For Older People with Sense

Thanks Lisa.  I thought you must be the one on the end--if you weren't behind the camera.

Chabba, I am what I am...

What a weekend!  Daughter #2 came home from camp with lice!  I hate those buggers.  She hadn't told me about it right away and slept in my bed -- she snuggled up to me and I ended up with a few of them too.  So spent the weekend de-lousing.  Vacuumed everything, washed bedding, pillows and clothes in hot water, we used a non-toxic product I discovered a few years ago called Lice Freeee.  You end up smelling like licorice, but it really works.  Even kills nits. The we got a Lice Freeee shampoo that works as a preventative -- it keeps you from getting re-infested.  We will still be checking heads daily for a while, but I think we beat them by getting on top of it quickly.  I did overdo a bit, but really didn't have a choice.

Isabella:  What a fright!  Keep yourself safe and let those rotties protect you.  Good idea about the gypsies!  It is tough when you can't feel safe in your own home.  We had a problem a couple of years ago when a house in our neighborhood was raided by ATF (Alchohol, tobacco and Firearms). I was outside getting ready for a garage sale and suddenly there were swat team type guys surrounding the neighbors house.  The were all geared up and armoured and were armed with automatic weapons.  Apparently this guy was dealing drugs and firearms.  I was so scary!  He ended up getting killed later in a nearby town in a drug related battle.  For a while, I didn't let my kids go out or even walk past that house.  Since then the house has been sold to a new neighbor and I wonder if she knows the house's history.

Lisa, great picture. Nice to be able to put faces with the names.

Later!

Phyllis

Well, I finally have reclaimed my sewing room from DH's junk.  He was really good about getting all of his junk and the extra desks out of the room so I would have plenty of room to work.

wow! amy jo; thats a wonderful room. you'll be done quilting that bedspread for DS in no time there!!!.......3jays

Leah thanks for the tip about Vit. C for my allergies.  Lisa I like your pics of you, Chrissy and everyone else at that marina in SD.  The sky is so blue.  You have a great sewing room Amyjo.

Beautiful sewing room!  Almost gives me an itch to have one of my two sewing machines serviced.  One is an old miniature Kenmore, the other an old Singer I inherited when my aunt died of bc several years ago.

Dragon, yes, thats what it's called Toyota Jeans machine. Specifically for heavy duty sewing. and oh so cheap !!!! I looked it up on the internet, and had one here in a day or two. It says Toyota Jeans on the front of it. In all the time I have been sewing I had never heard of one like this before. I even have a big industrial machine...and it beats that !!

Isabella.

I love my new sewing room. I spent all day today there just sewing away.  I used to sew all the time, but then life got so busy and working so many hours that I just did not have time anymore. Now I am sort of retired and I have time now to do what I like to do.  I have one row of that huge quilt actually quilted just 16 in that direction then about 21 rows in the other direction.  Hopefully I will be done by the time I have to go to CA to see them next week.  I did decide that the quilt will have to either be shipped or pay for a 2nd bag to be checked at the airport!  

Just got a FaceTime call from GS#1 and he wants a Lego King Chariot Assault Set for his birthday in November.  Guess I will ba makeing a run to Target tomorrow. 

Dragon - At least you remember to write the notes.  I get distracted before I get a chance to write a note! 

3jays, that's a good idea.  I've been taking Gabapentin for shingles and also read that it can cause memory loss.  I think I need a memory dog!  What a good excuse to take a dog into the supermarket!

There is a bird trying to commit suicide by crashing into my kitchen window.  Please, little birdie, spring will come again!

Hope all are well,

Dragon 

Lisa, does your insurance cover the Lyrica?  I think mine charges some kind of giant co-pay.  Some day may try some of my friend's Rx just to see if it works.  Wow, bet the weather is great down in San Diego!

Dragon 

Re: Gabapentin

I have an Rx for this my MO gave me...for hot flashes.  I filled it once, got it home, and started reading about the SE's. I decided my hot flashes weren't bad enough yet to risk the SE's, so I haven't started taking it yet. 

I'd like to hear about your experiences with it, regardless of the reason it was prescribed. 

Thanks, ladies!

I've tried Lyrica, then Gabapentin, but neither helped neuropathy in 'bad ' side arm, underarm and shoulder. I am told nothing else can help me with this pain....which really means 'you are using up too much money switching drugs on a whim....put up with it ' !!!!!  Most days it runs about 5/10, but if I attempt to do any work will ramp up to an 8 or more out of 10.  I saw a friend only today who said to me ' you're holding your arm in a funny position, have you banged it on something ?' I explained what was the cause of my trouble, and she said 'oh, I thought you'd finished with all that YEARS ago'. I wish.

Started on a monster clear out of cupboards and drawers today. I am finding things I have had over 30 years, hung up in my wardrobes, as good as new. I am afraid I have been as hard as I am when I go into my garden with the pruning shears ( well, used to !) I had got to the stage of piling up newly washed clothes in a spare bedroom, because there was no point in ironing because there was nowhere to put newly ironed clothes anyway !! I am not the worlds most enthusiastic ironer, always had a big pile near my ironing table, but over the last 3-4 months I have become unable to stand and iron for more than 10 mins, before my back starts to scream, so have been ironing on demand ! 

I sent for some of those clothes storage bags that you suck out the excess air from , from QVC, so I don't even have to iron my ironing now, they will crease in the bags nicely, thankyou ! Have filled 3 up, but not attempted to get the air out yet !...tomorrows job. I HAVE ended up with a massive pile of coathangers. I shall have to shift them on somewhere soon.

Still getting the 'your house is much too big for you now' from DD,One of my G/daughters has started to chime in now....so I am attempoting to do big clearaways before they all come visit again at the w/end, and see my piles of black bags to go to the charity shop, and QVC bags to store things away.  OMG I have just taken a big sip from my can of Coke, and found something in it....a great big fat fly....nearly swallowed it. I left my can uncovered for 2 hours, and in plops a big fat fly...serves me right for not covering it up !!!!

We are having very misty, humid, drippy weather at the moment, so I am finding inside jobs to keep myself moving. I had ordered a firm to come and clean my 2 conservatories...in about a month....they turned up today...and were not pleased to be turned away until I want them !! Both conservatories are white, and just filthy....haven't been cleaned in 4 years. I can no longer climb up ladders safely to power wash and clean out gutters, let alone polish windows.....but...I am waiting until the leaves are all off the trees and the gutters are full so they can be cleaned out properly....and the men who turned up today didn't seem too pleased with me when I wouldn't let them get on with the job. Not my fault they are short of work...but whether they will come back again at the end of November remains to be seen ! Oh, to be young again and not have to rely on others to do my work.

Isabella.

   Isabella,  What is a conservatory? Here we have conservatories and they are in parks and have flowers and things in them that people go look at....but I am sure it is something else in England.   Remember that little song There was an old lady who swallowed a fly?....not to imply that you are old or anything, but it came to mind when I read about that one in your Coke.  I can certainly relate to the oh to be young again...yesterday I worked at both offices...the one from 7 -12 and then the other from 1:30 to 7:30...was able to do this since I did not have a dr's appt. and the other hygienist had to take a cont ed class and needed someone to work for her.  I used to do this all the time with no problem, but boy was I tired last night.  I bet your place is spic and span compared to mine.....I have piles of crap everywhere, but told one of my friends the other day I think I am not going to buy any more clothes and need to throw out half the ones I have and she asked why and I said because I really ended up wearing the same things most of the time I was on vacation.  I need someone to come help me though because I know I will never get around to doing it on my own.

Neurontin or gabapentin, I used to take it, and I think I quit taking it for some reason, but don't recall why.....have a whole bottle of it now that they prescribed again when I said the navelbine or something was giving me neuropathy, but I didn't take it.....not because I was worried aobut SEs, I just didn't take it.  If we believed all the side effects were going to happen that they list on medications, no one would take anything.  I am scared this or that is going to happen to me every time I start a new drug and none of them ever  happen which is not necessarily a good thing since when I don't get the SEs with different chemos they usually are not working....my onco says there is no correlation, but I say there IS, for me at least.  Anyway, I took some supplements and vitamins that Lago told me about for neuropathy and they worked  L-glutamine, acetyl-L-carnitine and Vitamin B....I think it was B12.   I have been very fortunate in that even though several treatments has caused me to have neuropathy, it has always pretty much gone away. 

I was worried about myself and my memory awhile ago.....asked my onco if I could have a test for alzheimers and that was when they ordered that brain MRI.....I HATE having those because I am always afraid they will find something there that shouldn't be there.....it showed normal changes for someone my age.  Don't you just love hearing that?  3jays is right....if we worry about it, then we don't have it, we just would not notice, but eveyone else would. 

I wrote to the onco at MDA last night and he wrote back immediately.  I am just so impressed with this man....he had received my scan report and said he was reviewing my records.  He mentioned a few hormonals, one which is similar to testosterone and high dose estrogen which I know my onco was very much opposed to....I remember when RobinWendy was doing that.  Then I thought this guy's specialty is hormone driven BC and thought of that saying, If a hammer is the only tool you have, everything looks like a nail.  So I guess a rad onco would be recommending radiation and a surgeon would say surgery is the way to go.   Hmmmmm.   Well, I still intend on going back to MDA and talked to my friend with the ex there and she said we can stay with him and he's not far from the medical center.  So that is all I know.....oddly enough I am not too worried about it and the thought of maybe doing nothing for awhile sounds pretty appealing to me.   

Well, good night all.  I am tired and going to go to bed.