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

carolehalston

Good news. Our reliable a/c man came this morning and got our a/c compressor working again. It wasn't working yesterday afternoon and last night. The plumbers who did the gas hookup on the new house generator damaged a wire.

I'll be glad when we don't have workmen coming to the house. I'm quite paranoid about social distancing.

What an awful prediction that the virus will lessen during the summer and flare up again in the fall. Let's all hope a vaccine will be developed.

petite1

Good morning, ladies. We are not on lock down, but there isn't any place to go, everything is closed. The FL Gov didn't order a shelter in place, but strongly advises it for older people. compromised people, etc. Many counties do not have any cases, yet. I try to stay busy with the projects that I have put off. Today I am cleaning and reorganizing the the utility room which I use for crafts as well as laundry. My cleaning lady only mops the floor in there. I have chemicals and small parts all over the place. (I try to fix or remake vintage costume jewelry). Hubby seems a little bored and misses his buds.

CeliaC

Visit to smaller grocery store worked - went there at end of day, prior to closing & store was very quiet. They had items not in Kroger delivery. We also picked up fresh fruit & veg, so can conserve frozen ones for now. Their frozen veg & fruit items very sparse and of course, no TP, paper towels or any kind of disinfectant wipes, Cashiers/Baggers all using clean nitrile gloves for each customer. We did have to keep dodging one couple who did not seem to understand the distancing concept & were wandering around, apparently unsure of what they were shopping for.

IllinoisLady

There's always room for expressing our uniqueness and love and changing the world with it, no matter what our position in life. I saw on the news a New York City subway conductor who sent out poetry, love, and messages of good cheer over his loudspeaker system instead of the usual "Stand clear of the closing doors." He is a true original. So are you—if you will simply learn to express your originality. Share your life with those who are also on the journey and you will change the world. - Bernie Siegel

Taco1946

My daughter, who works in a grocery store, also reminds that we don't both need to wander through the grocery aisles. Two parents who come in with several children drive her wild.

Sunny here in AZ and we are both walking lots.

Anneb1149

Hi again,

I thought Fl went on "shelter in place" for everyone 65 and older yesterday. Maybe it was Broward County.

HikingLady- I am one of the ones that are sheltering in place, while the daughter I live with still has to work. She is doing everything she can, not to bring anything home, but her job is considered essential. She works for a company that sells, rents and fixes construction equipment. I guess they are on call if any first responder vehicles need repair. They refuse to let her shelter at home with me because they always have a lot to do at the end of each month, but March is also the end of their fiscal year. And her boss was out for two weeks, hunting in Alabama. She thinks once they close the month and year, she will be able to work from home. On Mon, a fellow employee called in that she had a fever and was going to see if she could get tested. She couldn't, but she got a note from some Dr that she was cleared to return to work. Her boss says HR gave her permission to return, he cannot override them. Tracy is staying as far away from her as possible, and is wiping everything in her office several times a day. Thankfully, Tracy does have her own office, but the downside is that the printer is in her office, so others have to go in her office to get what they printed. Lots of times, she takes the paper off the printer and hands it to its owner, so she is the only one touching the printer.

To try to help her a little, I've been doing the cooking. But it is only the two of us here and she usually doesn't eat dinner. For many years, I cooked for 7+ people every day. I still cook enough for at least 5. I get frustrated when I make something and I'm the only one that eats it. Sunday, she cooked and took the leftovers to our next door neighbors. Yesterday I asked her to call and ask if they like tacos and cornbread. They said yes, so we shared with them. Tonight I plan to do the same with a dish I made in the crockpot. They can and do cook for themselves normally, but I love having someone to cook for. She carries it over and puts it on their front porch, then texts them to step out and get it.

My daughter who lives in Lake Placid, FL is a hairstylist. Her ex husband told her she couldn't have contact with her kids as long as she was working. She stopped working last Thurs and he still kept her from the kids for another 3 days. I understood the no contact while working, but not sure what the extra 3 days was for. We all know it can take 14 days after exposure before any signs develop. Luckily, Sebring is a small city and they only have 4 cases so far.

I, like most others, have projects waiting to be done and I am trying to do at least one a day. Today was one of the kitchen cabinets, tomorrow's plan is to do the refrigerator and freezer. Then I have to file all the mail I need to keep, which is a stack at least 10" high. And the list goes on and on.

Anne

IllinoisLady

On Arturo Toscanini's eightieth birthday, someone asked his son, Walter, what his father ranked as his most important achievement. The son replied, "For him there can be no such thing. Whatever he happens to be doing at the moment is the biggest thing in his life—whether it is conducting a symphony or peeling an orange." -Ardis Whitman

IllinoisLady

Sunny this a.m. and I think will get up to 70 today. A bit early on the one hand, but I won't say no. We actually have had days like that before in
February, so it certainly works okay. I do know at some point the result will be rain. If it continues to stay warmer than colder I'll get by.

Anne, I'm glad that so far you and your family sound like you are doing okay. Of course, we all want ourselves and our families to stay well and do all right. While we don't talk politics here I will say I'm glad ( and hope it continues to be voted in ) people will get some help from the government during these very trying times. We for the most part are living in our homes and keeping up for now, but I do know many people live paycheck o paycheck and those checks have suddenly stopped. Also homeless people and those who do have other illness that require special treatments or expensive medicines. I am praying that we all get through and hold on till a vaccine can be found.

Otherwise we are doing well here. Learning to spend a bit more time at home. I'm mainly putting Dh there as I had no issue with that ever. He on the other hand feels confined in some way and almost always 'found' errands that were important. He is learning not to do that and I'm glad that he sees that he doesn't suffer much over it. We get into habits I think and they can be replaced now and then with better ones.

I don't often say all that much about the quotes but I have had this one before. I adore it. Mainly because of the things that we often do that we never even give much thought to. All life is important and doing our best -- and knowing we are giving everything that kind of attention, our best I think helps to not have too many regrets. At least that is the way I see it.

I hope you all have a good day and have some warm sunshine to go along with it.

petite1

Good morning, ladies. Some of the counties in Florida are safer at home. (shelter in place) In Citrus, where I live, they have not started it. Most people are staying home, anyway. Everything is closed. My last "normal" day was March 9. That was the last night we went out for dinner. The last day I visited my best friend. So, I work on projects and walk. We have watched lots of movies. I have read a couple of books. We have been on the internet for hours each day. Take naps. The cats are liking it. We are just trying to stay safe.

carolehalston

Jackie is happy for sunshine. I love overcast skies. We've had five straight days of record-breaking temperatures and high humidity to go along with the temps. I walked 9 holes of golf yesterday using my long-unused push cart. When I got home and stripped off my shirt, it was heavy with perspiration. I weighed and despite drinking lots of water, was a lb lighter. The rest of the day I was "tuckered out." I played with two other women and we kept distance between us.

As you're probably hearing on the news, corona virus cases in US are outnumbering numbers in China. Sobering, scary even if we have no reliable info from China. We have to take the word of Chinese officials. The New Orleans area is now a "hot spot."

My plan for the day is more yard work. After all the rain this winter, we could now use some rain. Nature seems to prefer the feast or famine policy.

Healthy vibes.

Betrayal

carolehalston: Even the corona virus case numbers in the US are skewed by the lack of testing in the beginning and continuing until now. There is still a shortage of test kits and testing has been stopped in some of the hot spots, Some communities still do not have access to test kits. So while the numbers are staggering they are as they say "just the tip of the iceberg".

IllinoisLady

We will never understand freedom as long as we see it as a referent "to" or "from" something. Freedom is a state of mind and a state of being. It occurs when we know that we are a unique creation, that we have our own connections with the life-force, and that we have full and complete responsibility for what we do with that gift. The gift of freedom is the gift to make mistakes, learn from them, and get up and try again. - Anne Wilson Schaef

IllinoisLady

I continue to hope that we all get through these VERY trying times. I agree that we have not been given reliable information either from China or here at home. I don't know how close to accurate we can even get for sure since test kits were held up for so long. Seems now there are a lot more out there though it seems the issue now ( it is being quickly addressed I think ) is how long it seems to take to get results. That also may be somewhat geographical in nature as well, but just a thought on my part.

I do wish we had more accuracy about numbers as well as area, since it would relieve us to some extent. I do know that we should practice all the rules no matter what, but I for one would likely pick and choose even more than I do now. I have tried to be quite careful and keep distance etc. but there are other things I would consider. Keeping sanitizer in both cars, and carrying a bottle in my purse -- in case it was not available in some area I might have to go. It is just little things and likely I should do them anyway, and I guess the bottom like is -- I'd just feel more comfortable if I could be somewhat assured of being given the REAL truth. Been a long time since I needed Pablum.

Gratified to go to even Walmart and see tp back on the shelf. it wasn't rows like there use to be, but at least ( even though I didn't need it yet ) there was some. I toyed with the idea -- but figured all the hoarders were full up and maybe those of us who shop for our groceries on a more " as needed " basis could go ahead and by-pass the temptation which I did. I hope I don't regret it.

Warm today and some sun, but storms are predicted. Pos. thunderstorms and even a tornado. Not sure the tornado would come to our town. But we have a lot of little towns around us and even though it is Missouri, I have always thought of it as 'near' home and don't like hearing of the storms there either. We go to St. Louis, Mo a lot for shopping and other things ( Dr.'s and big clinics ) and it is only about 76 miles almost straight west from us -- so hoping all will be fine there too.

Hoping you all have a good day and the treasure of wellness.

Puffin2014

All our restaurants are closed to dine in so are either closing or finding some way to do take out. Olive Garden did a special this week, buy one entree for $12.99 and get the second free, along with the soup and breadsticks and you prepay online. You choose a pick up time and park in a designated spot and they bring your order out to your car. Their servings are big enough that I had 2 lunches from the minestrone and made 6 dinners from the 2 entrees for my freezer.

Mall is closed, libraries are closed, all gyms are closed. Our building managers had announced that there would be no outside people allowed in the building, and that we were to keep the 6 ft distance between people, yet groups were still gathering and playing cards with 4 people to a table, and working on group puzzles in the libraries, and families were coming to visit those on first floor and visiting over the patio railing. Yesterday we all got notices that as of Sunday the building will be in lockdown. We can leave the building for a medical reason or to walk outside but can't go shopping or "co-mingle with any humans" outside of the building regardless of the distance between people. We were told to get enough supplies, meds, and food to have in our apartment to last at least 60 days, delivery people will not be allowed into the building.

I've picked up 3 month supplies of all my meds and vitamins. Went through my recipes and made a list of the most commonly used ingredients and have stocked up. I lucked out on one trip to Aldi's and got the last 30 roll package of toilet paper - I've never seen a 30 roll pack before! At Aldi's I bought 13 half gallons of milk for my frig (couldn't find any powdered milk). I bought organic milk and almond milk with expiration dates of May 7-17th.

I decided I could go birdwatching and not co-mingle, so today I drove north of town a bit and checked out the fields with snow melt, and found thousands of Canada Geese, hundreds of Tundra Swans, a small group of Greater White-fronted Geese and a smattering of ducks. On my way home I stopped at the cemetery and took photos of the temporary markers of the newly buried, figured no one there would be giving me corona.

The numbers in my county and ND are rising daily, we had our first death in Fargo today, a man in his 90's who got it through community spread. A local hospital is now qualified to do the testing so we'll probably see a big increase in numbers. There is one gal in town who has been waiting 10 days for the results of her test.

I've been reading books I downloaded onto my Kindle from the library, and spending hours researching genealogy online. As long as they continue to let me go birding I'll be fine with the lockdown. Today was our first 50 degree day, still lots of snow to melt. Now we also have to deal with the predicted flooding that will result.

CeliaC

Ranting here - Neighbors across the street are having a party with their firepit parked in their garage. We are in Northern KY, where things are supposed to be on lockdown. I want to call the Police, but DH thinks we should not!

Reader425

Illinois lady I agree with your quote. It is very important to live in the moment with focus on what's happening now. We never were guaranteed more and that approach enhances each today I think.

I enjoy semi daily walks but have been doing a bit too much lounging around. Thankful to be healthy and well stocked for a while. 🙂

IllinoisLady

Giving thanks here for all those people who put themselves at risk so that we can continue to have some order out of all the chaos going on beforehand and now with this virus. We are blessed with those who continue ( in whatever job or field ) to make life worthwhile for us as much as they can.

Went to my back today -- not knowing the new rule in place that one must call the bank and make an appt. to come inside. At any rate ( small town bank ) one of my favorite tellers was walking past the door so she un-locked it and was able to take my work inside with her, do what I needed and return it to me. She walked outside with me to the automated teller so I could see what she had done and even though I was hearty with my thank you's, she likely won't realize how nice it was to be acknowledged and taken care of. She knew that I didn't know about the new rules.

I've spoken with her and many of the ladies at the bank. They all know me by name -- and I would imagine none of them would have hesitated any longer than she did to open the door to find out what I needed. She didn't let me in mind you --she followed the rules on the door -- but she also made sure I did not have to be in-convenienced. Some people are special and they are especially kind and understanding.

MCBaker

I have been making masks. Once I finish my allocated 32 masks according to local hospital-approved design, I have to make another ten, five each for my neighbor's son and my brother, who do emergency home repairs. Then more for various group care homes in town. I ordered some elastic cord, which is more like elastic thread, and have quite a bit, so I have essentially unlimited elastic, I think I will braid three strands so it will be stronger and more visible. Traditional braided elastic, especially 1/4 inch, is nearly impossible to find.

My canine coworker is doing a good job getting me out of the apt. and walking about. Rain begins in the afternoon, so we must go for groceries this morning. Gloves and mask ready. I have a little allergic cough when I talk too much (I call it fragile voice), so I need to reduce anxiety in others, and use it as a reminder to myself.

carolehalston

I hadn't given any thought to changes in banking since I so seldom need to go inside a bank. I went to an ATM early in the week and was careful not to touch any buttons with bare fingers. I used sanitizer on my hands after placing the cash on my passenger seat. When I got home I spread out the $20 bills on a table. Then washed my hands.

I'm pointing out to dh that when we need a food item that is usually a staple, it's not an emergency. Case in point his Crystal Light mix. He drinks half home-made tea and half lemon drink. But he COULD manage with tea in a pinch. In normal times we keep a list and he goes to the supermarket every few days. Yesterday he didn't say anything about being down but he wasn't his usual busy self. He's trying not to use his right arm so that a pulled muscle can heal. We've both rediscovered sitting out on our little porch. I especially enjoy sitting in the porch swing which he made for me some years ago.

Today is a walking day. I will wear the new Hoka shoes I bought the same day I went to the ATM. I called the small sports store and a man answered. I assume he was the owner or the manager. He looked up my last purchase and described the colors of the shoes he had in stock. I paid with a credit card. He put the paper shopping bag on the little front porch of the building. I drove there and picked up the bag, which had my name on it. The store is located in a small house in Old Mandeville, where we lived before moving to this house in the Madisonville area.

Wishing everyone a good Saturday.

IllinoisLady

This is the true joy in life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations. -George Bernard Shaw

IllinoisLady

Rained last night and likely some more today -- even a thunderstorm or two. We are never quite sure here in our little tucked away pocket in our county. We don't always fall heir to what the majority get. The temps. have gone to the 70's so it is not unpleasant that way, but the weather/atmosphere is tricky this time of yr. with high winds sometimes -- even a tornado here and there. Just hoping it is all right and all stay safe.

Good to hear that people are taking as many precautions as they can. I eagerly await the days newspaper to see if any cases in our immediate area have turned up. Nothing as yet. Today's paper will actually be the Saturday edition with the Sunday inserts. We don't get a paper on Sunday or Monday so as to keep our little home town paper going. Felt strange at first but I'm used to it. They also put in two crossword puzzles ( side by side ) in the Tues. edition to catch-up and since I love to do the puzzles Tuesday is always a day for me to eagerly await the paper.

I only go into the bank on occasion --- not even once a month. Use to go in every week to deposit a check while working. Checks got more expensive so in order to 'not' write checks all the time I finally got a debit card. I was afraid I'd not keep good track if I wasn't physically writing out a check, but my slight OCD demanded that I work with the little slips/receipts you get when using your card so in time it worked out and I don't even deduct the little slips/receipts right away now. Turns out my balance is far easier to determine now that I do use the debit than it ever was using the long form the bank sent once a month. As a former book-keeper I use to drive myself up the wall with the need to account for every last red or any other color cent with those bank forms so that debit card has made my life wonderful.

I hope you all have a really good Saturday and stay safe and healthy.

Anneb1149

Good Morning everyone

I ventured out in my car for the first time in almost 3 weeks. I love fresh bagels, and I don’t know whether they are all gone when my DD stops at our grocery store on her way home from work, or if they just aren’t stocking them because they are self serve. So today, I ordered and paid for them online at Dunkin Donuts. I had a mask and gloves on, and had ziplock bags to get them out of the box they came in. I was so excited. I got the confirmation email, and off I went. Got there, they had no record of my call. Thankfully, I had the confirmation email on my phone.i had tried to call them to see if I needed to wait for a “ready” text or email, but although the number was local, it goes to Corporate - no options to actually talk to the store directly. Anyway, they were very nice and gave me my bagels.

I mentioned our next door neighbors and sharing food with them. Yesterday was their 51st anniversary, and since no family could be there, they invited Tracy and me to have dinner with them last night. Tracy is the only one of the four of us who has been “out”, so we thought it would be okay. They ordered in Italian, and we all got a dessert to celebrate. It was so nice.

Tracy is pretty sure she’s already had Covid before Christmas. She and one of her co- workers both were diagnosed with upper respiratory infections, and the man ended up in the hospital on a ventilator. They are both fine now, but she says their symptoms mirrored the virus exactly. Unfortunately, there was no knowledge at Covid at that point.

Hope you all stay safe, but get a chance to get some fresh air, even if it’s your own backyard.

Anne

keywestfan

Well a little whining here. More restrictions at the Mather. I do understand the necessity of keeping ourselves and the 320 old ones who live here safe. I have been keeping calm through all this by walking now that the gym has closed and the last two weeks have walked the north Evanston streets 2-3 hours a day, always trying to distance. It’s worked well, except for joggers who come from behind, basically bump or nudge you as they pass, instead of veering off into the grass, One even spit on the sidewalk. But we are, as of today, forbidden to leave the building, except for a medical emergency. We can walk in the half of a block garden, but it’s like an obstacle course with the residents and the dogs who live here. The second blow, sort of, the consensus of our morning coffee Zoom group that it is dangerous to order from restaurants, that too many hands from cook to delivery can infect. I continue to do it, for my pleasure and also to support local restaurants, and because I am not a cook and Gil makes pasta night after night, but maybe I’m being unwise. A very nice thing happthough. Tonight my wonderful internist called out of the blue just to tell me what to look for re virus, to call him with any signs and to take care. His office is so overburdened that they are seeing patients in the parking lot, so his very thoughtful call lifted me up.

IllinoisLady

I have never been bored an hour in my life. I get up every
morning wondering what new strange glamorous thing is going
to happen and it happens at fairly regular intervals. Lady Luck
has been good to me and I fancy she has been good to
everyone. Only some people are dour, and when she gives
them the come hither with her eyes, they look down or turn away
and lift an eyebrow. But me, I give her the wink and away we go.

William Allen White

IllinoisLady

I am sorry Keywest for your further restrictions. It certainly does sound like their is even more concern for those who are attempting to use great care and caution now being displayed. Apparently ( spitting on the walkway ) there are those who have chosen to ignore the health and safety of others and hopefully some of these further restrictions are designed to help you avoid those sorts of dangers. I sincerely hope if these items/rules are instituted now it will create the possibility of being able to ease up sooner, rather than later.

I also hope that you can have your daily coffee. It would seem no one would want to be found at some point the cause of someone's illness -- so thinking that I would surmise that the utmost precautions are being taken since most of us have been reduced to take-out services. It is going to daunting for a long as it is -- and I'm hoping we all come through w/o losing huge chunks of our life and time and mental health.

We can walk out here where we live w/o closeness to others. Still, it is easy to have a feeling of deprivation for what you can't do. I don't do much, but even I feel a bit deprived from some of the things I did enjoy. Wandering through stores ( usually didn't buy much if anything ) when the moods struck and love going to Goodwill. Also the dollar store ( some, but not much, food items there ) and I don't know but think the Dollar Store may still be open. Haven't checked.

My hair appt. has been cancelled. Only for hair-cut, so not a huge tragedy, but a bit of annoyance. Perm lasts longer if you get it cut at the right time. I also let her leave my hair longer since it was still pretty coolish here 6 weeks ago when I got it done. Sigh !! Life has some lemons and we will have to get on the Internet or something and find more lemonade recipes.

Thinking of all of you -- wishing you sunshine. safety, and health.

IllinoisLady

Was out in the yard yesterday cleaning out my front flowerbed. It was very still full of leaves from this past Fall. Actually I have a great groundcover in there that should in time fill itself in really nice. I do have to get a couple of ajuga out of there ( they crawl underground sometimes and come up where not expected ) and some catnip that escaped from one of my pots close to the flowerbed. Also a pine tree seedling that got started before Fall last yr. I wasn't ready to move it but will have to this yr. Anyway, it looks fairly good out there and I have a place I will transfer the catnip as well as ajuga. Most of my ajuga is chocolate. It too is a groundcover with pretty blue flowers in spring. Most of the time it also sits fairly close to the ground. You can run the mower over the top and not disturb it. The other flower bed ground cover gets taller so can't be around a mower. It is a really pretty color green and it fills in pretty tight when your area gets complete with it. I do worry that something ( maybe a snake ) could hide a little in it, but only a time or two have we seen snakes in our yard at all -- and then normally it is black snakes ( good ) that are there.

I did find later on that I had gotten tick #2 on me for this season. I think since I only feed cats in one area now I'm going to more at risk for ticks in my own yard. Most of what I was dealing with were the dry leaves from the flower bed and most of the dog ticks I normally expect to find hanging on bushes or low hanging limbs on trees. Now I will have to worry every time I weed I guess. Survival of the fittest apparently. If your not under the trees they switch to areas a lot closer to the ground. It has been warm enough as of late to apparently wake up the ticks and get them moving around.

We are not staying as warm the next few days but it won't get real cold. We were in the 70's for a few days and it will drop to the 60's. I hope your Sunday is going well.

IllinoisLady

Something to lighten us all up a bit:

carolehalston

It does seem claustrophobic to have to stay inside a building. I enjoy my walks in the neighborhood. There are two subdivision entrances on our one-mile-long paved road. One is gated and the other is not. Its layout offers a variety of routes. Any other walkers, joggers, or dog walkers keep their distance. The houses are quite nice with attractive landscaping and well-kept yards.

I hope to finish up the big azalea bed today. I dreamed about the pruning last night. I'm sure it was only three years ago that I pruned it to waist height. I did not hollow out the center, though, as I'm doing now.

A cold front is forecast to offer a brief respite from the heat and humidity.

Wishing everyone a good Monday.

petite1

Good morning, ladies. My cleaning lady and I decided to wait a while before resuming our cleaning routine. So, I worked 6 hours cleaning the house. I have difficulty with my hands and had to take frequent breaks to run cold water over them. I got it done!

carolehalston

Good for you, Petite! I will have to do the same on a day when I don't do yard work. It tires me out.

My washing machine is making noises that are not normal. Not a good time to call in a repairman. If the machine croaks (it was pricey and isn't old enough to retire) I'll probably get a new old-fashioned one with an agitator.

I just finished completing the 2020 Census online. Nothing to it.