Spirited and Lively Older Women Thread

BarbaraA

{{{{AmyJo}}}}} What wondeful news! SO happy you dodged the Irene bullet.

Hauntie

Amyjo - So glad you've joined me as a member of August, 2011,  "Best News in the World Club" You are #1.

chabba

So very happy for you Amyjo

Anonymous

   I think that is absolutely fabulous news AmyJo. 

   I have sort of been neglecting my old threads, but am doing fine.....I think.  I never know for sure until we do tests, and I have learned how I feel is not a good indicator for me because I always feel fine.

I have been posting on the Xeloda threads and also triple + since I got the HER2 change.  So far so good with Xeloda....am on round two now, Day 6.   My schedule is 14 days on, then a week off.  I sleep with socks and gloves on after I grease up with Bag Balm or Worker's Hands.  If someone were to look out in the middle of the night when Harley and I are doing our late walks and see me with my hair sticking out all over the place ( I wear the bandannas when I go out and to work), my baggy pajama pants and my white gloves they would think I was a clown on the loose. 

I have been having a time of it with the cat.  He had his teeth cleaned and two exts and I had hoped that was why he wasn't eating, but it didn't help.  So yesterday the vet came and gave him a steroid shot and now he will eat, but only when I hold it in my hand.  And he won't drink water so I am shooting it down his throat with a syringe and he will drink Kitty milk so at least he's getting a little bit of fluids.  I am really  worried about him.

Not too long until I will be seeing some of you in MO.  Yes, I am dragging the fondue pot along with me so then you too can fondue!! 

Isabella4

Yay for AmyJo...bet you're so pleased. Hoping for a good scan now !

Very cold and windy here....Autumn is very much on the way now. I got someone to lift in my potted tomatoes today, the poor things must be so cold. I must admit they come very low down on my list...I think so far I have managed 3 tomato sandwiches , from THREE plants. There they all sit, in big green bunches , but just not enough warmth and sunshine to turn them red. And don't anyone even half suggest pickles and chutneys. I am not a cook, and my pickled anything comes from a shop !!!

I have no green house now...I made a very big fuss to get one, used it 2-3 years, then wished I'd never had it put up. I felt I had to be in there every day potting and sowing away !! Towards the end I used it as a hairdryer....just washed my hair, went and sat in the greenhouse for threequarters of an hour reading 'til my hair was dry !! 

I've not been very sociable this weekend. All family off away doing their own things, and I've been on my own....mainly reading and sewing, and shopping on the internet ! Just got what I THOUGHT was a lightweight vacuum. All the ads show a woman running upstairs with the vac. on one finger. Well, she must be an Amazon. I can't lift it with one finger, and I certainly can't run upstairs with it. It weighs 7 and a half kilos. Goodness knows where that falls in English, probably around 14lbs. I haven't quite got it together yet, It didn't come 'til 5.30pm, and I ran out of steam just after it arrived. I got another Dyson, purely on the fact that it was a lightweight one !! I already have 3 Dysons around the place, pushed in cupboards all over the house , but I just walk past them, cannot drag them around at all ! This time got the Dyson DC24 Animal, its big on animal hair, but seeing as though I never let my dogs on my carpets I shall never know if it picks up any better than its heavier sisters !!!!! Gotta be some help on my stairs tho'

A round of doctors and hospital appointments are on my cards over the next 2 weeks, all come at once...plus a dentists appointment thrown in for good measure. I hate all these proddings and questions, but most of all I hate the parking problems. I do have a parking permit, because of my fibromyalgia, and slipped discs, but still I could be walking about 500-600 yards, which is murder at the moment. We have a brand new cancer centre, built last year, all glass and chrome, but only FIVE parking spaces for those with permits, up at the front.  It is absolutely stupid, just no use even driving by to see if I could get in, they're all full, plus a queue of about 8/10 more people with permits waiting for a space. Even ambulances have a job to get in to the front doors, past all the queue of cars. All this means I have to go on up into a multistory park about 500 yards away, then negotiate lifts and staircases to get down to ground level. I keep saying I will ring and ask for patient transport, which I qualify for, but instead of a 2 hour round trip in my own car it'd mean being picked up in a minibus about 2/3 hours earlier than my booked appointment, and then waiting 'til everyone who came in on the minibus has had their appointment and is ready to do the return trip, so could take me the best part of the day !!! Remind me never to get old !!!

It's my bedtime now, I was up until 4 am this morning, with a litter of puppies being born, so I am wacked.

Isabella. 

Isabella4

Marybe...we were posting at the same time.

Pleased to see you around again, hope you continue to make a bit of progress.

I had to laugh at the mental picture of you wandering around at night. Watch out someone will be hauling you off in the little green van if they see you skulking around like that. Must admit I would scare anything that moves on a night with what I wear in bed....dread being woken up by some hunky fire fighter looking as I look in bed. ( This actually DID happen , about 20 years ago we were woken up with all hell breaking lose outside. Doorbell ringing away, 'phone going, doors being thumped. Looked out and all the straw was on fire outside the house, and the farmyard FULL of hunky men....firefighters, 2 fire brigades and 2 police cars.....hehehe ) Didn't laugh for long, as just as I got downstairs my car....brand new 3 months before, blew up...I was MUCH more bothered about my car than anything else!!!

Ah well,.... all in the past now.

Isabella.

BarbaraA

Joyce what a fine idea. We get Isabella a sitcom about life in the bucolic English countryside.... Not so much! How fun would that be.



Isabella, must say your life is never dull and your way of describing it rocks!



Oh Marybe, prayers for George. I hate when our fur babies get sick. Can't WAIT to see you!

QCA

Cheering for you, AmyJo---just wonderful news!

And Joyce, I too agree that a sitcom about Isabella and her life would be hilarious!  Isabella is a born writer and her descriptions are priceless. A lot of us have been after her to write a book---actually, if she'll print off her posts she's got most of one already done!

Marybe, it's so good to see you back.  I know it's so hard with George, and I do hope he'll perk up a little more each day.  Hopefully he'll be much better by the time you go to Shell Knob and leave him with Tim.  

Kathy

Anonymous

This is a flower from         Thailand .  It is also a protected species and is not allowed to be         exported.  This may be the only way we will be able to view this         flower.

FROM THAILAND . . THE VERY RARE PARROT         FLOWER         Many of you have posted beautiful flower pics, but have you ever seen anything like this? 

Anonymous

Oh bummer,  It looks like it is a locked picture. 

chabba

Sorry we can't see Marybe.

3jaysmom

Good try Marybe. i'll google it later. i really hope George starts perking up soon>>> im praying for ALL of you, now...

   Isabella: another round of puppies. you just never stop.. you're our very own energizer bunny.

   i must tell you, ladies, i'm in the pits right now. i don't really have a life. in bed, up when Mur gets home, meds, back to bed till we eat. he sleeps thru 2-3 tv shows, i lose patience with him, and move to the living room... this is worse than when iwas doing chemo!!! it's so unfair!!!!

   well, can't change anything right now. just keep taking meds.. so, we'll see. love you gals. this is where i get honest.......3jays 

3jaysmom

is this the one, Marybe? beautiful flower....3jays

Valjean

I'm a bit late here with my comment, but I wanted to tell you, Amyjo, how wonderful your news is on the tumor markers.

Anonymous

THAT'S IT, 3JAYS!!!  So why couldn't I copy it from the email I got?  Maybe someone needs to give me lessons again.  I am soooo upset that this new compound doesn't seem to be working for you either and I know it is frustrating since doctors don't seem to be able to come up with a solution for you.  I wonder if it's actually thyroid or if it's your MS or what.  You have so many things going on , it just isn't fair.

I am up because I am having horrible cramps( for lack of  a better description).  If I reach my arm to scratch a place on my back, it gets a cramp or spasm or whatever...the back of my leg where my artificial knee is feels like the muscles in there are too short and I can't straighten it out,  I just got back from walking Harley and I do seem to feel better when I am up and walking around, unless I make a move in the wrong direction and then I get a cramp.  I am drinking the tonic water, but it isn't working. 

I have no idea if this is Xeloda or what is going on.  Of course me with my overactive imagination have thoughts of blood clots all over the place.  Since I am going for my consultation with the other onco today, I put off my appt at my regular's onco's office until Friday and they were going to do my INR again today.  I think I will go in and have them do the INR since it really doesn't need an appt, just a finger stick.

I have no idea where George is...lately he has been disappearing, but since he can't get outside is most likely hiding under the couch or in a closet.  This is new behavior for him.  Yesterday he did at least eat some, but I have to hold it in my hand for him. 

mcbird

Amyjo, So happy for you!!!

Marybe, I'm so sorry about your beloved cat. I know how precious pets become to us.  I would have loved to see the parrot flowers.  Parrots are my favorite creatures.

A few hours ago I went out to the back patio, it has a high wall around it and I looked up and there was a Bobcat sitting on the wall with a fresh kill hanging out of it's mouth, when I went to call my friend that I'm staying with it took off but it sure gave my adrenaline a charge.  It didn't scare me just startled me but, I will be careful when I go outside at all hours of the night.  Darla

barbe1958

Marybe, I get the same feeling in my knee, and describe it the same way, when it is swollen. Sometimes I don`t notice the swelling until the next day, but the way you said it feels like the muscles in there are too short and I can't straighten it out, is exactly how I say it!!

As for George, our Bogey stopped eating and we realized he had no teeth left so we got him soft food and chop it up by the teaspoon. He licks popsicles and icecream but doesn`t seem to drink water anymore either. We know his days are numbered....we buy one can of food at a time! He spends most of his days on a dining room chair peering out from under the glass. His world his way. We`re going to fall apart when he goes as he is the last of FOUR cats we have had all at the same time. The oldest was 21....Bogey is 18.

BarbaraA

Awww, Marybe, I am praying for George. And Barbe, praying for your fur baby too. They are our babies.

SoCalLisa

Good to hear that AJ...

Isabella4

Marybe, have you tried George with sardines ( in oil ) ?? You probably have, but I find them a great help with a dog or cat that won't eat. I have a small stash of them in my kennel kitchen, along with cans of Heinz baby food. Sometimes when I am feeling a bit 'what DO I want to eat?' I'll nick a can of sardines and have them on toast !!

Must say my food consumption has altered significantly nowadays...not having to please DH with things stocked up in the 'fridge ....I will eat anything as long as it does NOT include cooking. Funnily enough, I will cook a tea for G/son most nights, but only something that doesn't tax my brain, and only needs a microwave ! Something comforting to me to hear him clattering in and out the house sorting my animals out for me that I don't mind spending 10 mins getting him something warm.....then I get to spend a half hour chatting to him while he eats. 

G/sons older brother (22) is giving me cause for concern at the moment. He has been noticeably sharp with his G/F for a few weeks, a really lovely girl. They've been together over 4 years, and she's become part of the family. He announced last week that he 'doesn't think he wants to be with her anymore' It has come right out of the blue, and the girl is heartbroken. She had no idea it was coming, in fact they'd just been away on holiday, and had a really good time....but....it did, and we're all at a loss as how to help. He won't give any explanation, and has just walked out to stay with his friend, leaving her alone in their house, and in a mess. I haven't seen him yet, and don't know whether to mind my own business, or to jump in, all guns blazing, at him. Don't want to make a terrible situation worse. I can't make him go back, but to see this girl so devastated is awful. She hasn't been to work all week, and has been down to see me twice to tell me her troubles. I feel awful, but won't back G/son. just because he IS my G/son, I will listen to them both.  G/Fs mother died when she (G/F) was 5, and she was dragged up by her father, she has fitted in so well with all of us, and will often say how nice it is for her to belong to a family, and have people who care about her....her father worked away on oil rigs as soon as she and her sister were 14 and 15, leaving them both home alone for weeks on end, so they had no home life at all....just an elderly G/mother who looked in on them twice a week.  

I managed to put my Dyson together today, didn't really need much putting together, it just snapped into place fine. I DO find it easier to haul around, so I suppose I will have to use it now ! I'm getting the house sorta into shape so I can get a cleaning service in place. Its about 18 months, maybe more, since I had a cleaner. Have fought shy of getting a regular cleaner again , as I'd rather NOT get into someone always being in and out the house. There isn't a lot of mess from just me, and apart from a few dog hairs from the animals in my kitchen, which I can cope with myself, I just need the whole house going thru' about once a month...I CAN flap a duster now and then !! It's actually amazing how easy it has become now, not having to constantly be picking up and clearing away for DH. He was VERY untidy, and did NOT like soap and water !!! Just must never have grown out of that as a boy ! It was a constant battle to get him to change his working clothes, and NOT to come in and out the house in filthy boots. He used to tell me it 'didn't matter, we have a cleaner, she'll clear it up'  I just didn't want it there in the first place !!!!!  It's lovely now not to find light switches, fridge doors and door handles smeared with goodness knows what daily....I feel squeaky clean and normal again !!!!!! I even had a sink put in outside on the farm, so he could wash the messes off his hands before he got inside, but would he use it ?...like h*ll he would !!!

I heard on the radio that it is the 'first day of Autumn' today, September 1st. First I knew about this , I always thought September 21st was the start of Autumn. It has been quite cool all week. I must admit I like winter better than summer...easier to put on a sweater and feel the difference than to 'fry' in the little bit of summer we get....soon be into the eternal round of running about filling the log baskets up. I DO like the log burning stoves, but do not like the work they create ! The dogs just love it when I light up the one in the kitchen, they will lay right underneath it.

Just off to check on my new puppies. I don't know what it is, at the moment but I have had loads of enquiries for pups. I thought money was very tight, but, no, lots of people still want dogs. I have 1 little chap, he is 5 months old now, I have had TWO backwords on him. I kept him for an extra 5 weeks for a family when he should have been ready to leave me, and then just as I expected to have him picked up I got a call to say they no longer wanted him. Always getting enquiries, and within a week he was ordered again, BUT the family were going on holiday, and 'would you keep him until September 5th?' Then, yesterday morning, I got a letter saying they had changed their minds !!!! I said a few choice words here !!  Poor little soul is now waiting again for a family !! I'm afraid 2 lots of people DID NOT get their deposits back !  

Isabella.

chabba

Isabella - I hope the depositts were significant ones too!

I agree with you about the weather, I prefer cold to hot.  I can always add more clothes but I can only take off so much.

Elisimo

Hey everyone, thanks for the well wishes on my good news.  It was pointed out that I needed to clairify what I was talking about. My Circulating Tumor Marker Count is 1 and my CA 27/29 remains at 27 so everything is great on those fronts.  Also my Cellulitus has cleared up, but my onco is worried that I am still anemic. Since I really have been taking all the vitamins and supplements that he has told me to take and I have been eating like I am supposed to, DH verified that since he does most all of the cooking and makes sure that I eat.  He is looking into what may be causing that so I expect there will be more test in the coming weeks, but  they will not interfer with my going to MO or to Duck with Chrissy to see SV at the end of next week.  I do know he is scheduling a MRI since I have not had one in a year.  I am guessing that the other test to check on bone, liver and lung mets will follow.  For now I am enjoying the good news.

I am off to bed and I hope everyone has a good nights rest. 

3jaysmom

isabella: im glad the new dyson has worked out for you. a cleaner once a month will be ok.. i was a "cleaner" bf bc. i miss it most days... since i have a DH like yours, well, mines a love, but they always had a full time housekeeper, maid. (yes, she cooked every meal, too) he NEVER learned to clean up after himself...we're just now going about with his hoarding. i find i just can't follow him round and clean up after him, anymore. he's 59; poor thing WELL TIME to grow up!!!!

   i wouldn't be sending any of those deposits back, either.. poor baby, he needs a family, soon, or you'll never be able to let him go...

   Marybe; i hope George will srtaighten up soon. im worried about my little ones' teeth.. but, since i can't afford to fix mine, there's aren't getting done right now, eitheBABIES, after all....3jays 

3jaysmom

Barbara a: can you pm me, tell me how to start a new thread? im gonna put one up, so anyone who wants to meet for lunch with Chrissy while she's at my house, can respond. thanks..........3jays

SoCalLisa

 This morning I tried out my new tennis racquet I bought yesterday...not a good one to me anyhow, the strings were too loose. It was a factory stringing job..a Wilson...at any rate, I took it back to Sports Authority and told them...guess what, they took it back and exchanged it for a different model which I think will work better anyhow..so kudos to them..

Elisimo

Lisa - when my DD#1 bought her racket at a place here they had an indoor tennis court that she could try the racket out to be sure it had the right grip and the right string tension for the way she plays.  Any place that sells mainly sports equipment should at least give you a trial period to test it out.  So glad Sports Authority did the exchange for you with no problem.  Oh, the place here is called Carolina Golf! Go figure, they sell all kinds of sports equipment, so not quite sure what their name seems like they only sell golf items.

3jaysmom

hey guys: thanks to Barb A; and Marybe: i have a new thread letting ple know in so fla. thsat chrissys' gonna be here. if mohammod couldn't come to the mountsin, the mountain came to him...just kidding; anyway; if ya know anyone near here, or not too far , we have sept 17th set for a lunch. but i love to eat out, and will do another, if need be!!! its under "growing freiendships.."       3jays

BarbaraA

Chrissy is here! Can't wait to meet her in 10 days!

GramE

I love that Chrissy is able to travel around and visit with many of the BC group.   I nominate her as CEO or President or Ambassador of the "Travelling BC Sisters Group".

Eph3_12

I 2nd that motion!  I just wish she was west coasting it too!