Just need to talk to my friends (204)

New home, new garden for us this year. So far (last fall and this spring) I've planted a peony, 3 daylilies from the old place, stargazer lilies, coneflower seeds and tulips. Also blueberries and a Rose of Sharon. Things I hope to add are trillium, elephant ears, asters, bluebells, daffodils, tulips, balsam, zinnias, rudbeckia, liatris, marigolds, verbena bonariensis, beebalm , daisies, foxglove, lupine, dragon wing begonias, creeping Jenny, tomatoes, cucumbers, supertunias, geraniums and sweet potato vine. Where I'll be planting: garden in back, along sides of house, and 4 pots. I do already have 2 ferns potted on the front porch. Oh, yes, also one window box. I know it sounds like a lot but compared to where we lived and gardened before, it's not. 😊 Likely some herbs too. I like growing basil, rosemary, dill and fennel.

I mail ordered some of the above, also have seeds I ordered last year and will go to local nurseries to get the annuals and tomato plants.

It has been quite dry here - drought conditions most of the past 4 years! We have had good rains this past week though for which I am grateful. If you google "your state drought monitor" you can see where your county is in terms of normal, abnormally dry, moderate drought, severe drought, extreme drought or exceptional drought. Mint, I hope and pray your moisture is restored. I know what you mean about water usage. We moved here in September and there is an irrigation system. We didn't know what we were doing, and one month we used 15,000 gallons!!! Not doing that again, I hope!

Tomorrow we go to a nursery and take one granddaughter. She'll look with us and help me do my pots. She'll love that.

Zetta, your pets are beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

Beth

Good morning.

Iris

Happy Friday!

Yes. my kitty is a Scottish fold. I think I wrote this before so will make it short. My LO had recently passed so prior to coming home to me I had named her Stevie after my LO. After she came home to me I found out her birthday was the same date as my LO - signs are everywhere, we just need to be open to them!

GG I remember watching a documentary on the Frye Festival; how attendees were sleeping in tents, not enough tents, food, facilities - it was quite the disaster! Is that guy still in jail? Is he the same one trying to organize another one?

Judith the Frye Festival I'm referring to was on a private island in the Bahamas. It was a total sham. The documentary I watched was on Netflix.

Beth I look forward to seeing pics of your new garden.

Zetta your furbabies are adorable! Quite the menagerie; you'll never be lonely for sure! When is your DD going out of town?

Iris, yes so many breeds! My friend has a savannah and another has two bengals. They are beautiful cats. I had not had a kitty since my persian, which was literally abandoned by it's owner and I was lucky enough that she found my house, passed a few years ago. Stevie has been a Godsend in so many ways. I had forgotten how entertaining a kitten is.

Mint how old is you nephew? So nice you have a close relationship with him. How long will he be with you? I'm sure you'll miss him when he leaves.

Carl, glad your DW will be moving to your preferred facility. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Ron, David, Jo - thinking of you hoping you are well.

HB you must be busy, haven't seen a post. Hope everyone is well xo

I believe David may be posting on the I Am Living With Dementia forum.

Good afternoon.

I've never seen that Ansel Adams before now. The look is one of mischief and something else I can't put my finger on.

Rain all night and grey today today. I hope to be in the yard this afternoon. There is always something to do. I need to get busy with plants etc. I'm beginning to think my get up and go has gotten up and went!

Let's be safe everyone.

Oh, a question for y'all. While I was laying there having my bone density test I wondered why men don't have to have them. Yes, I know hormones, etc. But men fall & break there hips. Men has bone loss, & loose calcium. Just curious.

Hello, David. There is another David, David1946, who posts on this thread frequently.

Re David….It is perhaps too hard to keep up with the ever changing thread number here. I know it baffles me sometimes. Glad he is posting and that he is planing a home visit!

David…There is a another David.

Welcome to the porch where we share just about everything as we support one another.

There was a third David but his ID was stolen so now he's just Dav. (Just kidding)

BethL thank you so much for the information. In my mind I was thinking that surely there were medications men take that are harmful or rather lead to bone loss. I am curious as to what my diagnosis will be - hopefully all is well. I've had two previous but for some reason I've not had one in several years.

Everyone's welcome on the porch new David.

Love the baby geese.

eagle

Rare picture indeed. I have only seen a handful of photos that Ansel Adams published that include people. Georgia O'Keeffe looks fabulous a little Cheshire cat and a little flirtation/admiration revealed only by that moment caught on film. Thanks,

Good morning

beautiful pictures Iris

Good morning. It's damp and very green on my end of the porch this morning. We were supposed to get significant rain overnight through this evening, but it's mostly been the odd sprinkle.

Judith— Bengals are having a moment among cat fanciers. They are charming little beasts— the ones I've met tended to be bright, personable and playful to the point of hyperactivity.

Zetta, Jerilynn, and Carolynn— Thanks for sharing the cats, dogs, and poultry pictures. I'm a sucker for the felines.

Zetta— I hope your DD loves her trip to London. I'd love to make a trip there but am going to need a new knee before that kind of trip.

Carl— I've done water aerobics and found I can't get my heart rate high enough for it to be a real cardio workout. The classes are a lot of fun. They have them at mom's clubhouse (indoor pool) but I've not convinced her to sign up. She loved these in FL. I have a chair aerobics that come close- especially if I add weights— but mostly I use a stationary bike to get my HR up. I hate, hate, hate the bike but it's good for my bad knees and heart.

Beth— It sounds like the garden is coming along. It's funny you mention the arborvitae as my bestie had an island planting of 7 removed from her front lawn this week. Her house is a MCM ranch with a massive front window. The house is within the city limits and situated at a dogleg in the street between 2 arterial streets. I suspect the previous owner planted for privacy and to avoid headlines disturbing his TV viewing. Her main reason for getting rid of them was to make more room for her extensive Halloween decorations.

Do you have articles to share about improving bone density without the usual pharmaceuticals? My mom has osteoporosis and Fosamax nearly killed her. She developed reflux and silent aspiration which seems to have been the cause of her last 2 bouts of pneumonia. I try to encourage her to walk more, but she always has an excuse why she "can't"?

I have my mammo and DEXA Monday. Ugh. I hope the bones are still OK; I've been on a Thyroid hormone treatment since 1971 which is a huge risk factor.

Hi and welcome David 2.0. It's nice to meet you.

Iris— Those flower pictures are amazing. Just breathtaking.

Eaglemom— Some men do require DEXA scans. I know dad was supposed to have one after a time on ADT for prostate cancer. He was already in the later stages of dementia, so it didn't make much sense.

Mint— I hope things work out for your nephew. One of the boys DS grew up with has the same kind of issues (ADHD and dyslexia). He's a really nice kid/man with an unusually strong work ethic. After flunking out of a mechanics program he landed with UPS and is living his best life. Back in high school, he was the equipment manager for the marching band and from 10th grade on he was in charge of loading the step van used for away games and competitions. It was a weekly game of Tetris and he never lost, damaged or forgot a single piece. LOL, the kids from band voted him "most likely to drive for UPS" and so it was.

Lorita— Did you mention a glitch in posting recently? I was trying to replay to someone on the general board and got locked out. Not only wouldn't it give me a dialog box, it removed the names of all of the previous posters in the thread. I signed out and tried again, but I'm still persona non grata on that particular thread. So weird.

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I've been on "break". My wrist has been playing hell with me. It's probably carpel tunnel based on symptoms and has gotten to the point that washing my face and hair are painful so that's not good. Writing hurts, but the keyboard is OK. My laptop is a touch screen, so I am using that instead of a mouse.

The good news is that mom is doing really well. This past week was a lull in the action which was nice. We included her in my birthday lunch Monday, but it's mostly been phone checks until yesterday. The bad news is that a mom left to her own devices gets bored and comes up with things she needs to do that require my time and attention. I dropped her off some chili and pizza I made earlier this week. I offered to take her grocery shopping, but she declined and instead insisted I read some things she got in the mail she wasn't sure about.

The first was a refund from her MAP insurer for $250. She didn't understand why they sent her money and worried it was a scam. It was for the copay because she'd reached her OOP maximum as the result of her many appointments, a surgery and 3 hospitalizations.

The second was a letter from her bi-pap supplier reminding her that she needed to see her prescriber in order to continue treatment— a formality that needs to be done 31- 90 days after delivery of a new device. She's already scheduled to see pulmo on Tuesday which will suffice.

Then I asked her if she wanted me to drive her to drop off her property tax payment. She said yes and then we spent 20 minutes hunting through her many drawers she uses for "safekeeping" of her paperwork, ignoring the cherry file cabinet she insisted I get her off some man on Craigslist. I never did find her tax bill, so we drove over and the looked it up for her. Done and dusted.

But no good deed goes unpunished, I found the renewal for her driver's license in the drawer of the TV console. It expired in February. She only needs it for identification. So far, none of her docs have refused it, but I had a problem once with dad's being expired so it needs to be renewed. She doesn't drive, but it's less time consuming for me to renew online and then take her to the DMV when they send her camera card in a couple weeks than wait to convert it to a non-drive ID card.

Her license is not Real ID compliant and she wants one that is. DH, DS and I decided we'd just get new passports (which count as Real ID) instead. They cost more, but the process is a lot easier and less time consuming. I don't think she needs Real ID and told her so. She countered with "what if I need to fly somewhere?". I snapped back "are you a bird?" I presented the easier passport option, but she doesn't want to pay extra. I paid an extra $130 to avoid the DMV nonsense for myself and do not wish to participate on her behalf. That's a hard no. I think I will just kick this can down the road. Or maybe I'll just get her a passport and call it Happy Mother's Day.

Be well.
HB

Good morning! 😎Bright and sunny day here. I've decided a trip to a local nursery would be a good outing for this morning.

Back later. Let's be safe everyone.

Morning

It’s been raining here every day for a week. We get a break starting tomorrow but then April showers start up again Wednesday thru the weekend.

We made a trip to the Nursery yesterday for our backyard flower garden. I got a Shrimp plant, peonies and some spindly tall pink and purple flowering plants for the butterflies. My bee balm out front is looking really good. The barn swallows have returned to the front porch column and built their annual nest for babies.

DH has tilled up the veggies garden and the berm adjacent to the front pond for wildflowers. If it ever stops raining I might be able to get something in the ground. Strawberry season is open here but the rain will hamper the crop. Last year was pretty much a bust for the crop. Really hope they have a better harvest this year. Iris, those are amazing flowers!

I’m in a grumpy mood so I’ve lugged the washer/dryer out to clean behind them and contacted my cousin’s husband to re do my laundry room. I’ve been waiting 2 years for DH to hang a sliding barn door there with no results. Sooo….