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

Wren44

Sandy, I loved reading that! When we go to see the grandkids in Oregon, DH takes at least 3 bags. This is for 2-3 nights. One time I saw a bag with 3 coats! We know the weather before we go, so this doesn't make any sense at all. I have a carry-on suitcase and a bag with a book, my traveling art kit, purse and water bottle. When we get home, he empties his suitcase into the dirty clothes hamper. I think he's beginning to get the picture. He commented that he didn't need everything in his toothbrush kit and perhaps he could reduce what's in it.

ChiSandy

When we went on our Mediterranean cruise in Dec. 2015, I wore a short unlined leather jkt. and packed a full-length down coat (stuffs into its own sack) which I slipped between the zippered halves of my suitcase. Upon retrieving my bag at O'Hare, I simply partly unzipped the case, reached in and pulled out the coat, shook it out and put it on. It was 14F upon our return. This time, it'll be about 40F, so I can handle just wearing the short jacket (did bring gloves, though). But Gordy refused to wear any kind of jacket--just a long-sleeved shirt over a plain white tee. Will buy him at least a hoodie before leaving Vegas in case we have a long line at the taxi stand at O'Hare.

Last year, when we went to NYC for Christmas (and I continued to DC for a few days), it was warm enough in both cities I didn't even need to zip up the light leather jacket!

IllinoisLady

Sandy love it. You sound like you had military training in packing. In the service we rolled everything that went into out foot lockers which was most of what we owned. Undies, bras, socks, nylons. There was a standard folding recipe for each of these things and the rolls were expected to be good and tight. In the footlockers with everything in them there was still plenty of room. We were basic trainees -- do didn't have as much as we might have, but needed to know how to do these things because duffel bags are not THAT big --- so knowing how to roll tight was a must. I don't roll much of anything now, but I do have a way to do undies that is not standard to the way most people do it -- I have a couple of extra folds which makes them a small square. Men really don't get it at all.

A few months ago I showed Dh how much easier to make the bed with military corners. After having done it since my early service days nothing else makes sense. I guess he just forgot how.

ChiSandy

Well, Bob really screwed the pooch this time. We went to dinner at Spago after the concert, and apparently he left his new iPhone 8 either on the table (which was right next to the railing where any passerby could grab it after we left), in the Lyft on the way back here, or it fell out of his pocket in the public restroom at the Forum Shops. (Or, since he walked next door to Circus Circus after exiting the Lyft, he might even have had his pocket picked--Circus Circus is a low-rent old-school type of casino).

Spago is closed and there was no way to leave a phone message, so I hope they get my online message. The Lyft driver searched high & low, even tried calling the phone--no luck. And then he remembered that right after dropping us off, he picked up a fare at Circus Circus--a young guy about 20 yrs. old. It was a long ride (20 min) back to where the kid was staying. The kid might have seen the phone and just pocketed it. It's locked with a fingerprint or passcode (Bob didn't want to activate two-factor authentication, in case he forgets his passcode), so it can't be used by anyone else...but it could definitely be sold to someone who could "jailbreak" it with the right tools.

So who is at fault? Me, of course--because I told him not to wear his dress shirt for the third day in a row, so he wore a Cubs tee instead, which has no chest pocket. Therefore, carrying his phone in a pants pocket (like 90% of men do) is why it got lost or stolen...at least according to him.

I don't get it. Gordy goes through phones like they were toilet paper--loses them, drops them in puddles or even in toilets. Bob ran over his old flip phones twice in our garage, and dropped one in a puddle. I have never lost my phone. Little thing called a "purse." But neither of my guys would be caught dead carrying a "man-bag" in public. We have ONE day left in Vegas, and it's Gordy's birthday. But instead of enjoying a downtown Big Bus tour, we may have to kill all day hunting down Bob's phone and then getting him a new one at the Apple Store--and it will cost over $1000 because AppleCare+ doesn't cover loss, just damage. He cannot leave town incommunicado--the hospitals & patients have been calling him all the time, and he left his pager home. Nobody can get in touch with him. Until he has a phone again, either he & Gordy or he & I have to be joined at the hip in order to maintain contact--and you know how much I want to spend all day in smoky casinos (I neither smoke nor gamble).

I hate, hate, HATE this town!!! He'd have had much less opportunity to drink too much and get careless back home.

Teka

*Good Morning Everyone*

The following 2 pics were taken from Facebook.

My favorite Fall pic of a paper wasp nest high up in a tree was taken by a neighbor on a Fall walk.

This pic of a paper wasp nest only 3 feet off the ground was also taken in the North Country.

We've had a lovely Fall.

We could all use a mild Winter!

IllinoisLady

In a noisy world, seek the silence in your heart. And through the power of silence, the energies of chaos will be brought back to harmony--not by you, but through you, as all miracles are. When we visit this silence regularly, particularly in the morning, then the days of our lives become lit from above. Darkness and fear are cast from our midst, slowly at first, one moment at a time. Ultimately, all darkness will be gone from every heart.

Marianne Williamson

IllinoisLady

Wow !!! About that phone and Vegas. I hope the phone turns up Sandy --- fast, so that you can salvage the rest of your day and make it good before departure. I do think carrying a man-bag would be fantastic --- then again, staying in GOOD charge of the bag is a commitment too. My BIL ( U.S. Diplomat for many many years ) carried one for a long time. He did as well carry laptop and briefcase/satchel so I think easily got use to having several items to keep in good control and together at all times. I always thought it seemed bulky and difficult to have so many things all the time but he made it look easy. Maybe this incident might change some thinking on doing the phone differently. Hope so for you.

Teka, love those pictures. I've never seen any that big in trees, but have seen them on buildings a couple of times. Scary to me. Late last yr. I was stung by a wasp for the first time in my life. After 71 yrs. of not getting stung, I did not become complacent -- but just quit thinking too much about seeing bees, wasps, and other insects. I allowed myself to assume I think I'd never be stung so live and let live. After the wasp sting ( very painful ) I now see things a lot differently.

Brrr here today and will stay that way with overnight frosts beginning. Winter to me is definitely starting its slow steady march to our woods.

Wren44

Teka, Our next door neighbor had one that size in the rhododendron beside his front walk and porch. Fortunately it was abandoned when a little kid attacked it with a baseball bat. Interesting to see the inside.

We have a small dogwood tree, very bushy and dense in our front yard. After the leaves fell, it looked like someone had thrown a sock and caught it in the tree. It turned out to be a bush tit next. They build community nests and the bird book describes the nest as looking like a dirty old sock.

ChiSandy

Good news on the phone--though Spago didn't have it, the Forum Shops' lost & found did. We went to the Apple Store and their greeter suggested we try that before buying a new one. Turns out Bob lost it at the loo next door to Cheesecake Factory and a janitor turned it in. So here's to honesty & the kindness of strangers. We're hoping Gordy's Galaxy S7's battery stays charged, or we can charge it on the fly in a restaurant, because when he turns the screen off to save power it freezes and takes 2 hrs to reboot. And the cheapest "man-bag" we could find at the Forum Shops was at Coach (Apple didn't carry any, and there were no accessory kiosks like at other malls)--a small crossbody pack for $375, less the Breast Cancer Month 20% discount. Uh, no thanks. Back to shirts with pockets.

Elton John was great, even though the sound system was iffy at first (and his diction wasn't as clear when he sang as when he spoke). But when he'd get up from the piano for water, you could tell his arthritis is pretty bad--he was bent over & shuffling. Could be his hips are going, or he has a bad back.

Seeing Carvey & Lovitz tonight, taking downtown tour first.

carolehalston

Teka, that's a hornet nest. We had those this summer up in MN in some of the trees and destroyed them because hornets can be really nasty.

I hate to pack for a trip. DH is much better at packing than I am. I agonize over what clothes to pack, what shoes will go with those clothes, etc. etc. I think good shopping for a wardrobe is the first step and I'm terrible at that. You hear about those women who have a wonderful basic suit and all the perfect accessories. That ain't me.

Teka

I should've said......paper wasp nests!!

Teka

We don't have bushtit birds in the North Country.

Teka

I had to be careful not to disturb yellow jacket wasps if nesting in the stone wall, or in the ground while doing clean up this Fall.

Wren44

Sandy, The guy who was head of maintenance at my clinic had his phone in the holster for garden shears. Or he could get an underarm holster and look dangerous as he stayed in touch.

I love the bushtits. They are little tiny birds and always in a flock. They just flit from branch to branch. We don't see them very often.

IllinoisLady

Find out how much God has given you
and from it take what you need;
the remainder is needed by others.
- Saint Augustine

Teka

)

IllinoisLady

Teka the poem says it so well.....

Wren44

Well said. And in some parts of the country with little snow, the drab brown goes on and on. Not so much here. When the fall rains begin, the grass greens back up. Most people let it go brown in summer to save water.

duckyb1

I think for men ;keeping their phones in their shirt pocket is as bad as a woman keeping her phone in her bra, and a lot do it.......the least close to your body the better......call me goofy, but to me it makes perfect sense....

IllinoisLady

When one bases one's life on principle,
99 percent of his or her decisions are already made.

unattributed

IllinoisLady

What a good Monday. There is a spot of rain outside, but quite thin and I just hope we don't get it much worse. Today is first day of my second week of class. We only go two days a week with the in-between day so we can read up and formulate any questions we might have.

I elected to wait for the lady who does my hair until December ( she had her chemo first then recently her lumpectomy ) when she will have hopefully recovered fully from her lumpectomy. I sure hope she really does well with all of this. Only saying that I have discovered that I think I have been ( not that I didn't like it ) having my hair cut too short most of the time. Left a little longer -- it looks and is much fuller and though I now have to set it --- the left over perm is just enough to have a really nice casual look. It stays in much better and longer after setting than I thought it ever could. Hmmm, I think I'll keep having perms, but put in much longer hair for awhile and see what I think after that.

I hope you are all going to have a good Monday. Still hoping that all who have issues ( storm work, lost phones, etc. ) find satisfactory answers.

bonnets

It rained, rained and rained yesterday! After we turned out the lights and went to bed, BOOM! half of a Bradford pear tree went down. Looked this morning , it hit the front corner of the roof, but doesn't appear to have damaged it. Got to find someone to take it down now, altogether. Still gloomy and windy here.

Spent another lovely night in the E for my tachycardia and palps. Have gone from daily , 2+ years ago to 4, since I decided to lay off caffeine. Didnt drink much, an Ice tea for lunch and dinner, but a big change. I have to be checked out when it does happen, since tachy was the only symptom, when I had a PE. Everything was clear. Sure wish we cud discover what sets me off. The heart decides to race and the BP then tries to catch it! Will see my cardio today. Fun.

Not much else going on since we got back from our cruise on the Hudson. This storm really did in a good share of our leaves.

I just had a perm and haircut. Been trying to find a lady who does my cuts the way I like them, since my long time lady retired and went south. At least if it gets cut too short, it grows out! Have a good day.

Wren44

I saw a woman yesterday at a coffee shop who had hair with the ends permed. She came in from sitting outside and ran her fingers thru the permed part from the bottom up, fluffing it up. When she was done, it looked great. I'm going to try that someday.

VelvetPoppy

I had the most perfect day today. Totally by myself all day! Phone only rang twice and I let the machine pick up.

H & S had a charity golf tournament today. It was rescheduled from September because of the flooding. They left the house at 5:20 am & didn't come back for 12 (wonderful) hours.

As soon as they left, I got up & dressed and drove to the gym. It was about 6:30 and packed with people getting their workouts done before going to work. I was able to go through my workout in just under 30 minutes (no treadmill because left leg still bothering me). Once home I lingered over my coffee while I planned my day. I ran the robot through the entire house, washed & dried three loads of laundry, emptied my closet of the summer clothes and put in the winter stuff (although we have to keep lighter weight handy because winters here can be warm). I also went through what I had for summer wear and took out pieces I had not worn. They will go to Goodwill. By 3:00 I was finished and ready to stop. I sat and read until the guys came home. Perfect day! I was productive and still got to relax and do what I enjoy most...reading.

I know I sound like I don't want my husband and son around, but that isn't the case. I get so little time to myself that when an opportunity like this comes along, I make the most of it.

ChiSandy

Jackie, instead of setting your hair, have you tried just blowing it dry (with or without a diffuser), perhaps scrunching it as you go? People are paying good money these days for "bed-head" or "beachy waves" on short or mid-length hair. Mine's long and way overdue for root touch-up, but I see women deliberately darkening their roots or going for the "ombre" look.

Velvet, sometimes a little solitude (provided it's temporary) can be a real treat in an otherwise busy life.

Bonnets, bummer about your ticker sending you to the ER so often (does your hospital have a "guest loyalty" program or give frequent-flyer miles? I'd ask if it gives out Green Stamps, but that's really showing my age). And that tree incident sounds terrifying. Glad you & your roof made it through okay. Our magnolia is not tall enough to fall anywhere higher than the deck rail, but we have a huge black locust (at least 100 yrs old) that needs annual trimming, and a Norway maple out front that was struck by lightning--we had to have the city come and saw off and haul away a major limb. Both trees tower over the house, which is 2-1/2 stories high.

Ducky, the bit about cellphones giving off carcinogenic radiation is totally junk science. If it were true, how to explain why I got breast cancer even though I never kept my phone in my bra (or men get it even less often despite carrying phones in their shirt pockets)? The real reason Bob prefers to keep his phone in his shirt pocket is that it's less likely to pick that pocket surreptitiously; and he's often "butt-dialed" me when keeping it in his back pocket (the front pockets are either too shallow or easily picked). I can barely get him to agree to wear a belt and keep his shirt tucked in all the way without reminding him. No way he's gonna add another item of clothing (such as a holster case) without a fight. And he chose the iPhone 8 over the easier-to-read-and-type-on 8 Plus because the latter would stick out of the pocket too far and more easily fall out if he bends over. (But when he wants to take a photo, he borrows my 8 Plus).

bonnets

We have thought that maybe we wud have a room named after us! I have had this happen so often when we were away from home, Im thinking of leading a tour of Emergency Rooms around America!

IllinoisLady

You lose the very life you seek when you wallow in stupid luxuries. You don't need nine-tenths of the things you scramble for.Don't be afraid to have nothing. Happiness is not what you have, but who you are. You are already who you need to be. -Diogenes

Luvmaui

Happy Halloween! It's a beautiful Fall day for the little goblins to go out tonight. We only get at most 5-10 kids where we live so we'll probably go out with our little grankiddos. This may be one of our final days of good weather for awhile as the November rains begin on Thurs.

It was such a busy summer that I haven't had a chance to post but I've been trolling you guys nearly every day. I was pleased to see that our Texas and Florida friends survived the hurricanes. ANNE, I see that you had wood-like tiles put down in your home after the storm. Would you please post a picture of how your room looks with these? We are trying to decide between carpet, wood or wood tiles for our house.

Our 100 yr. old oak tree, next to our deck, decided to split in half falling on our roof one quiet morning in July! It sounded like a truck had hit the house but there was only slight damage to the roof. It was upsetting as this beautiful tree has shaded our deck for almost 40 yrs. We had an arborist come out afterward and he said the split was caused by all the years of snow and rain collecting in the crook of the huge branches that weakened the tree. The rest of the tree will probably need to be cut down in about 12 years....very sad!

Last week I finally succumbed, after 20+ yrs of Dr requests, for a Colonoscopy! I have never had any problems in that area....no constipation, diahrea (sp), pain, 1 or 2 cases of tummy flu in my life, no morning sickness with pregnancy AND I just plain did not want to do it!! It was just as bad or maybe worse than I ever imagined! Last Monday I did the liquid only fasting, then at 5PM I drank half the SUPREP......most horrible stuff I ever tasted! Then spent the rest of the evening and overnight doing my thing, lol. On Tues. morning I could not drink more than a quarter of the awful stuff so called the Surgicenter to see if they wanted to cancel. They said it was probably fine so off I went. Now the actual colonoscopy part I didn't mind at all! I can see why Michael Jackson got hooked on Propofol.....nice nap, hee, hee! I had warned them to get every little polyp or irregularity taken care of during this procedure because there will not be another in my life!! As it turned out everything was perfect so I am DONE! The Dr. said I may want to consider one in 10 yrs but I told her not until there is an easier way to do the cleansing, LOL I try to stay away from medical stuff except my yearly Onc., Gyno, and Neuro visits. I'm still fighting lots of residual pain and numbness from my bout of Guillane'-Barre Syndrome 5yrs ago and that's all the strength I have time for! I did have my yearly mammogram in August which turned out fine......always a little apprehension there.

Well it's off to finish the laundry. Hope all are having a great day!

ChiSandy

Congrats on the clean colon. BTW, most other forms of prep are nastier and higher-volume than Suprep.

IllinoisLady

Yeah, Lovemaui --- love it when those tests turn out great. I too never had a colonoscopy until this yr. ( Age 71 ) and while I hated having to drink the liquid it sounds like it was a bit better than what you had. Still no fun at all. I worried about what could be there having waited so long but I too turned up NOTHING. I was a zero and glad of it.

I am so sorry to heart about your tree. Oak trees are magnificent. There is one across the lane from us --- and was as old as yours. Last yr. it just didn't get its leaves and was as dead as dead could be. Well, it could have been much older. Age was only a guess as this area only populated back in the 70's. At least you can enjoy what is left for a few more years.