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

Yes Jackie... I would be mad too............ Just can't find good help, and even THEY overcharge! It would just be nice if we had family members to help out once in awhile...

We have good neighbors, that will shovel the front walk when they do theirs.... that's if DH hasn't already shoveled it.... He thinks he has to shovel, no matter what! I help do the back & patio, by mostly just pushing it, when it is too deep.... Our back garden is there, and I love to make sure it gets all the water from the snow....

Carole, you DO have a lot of property! I would go crazy, figuring out what to do & plant with all of that "yard!"

Sunny here now, but the storm is coming they say.... If I can just talk DH into mowing the lawn this afternoon, instead of waiting 2-3 more days.... It is already long.... but George of the Jungle just always wants to "wait".... I would LOVE to mow the yard, but he seems to think that is HIS mower, even though he works on his own schedule.... Hah! He doesn't want to mow, but he doesn't want anyone else to do it either.... I would think he would want to have a lawn service do it.. .... The lawn area isn't very big.... oh well..

I think I will take the mower out of the garage, then when he comes back from seeing his buddies, he will SEE the mower, and either YELL, or mow the yard....

When your life is filled with the desire to see holiness in everyday life, something magical happens; ordinary life becomes extraordinary, and the very process of life begins to nourish your soul.

Harold Kushner

Chev..I did fix his ass......I deducted the cost of the reair by my sprinkler guy from the bill he sent me for the month which was $140.00..........The reapir work was $140.00 so he got a letter on his billing statement that said....Deducted payment for my sprinkler system repair....next time be more careful!!!!

I am back in Georgia for my oldest grandson's 18th birthday, which is today. Today was also the senior "walk of Pride" thru the school hallways in their graduation gowns, so even though I missed the award ceremonies, I was here for that. Tonight, I am "babysitting" both boys while their Mom and Dad go to a Billy Joel concert in Atlanta. They are staying overnight, so tonite the boys and I will go somewhere for dinner, then tomorrow night we will all go to a Japanese restaurant where they cook right in front of you. And when we get home, we will have birthday cake.

I cannot believe the trip yesterday. My brother dropped me at the airport about 8:30am for a 10:15 plane. Somehow, I ended up missing the flight. I was at the wrong gate, but I heard them calling for several passengers that were late getting to the gate. I'm sure I would have heard my name if they called it, so I don't know what happened. Luckily, I got on the 12:30 one which didn't leave until about 1:40. After the plane, and the public bus system, I met with my SIL, who told me we had to pick my DD up at work- they are down to one car again, and that happens to be mine. And after picking Nancy up, we needed to stop at the mall. So, all told I left my house about 8:15, and arrived at Nancy's house at 6:30. I was too tired to fix anything to eat, so I ate all the leftover cheesecake from Prom Pot Luck last Sat. It was way too much, but incredibly good.

I fly home Sun afternoon, so this is the shortest trip ever for me. But we have to start emptying the kitchen cabinets- they start the kitchen a week from this coming Mon. But I'll be back here for 10 days starting June 25th for Michael's graduation. Everyone will be here except my youngest son who swears he has classes that weekend, and the grandson who loves vets with me, who has a chance to go to DisneyWorld with his school band for five days.

Hope your roof problem is all taken care of, Jackie, and I hope everyone gets their yards the way they want them. Ours are green all year, so the mowing never stops. They do come less often in the winter, but it never completely stops.

Anne

A diamond is a chunk of coal that made good under pressure. ~ Anon xxxx

Pouring, windy, and bone-chilling raw (have to wear long sleeves in my drafty front room where I’m typing this). Under a flash flood watch till Mon. night, and actual thunderstorms predicted tomorrow—natch, when I have to go up to Evanston for a friend’s 65th birthday party. The place is a block from the CTA Dempster train station, but seeing as how I’m three big blocks from my home station and I’d have to stand outdoors on the platform to change from the Red to the Purple Line, I think I’ll be an eco-criminal and drive. Street parking late on a Sun. aft. is plentiful & cheap anyway. (Confessing I could have taken the Red to the Brown Line yesterday to get to Glazed & Infused, but I spent less on gas & street parking than I would have on train fare).

Not a day to go to the gym (certainly not to the pool). This is a home-exercise-and-hot soup kind of afternoon…either that. or another coffee and part of a remaining donut…nah, gotta save my carbs for pizza tomorrow. Not gonna be sanctimonious and gnaw the toppings off the crust—my friend is on a cardio diet, and if he’s eating the pizza so am I! It’s his celebration—it’s not about me. It’s not like I’m gonna die and leave a still-fat corpse in the next few days. Glad I didn’t make dinner reservations for tonight, and that I have some fresh salmon and lovely asparagus to cook.

Seed, just reading your post scares me....I hate storms, and nothing scares me more then wind, and when the TV/radio says tornado watch even though we rarely get any in this area.....we get what they call straight winds more often, but they too are bad........stay safe

S. Sally, I hear you about the rain. I think it is set to basically rain here all day and we too are under a flood watch as so many many are. I hope your farm does okay. It must be nerve-wracking. I don't worry too much about flooding right in our spot --- we are right next to the lake and they open the spillway gates --- all the water from everywhere in town comes to the lake --- but there are low-lying places around the lake and they either flood directly or do so when the flood gates are opened. One way or the other.

I do feel for anyone who is afraid of storms. S. Sally --- I've often heard in some cases the straight-line winds are worse than tornadoes. I've seem a lot of damage from the straight-line winds around here. It was awesome and not in a good way. The only time we suffered here ( since we are in a heavily wooded area ) was when straight-line winds came through. We ourselves didn't have much problem -- a couple of big limbs were all -- but in the ravines next to us -- apparently where the wind could be much more free -- power lines came down and of course, life went on hold. There were so many people affected, not only here but in other surrounding communities, that power companies from all over had to come in. We were without power for about a week. When the men did come --- we had to wait for a special tree climbing crew --- who had to do their specialized work in a deep ravine.

I held my breath for most of the afternoon --- really scared that they would not be able to get our power restored till the next day. Being cold for a week ( there was no empty motel rooms to be found even had we been able to afford it ) and eating McDonalds and the like for a week, and washing up in cold water so we could go to work had started to seem like forever. I am, if I ever was, not much cut out for a pioneer type life. Call me spoiled.

I hope all goes well for everyone during these storms -- and those who will get snow and other unpleasant weather at this time. Thinking of you and caring. Hugs to all.

God looks at the clean hands, not the full ones.
- Publilius Syrus

We had torrential rain for a period yesterday and the New Orleans tv channels were broadcasting nonstop weather news. There was a tornado warning and a tornado watch during that time. Thanks goodness, it all blew through and today is a great day with sparkling air. I have doors and windows open and the a/c is turned off. It will probably be back on tomorrow. If not tonight.

Sally, that must be awful to have your farm land flood.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Monday.

We also had a lot of rain here before I left for Ga last Thurs - more than usual. We had already had rain, and our grass and gardens can only absorb so much, so there were lots of major puddles to navigate just going to the local grocery store.

Our weather has changed a lot since we moved here in 1973. Then, during the summer, we would get a torrential downpour for about 20 minutes, half an hour later,all would be sunny and dry again. Sometimes, it would rain on one side of the street and not on the other. Now, we get cloudy drizzly rain for the whole day, and like last Thurs, some real heavy storms with no pattern.

Got home yesterday and happy to say, got on the right plane at the right time. My brother's girlfriend was still here, so we went out for dinner. I am so tired! Their situation is strange to say the least. His wife died 15 years ago, and he met the girlfriend 12 years ago. She has a husband (the marriage was apparently over years ago, but something about money keeps them from divorcing). She lives just outside of Washington, DC, and when he was working, he was in Virginia Beach. Since he lost his job 2 years ago, he's been living in North Carolina with his son. So it's been a long distance relationship the whole time. They see each other for a weekend every 5-6 weeks. Now comes the strange part- she has two children, who are now adults. They know Mom has a boyfriend, but have no idea it's my brother- her daughter has met Rob, but in a group setting, she has no idea he is Mom's boyfriend, and her son has never met him. All three of his kids have known her from the start.

She is so different from all of us, we cannot figure out what the attraction is on either side. She's all dramatic, and eats things like oysters and pate de fois gray(sp.?) and very expensive restaurants and designer purses, etc. We, on the other hand, think $15 is enough for a good dinner, and only know three wines- white, red and rose. She was telling me the other night that if I order a certain type of wine, I need to specify that it comes from Portland, Oregon, and if I choose another, either Italy or NY is the best. I don't drink at all, so I don't remember exactly what she said.

None of this is wrong, by any means- I know there are many people who are more sophisticated than we are,and that's just the way life is. She has introduced my brother to many foods, drinks and other things through the 12 years

We just can't figure out why my brother is still with a woman who won't introduce him to her children. Is she really that ashamed of his "common" life? We all understood when the kids were younger, even though they have met their father's girlfriends. But - they've been together for 12 years. He is willing to go wherever he can get a job. She has made it clear she isn't interested in relocating at all.

To each his own, I guess

Ann

What's wrong or even odd about someone with simple food experiences being attracted to someone more sophisticated & cosmopolitan? (How else do you think my DH learned about wine & fine dining)? BTW, nothing exotic about eating oysters! (Pate de foie gras, OTOH, is overrated—but a seared chunk of foie gras is delicious, especially with some grilled apple slices and a glass of sweet white wine like Sauternes or a late-harvest riesling. It's not for those who can't eat anything high-fat, however). Plenty of $15 dinners out there that are not meat & potatoes. (And as to that Oregon wine, if you asked for one from “Portland" you'd get a “huh?" at best and a laugh at worst. “Willamette Valley," OTOH, which is south of Portland and north of Eugene & Salem, might be what your bro's GF meant). And “Italy" or “NY?" There's some mediocre wine being made in Italy (and “Italy" has many wine regions) and some downright awful stuff coming out of NY State…but some wonderful wine from various regions of both. Moreover, what's wrong with France, California, Washington, Germany, Spain, Australia, Argentina, Chile…you get my drift. Some people who claim they're sophisticated have much narrower horizons than they think!

Keep an open mind. Don't be afraid to “eat and drink the map." It's a great big world out there…and enjoying what it offers needn't be expensive, nor do you need to leave home to do so. If there’s one thing we here have all learned is that life is short—too short to defer or even disdain new experiences.

Sandy, I think the weather forecast for this weekend is good. Last weekend's jazz fest attendees had some good weather and one day of rain and storms, Sunday. But jazz fest attendees are hardy, persistent souls. They wade in mud and contend with huge crowds and enjoy the music and food. Some people come year after year from other countries and from all over the US. Lots of local folks attend, too. We did in years past but not in recent years.

Anne, that is an interesting relationship, on both sides. It must fill some need in both your brother and his woman friend. I am a "foodie" to some degree and enjoy good wine and several kinds of "hard" liquor. I scan a recipe and if it calls for canned cream soup, it immediately gets an X. As for oysters, they're my favorite shell seafood. I love'em. I've eaten some tasty pate at parties. I also enjoy fried chicken and mac and cheese and lots of the food on diner menus. I just wish I could eat all the foods I enjoy without getting fat!!!

Off to get ready for an appt. with my bc dr.'s NP.

Happy Tuesday.

Here I sit in an exam room waiting for a busy, busy Heather, the NP. The waiting room was full of patients. Makes me feel bad knowing the issues so many are just beginning to deal with

Chevy, I think you are right about Anne's family. Some people become an addictive habit to us. Sort of like your mother's feelings about your Dad. She was in tune with him so much that sharing seemed better most of the time than giving him up completely. I will say when you are a bit older I do think sometimes you may try harder to allow things to be acceptable -- not always because they are perfect, gosh knows we have all had I think to deal with a lot of imperfection, but because the older generation were more stalwart about not discarding things too quickly. We were also often a bit more stoic -- because for a long time we did not have as many rights as men nor opportunities. Times change -- and good for us -- but nothing wrong if you are willing to make a relationship work despite imperfections. It may look pretty lop-sided, but people go through a lot that may set them on a course allowing them to do things far differently than what we think we would be willing to accept.

Hope it all works out for everyone. We all walk our own journey filled to the brim with situations that have given us a shape and form.