Spirited and Lively Older Women Thread

(( all ))  3jays you are right - we all have something. Everyone is fighting some battle or has some struggle, often invisible to the rest of the world...

Sigh. Sometimes life just doesn't turn out like we anticipated or thought we were working toward, even with all the best of intentions. It's rough with children sometimes and sometimes there's no rhyme or reason for why things work or don't work out. I treasure the relationships I have and grieve some of the ones I don't -- but some relationships are just toxic, family or not... even so, it's hardest on moms I think.

Barb, I keep you in my special "find a good job" thoughts & wishes and am hoping the right job turns up from some unanticipated direction!  You so deserve it.

Isabella I do hope your newest doc is a good one, and gets you scheduled and straightened out. I am so sorry you have to go through such trauma just to get medical care.  I hope your son reaches out to you soon.

I am still processing food from the garden - today there are green beans that need blanched & frozen - an easy task.  I'll cut all the acorn squash & leave them out for a couple days to cure, then find some place to store them (many will be given away).  We are due for our first real rain of the season within the week, and are getting into autumn mode.  We still have some wood to stack but the woodshed is full. Summer furniture to put away; some bulbs to transplant; and other normal seasonal jobs... We had another lake day, and another gallon of berries picked and in the freezer - no big spiders this time, but we did spot one big tree that either bear or mountain lion use to mark and apparently climb out onto a limb... We steered clear of that section of shoreline.

  It's been fun this summer to have a bountiful garden - way too much for us to use - and so I've given veggies to many neighbors and made some new friends along the way.  

6-month checkups coming up - appointments & tests strung out for a month, but I'm taking BarbA's advice and trying not to fret until just before.   Keeping busy helps. So does the wine left over from my birthday.... not so much left now. 

AJ  I am jealous of your lovely relationships with your children !!!! That's all I want, open communication, a bit of consideration now and then, and to see ALL of my G/children.

When I was a young mother with 2 children, I often used to think about how nice it would be when they grew up and brought their children home, I really looked forwards to G/children.....but, what do I get..1 crazy hedonistic daughter,(at least I do see her reasonably regularly)  and an absent son.

Barb...I hope you can rebuild fences with your s/DD. Trouble is, if anyone has to be treading on eggshells it's always us !!

We have had yet another fantastic day weatherwise. I had my first visit from my cleaning service....ya know, the one I have been 'cleaning for' for days before they came !!! I am exhausted,  but there are NO cobwebs to whisk away, and no dirty little corners !! I have run myself into a frazzle making sure all is CLEAN...how stupid is that !! I asked DD to change the bed linen on a spare bed this last Saturday, and she informed me she was 'useless at this, and let the cleaners do it ' OMG the excuses she comes up with. I did it myself, but boy was it awkward. I can't reach very well and must have walked miles round and round this bed trying to sort it. The 2 ladies I got today look as if nothing will be too much trouble for them, so I shalln't hesitate to ask them to do the awkward jobs now. That's what I need them for. Just to embarrass me they came in uniforms. I specifically asked NOT to send uniformed cleaners to me, no doubt someone will call here at the door and think I am affected having 2 people in maids outfits flitting around.

I went back to bed this afternoon when they'd gone. I had got myself up early, dashed around clearing all surfaces, polishing sinks and brandishing loo brushes... so no one would see what a mess things were becoming. So, I spent a couple of hours on my bed listening to the radio, got up had a long soak in the bath, a hair do and a face pack !

Isabella.

oh, Isabella: i used to own and work for a cleaning company!!!THATS" what they;re there for..the very things you did before they came.. don't do it anymore. their only working at what they do; and we all enjoy it, or wouldn't do it...relax...!!!

   glad you're still having great weather. enjoy your naps, and baths. you work /WAY too hard for them!!.............3jays

BarbA, I was trying to figure out how to ship some freshies to you all summer - sort of like Harry & David's...knowing you're a foodie.  DH spent some time "soil-building", and we have added to - it worked. I can vouch that nothing tastes as good as healthy, organic, fresh-picked vegetables and fruits.  At our elevation melons are iffy, but we got 4 watermelons and 7 cantaloupes that taste like ambrosia of the angels...OMG!  But I never could figure out how to get you a box.... However, there are a number of folks in our small town who ate better this summer because of our garden, and that pleased me. Yesterday's "kid's day" young-mothers group got a big box of cukes, summer squash, and a bag of winter squash... I tell you truly though, I'm ready to put the garden to bed & do something else.  But the pleasure I get from looking in the cabinets and freezer at the canned, dried, and frozen "fruits of our labors" makes my endorphins sing.

Have a good weekend all, and find some endorphins....

Ducky, you ARE blessed, and you probably are a blessing your own self.... AJ, same to you...

ETA:  PS, Isabella, I would have done the same thing before especially the first cleaning service. Now they'll know what you expect.  But the uniforms made me giggle.

wow! - what is that plant Lisa? Is it a flower or a vegetable? Whichever, it is quite beautiful.

I should add that I feel extremely fortunate to be able to have continued the cleaning service. I know it isn't a choice everyone can make. Some things have gone right in my life.

Prayers are with you Lisa.

I can't wait either...it will be fun!!