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

Wren44

A lot of cleaners employ someone to do the mending. Asking there might turn up someone. Or ask at a fabric store. Curtains are simple enough for someone who's learning to sew.

IllinoisLady

Once again -- couldn't decide, so just put in both.

Never succumb to the notion that others are less important
based on their place of birth.
All of humanity are our brothers and sisters.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The manifest universe is the body of God ...
all people are incarnations of the One Spirit.
- Ernest Holmes

IllinoisLady

So glad I have this place to come to. I had not got anywhere near the resources you mentioned Wren. Was only thinking of going through the phone book and not feeling totally comfy with that idea. So -- asking at cleaners sounds good to me. I do in fact see MY type of curtains as something that should be an easy and rather straightforward project. Though I had the little flowers in yellow I'm thinking going all white with Battenberg. I may walk through ( just for the notions of what would appeal to me ) some fabric aisles in the stores around here. I don't know that I'd ever 'find' curtains that went so well ( those little yellow flowers ) and I have always liked the Battenberg style. I would likely get a couple extra bottom panels because I like the curtains to have a full look rather than skimpy.

Sun out today -- if fortunate it will feel nicely warm. Not seeing any wind at present. I'm ready though it was nice yesterday but just not as warm as I like. For now, not a cloud to be seen so no rain today hopefully.

ChiSandy

Oh, wow, Carole--"rickrack" is giving me 7th grade Home Ec flashbacks!

Jackie, I like Battenburg lace trim on plain cotton--sturdier and less fussy than Irish or Venise (not Venice) lace.

Had my annual eye appt. yesterday. All is well, except need a slight add'l reading, astigmatism & distance correction in my left eye. (Which explains why I have to narrow my eyes to a near-squint to keep the computer page from swimming, and why I've been confusing the numeral 5 and 6 in the FB Messenger and iCal fonts, with embarrassing results). Also, very slight retrocapsular clouding in the left eye, but nothing needing lasering yet. (Ophtho says to call if I start getting night glare or see halos or streaks from lights--which is how Bob's clouding manifested about a year after his first cataract removal).

Since the ophtho is a friend of ours, Bob urged me to buy a pair of glasses from his office (more expensive than Warby Parker but less than Lens Crafters). When I mentioned the "laptop pages swimming" to the doc, he suggested that in addition to everyday glasses I get a pair for computer & reading. So I picked out some cute purple frames for that. I called Warby Parker about replacing the lenses in my current frames from them, and they said they could only replace single-vision, because for some reason they can't update progressives--just exchange my glasses and they'd issue me a new set of frames & lenses, at the same price as new. Zenni won't replace lenses at all unless it's a screwup on their part. So I tried on a few pair at Warby Parker's shop, and settled on some round-ish frames in "Beach Glass" (a translucent muted teal), with photochromic lenses for everyday, and some really sharp semi-cat-eye frames in rose gold titanium & stainless for dresswear. All of the above will be ready for adjustment & pickup in about 10-12 days.

Meanwhile, the change in my general prescription is slight enough that I can hang in there for now without being tempted by the "one-hour" promise at LensCrafters & VisionWorks. (And I don't want to feed the Luxottica monopoly more than I have to). As to my favorites among my current frame wardrobe, I will get estimates from both my ophtho and the local independent optician in West Ridge (the mostly Hasidic & Indian neighborhood to the n.w. of us) as to which is cheaper. I know the local guy is quicker, as he does it in-house. But he is very observant and is open only Tues-Thurs. afternoons--and not at all on Jewish holidays or the day before. My ophtho has to send orders out, as does Warby Parker. I will update my current frames one at a time. (One lens at a time--the R eye is unchanged).

Anneb1149

Jackie- I used to sew a lot - I made pantsuits and other stuff for me when I was working- it was 1971and women were just starting to be allowed to wear pants to work, but our company insisted it had to be a suit, not slacks and a shirt. They even had an employee in the cafeteria to mark down anyone not following the rules. I worked thru my eighth month of pregnancy, and naturally, I didn’t fit in my regular clothes. I knew I was not going back to work, so buying or making “office attire” didn’t make any sense. So I wore maternity tops and bottoms. I got written up one day for breaking the rules, and I laughed all the way back to my boss. He found it as funny as I did, because we knew I only had a few weeks left at work.

From the time my first was born 1971 till we became foster parents in 1982,I made all my kid’s clothes. For Christmas I would make my girls dresses and nightgowns, and make matching ones for their dolls. I had made a dress for my third child to wear for the first day of school. It was still waiting to be hemmed when she finished elementary school, so I had to admit I wasn’t a sewer any more.

I just had a real scare. My brother and I drove to our cousin’s in Vero Beach today. We are spending the night here, then we are all going to Tampa for a family wedding. I went to take my first round of nighttime meds, and was missing one of the ones I need to sleep. I have a pill divider, but always take the bottles of important meds as well- blood pressure, anxiety and Ambien. I looked in my little suitcase that I packed just for tonight and couldn’t find them. I made my brother bring in my other suitcase and they weren’t there either. I was very close to panicking. I called my daughter who had helped me pack, and she said she remembered me putting it in the black suitcase. She even went to my room to see if they had dropped out. Nope! After pulling everything out out both suitcases, I finally found them on the chest in the room I am using. I have no memory of taking them out of the suitcase, before I found them, my daughter was saying we would just have to drive home in the morning if I had left them there and then drive to Tampa. Tampa is at least a 5-6 hour drive, and we are 2hrs from Home already. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t cut the trip time at all. We came to Vero because my cousin lost her husband a year ago, and didn’t want to drive that far alone. She is no closer to Tampa than we are. I am SO glad I found them, but feel a little foolish for getting everybody involved in my forgetfulness. Glad they both love me.

Anne

IllinoisLady

There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of the birds, the ebb and flow of the tides, the folded bud ready for the spring.There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature—the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. -Rachel Carson

IllinoisLady

What a nice morning so far, but then it is early. Doesn't seem cold out but a little cloudy I think this is how it is going to be for the next few weeks. The good news is that the temps. will go up a bit and pretty much stay there. I can see 'greener' grass on people's lawns and other signs that if Spring hasn't totally sprung is it very, very close.

Well, you know -- so often I leave the house and either call back or if no one is home come back to check if I turned off the curling iron, shut the pantry door, or did other things that could be a problem if no one is here. We keep bags of cat and dog food in the pantry and both have been molested if we don't make sure the pantry door is closed and locked. I can relate Anne to your 'forgetting' totally about your pills. There again I have had to return home to get mine.

I think we are a little more 'bothered' by our 'lapses' when we are older thinking down the road we may have serious issues ( dementia/Alzheimer's ) but I don't know that is the case. I think when younger we forgot a variety of things but just didn't attach any true importance to it. WE just FIXED the lapse and went on. So, I'm hoping that my 'failings' are just as un-meaningful as they were when I was young and I try to think of it like that too.

Wren44

Once I drove to the grocery about 3 blocks away because I needed to get a gallon of milk and it's heavy. Did my shopping and lugged the milk back home on foot. Got home and thought my car had been stolen. Fortunately I sat down and thought about it before calling the police. Walked back to the store and drove my car home.

SoCalLisa

I just got home after participating in a Panel discussion about the History of the Navy WAVES at a command with personnel stationed aboard the new Navy Littoral combat ships. I was a Navy Officer over 50 years ago so had that part to tell. I am so amazed at what women are now doing in today's Navy. What a dedicated group they are and I appreciate all they are doing to keep us safe.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Wren44

Lisa, And thank you for being an officer back when it wasn't a usual thing to do.

IllinoisLady

I join with my thanks as well Lisa.....

ChiSandy

Thanks for your service and trailblazing, Lisa.

They took the "wintry mix" out of tonight's/tomorrow's forecast for the NE half of the city, so we'll get only rain...cold, raw rain. Which we won't have to salt or shovel.

IllinoisLady

If all the gold in the world were melted down into a solid cube it would be about the size of an eight-room house. If a man got possession of all that gold--billions of dollars worth--he could not buy a friend, character, peace of mind, clear conscience, or a sense of eternity. -Charles F. Banning

IllinoisLady

Woke up to rain this morning and it will continue on and off all day. In between will be mist. Sigh !! Hope just one day of it. Otherwise it is not too cold, but dampness doesn't make it feel too pleasant. Another reason to see the rain go.

Very important day today as the young ones March For Their Life. I think these young ones will get somewhere. They are the types who will be taking over one of these days. I hope all is well with them and much success.

ChiSandy

Chilly & cloudy, but dry after last night's brief rain. No snow or "wintry mix." Walking to Cellars in a couple of hrs. to watch the Loyola-KSU game--Go Ramblers! (Why their mascot is a wolf I'll never know--but an old cheap compact car isn't very photogenic. The first mascot was a hobo, but it was scrapped when it appeared to be mocking the homeless).

SoCalLisa

New neighbor today

IllinoisLady

Love your neighbor, Lisa !!!

IllinoisLady

If we could but recognize our common humanity, that we do belong together, that our destinies are bound up in one another's, that we can be free only together, that we can be human only together, then a glorious world would come into being where all of us lived harmoniously together as members of one family, the human family. -Desmond Tutu

SoCalLisa

It's spring in Southern California

SoCalLisa

biscuits

Lovely pictures, SoCalLisa! Perks me up to see such colorful beauty. We had snow here in the Pacific Northwest, yesterday. Bulbs are just poking through the earth

SoCalLisa

biscuits. My son recently moved up to Washington

He is a high school teacher in Auburn

IllinoisLady

To be wealthy, to have a rich nature is the first requisite and money but the second. To be of a quick and healthy blood, to share in all honorable curiosities, to be rich in admiration and free from envy, to rejoice greatly in the good of others, to love with such generosity of heart that your love is still a dear possession in absence or unkindness—these are the gifts of fortune which money cannot buy, and without which money can buy nothing. -Robert Louis Stevenson

IllinoisLady

Hmmm, cloudy today and I am here late. Had tons of work to catch up on this morning. Not sure how it all managed to gang up on me, but had all my usual plus a quick trip to Walmart's for needed supplies including dog food. Then on to Salem to pick up some dog meds. I have a dog that can't seem to shake his yeast infections. Otherwise he is always a happy-go-lucky guy. I just know when he is pulling at his hair/fur in a certain way it means his yeast infection has chosen to flair up again. The vet told me it would be hard to get rid of and boy is she right. Just when I think we are doing great !!!!

Likely may get some showers later on. Have been waiting for the carpenter that was due here but he hasn't shown. Maybe he is waiting for Dh to get home around 3 p.m.

Hope you are all having a great Monday.....

ChiSandy

Cloudy & high 40s here too. Had to take Happy to the vet today--he has kitty conjunctivitis in his right eye. Vet determined it's seasonal allergic--a flourescein stain was negative for bacteria or herpes. So I had to order "iDrop" veterinary hyaluron drops online--neither PetSmart nor Petco had them. He started howling the minute we put him in his carrier. To his stress vocabulary of "NOOOO!," "OWWW!" and "HOME!" he seems to have added, "HELLO!" and what sounds almost like "I LOVE YOU!" (the latter perhaps to plead with us to relent, because that's what I said to soothe and distract him while Gordy brought the carrier up from the basement). He got a mani-pedi (hope it lasts at least a month or long enough for my scratches to heal), semiannual geriatric-kitty exam and blood draw, and he is no longer an "o-beast:" a much healthier 11.6 lbs. He is now pictured on the clinic's Facebook page as a rare feline weight-loss success story (assuming there's no thyroid issue at play). Oh, and he also got a bag of "Lean Treats."

IllinoisLady

Who is rich? They who rejoice in their portion.

The Talmud

IllinoisLady

Sorry about your kitties baby's eye. Hope he is able to get well easily. It's about the scratching too. I think at this point it is in kitties genes to look terribly askance anytime they see a cat carrier. They ALWAYS feel it is a bad omen for them. Some say ( I mean it sounds good advice anyway ) to bring it out, put a blanket in it with door open and let the cat nap there. Well yeah, great --- that is until you lock him or her in for their trip to the Vet's. So much for carrying them off toe He** in their bedroom.

Anyway, hoping all is well with kitty soon and your scratches mend easily.

Rained all night here but okay for the moment. More will come I think. Sounds like rain off and on for a week, but falling more at night then so much during the day. Don't know what is up with that -- but the last couple or three yrs. it seems to have done that more than ever.

Hope you are all going to have a great Tuesday.

SoCalLisa

Sunny and seventies here. Broken record. But I love it. Had 2 cavities at dentist

Haven't had one in 50 years

IllinoisLady

"Don't allow others to diminish your light due to their own fears. Instead, shine so brightly that you illuminate a pathway for them to come out of the darkness!"

- Dr. Stacey A. Maxwell-Krockenberger

IllinoisLady

Its a nice day outside so far -- which right now means no rain. It may or may not rain later, but I think the report specified it as much more likely after dark. Will be nice to get a little day time drying. I sure won't mind. We are fairly saturated around here, but a few more days of rain are in the forecast. I might even put a few curls in my hair with the curling iron so as to celebrate this dryness for now.

Nothing too much special planned today -- am caught up with laundry for now and thinking about getting ready ( first really nice day ) to do all my windows. They would have to be done again later, but we are planning to have a new kitchen door and new screen door put in as well.

Hope you are all going to have a really good Wednesday.