprising well given that he was stage 6 at the time. But in the "remember 5 words" portion, dad forgot 2 on the delayed recall. He forgot "Rose" (his mom's name, btw) and did not remember it even after 2 prompts which shocked me.*

It's interesting you mention address. When asked where she was mom said "Hometown" initially and then gave her address which was correct except the zip code. She missed the last digit. Eight years ago, not long after they moved into the current house, dad (stage 5) signed them in at the clubhouse ahead of using the pool. The form asks for last name and street address. They live on Black-Eyed-Susan; dad wrote "old blue eye". It's a 55+ community— the guy behind the desk didn't raise an eyebrow.

Carl— You're right, serial subtraction is about concentration and focus. That said, mom's mathphobia is longstanding. I'm not sure she'd have done all that much better 10 years ago. I've helped her balance her checkbook or figure out tips since I was a tween.

Gothic G— I'm not looking at bugs either. Nope. Praying mantises are the stuff of nightmares. Just saying.
————————————————————————-
I hope all have a pleasant day.
HB

Carl46

Lots of birds eat grasshoppers. So do lizards, frogs, and turtles. Grasshoppers thrive despite this by reproducing in the billions and the birds can't eat them all (bit of understatement there). People eat grasshoppers too, but not usually in the USA. One of my brothers ate some chocolate-covered ants and some grasshoppers once, but that was in a bar when he was in college. If you like beer, you can eat anything 🤪

I wear my pendant all the time except when I am charging it and when I shower, and then I loop it onto the grab bar away from the water stream so I can reach up to it if I fall (the lanyard has a magnetic catch). I sleep in it, because I am most likely to lose my balance when I stand up from bed half asleep. My SIL fell in the bathroom a while back and became trapped between the toilet and the wall. Fortunately, her daughter was home and could call for help to unstick her. If her daughter had been at work, she would have spent the day there. Since I live alone, I would just lie there and die if that happened to me. Native Americans of the Plains wore medicine pouches, and the pendant is my medicine pouch, a magic amulet that brings help to me when I need it. It wasn't hard to get used to.

Another old person adaptation is to strengthen the calves and ankles by standing on a step, holding the handrail, so that my heels hang off the step. Flex up and down ten times every morning and evening. When I do that, I am much less likely to lose my balance.

Leaving a light on is a good idea at any age. I learned this the hard way when I was a teenager. I came home from work late at night and, not wanting to awaken my family, pulled open a dresser drawer in the dark. The dresser drawer was already partly open, and I pulled the drawer out of the dresser, dropping it on my foot. My desire to not wake anyone was soundly (pun intended) defeated.

Getting rid of trip hazards is important, but we still need lights when moving about at night. This is especially true in houses that contain mobile trip hazards like dogs and cats. I don't know how many disability files I read that included fall injuries caused by tripping over pets and leashes.

I've preached long enough. Have a safe day!

Chance Rider

Good morning all

Lorita - I’m sorry to hear about your fall! Years ago I placed plug in night lights throughout our house, similar to what HB suggested. They’re bright enough for me to navigate hallways and stairs without turning on glaring overhead lights. For outside the house I installed solar motion lights. I hope the soreness eases quickly.

Iris - I was relieved that the weight loss company closed our locations and let us go. I didn’t want to be promoting the drugs.

HB - I’m sorry your mom experienced vision loss. I’m glad more research is being conducted relative to weight loss drugs. I know for certain they’re not for me.

We had another instance where my husband didn’t know our house number that prompted a neighbor to ask if AJ is ok. So far he knows how to find our property, he just can’t articulate the address.

Bugs and other creepy crawlers … I’m okay with praying mantises, dragonflies, lizards and such, but I draw the line at beetles, especially June bugs. Big nope.

I’m enjoying the cool start to the day and looking forward to fall.

Easier said than done some days, but I hope everyone can do something just for themselves today.

Lorita

Morning, cloudy here with chances of rain all day. The little they did to the road will be for nothing if we get much rain. None of our County has good roads. When I was working and the roads were bad I drove through another Country that has good roads. That wss possible because the road we are talking about on the north side of the farm is a county.line. They need people who know how to fix rosds. Toads son fixed our long driveway, first, level the road, then big rocks, then gravel. Our driveway is good after that - must admit I worried about the really.big rocks. In fact I did throw the biggest ones to the side.

Iris, I'm not good about wearing my pendant. Sandy is always urging me to wear it. I was just going to drive down and look at the road. It got darker while I was there and the house was semi dark. I had a piece of particle board leaning against my chair that I just hadn't taken outside, and hit my foot on it. I have three kind of sore places but that's all.

A friend I went to school with fell in her house a year ago, was injured badly and was hospitalized for months before she could come home. Her husband passed away shortly afterwards and she followed in a few months. So, falling when you're older can change or end your life. I will do better.

The bad part of the road is about a mile long. The people who have driveways leading to this road are me, a man on hospice,a disabled msn and another partially disabled vet. It is a well used road by many people feeding cattle or getting from one place to another. I might add, the road to the County Commissioner's house just south of me, is well maintained.

Catl, I have two Great Pyrenees who love to sleep in the bathroom doorway so if I get up I have to step over at least one of them. There are three cats; Sammy likes to run In front of me, then lay down and play with my feet. So, there are hazards. There is a security light, Dusk to dawn , that shines into the bedroom and another that gives light to LR and kitchen so the house isn't too dark. Time for breakfast, back later.

Iris L.

HB, the threat of optic disc blindness from the weight loss injections would be enough to keep me from using them. Thanks for posting the article.

I hope your mom can maintain vision in her good eye.

Carl, now that you mentioned it, I do recall an initiative several years ago to encourage people to eat insects. I did see a photo of roasted grasshoppers, ugh!

Lorita, the roads here in SoCal are terrible. Roads are usually bad due to freezing over the winter, but we don't get frost here. Our roads are bad from heavy truck traffic, overall traffic and lack of general msintainence. So many potholes!

I'm not impressed by your County Commissioner, why doesn't he make all the roads good, not just the section by his house.

I stepped on Adam's paw yesterday. He followed me outside and he is so silent I didn't know he was behind me. But fortunately he wasn't hurt.

Iris

jfkoc

Another day of fine soft rain and no ants. I must silicone today.

Carl/Iris…I, like you, always have a method of calling for help with me. Either my phone or my alert. I operate from the position that I will fall and need help.

HB…thought of you this morning when I put on a vintage tank top from Talbot's.

Lorita

it's raining so just imagine what the road/ roads are like. Bryon called and he said his roads are really bad -about 20 miles from me. I always have my phone with me, too, and D is five minutes away.

Iris,how do you have your phone on a lanyard? So glad Adam is okay.

Are you all watching the news about the School/Church shooting?