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

Good morning, everyone.  It's sunny outside.  My big outing for the day is an appointment with my foot dr.  Tomorrow it will be 3 weeks since my surgery.  The little incision looks good.  The foot does not feel "normal."  But perhaps it never will.  I'll withhold judgment on the outcome of the surgery until more time has passed.

I'm hoping to get the rest of the placemats sewed today.  Then I'll take some pictures and post one or two.

Wishing everyone a good Tuesday. 

Yay, Puffin! 

Hey Puffin....GREAT news. You are now a member of the "no more port club!"

Can't wait to see your placemat project, Carole!

The sun is shining so I'm off to clean off the back deck and then play nine holes of golf!

I hope everyone is having a good day!

Here late again today so bit oops from me.  Had a few extra things to do today ( this morning ) and a few extra ( not bad mind you ) at work so all in all --- I just didn't get to my computer until now.  A few more items on the horizon.  Tomorrow we go to lunch at my cousin Mary's house.  A little family luncheon.  My Aunt Mary from California passed a couple of weeks ago and since we have discussed strokes for a bit ---  she had one three years or so ago and for the most part has never been the same.  No talking etc.  Well, she fell ill again a few weeks ago  ( likely another stroke  as well ) along with pneumonia and some other complication.  Was only back home a couple of days and she passed on. 

Hard to say it was a blessing, but it was.  Anyway we will have the family luncheon tomorrow and then the funeral on Friday and then on Saturday will go to Ballwin, Missouri for another family  get-together.  So sort of an up and down week, but you just keep going till its all done.  I'll rest next week when things slow back to what I hope will be a normal pace.

Just sitting here using my key to happiness and inner peace. 

(((((Puff)))))

Blessings

Jackie

GG -- sorry about Dh's Aunt.  You are right to just do now what gives you comfort.  I believe in an afterlife  -- and also that we are specifically here on Earth right now because our souls ( not bodies, minds, personalities or anything else like that ) but just our Souls grow much quicker in an environment where there are so many, many negative events and if your ready for this one -- negative souls.  

All souls have some negativity -- but there is a difference -- those who can really grow well have figured out that they have some negativity and don't give it much life.  Generally are able to figure which is which ( even some of our family members get caught up in being more negative than anything ) and while it is bothersome,  for your own soul's sake you generally know when it is time to remove yourself in a way so as to not be continually affected by their negativity. 

Ok.....I'm doing a TMI I think and some of this is just MOHO about life and how it works --- I sort of look at it this way --- I'm either going to end up with the surprise of my life ( and that is if I will even be aware that nothing comes after my body is no longer necessary ),  or it is going to be the very absolute highest and most joyous occasion  it ever could be.  I have been opting for the latter version for  sure for the last 18 yrs. or so.  I haven't proved the former ( since I haven't died as yet ) but at the same time I've nothing that disproves it either.  So --- that said, I think your Dh's Aunt will know that you love and miss her .

Jackie

Wow !!!  I get to be first here today unless someone is typing along with me here right now and finishes first.  We will have sun today ( not as strong as I'd like ) but never-the-less, I will enjoy it and the warmer temps. it will bring.  This morning we had to turn on the I-heater to take the chill out of the living room.  Dh is a bit colder than I am --- but then sometimes it just depends on how many animals pile on us,  as to how "warm" we may get in the morning.  I think we really did need that heater on for a bit. 

Anyway, hope you are all going to have a positive and happy day.  We are meeting over at my cousin's house for a "easy" family lunch.  My cousin, Rebecca and her husband are here from California.  A sad occasion actually since my Aunt Mary passed and will be buried here along with her husband -- and all of us have walked the road before, however reluctantly of choosing how to deal with final wishes of our parents or other loved ones.  I am ambivalent -- very sad that I've only one Aunt remaining --- but glad that Aunt Mary is freed from living a life she could no longer actually be very much a part of, in the ways she always enjoyed. 

So -- lots to do today -- and work tomorrow, then the funeral Friday -- then another family get-together in Missouri Saturday.  We are actually quite close to Missouri where we live -- it is about 75 miles almost due west of us.  In fact, many people work there every day, but I think I'd never want to drive that far to work daily.  Also, the better shopping is there along with different forms of entertainment. 

A lot going on in the world, but since my little job interval ( I didn't have a lot of time there ) I haven't paid near as much attention to the current news and am a little out of the loop.  It used to be such a big part of my day.  Well, I'll likely get back but I have to say --- I'm happier in some ways not "dealing" quite so strongly in all the "going on's " that make up the world at large and my area in particular.  It is a nice freedom for a while.

I will see you all later.

Blessings,

Jackie

Morning all

GG & Jackie-sorry for the loss of your Aunts. Like you, Jackie, I have only one Aunt left- she is 96 and living with one of her daugter's who is incredibly kind and patient with her. My Aunt uses a walker, and spend most of her day in their closed-in sun porch. Her long term memory is great, but short term is shot. Her kids are all very close to her. She raised her 5 children in Canada and she is now in Vero Beach, Fl. The two kids still in Canada come to visit frequently- the son once every six weeks so his sister can get away for a weekend. The oldest daughter lives in Arizona and FaceTimes every day as does the son who visits every six weeks. As wonderful as they are, unfortunately, the SIL she lives with hates her and having to have her in their house. He had no problem telling me he wishes she would go ahead and die already. He has always been a self-centered jerk, who required his wife's total attention, to the point that their relationship with their own two kids is distant, both emotionally and geographically. She on the other hand, is always in a good mood and takes her limitations in stride, with no self pity at all.

My oldest son has begun his crazy summer. He drove down Fri nite to run the orientation for the camp counselors on Sun. He flew home Mon morning, for the final week of school and to be at graduation, leaving his car here. He flies back next Sun and camp starts Mon. He will fly back to So. Carolina on June 25th to be with his daughter on her second birthday ( the 26th). Then he will drive back with his family on the 27th and go back to camp on the 28th, doing the reverse a couple of weeks later. Then he will fly home for a long weekend at the end of July, and finally drive home the final Fri evening of camp to go back to teaching that Mon.

My 2grandchildren were in their school talent show the night Rob was driving down. As a reward for participating, their parent decided to take them to Jaxson's- a very popular ice cream parlor here. It opened in 1956. The wait to get in was over 2 hours. We got there at 8:30 and weren't seated till 10:45. I usually do not drive by myself that late at night, but had no choice. Luckily it was a very easy drive, but I told Rob I would call him while I was driving home. He was in St Augustine when we got to the restaurant and by the time I was on my way home, he was hitting the north end of Ft Lauderdale. We got to the house less than a half hour apart, close to 1am. I am still trying to recover.

Anne

Happy to be home - when we're traveling, even though I have good intentions, it's just too much effort to try to post much.  Sometimes I do read, but even that is a bit much on my itty bitty phone screen, so I get a bit out of touch with what's going on in everyone's lives.  I keep thinking I should buy a different phone that has a bigger screen, but I don't know if I'll actually do it as the phones are so insanely expensive.  Hugs to everyone from me as well.

I've been with the same carrier forever (it seems like).  But the plan is much more expensive per month if you use the free upgrade (2 year contract) price.  I choose to pay for the phone myself, and keep the lower monthly rate, as I feel it is less expensive in the long run.    Of course, that is only true if you actually do keep the phone for a long time.....

We dropped our landline a long time ago.  Keeping the cell phone available can be a drag, but you could move the landline number to your cell so not need to change all the important contact info that's out there - of course if your cell is also out there for important stuff, then some things will need to change.  We do have a VOIP phone at the house, but rarely use it.

Funny that this subject has come up today, I had a full on day with DH appt at local hospital then went to our local phone provider to up-date to new phone as my old flip-phone was way past its use-by date. I am currently on a $20 per month plan as it is at least 8yrs old. In my purse I had a newish Samsung belonging to my daughter who didn't want it. She is daunted by technology I think and was as scared of it as I was when we bought it 18 months ago.

Well.....after talking to the sales girl about paying $79 per month for a plan for a new phone bought through them or $59 for an owned phone, I pulled out daughters phone, even though it had a flat battery. She said I could swap it over to my ownership by taking the sim card from my phone and installing it in the newer one, which she promptly did for me and still only pay $20 per month which they don't offer anymore on the bundled accounts. While waiting for a free 'consultant,' I browsed the shop and came upon a tiny little stylus with a string and a little plug-in stick hanging off it, meaning to buy it. I was so worried that I would forget about it sitting in full view on my walker, that I put the string around my finger and when we had not actually bought anything I asked the girl how much it was. She plugged it into my phone which it was made for and told me I could have it.

I also wanted a Wi-Fi dongle to use for my tablet while in hospital next week. That would have been extra for non pre-paid on our total phone bundle bill so I decided to get a $50 pre-paid with 2GB for 30 days. Seems to me I had a win-win day all round. I fiddled with it during the afternoon and having the tablet for the last month has made me a little more user friendly of these scary things. I found that some of the info on my sim card didn't make it across to the new phone so had to add some no's to the contact list. Then thought I'd better check out whether I could still ring my number. Using the home phone, I dialled and got a voice mail message, so went through all the settings and found that it had 'Airplane mode' ticked on. Ticked it off and rang it again and normal phone mode was on. When we first bought this phone and it rang, which was rare, I could not answer any calls. I would put my finger inside the circle that popped up on the screen and nothing happened. Asked my sons (one of whom had the same brand/type of phone) how to answer calls and got no help. Then one day, not long ago, I found the tiny little start-up booklet which said that I should be putting my finger inside the ring and swipe it to the outside.....who'd a thunk? Not me, obviously, I just copied what I thought I saw every one else do.

So...comes 4:30 pm, and it rings! It's the carers for my daughter to tell me that she is in an ambulance on her way to hospital! She was having a Transient Ischemic Attack, which is like a small stroke, which she has suffered many times in the last ten years. By the time I'd get her to the hospital, which is only 6 blocks away, it would be over and they could never find anything wrong. She had many CT scans, MRI's and other tests but no cause was ever found. Then she had the massive stroke last year that put her into hospital for 8 months and then into a 24 hr care home. She had been unwell this week and was sent for a CT scan yesterday which was clear of any symptoms or causes. We waited around from 5 pm until 9 pm for another scan to be done and to be told that she could go home.

DH and I arrived home at 10:15 after dropping daughter at her care home. I have to say I was glad I had that lilttle stylus on my phone because trying to type a message to my sons with my fingers in a moving car on the way to the hospital, was an exercise in extreme frustration, to say the least.

Very occasionally, I get a good day and, all in all, today was one of them....hmmm, I wonder when the next one will come...can't wait.

Sheila.

Lew worked for the telephone company so has free landline service so no reason to drop that, just dropped the long distance portion that we had to pay for. With email and texting now really don't have a need to make many long distance calls.

I have an old Tracfone and buy a $100 card for 400 minutes every year, which I can use for long distance when needed, and carry as an emergency phone when I'm out and about. I rarely turn it on though, which drives Lew nuts when he tries to get in touch with me. We actually use it the most when shopping in large box stores. We each go our separate directions shopping and make sure we have our phones turned on, and then call when we're ready to meet at the front door.

We are with Verizon and they transfered our home phone to our cell phone. Did not have change any numbers anywhere.

Lovely pool, Sandra. Now hat monsoon season is over, we just need Bluebell back

Our house phone has the caller id and most of our calls are from Unavailable.  Nuisance calls even though we're on that list for no nuisance calls.  We either don't answer or pick up and click talk and then click disconnect. 

Don't be afraid of technology.  Operation of smart phones and I-pads and computers is actually quite simple and the learning curve is small.  It soon becomes second nature to answer a cell phone by swiping the little area at the bottom toward the right.  I have the I-phone 5 because the 6 is just too large.  The only difficulty is typing on the tiny keypad.  I use my fingertips, not a stylus because a stylus would be something else to keep up with. 

One feature that is really cool is taking a picture with the cell phone and then sending it in an e-mail or text or posting it on Facebook or on breast cancer.org.  Communication and sharing with family and friends becomes very easy.  But we do end up paying quite a bit for cell phone, internet and tv.  On the other hand, we rarely go to movies or sports events or live theatre or concerts.  Attending those would amount to a lot more than the cost for technology.

Today I'm taking my mother to her hair appointment and then out to lunch. 

Hello to everyone.  Wishing you a good Friday.