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

carolehalston

Played golf this morning. It was so windy that I felt like I'd been out sailing by the time we were finished with 18 holes. My skin was so wind burned.

I skipped lunch at the club since dh and I are going out to dinner tonight. Came home and had some lunch and then worked at the sewing machine for a couple of hours. I am pleased with the embroidered placemats I am putting together. And, yes, Sandy, I'm using old-fashioned rickrack (thanks for the spelling!) as a decorative edging. The only problem is that the two spools I bought didn't quite edge a fourth placemat. When I went back to Hobby Lobby, to my amazement there were no spools in my color, Grass. You mean somebody else is using rickrack!!!

So I'll check back on Friday. A "shipment" always arrives on Thursday when you're needing something! I bought some lace for another placemat project. If I can't sell my creations, I will be knee deep in place mats.

Guess what? People are sewing again. The fabric department was full of women, some of them buying patterns for clothes, of all things. It so annoys me when I realize that I'm in the middle of a trend! Before you know it, I'll be researching a better sewing machine.

Hope everybody had a good Monday and the pets get well.

SoCalLisa

sunny and seventies here. Went to buy some more yarn during my Wal-Mart trip. I knit lap robes for the VA Hospital patients.

Wren44

I looked at Vogue Pattern Magazine at the store yesterday. It was full of pretty flowered LONG dresses. Not to the floor, but at the bottom of my calf bulge. At my age I won't even consider wearing a short skirt. If I were Tina Turner it might be different. At the store I have trouble deciding if the garment is a tunic or dress sometimes.

SoCalLisa

I am no Tina Turner so I transitioned to slacks many years ago.

carolehalston

I don't have a dress or even a skirt in my closet. Slacks, jeans, knee length shorts, cropped pants. I like the long loose dresses that I see women wearing but I can't quite imagine me wearing one.

We're in for a rainy day, even possibility of some storms. The radar shows a huge rain system moving toward us.

Happy Tuesday to all.

IllinoisLady

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it,
or who said it, no matter if I have said it,
unless it agrees with your own reason
and your own common sense.
- The Buddha

IllinoisLady

I don't do dresses or skirts either. I have a couple in my closet yet, but likely they will go. I'm not versed in that type of clothing ( never was, really ) but for a number of yrs. pants, jeans and anything resembling was not allowed at school. Finally, in high school, if your grades were up you could wear slacks or jeans on Fridays only. That gave us all a huge reason to ( aside from the obvious ) be anxious for Friday to come. When I first started working at the realty company I did wear some dresses and a couple of skirts, but never felt comfortable. So --- I'm pretty sure the rest of my closet will be denuded of the last remaining items.

Rained during the night and it is slated to pretty much spend this whole day raining. Sigh !! We are getting our April showers early a bit. Well, it is sort of traditional, if early, so have to do the best we can with it. At least I don't have to spend on the car wash.

Hope you are all going to have a good day.

SoCalLisa

Sunny and seventies 😊

Anneb1149

Hi all,

I went to a family wedding last weekend, and had to wear a dress- which was not at all comfortable, but even worse, had to wear pantyhose. Had problems even getting them on! But my legs, especially from the knees down, (the rest no one ever sees), are so pale, they look awful with a dress and sandals. I don’t mind them so much every day when I am in my capris, I think because my family is used to them, and 95% of the time I leave my house, I am shopping with total strangers and I don’t care what they think of me.

We had a great time and all agreed that the next gathering has to be a two day affair- one day for the actual event, then another day just to relax and visit. We all have a great time when we’re together. It’s generally my father’ brother’s 3 children and 6 of their eight grandchildren, my brother and I with his 3 children, and 2 out of 5 cousins from our Aunt who were raised in Montreal. All the Canadians joined us on a cruise awhile back because it had been planned to celebrate their Mom’s 95th Birthday. She passed away last April at 98, and each of her kids has done something, like had a special mass, etc, but there has been no official family gathering, which we are all upset at. She was one of the nicest, kindest, most fun loving person and we all would have liked the chance to celebrate her life as a group. That branch of the family is kind of different. One cousin’s huband died a year ago this month, but the memorial wasn’t until last Oct- and we all went fishing because that was what he loved.( Most of us sat on beach chairs and visited with each other).

Our day is cloudy, but they don’t necessarily look like rain clouds and there is a nice breeze. Good day to sit on the backporch and relax, but there are things to be done

Anne

carolehalston

Anne, I like that kind of memorial, celebrating a person's life. Some years ago a restaurant owner in a neighboring town planned his funeral service in advance. It was held in the restaurant and all his regular customers were invited for a free dinner. I thought it seemed rather bizarre but I wasn't a regular customer and didn't know the owner. I had eaten there a few times. It was an upscale place with very good food.

I had a funny/frustrating experience yesterday. I was changing the sheets on our bed and struggled with a fitted sheet that was too small, one of the new sets of sheets bought at JCP. I finally looked at the tag and, sure enough, it was a queen size, not a king. I checked the flat sheet and it was a Cal King. The folks in India must have packaged up everything! I located the receipts and took the sheet set back to the local store. There was another king set on the shelves but I resisted taking it home since I have THREE other new sets of sheets! I can go overboard at times.

Happy Good Friday to all. A beautiful day here. The rain cleared out the humid air yesterday.

IllinoisLady

We bless the life around us far more than we realize. Many simple, ordinary things that we do can affect those around us in profound ways: the unexpected phone call, the brief touch, the willingness to listen generously, the warm smile or wink of recognition.

Rachel Naomi Remen

IllinoisLady

Wow !!! Well, Carole, you did unburden your linen closet a bit. Wonder if we all sometimes do more than we need too -- especially when we think something is a good product and ends up with an excellent price --- that is, if all the pieces in the package are the right size. I'm proud of myself actually. Ran into another set of the Fieldcrest Hotel Sheets at Goodwill, and left them. Have to admit -- while tempting, they were not a great color and as well I paid $16.00 for the other three sets I got there and this one was $20.00. As it was brand new and still in the original unopened packaging it was still a bargain and I have to admit I did stand there and hem and haw with myself.

These sheets ( maybe it is the fact they are advertised an hotel style ) on the bottom are completely elasticized all the way around the whole sheet. So, they tend to stay on my bed so much better than other sheets. I think that was the part that had me standing there trying to decide -- when three sets is plenty for anyone.

Sun is out today -- I am so thankful. For one -- I just need some and it will help dry us out some though one day after all our rain is far from enough. It will also show up that beautiful green that only comes in the Spring. A bit chilly, but I'll still wish I could be outside doing things. There is plenty to do outside, but it does have to be a lot dryer -- and warmer wouldn't hurt.

Hope you all with have a day of sunshine.

SoCalLisa

I was just at my kitchen window. So was he

ChiSandy

Fitted sheets that have elastic only at the corners instead of all the way around drive me nuts. And I would have taken that mismatched set back and insisted on raiding the other sets till all your components were king size. You have a right to get exactly what the package says. I believe in having one more set than I actually need, because unexpected things can happen and the thought of running laundry in the middle of the night--or mending rips--does not appeal. You can never have too many sheets or towels (I still shudder to remember the saga of the leaking toilet tank bolt and the resulting flood).

I woke very, very late today--was up till after 3am Thurs. night, and tried to sleep; but I was getting burning pain. on the sole of my right foot and Bob kept kicking the bed in his sleep. So I took a Lyrica, then went downstairs for a bowl of cereal. Crawled back in at 5:30 am. and the next thing I knew my housekeeper was gently tapping me awake to ask me to write her biweekly paycheck. Oops!

And this is pretty embarrassing (and disgusting) but since Tues. night I have been dealing with a suddenly-appearing gigantic labial cyst or boil (yeah, that "labia"). Bigger than any I'd ever previously encountered. Rather than seek medical help, I used warm compresses, antiseptic wipes, and Neosporin till it finally popped on its own. Definitely healing well. Crisis averted. I suspect it might have been the last gasp of an infection somewhere--dead bacteria seem to bail out through my skin. Not often, thank heaven. (Last time was a large sebaceous cyst on my back after a sinus infection, back in 2015).

(I'd hesitated to post the foregoing, but heck, we all talk boobs and all their complications--including gross infections--here. I wanted to wait until long after Passover dinner to type that, lest I ruin my appetite. Sorry if I've ruined anyone else's. I didn't even tell Bob. And by the time you're ready for Easter dinner--or even second Seder--you'll have forgotten all about it).

IllinoisLady

Concerning trees and leaves. . . there's a real power here. It is amazing that trees can turn gravel and bitter salts into these soft-lipped lobes, as if I were to bite down on a granite slab and start to swell, bud and flower. Every year a given tree creates absolutely from scratch ninety-nine percent of its living parts. Water lifting up tree trunks can climb one hundred and fifty feet an hour; in full summer a tree can, and does, heave a ton of water every day. A big elm in a single season might make as many as six million leaves, wholly intricate, without budging an inch; I couldn't make one. A tree stands there, accumulating deadwood, mute and rigid as an obelisk, but secretly it seethes, it splits, sucks and stretches; it heaves up tons and hurls them out in a green, fringed fling. No person taps this free power; the dynamo in the tulip tree pumps out even more tulip tree, and it runs on rain and air. -Annie Dillard

IllinoisLady

Not put off by what you had to say Sandy and only relieved for you that it is all under control. I have to admit though I'm likely less squeamish for having been a medical corpsman in the service, and then spent a few yrs. doing CNA work off and on. Then after coming here sitting with older people. To put it bluntly they often feel the need to remove their own impactions so I was party to a lot of clean-up details -- especially hands and fingernails.

You are so right -- we talk here. It helps us all learn to accept a number of the parts of our, or other people's lives, that are not always in evidence. It is REAL and it does happen -- even if sometimes un-pleasant. I found it easier to deal with my patient than tell her family what she was up to since they never pried where she was concerned. I would barge right into the bathroom if she took too long suspecting that she needed help -- and so I found it more disconcerting to inform her family. Also got sick a couple of times ( nausea and ill feeling generally in the abdominal area ) and wondered why since I'm usually never affected in that way -- which is why I chose to discuss it with her family -- who on occasion had some issues as well. Too much contamination being spread around.

Beauty of a day yesterday with the sun. Don't know for sure yet today but sun was out for a bit. Our weather for a week ( we are still going through it ) showed either a day or two of definite rain and otherwise the possibility -- though a couple of times it was mentioned it would happen at night.

Dh had a day off yesterday but had to work four hrs. anyway. The store is a mess but Sears and as well the home-town stores have been in upheaval for some time. Just never know how things are going to go. Hopefully, Dh will get off at the right time tonight. Of course, the store will be closed on Sunday. At last, a whole day off.

Hope you are all going to have a really good Saturday. Lisa -- your friend is stunning. You have some of the best friends around.

Wren44

Sandy, Glad you were able to recover on your own. Definitely a painful place to have a problem.

We have a corkscrew filbert tree close to our living room window. It unfortunately died last year. We're keeping it there and considering growing a clematis on the twisted branches. We came downstairs for coffee and discovered a pair of crows in the tree cutting off tendrils for their nest. I wish I'd had a camera near. We couldn't see where they went with the material. We have had bird nests in the big poplar trees in our back yard.

SoCalLisa

Sandy, yuk..but glad it resolved!😊

My son's used to get giant staff infections.

Never fun.

IllinoisLady

SoCalLisa

Happy Easter 1946

IllinoisLady

Love one another.
- Jesus of Nazareth (John 13:34)

IllinoisLady

When we have our own "why" of life, we can bear almost any "how." -Friedrich Nietzsche

IllinoisLady

Started off the day yesterday just fine, but toward early evening some rain started to fall. In a while that turned to sleet and some snow. Later on, it went back to rain and then overnight -- a little more snow. It will warm up today, but later -- more rain. Will be 67 tomorrow. After that whether rain or not, the temps will stay a bit higher than these previous couple of days. Not as high as I would like but one step at a time getting to full on Spring.

Had to make an emergency trip to the vet who is close to us. I don't use him unless I'm pretty sure of what is wrong. He doesn't test, and I find whether cat or dog, if I go there it is almost always $100.00 or more and I don't have a trustworthy diagnosis. In fact, learned this about him due to going elsewhere and getting a second opinion a couple of times. Found through tests that I wasn't treating the right issue. So -- I only use this Dr. is I'm pretty sure of what is wrong with my pet. Spotty had a very evident bad tooth. On antibiotic and will go back on Thurs. for other dental work.

Came home with some 'canned' food that I mixed with a little hot water and Spot really wolfed that down. Hasn't eaten well for about a week but only late yesterday was I able to "see" what was causing him to back off eating. Was worried about his age, but it was really that tooth. Turns out he has a couple that are bad.

Hope you are all going to have a great Monday.

ChiSandy

Happy's PCR test is back, and his kidneys are absolutely normal! He is down to 11.6 lbs., so is the vet clinic's rare neutered-male-feline weight loss success story!

No precip for us yesterday, just cold. Great view at brunch from the top of the Hancock (er, "the 875," now that Hancock sold it). Maybe some rain tonight (we struggled all day to hit 40), and snow showers tomorrow night & Wed. morning, and again Thurs. Then even colder the rest of the week. Glad I bought Bob a new insulated leather aviator jacket to replace the ratty old one he's been wearing.

My new middle-distance progressive computer/reader Zennis came this morning--oversize red tortoise cat-eye frames (hey, they were cheap, and they're sorta fun). Prescription seemed weird, though--individual rather than aggregate pupillary distance, more astigmatism & distance correction in the left eye--so I actually considered sending them back and having them redone as only readers or regular progressives. Then an e-mail came from Warby Parker--my new regular progressives--came in. I drove down there because I knew I'd need some adjustments, and to my utter shock got a parking space during rush hour. Took awhile--several people ahead of me were picking up glasses. I put them on and the reading wasn't quite as sharp as my then-current glasses. The individual pupillary distance threw me for a bit of a loop, but the optician (who, not the sales associate, should have been the one fitting me 10 days ago) said she prefers aggregate PD for progressives, but I have 30 days to return these no questions asked. But by the time I had gone across the street to Benefit for a brow wax and then had a coffee (no croissant--it's Passover) at La Colombe, the new frames felt quite natural. When I got home. I tried the middle-distance Zennis again, and this time they felt normal (though their midrange area is a bit narrower than Warby's). So here's my new lineup (color & resolution differences due to moving the lamp). First, the Zennis (which don't have a name):

Next, the everyday progressive Warbys, aka "Lyle" in "sea glass" blue (photochromic):

Finally the "dressy" Warbys, aka "Nora," in rose gold titanium (not photochromic):

Bob likes the latter the best, as he's not a fan of plastic frames.

My latest avatar, BTW, features my formal/performance wear rimless "drill-mount" Vittadinis--would you believe I've had them since 2010? The lenses in them are the third pair (the first developed cracks around the nosepieces, which LensCrafters refused to replace--but an independent optician up in W. Ridge did, for under $100). When I got re-refracted last year, I had the new lenses made as anti-reflective. I wear them, as I did Friday night, only when my eyes look really good (lots of concealer); or for Black Tie Galas From Hell or when I perform indoors.

So whaddaya think? I shot all these (including all prior avatars) with the FaceTime camera in my MacBook Pro--if I use my phone, it comes out distorted and my nose & mouth look huge. My arms are too short to hold it far enough away. No wonder selfie-sticks are so popular!

IllinoisLady

Happiness is not a brilliant climax to years of grim struggle and anxiety.
It is a long succession of little decisions
simply to be happy in the moment.
- J. Donald Walters

IllinoisLady

I'll take the more important things first here. I'm stuck between your first and third pr. Sandy. Never much of a fan of 'cat' eyed anything I'd likely settle on the third. With my 'fat' face I stick to smaller and slightly squarer type glasses. Sigh !!!! Also red and some purplish shade colors seem best for me. Since my eye sight having near and far sight corrections as well as astigmatism, is like it is, I have to take someone with me to help pick out frames or have the employees in the Optical Dept. help choose. Yep -- more I go up and look I'm fairly stuck on the third pr. I would never know that they are not 'plastic' though I will admit that a difference ( at least by me ) can be seen. Also I'd note that I think your facial structure makes wearing 'cat' eye really okay for you.

Dh has the day off today so another day of likely not getting a whole lot done. We had the sun out briefly and was 55 degrees when I came out to watch the morning news with Dh. Rain, maybe another thunderstorm, around 3 p.m. or maybe 4. Not looking forward to that at all. We have always had a high water table so days of rain ends up with our water not having enough places to go. Farmer's fields will get flooded and super wet and the bottom land around the lake will usually flood as they open the spillway gates to let some of the water out of the lake.

If the city and federal government could get together on dredging the lake we would likely not have to see such major spilling during our heavy rains like we do now. There are a couple of roadways we can't use during the time period. One goes to the exotic animal farm about a mile and a half or so from us. Owned by someone who grew up ( his dad was a farmer ) in the same little town I did. Movie companies all over rent animals from the animal farm here. We see camels, miniature animals of all kinds, buffalo ( odd to see around here ) llamas and zebra. It is nice to drive by on an afternoon when you have nothing going on or when you have out-of-town visitors.

Hope you all have a really nice day.

Wren44

I'm worried about finding new glasses that are small enough to hide my dark circles. If the glasses are too low on my face, it just magnifies them. I'm really fond of my Zenni cat eyes, but know I'll need new glasses after my 2nd cataract operation. Mine have a very slight distant correction for astigmatism plus readers. I see fine at a distance but went nuts at the grocery store trying to find things (distance) and reading the labels (close up). That's why I got the wear all the time glasses. I've had them since 5th grade so they're part of me. I wore contacts for several years, but finally didn't replace them. I like all of Sandy's choices.

SoCalLisa

I am with you WREN same here

ChiSandy

I'm returning the first pair for refund credit--spoke to Zenni customer service and she says that dual-pupillary-distance measurement is problematic with progressives, especially unusual "workspace" ones like mid-range. So I reordered them as near-range progressives, with my single-PD measurement from prior prescriptions. I'd opted for the mid-range so I could keep them on to watch TV and walk around the house. But it didn't have large enough reading & computer areas. Here's the kicker, though: the ones I ordered at my ophtho's in-office eyewear boutique when I got refracted on 3/21 aren't here yet--even though the Warbys were ready and the Zennis arrived yesterday (and I'd ordered them on the 22d).

ChiSandy

Also, I'm venturing out into the expected 1" of snow tomorrow morning (probably take an Uber) to see my hand surgeon for a followup from the L wrist injury I suffered in early Feb. No fracture or dislocation, but I had intense pain (and audible clicking) on the wristbone when trying to rotate my hand outward. The followup was to see if I still need an ultrasound or MRI to see what's up with the soft tissue. By last week I was fine. Was about to cancel the appt., but Sun. night as I was positioning myself in bed, pivoting on my L hand & arm, I sprained the wrist--now it hurts to rotate it inward. It's always something...