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

Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.

 Lao Tzu

Puffin

Sometimes all we can do is hang in there. All she really needs from you is the same unconditional love she has always had. I remember telling my oldest grandson who was about 13 at the time how much I loved him and that would never change , no matter what. He asked, "even if I did something really bad?" And he was serious. I told him even if he murdered someone, I would be disappointed and sad, but I would still love him just as much. Maybe that's all Krysta needs to hear from you.

I have to admit I have mixed feelings about this issue. I find Bruce/Cait Jenner to be an awful spokesperson and model for transgendered people. To me, he wears womens clothing, make up and hair, but still comes off very much as a man to me. There is another reality show on TLC though, where they are following a "girl" just about to enter high school. I put girl in quotes, because she was born a boy. But from the minute she could express herself, she dressed in her older sister's clothes, followed her, rather than her twin brothers around, and always played with girl toys. When she asked her mom at three what she was, a girl or a boy, her mom asked back, what do you think? And Jazz answered " I think I'm a boy on the outside, but a girl on the inside". So her parents chose at that time to let her be a girl. They have even gone so far as to have her take hormone suppressers to stop her from developing as a male. She will soon start female hormones. I think those parents are very brave because they do not know medically what the long term results of playing around with hormones might be,but they have a happy, healthy teenager. I think it's a heartbreaking decision to make, but I have much more compassion for people like Jazz and your granddaughter that are doing it for their happiness and not because it is a way of garnering public attention and notoriety.

Enough of my opinions. Time to get my day started. I am trying to change my daily pattern. Right now, I go to bed between 8:30-9:00, and watch TV till11-12. Then I sleep till 10:30am or later. By the time I get up, wake up, check my email, etc, it is often 1:00 or later before I actually move. Yesterday I went for a manicure and to the grocery store. It was almost four when I got home, and that's too late to start any kind of task. So I tried moving my meds up by 45 min last night, turned the TV off at 11, and was still awake at 3am. I finally took an extra half an Ambien and again, slept till 10. Will try again tonight. Hope I can get myself to getting up between even 8:30 or 9 would be a good start.

Minus two- sorry I got the date wrong. But it gives us a second chance to send you good wishes.

Anne

OK Teka - what is it? Being a city girl, I can only guess some kind of pig from the snout.

Yup, Little piglet!

Practice being gentle, respectful and loving toward the life force
 in all things.  Remind yourself that your efforts do make a difference,
 even if you think they are miniscule in comparison
 to the magnitude of the problem.

 Wayne Dyer

Carole is probably not bundled up on her deck with coffee this morning. It's 78 degrees here in the north country this morning with a predicted high of 93-95.

Love that little piggy!!!!

Makes me smile!

Puffin is right about the warm temperature here in MN. It was in the 80's today and we turned on the a/c about 5 pm. Tomorrow it's supposed to get up to 90 degrees. On Friday we're going farther north to Thunder Bay in Ontario. We'll be visiting a bc.org friend and her dh who have a wonderful house on Lake Superior. I met this friend who called herself Upcreek when I was first dx'ed in 2009. We had the same surgery and immediate reconstruction and talked every day online. I got together with her at Grand Marais in 2010 and we've managed to get together with her and her dh every year since then. A couple of winters they came to New Orleans.

And next week we're going to Fargo to meet up with Puffin and her dh. BC.org is a wonderful organization not only for support but for making good friends.

We had company for several days. Dh's sister and her dh from Decatur, IL, arrived on Sunday afternoon and left this morning. On Monday we took them to Itasca State Park so that they could wade into the headwaters of the Mississippi River. It was all they could manage to make the walk from the parking lot to the headwaters and it isn't very far. She has suffered heart damage from the amyloidosis disease and he has bad feet. Afterwards we drove to Bemidji and visited a quilt shop.

Then yesterday SIL and I went on our own and visited a couple of quilt shops and had lunch. I found old-fashioned embroidery transfers and bought some along with the embroidery thread. I plan to make some embroidered panels for placemats. Just call me the placemat maker!

Wishing everyone a good evening.

My grape juice production line from steaming to cooling to freezing, One frozen quart of juice is thawed and diluted to 3 qts of juice to drink, and some of the juice I use to make jelly.

Puffin, your flowers are beautiful and I find the grape juice production amazing. Do you add sugar to the juice?

We had a thunder storm and quite a bit of rain last night. The thunder was a constant distant rumble. I don't remember ever hearing quite that same sound. DH and I went to bed and went to sleep. This morning we learned that one couple watched the weather channel during the night and saw the possibility of dangerous weather coming through here. They got dressed and sat for several hours.

I should be packing for our trip to Thunder Bay this weekend. We plan to leave early and drive up to International Falls and go that route. In the past we've driven through Duluth and up through the north shore.

Our weather has turned warm and humid. I have the a/c on this afternoon.

Hi to everyone. Hope things are going well for you whatever you're doing.

Hi ladies,

Happy Belated Birthday wishes Blondie. I hope you enjoyed your day.

Rita, glad to hear your Bunco night went okay. We use to play that often but have not played it for a while. I loved playing that game.

Puffin, the juice and jam sounds good. Your flowers are pretty. I believe Krysta just needs to know that you love her/him and will accept her/him no matter what. Hopefully, she will be much happier once the process is started and she feels secure in what ever decision she makes.

I made flowers for a cake that a lady at work is making. She says she will compensate me but I have not idea what to charge for something I am just learning but enjoy doing. I thought about just telling her to buy me a bag of the gum paste I use to make the flowers. Any ideas?

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Emma

Only when life is difficult, are we challenged to become our greatest selves.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships -- the ability of all people's, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Teka, that is a beauty of a picture.  I'm so partial to clouds.  Don't mind cows either since I live in farm country.  Anyway, the 25 yrs. I lived in southern California, I saw very, very few clouds.  I really missed that.  As a kid, we often took a blanket, laid on the ground and decided just what we saw in the clouds.  I always felt there was something missing when we lived in Calif. and it was not only the definite seasons of the mid-west, but the beauty of the billowing clouds.  So ---- clouds are something that is my thing.  A few clouds in the sky make my world a lot more right.

Jackie

Had a link ( very long one ) for a Meet The Press interview Trump had with Chuck Todd.  It seemed too cumbersome and I was not sure it would work.  So, I'm speaking right now w/o any kind to back-up reference.  The thing that I continue to see most of the time is that so much junk-speak is generated by Trump that often you don't make heads or tails of most of it.  The few things ( and since he spews forth like Etna ) that sound reasonable could even happen, but to me he is just hitting every nail he can --- knowing that some will actually pan out. 

Personally, I think, like some other people I know, that Trump knows nothing is going to happen for him -- this time.  He may be setting himself a plate at the table for later on.  It is hard to say --- people and ideas can change a lot in a few years time.  I think there are a huge amt. of people who are going heavily for Progressive ideas, on both sides ( just my opinion so my disclaimer here ) so we will just have to let things play out. 

In any case, Trump thinks the email thing will cause Hillary to dismantle her run.  I can't get into that one.  I think ( jmo ) that he feels the FBI is somehow sinister towards Hillary.   SHE is not under investigation.  Unless you want to call that idiot Gowdy an investigator.  Hillary has been in politics  -- in lots of different political arenas' and I don't think this is anything but smoke, mirrors and huge fears on the Republican side of things. 

I also noted in the interview -- Trump still holds the " I'll run as an Independent " and is not going to let go of that.  Another hostage maker for everyone to deal with, but then it does seem to be a familiar thing to most of the Rethugs. 

Jackie