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

Pride makes us artificial, and humility makes us real.
- Thomas Merton

Oh my -- the rains came. Last night. I think it rained most of the night. It was muggy ( as the rain was gathering I guess ) late yesterday and will be so today. Not sure we will get any more rain during the day. I think we have at least some chance for it through Sunday. It will by that time bring the temps down a bit and that will be welcomed.

I am trying to figure out how to put in pics that get sized properly and not sure how well the process will work. Don't know if I mentioned -- but it took me several days to figure out on Windows 10 and Microsoft browser I could not change the font ( for ease of reading here ) period. I was told that if I persisted -- I would have to have a highly experienced person do it. It must be horrendous then. Finally and with continued persistence one of the geeks we use figured to just go back to Internet Explorer as browser. That worked. The issue has then become --- on Internet Explorer I can't resize the pictures. So now and then I'm using Microsoft Cloud for which if anyone recalls --- at one time there was a tool-bar that showed up at the top of everyone's entries --- on the Cloud, it is back. I'm attempting to relearn to use it so I would do pics or meme's from Microsoft Cloud while using Windows 7 type Internet Exp. to read in the font I prefer that is easy on they eyes for me.

Sometimes while I am so thrilled to have so to speak, the world at my fingertips via a computer, I'm also frazzled sometimes to the nth. degree trying to figure out why something which seems like it should work smoothly and effortlessly just is endless fits. So that was the pics from yesterday. I'm still working with all of it and hope one of these days to be victorious. Nice to have at least figured out this much.

Joyce, glad your heat wave is over. I consider what we are having the first one of our summer season. I can deal with some heat ( though not always happy if I have heavy chores ) if it doesn't come with humidity. Feel like I'm trying to walk through a hot soaking wet sponge.

Today is Thursday, grass-cutting day at Pine Hollow Resort. DH does most of the mowing with a riding lawn mower and I use a push mower to get into smaller areas. It's good exercise pushing the mower.

We have a strong breeze blowing and it's quite comfortable without a/c. One neighbor is building a deck and I can hear the sounds of construction. All in all, a nice day in northern MN.

Hope everyone is enjoying the day.

Hot again after storms last night (at least I didn’t have to deal with schlepping around muddy hoses & sprinklers).

Anne, my kid sister & I are a bit over 2 yrs. apart. I was seriously underweight (still small-framed) until a couple of years into puberty—so much so that my mom used to float iron tonic & liquid vites on my orange juice or Pepsi (probably why I don’t like either beverage); and she would send me to the soda fountain/luncheonette across the street for a malted—and then call the owner to not let me leave until I’d finished both the malted and the big cookie that came with it. I was a very slow eater, and rarely “cleaned my plate” (though except for bananas, I wasn’t finicky). But when puberty hit, I discovered I really liked food, and for two blissful years I could eat whatever and how much I wanted and burned it all off, despite not being athletic. Then at 12, I stopped growing and the brakes slammed on my metabolism. My sister, OTOH, has struggled with obesity since childhood—now, our metabolisms have caught up with each other. Her hair was always dark brown, almost black, and curly (still is, as long as she gets her roots touched up; mine was dishwater blonde and stick-straight till puberty, when it gradually darkened and got wavier but still fine-textured). She is light-olive skinned and has nearly coal-black eyes, which was our mom’s coloring; I am very pale, with olive/honey brown-hazel eyes (our dad’s coloring, except he had blue eyes). She tans, I burn. We both sing, but I’m a mezzo (used to sing first soprano in choirs because I could hit those high As & Bs although I sounded better a few notes lower) and she’s a fabulous lyric soprano, who sings second (and sometimes solos) with the Alexandria (VA) Singers. She married a guy with fair skin, dark brown hair, medium- and very dark brown eyes—and my niece has her dad's exact coloring. Bob had light brown/dishwater blond hair (now it’s gray and straight, but still abundant) and has very light hazel eyes—almost golden with flecks of blue. He is even paler than I am but refuses to wear either sunglasses or sunscreen. (Physician, heal thyself). Gordy is an amalgam of us—he has my mom’s wavy-curly dark brown hair, Bob’s & my pale skin (but tends to freckle more and burn less than either of us), and his eyes are a medium hazel.

That casserole sounds gross in either incarnation! My mom was a helluva cook and had a black belt in grocery-shopping. Although we had white-collar aspirations (my dad had a Masters degree) and they had white-collar civil service jobs, our income was definitely blue-collar (but not as high as that of our neighbors who were Teamsters or owned small shops). Nevertheless, we had meat, fish or poultry every night for dinner (and red meat—either steak, carved out from cheaper cuts and marinated, or lamb shoulder or arm chops)—three or four nights a week. Franks & beans were strictly cookout food, and living in a third-floor walkup in a 16-unit apt. house with no real backyard (except a tiny concrete slab across which we accessed the basement from the lobby) there was no room for cooking out—cookouts were relegated to once a week at day camp. My mom felt that it was silly to cook hot dogs because we could get great grilled hot dogs with sauerkraut at the kosher deli down the street (with a knish as a side dish) very inexpensively, and none of us could stand those tomato-based Heinz vegetarian beans that most Jewish homes served when they served beans at all (the Orthodox used them as the base for a “cholent," a slow-cooked stew that was put on the back burner before sundown Friday and eaten Saturday); but even those of my parents' generation who rebelled against keeping kosher and served bacon with Sunday's scrambled eggs wouldn't have dreamt of serving pork-based baked beans. (Of course, I now have a soft spot for Boston-style baked beans, or Texas BBQ beans with brisket “burnt ends," but I draw the line at Heinz vegetarian, which to me taste like poverty).

I think we ate fairly well at our house. Family of four living on $70.00 a month. So ( my dad wouldn't touch a gun ) my Mom had a shotgun and would go out and shoot squirrels and wild rabbits. That way --- there was always meat of some kind. She boiled chicken -- bones and all, and when it was done and falling off the bone she had noodles she had made herself earlier and dried somewhat to put in the pot with the water/stock used to boil the chicken. Because the noodles were done with flour --- the ( as I called it ) gravy type liquid was just thick enough. Kids from the neighborhood often wanted to come have some of this. I don't make it often, but when I do I have a can of peas on hand as something about the two eaten together is perfection to me.

My mom also had a recipe ( can only give bare details by memory but do have it around here somewhere ) where she boiled macaroni, then added a thick cheese sauce to it, and left it on the back of the stove all day. At suppertime she would heat a skillet ( very hot ) with oil, make patties about the size of your palm of the macaroni, which was then dipped in egg and then in flour and fast fried it. The recipe she use called the dish Mock Pork Chops and since I was a pork chop lover I have to say -- it was hard to tell the difference. It made a lot so we usually had beets or something else on the side --- and there were never, ever any leftovers of this on the table afterwards. My mom was an excellent cook and made salmon patties that were better than any others I've tasted -- including my own.

I maintained my size which was super thin because I was very active. I didn't just walk places -- I often ran just for the joy of it. I also rode a bike -- and seldom rode it slow. I guess I liked the sensation of being able to use energy to make something go fast/work well, so even though I was NOT a hyper person, I someone felt one should use what they had more-so.

My sister being a chubby toddler who never grew out of the chubbiness ( it increased each passing yr. ) seldom rode our bike, and I don't know that I ever saw her run. She missed a lot of the pleasures I enjoyed due to her size. I'm not sure it was all size -- but may have also been some impatience and not being willing to put in the work to hone some activities. Had she done so she might have lost some wt. or at least quit gaining so much.

I look back on my childhood ( a couple of not so good parts ) as having a lot of high points to be thankful for and think/hope/pray that it helped a lot in forming who I am now.

Never knew what it was like to eat canned beans, Heinz or otherwise......my mother and grandmother always made their own homemade baked beans with molasses, pork/or bacon, some mustard, ketchup and in the oven to bake till it all came together....still make them the same way and so do my daughters......even if they open up a can of Heinz (which is rare) they add all the same ingredients to make them their own......nothing ever came out of a can...it was always fresh.......my mother would make Fried Tomatoes that were to die for....with a milk gravy...being over the bridge from NJ, gave us the best tomatoes in the country.....Good old "Jersey's as we called them"..........it was common to have a tomato sandwich for lunch......fresh bread, tomato, and a tad of mayo......we sure ate good.......no wonder I was only 99lbs.....no processed foods....or anythng loaded iwth salt.......I made my own pies, spaghetti sauce (gravy from scratch), .....and meatballs to die for...made with beef, pork and veal....never an all beef meatball....that was a no no......

• My daughters are fantastic cooks....and still do big dinners on Sunday like I did....back then it was a full meal on the table every night, including Saturday....and funny thing is I see people eat pizza for dinner.......back then you didn't do pizza for dinner.....that was a snack and didn't happen often.....fast food was just McDonald's, but never ate it......LOL......life has changed........in so many ways..back then ....no internet...xbox...video games...Ipads....Iphones.....just playing outside....calling not texting...and respect for each other, our country, and our flag.......I shutter to think that anyone will call "these times" the "good old days" years from now.........

We had beef, pork or chicken, never lamb. My Dad would only eat peas, corn and green beans. In the summer he would eat a few home grown tomatoes. I went to college and was enchanted with new tastes. Yellow squash, yum. At night we usually had some kind of potatoes. Rice was for breakfast with cold milk and sugar, yuk. My husband is an adventurous eater and will try anything twice, just in case the first time it wasn't cooked right. I love all veggies except beets and turnips. Last night we split a home grown artichoke from our garden. DH and I don't eat red meat, but do eat fish and chicken. We ate some taco meat beef at DS's but agreed that they would have been better with only the beans. He likes to get Trader Joe's frozen appetizers and have them at breakfast. So we might have spanopita with yoghurt for breakfast. There are a couple of frozen dinners we like. More expensive but made with good ingredients.

My ex-singing partner's husband ate only “deads & breads," saying he never met a green vegetable he could ever stand. Just meat & starch, period.

Gordy, our son, demonstrated his foodie leanings early on. When he was 18 months old, we were out at LensCrafters so late that the only restaurant open was Don's Fishmarket across the street. While we waited for our salads & entrees, we were really concerned that he'd fall asleep in his booster seat without getting any protein into him; so we ordered mussels, shelled them for him, and sang him “Molly Malone" (“cockles and mussels, alive, alive-o") in two-part harmony to keep him awake and eating. He loved the mussels (and being sung to) so much that the next time we went out for dinner, he insisted we order them (he called them “Live-O") and sing to him. One day we found ourselves in a Sheepshead Bay Italian restaurant without mussels on the menu. So in desperation, we ordered oysters and cherrystones on the half shell, and he hoovered them up in no time flat. (Please, no lectures about raw seafood). When he was four, we found ourselves at Arnaud's in NOLA's French Quarter. When the waiter brought the oyster appetizer (Rockefeller, Iberville, & Arnaud), Gordy flagged him down. “Waiter, there's something wrong with these oysters—they're warm and they have stuff on them." Well, even though raw oysters weren't on the menu, he got them. (And now they're on the menu).

By age two he developed a taste for ikura, or salmon roe, in sushi bars. A local liquor superstore was having a free caviar tasting (a WI company, Carolyn Collins, offered some varieties such as salmon, steelhead, whitefish and paddlefish). Gordy turned to me and said, “Want caviar." So I wheeled him and the cart to the tasting table. The paddlefish (which is black & resembles sturgeon roe) was gone—all that was left was salmon roe and red and golden whitefish roe. He looked at the table and declared, “Dis not caviar. Caviar bwack. Want ikura." So he at least ate the salmon roe. (I had no idea where he learned that real caviar is black).

When Bob was interviewing a prospective cardiology partner to do angioplasties for the practice, the candidate brought his two daughters, 10 & 12 to dinner with him. We brought Gordy, then 11. We chose an Italian restaurant, Tuscany, because the girls could probably find some pasta or pizza they'd like. They ordered spaghetti & meatballs. Gordy ordered the grilled octopus appetizer. The girls looked at him in horror. (Bob hired the guy, who stayed five years before divorcing & moving back to L.A.). The girls were quite relieved to find a make-your-own-burgers-and-tacos bar at Gordy's Bar Mitzvah reception. Gordy insisted on eating off the grownups' menu.

He goes to Jazz & Heritage Fest in NOLA every year—flies crummy airlines and stays in a near-fleabag motel out in Mid-City so he can spend his money on the fest tickets, Cajun-Creole food stands, concerts at Tipitina's, jazz clubs on Frenchmen St., and whatever restaurants he can score on OpenTable. He was the one who told me about GW Fins, Cochon, and Jacques Imo's (which, alas, doesn't take reservations).

My daughter has an auto immune disease.....and her endocrinologist told her to take Vitamin C......so there must be something to it.....

I worked Big Pharma for 20 years in Marketing Research.....I knew Tagamet when it first came on the market.....at that time it was only given to GI Docs, and no one else.......then the Internal Medicine guys got it whcih was not too bad......when the GP's got it things got worse.....it was only to be prescribed for a total of 6 weeks no more......if no relief was gotten by then it was to be stopped.....GI guys abided by that rule.....the Internal Med guys and the GP's were dispensing it for more then the recommended time, and soon were giving it for every stomach ache that waked through the door........reason...it was felt that if it had to do with an ulcer after 6 weeks you would get relief........if not ;givng it for long periods of time it could mask a much more serious problem........then it finally went off patent......it was a drug that was abused because people with a lot less experience then a GI guy decided to give it out for anything stomach associated.....

It happens today with many other drugs too.....not to mention the fact that most Drs never even read the package insert to find if any drugs are contriaindicated even thought they have your list in front of their noses......but it wouldn't matter anyway cause they dispense samples and 1/2 the time have no clue about the drug..just a quick once over by the Rep while eating his free lunch...........

Ducky, Just reading your comments on drugs, Generics and Opioids.One of the things about the problem we have with Opioids is that the medical profession pushes you to accept a prescription and encourages you to take them .. Both DH and myself found this to be true after we had procedures and responded that we would utilize over the counters for any pain we had. They are too readily available. We have turned ours in to the police dept when they had a collection day, but many persons neglect to do this!

Wow! So much great information out there you gals ! Thanks! I'm saving these last few posts, to go over them later....! I've always thought the same..... Okay, if I really NEED something, if the pain is just too much, like with my broken hip/femur, then THAT'S when I'll take one of those cheap pills I got.... I was too afraid..... I KNEW they gave me them in the hospital, (Oxycodone with Tylenol), but I just didn't want to try it at home.... So I took 2 Aleve, at night, for only a few days....

I STILL won't take anything unless I have to.... Still have the Oxycodone. I've known, and heard of too many people who get on that stuff, and it ruins their lives.

After taking Tamoxifen, and what it did for me, I am not one to take any prescribed pills, unless it's for some infection that I can't get rid of.... I READ the "possible side effects" on the Tamoxifen, but who ever thinks that YOU would have one of them? Something that could change your life!

Thanks Ducky! You too Sandy & Joyce.... I love information that helps us!

Don't be afraid to ask questions........Doctors are people too....just like you and I only with a Medical Degree......and don't be brushed off.....when he decides your time is "up and you got your 15 minutes"....you tell him/her.......I'm not done asking questions that need answers......when they get up in the morning they put their underwear on the same as we do.......one leg at a time........you have to be your own advocate.....and not just another name in his "file drawer"...........you have the right to know "it all".........ask the questions.....and if he can't/won't answer......find a Dr. who will.......

Yup Ducky, I never let the MD intimidate me! I have one I tell, You hate to see me coming, I always have so many questions!":) I always go along with my Dh, as many a man, if I don't and ask him what did the Dr. say, response"nothing!" The one time I had a meeting and didn't go, I had him do to the dermatologist cuz I didn't like the look of a spot on his face, Me, " What did he say, did he biopsey it?" Him, "NO!", well it turned out to be a Melanoma, when I sent himm back and he saw another Dr.! As I tell a friend who will reply, You r Dr will take care of you! I say ," He doesn't walk on water, I question "!

Mornin All

Sandy, when I mentioned that we ate a lot of spaghetti, I was going to say we used spatininfor for the sauce, but didn't think anyone would know what I was talking about.

Your son developed an unusual palate for a child. Good for him. My husband introduced me to ethnic food, most of which I enjoyed. I just can't handle hot spices, not even black pepper, which I don't even know if that's really considered a spice.

My brother broadened his palate over the last 10 years- in his 50's. He began dating a lady about 4 years after his wife passed. Nancy has, to the rest of the family, a very exotic appetite. She has introduced him to oysters, clams, and other delicacies, that none of us will go close to. My husband loved oysters, and the night they were on the menu on the cruise, I always ordered them as well, and gave mine to him.

The funniest change in eating habits would have to be my oldest son. The first night we met his soon-to-be mother-in-law, we went to a Japanese restaurant. Marie (his MIL) wanted sushi, but couldn't remember what the ones she liked were called. She turned to my son and said, "Rob, what are the ones I like?" Guess he couldn't remember either, so he just pointed at the pictures, and explained what each one was, without looking at the menu description. Wow! When did he start eating sushi? That's the only one I can think of right now, but it has happened many times.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. My eating has changed totally since I was a child. When my DH and I. Were dating, we went to his brother's house for dinner quite a bit. I was talking to his wife while she was cooking and realized she was using a cookbook. My thoughts were "her meals are always great, but she uses a COOKBOOK?? I had never seen my mother use one. I asked her about it, and she asked how many dinners I could make and I think my answer was 3. She said that's why she used a cookbook- she couldn't remember every ingredient in every recipe. At my shower, she gave my a Good Houskeeping cookbook, which I still use today.

Wishing you all a good weekend

Anne