Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?

Wren44

We were living in a house with a holly tree/bush right below our window. I knew, for a fact, that could and would jump into that holly if there was a fire. Do you have the tool to break car windows if needed? I don't and should.

Joan811

Jackie, thanks for your kind words and acknowledging the loss of my friend.
I have been saving many of your quotes and hope to post some of them in my classroom as students come in.

ChiSandy, thinking of you and the nasty prep…soon it will be over and hoping for uneventful reports.
The story of your friend who passed away is quite a mystery.So sorry that you did not get that visit from him.Maybe you will hear what happened. I use that shocking story about the Litvinenko polonium poisoning when we study radioactive decay in my classroom.I doubt this is the case for our friend, but who knows…..
I have had "missing" big kids on 3 occasions. I did not get nervous until the police started asking me what color socks and shoes was he wearing? All ended well. My 2 daughters traveled to Rio and did not come home! They got caught up in partying and extended their stay without telling me. I called the airline and they would not tell me if my kids had missed or changed flights. When my son disappeared at college the campus police did nothing. I found him by calling the numbers on his cell phone bill.

Anne, what an ordeal with the BP.I hope it is stabilized.I had my first high readings last month on 2 occasions.I was baffled.Hoping for the best for you.

Velvet, I am glad you are an "island" in the midst of the storm.You seemed so calm; but I know that sheltering for tornado warnings is extremely stressful. In terms of disasters, hurricanes, floods and even blizzards seem to give the most warning. Earthquakes, tornadoes and fires are something that don't allow preparation or decisions. When my son moved to Berkeley CA, he met his neighbors when they held their annual earthquake drill.The group of neighbors has emergency supplies, 2 way radios, and an organized approach to checking on one another.

My heart goes out to all those affected by the storm.Watching the news reports brings me to tears.
I have a BCO friend (annettek) who lives in Pecan Grove.They were an "island" for awhile then suddenly were under mandatory evacuation.She lives alone with her autistic adult son who was amazingly calm through tornado warnings and eventually wading through chest-high waters and climbing into a boat.
They are safe now…just one of thousands of stories.

My prayers go out to all affected by the storm.

Carole, as the storm travels ENE, I am thinking of you and hoping you are not affected by the rain bands. I hope all is well.

ChiSandy

My housekeeper will be accompanying me to the colonoscopy (I’ll drive there, she’ll drive back). Hope the valet is still on duty when I check out, because it can be a long slog through the parking garage otherwise. She’s leaving at 2 am for a weekend in Birmingham—tag-teaming with a friend who’ll take the first 300 mi. shift. I’m anxiously watching the weather reports for the I-65 corridor, but the storm should be well to the northeast by tomorrow night/wee hrs. of Fri. Bob is working tomorrow night (sigh) and Gordy is directing a show. So I’ll have my neighbors on speed-dial just in case.

ChiSandy

Oh, crap—latest models show the storm passing over Birmingham (and as far north as Nashville) Fri. morning. By the time it moves out to the Atlantic, it might have caused flooding in the Mississippi, Tennessee and even Ohio R. valleys.

IllinoisLady

Passion doesn't come from business or books or even a connection with another person. It is a connection with our own life force, the world around you and the spirit that connects us all. You are the source. Books, work, music, people, sunsets all provide sparks, but only you can light the fire.

Jennifer James

IllinoisLady

Storm is now starting ( through LA ) to move to other places, but it sounds like it will be a month until many can begin to find homes w/o water still in them. I learned to be okay with earthquakes, though have to admit after being back home here now 20 yrs. now and only having a couple here ( who knew -- I never felt any known ones when I grew up in these parts ) I'm no longer sure I'd feel confident or competent to go through them. In general -- they were usually over with fairly quick, though not the aftershocks. I have felt more frightened the couple of times we have had straight-line winds here.

Sandy, fingers crossed for your house-keeper and the Alabama trip. I pray the possible flash flooding will not cause serious issues for people. Hoping all who need to will heed and take precautions. I would be terrified of being caught up in a flooding situation. Things have been bad here a time or two for excess water, but it has been a long time and I was not living here then. We have lots of creeks and the Kaskaskia river somewhat close.

Hoping for test results you can be okay about too.

Anneb1149

Hi all,

I know hurricanes - especially the really bad ones, including Harvey are too serious to laugh about, but I had to laugh at the texts I got from my daughter in Ga one night this week. It started out with OMG, Mom - do you and Jamie have evacuation plans if anything like this hits FL? Guess she wasn't worried about her sister (who lives with me) or her brother who also lives locally. This is from my daughter who grew up in So Fl and lived thru Andrew, Wilma, etc. (She- the daughter that doesn't cook, was making bacon and eggs, and Mac and cheese on her outdoor grill during the aftermath of Wilma when we had no power for weeks). I told her that each Hurricane is different, but I did have some basic plans. I would evacuate if it were a Cat 4 or 5. I would consider evac if it were a 3. I would evac if there was any major flooding east of us. My plan would be to drive to the closest open airport and fly to her. It took several texts to get to that because she was not satisfied that my response was that it would depend on the specific storm. Finally Jamie is responded with"You all know my husband- he is prepared for the Apocalypse so I think he can handle a hurricane." That made us both laugh. She panicked at the possibility of the one last year, and drove to Atlanta and back in less than 4days- with her MIL, 2 children and her infant daughter. She went to someone her MIL met once, never even thinking of going to her sister. She did get to spend one day with her sister, but her MIL was not happy about it. Nancy reminded her of that, and that was the end of her participation in the texting. And that hurricane turned and didn't affect us at all.

I had a needle location biopsy on my left breast the day before Hurricane Andrew hit. The next morning, our Pastor called to see how I was doing, and he asked what I thought about the Hurricane about to hit. My answer was "Hurricanes come,hurricanes go" and he said "What??" I repeated what I had said. Then he asked if we were prepared for the storm. I said "I think the girls went to get some bread?" He realized at that point that I was still under the influence of the anesthesia the day before. Then he said "Hold on, there's a update on the TV" He started to tell me about the update, then said "Do you want the update?" Then he said- "No you don't" and I said -"Not really, hurricanes come and hurricanes go" Thank God I had my husband and some of the kids were old enough to take control, because I couldn't. That was probably the worst one we've been thru, and it turned about a half hour before it was supposed to hit landfall, and devasted So Miami. Hardest part for me was I had a drain in that was supposed to be removed on Mon- the surgery was Fri. There was no way to get to any Dr, and I had been told not to remove the gauze dressing, but it started smelling really bad. I finally called 2 friends who were RN's and they both said I could very carefully change the gauze, being very careful not to touch the drain. It was maybe 3 or 4days later that I could finally get to the Dr to have the drain removed. It took weeks to get the results, because there was no mail service for at least a week to 10 days.

Hoping all our friends in Texas and Louisiana are safe,

Anne

VelvetPoppy

~Wren~

Interesting question. I gave a tool like that to S when he went off to college. It will break a car window & cut a seatbelt. He used it several years ago when he was in a terrible roll-over. But I don't have one for myself or H. Good gift to give to self & H!

VelvetPoppy

~Joan~

Thank you for the complement that I seemed calm. I thought I was, too. I wasn't afraid (except during the tornado warning) and I thought I had it all under control. Until my son pointed out that every time he saw me I was eating. I think I stress ate for three days.

ChiSandy

I think I put one in the glove box of the Fusion, but Bob drives it now so I think I’ll order another for my Outback. As for breaking my home windows, I have a meat pounder and golf clubs, and I’m not afraid to use them. (Can’t imagine why one would want to break a home window to escape, because doing so would cause a fire to flash over).

My engineer & his wife live between the Kaskaskia and Mississippi—fortunately, their B&B is up a hill (so is their farm, but the house & studio is downhill, a few feet above their pond). They’ve never flooded.

carolehalston

Hello to everyone. I just read several pages of posts and am glad that our TX ladies are safe and dry. Harvey was a nightmare storm and the damage will be much worse than Katrina.

Summer has whizzed by. We will be heading back to Louisiana on Oct. 1st.

Hugs to everyone with health issues.

IllinoisLady

The gift of attention to each other is "passing on" the love of God. In order to feel love, we have to give it away. We will know love when we give love. Each day, each one of us can ease the pain of a friend, a co-worker, a child. The beauty of God's plan for us all is that our own pain is relieved in the process of easing the pain of another. Love is the balm. Loving others makes our lives purposeful. -unattributed

Teka

Sandra and Mike, always in my evening prayers!!

May everyone have a fun Labor Day weekend............last call for Summer!

A neighbor posted the following bale of old hay pic on Facebook.

IllinoisLady

Patience is a form of wisdom.
It demonstrates that we understand and accept
the fact that sometimes things must unfold in their own time.
- Jon Kabat-Zinn

IllinoisLady

Perhaps losing integrity with yourself is the greatest stress of all,
far more hurtful to us than competition, time pressure, or lack of
respect. Our vitality is rooted in our integrity. When we do not live
in one piece, our life force becomes divided. Becoming separated
from our authentic values may weaken us.

Rachel Naomi Remen

IllinoisLady

Hoping you all have a good Sunday. Been thinking and praying for those in the storm/hurricane in Texas. Heard something this morning that made me think. That was the fact that there were 'homeless' people before the storm came --- and so I've wondered what will become of them as I presume to a degree it is perhaps harder for them to seek some of the relief that is possible for those that do/did have homes. I am hoping and praying that the 'homeless' get the help they are I'm sure very much needing as well. Never had much personal experience with floods, but still I am in sympathy for all who have.

Going to be quite hot tomorrow --- only sounds like one day --- well, this too is something that is sort of standard here. Up and down weather. The mornings have been cool enough here I've put on long pants/jeans for the first time in many, many weeks.

I had one of those gizmo's for breaking out a car window -- hate to admit I don't know where it is. I know we took it out of the old Blazer, but no idea where we put some of those items.

I'm awaiting new license plates. Haven't figured just why I was a candidate for this -- but Dh came home with a little yellow square with a T on it and said I would have that until the new plates came. Okay -- I do in fact like the coloring more on the 'newer' plates.

Looking forward to getting caught up with some things around here. Dh is getting way more work ( some people quit, and one other has another job and is tapped for filling in on other's vacations so was let go ) so my cousins husband is going to come and wash our house for us which is going to be a huge help. Hopefully, he will do the garage as well. I thought I'd be doing all this myself --- but so glad he is willing. That way the things inside won't have to go to the back burner as much.

See you all later.

Wren44

They make you get new license plates after a certain number of years. The police say they become harder to read as they age. Hard to remember my new plates, though.

IllinoisLady

Thanks Wren. We couldn't figure it out and thought maybe it had something to do with the fact that my old plates were truck plates even though I had a four-wheel drive Blazer -- you could put truck plates on in the beginning -- don't know now, but at the time, I actually thought the truck plates were prettier. So my plates are old and it makes sense that they might periodically just change them out. I'm glad though since the newer plates are nice. They I think have made some changes to drivers licensees as well. I'll see some time this month as it is renewal time for me.

IllinoisLady

The world is moved along, not only
by the mighty shoves of its heroes,
but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes
of each honest worker.
- Helen Keller

carolehalston

Happy Labor Day to everyone. It was gloomy outside when I got up this morning but the sun is out now. It's not supposed to get any warmer than 60's today. We have a tee time at 3:00 this afternoon. Hope the weather stays nice for golf. I think there's a good chance of rain today.

Dh is cooking bacon and eggs and grits for our late breakfast. Yum.

I decided to learn to knit. I am practicing the two main stitches. So far handling two knitting needles is much more awkward than handling a single crochet needle!

ChiSandy

It hit the low 80s this aft., but it’s supposed to storm (of course, because I watered my tomato plants this morning) tonight and be in the 60s the rest of the week. And I am in a foul mood, having wrenched my lower back again (usually no oftener than every other year, but I did it as recently as this past Dec.) just before getting ready to change into gym clothes for a workout.

Wren44

Sandy, Sorry about your back. Those aches are the worst.

They predicted 82 here today, but it's almost 3pm and only 78. We have a lot of smoke in the air from forest fires, so that may be keeping the temp down a bit. Not expected to cool off until Fri. I'm wearing something very lightweight to the senior center tomorrow. No AC.

IllinoisLady

Peaceful day here though hot, but there has been a breeze so it is tolerable. Otherwise enjoying the day and not doing much at all. Sort of one of my take it easy days. Tomorrow -- I'll be hopefully hard at it again.

VelvetPoppy

I was finally able to get to the fitness center for a work-out. They were closed due to the storm & then re-opened just to let anyone who was displaced come in to shower. Today was the second day it was opened regular hours for members. I wasn't able to do my second half of treadmill. Just too sore. The trainer was there & he suggested I take it easy because I had been gone so long. A bit intimidated to get on a scale...stress ate during the storm. Maybe tomorrow.

Humidity is back and the mosquitoes are horrible.

Wren44

Velvet, Don't worry. If you gained, it will drop off when you're not stressed. How could anyone watch water rising all around them and not be stressed.

duckyb1

Hi Ladies......thinking about all of you....down the shore with my daughter for a week....we have Irma headed our way soon, but will be home by then......my heart goes out to all of you...have been glued to the TV.....while saying many prayeres.....

Joan my dear friend.....so good to see you back here..thanks for the FB post about my husband....still miss him so much...time doesn't heal a thing...all it does is makes you learn to cope with what life sends you, and it sent me a zinger the day they said "your husband has pancreatic cancer"....but I'm still surving...its a lonely life, but thank God for my kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids.....if I have learned anything from the lose it is that..."Life still goes on"......hugs everyone, and stay safe...

IllinoisLady

Service is closer to generosity than it is to duty. It connects us to one another and to life itself. When we experience our connectedness, serving others becomes the natural and joyful thing to do. Over the long run, fixing and helping are draining but service is renewing. When you serve, your work itself will sustain you, renew you, and bless you, often over many years. -Rachel Naomi Remen

IllinoisLady

After a scorcher of a day yesterday ( in the 90's ) we had storms overnight and are back to nice and cool again. Hope that lasts well as I've some outdoor things that were left for the better weather. Prayers still going for those in Texas. Hurricane Irma looks and sounds like it could be bigger that Harvey. Just hoping that it slows or can't/doesn't make a direct hit on Fla. That would be awful. Climate change/global warming can bring such destruction.

Hard to believe it is already Sept. I have to go down and renew my IDL this month. Always something it seems. Well, there is a lot of things on the plate so I will stay busy and hopefully get reacquainted myself with watching what I eat. I did read here lately ( drat, should have saved the link ) that walking can be as productive and full exercises. I'm sure anything you do to keep the blood and energy flow is great -- especially for we who are adding yrs. on in our later stages. I think I am going to have to start using the Rec Center walking track again. It is difficult to walk on our roads though very pleasant in addition to meeting up with friends and neighbors.

Hope you will all have a fine day.

Wren44

Woke up to yellow sky from forest fire smoke. We're getting it in 2 layers, one from Oregon and one from eastern Washington. Plus side, it may keep it from getting so hot today. DS lives in Hood River, on the Columbia Gorge, and good friend is waiting out a fire very close to her house. She has a level 2 warning (be ready). She has a sled dog team, so has a truck with a cage and tie-out for each dog. Also a mobile home that has been moved to safety.

ChiSandy

One of my favorite wineries, Maryhill, is on the WA side in Goldendale, between Hood River & The Dalles. It's on the river, but not all that far from the eastern slope of the Cascades and the Horse Heaven Hills. (Hope those wild horses are spared).