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

Susie -- welcome. Glad you noticed us. Our group here is small but they are all great ladies and you'll find looking back we do our best to be supportive with each other or just commiserate about our everyday lives. Some days for anyone can be a struggle so it has been grand to have a place to go to vent and unload and get understanding -- and often fantastic suggestions.

Like Tappermom I do hope all is going well for you.

Jackie

p.s. You will see my name here everyday because I leave what I hope is an uplifting quote to cheer everyone and hopefully send a little inspiration to start everyones' day.

I called the clinic today and was told this is the method that they've had the best results getting the colon cleaned out and it's their standard prep for a colonoscopy. There was an opening at 11:45 on the same day however so we switched my appointment. I'll drink the second half gallon between 5:45am and 7:45 and then be NPO from 7:45 until 11:45. Need to be NPO because I'm having conscious sedation. That will be do-able.

Living our life means that we take our life day to day and moment to moment, always trying to deepen our understanding of what it means to be human. Life will never be perfect, and we will always be in a state of moving towards completeness. Don, 84, put it this way: "You have lived the life you have lived. When we accept the life we have lived, then we can begin to be whole." He echoed an often-heard theme: When we judge our life we diminish ourselves. The more we can eliminate all need to compare, compete, grade, and judge our lives, the closer we get to wisdom.

John Izzo

Two today -- couldn't make up my mind.

A look filled with understanding, an accepting smile, a loving word, a meal shared in warmth and awareness are the things which create happiness in the present moment. By nourishing awareness in the present moment, you can avoid causing suffering to yourself and those around you. The way you look at others, your smile, and your small acts of caring can create happiness. True happiness does not depend on wealth or fame.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Life offers its wisdom generously. Everything teaches. Not everyone learns. Life asks of us the same thing we have been asked in every class: "Stay awake." "Pay attention." But paying attention is no simple matter. It requires us not to be distracted by expectations, past experiences, labels, and masks. It asks that we not jump to early conclusions and that we remain open to surprise.

Rachel Naomi Remen

Ducky,

I am pleased that Makayla (granddaughter) has come through cyst surgery okay and on the mend. Stella is the best doggie mommy!

"Protect your spirit from contamination. Limit your time with negative people."

-- Thema Davis

It has been a really productive day.

Mopped the whole house...I do this every other week, went with H to vote early....lots of propositions and a school bond, then I drove to the fitness center and worked out for almost 50 minutes. I did my normal 'Push' exercises & half of the 'Legs'. I didn't walk the treadmill though - left knee & thigh kind of sore. I will finish my 'Legs' workout Wednesday when I go in for the 'Pull' exercises. I won't have time to go to the gym after Wednesday. Craft shows are starting up. I have two I want to go to this weekend...Friday or Sunday & Saturday. I sometimes buy Christmas gifts at these craft shows. If I don't, it isn't a waste because I get a lot of walking in and I like looking at how creative people can be. I have absolutely no style, taste or creativity. I tell people I don't DO crafts, I BUY crafts.

Heading into town tomorrow morning early. H wants to see if he can find some Championship series T-shirts for himself & S; I can pick up my eyeglasses & his meds; I also want to stop by Lowe's to get more floor cleaner & look at some door mats and then we can go to his gastroenterologist appointment. He may need endoscopic surgery again. He has had two of these procedures in the past 20 years. Daily Nexium usually helps, but after a while they need to go in and take tissue samples. I don't know the finer points of his condition. I just know the Nexium helps, but he also doesn't always do what the doctor tells him and there are consequences.

It's going to be a busy week. A cold front came in Sunday morning, so temps should be comfortable in the mid-70s.

What you seek is seeking you.

Rumi

Yesterday was beautiful and sunny - and I spent it taking a friend to urgent care. I picked her up at 1:30 and at 5:15 she found someone else to pick her up when she was done. She called at 8:30pm and had just gotten home. She hit her head and because she was over 65, they either wanted a cat scan or keep her overnight for observation. Stupid, I think, because she had no symptoms of a concussion and had hit her head on a linen closet door. I would never have called, but she is very anxious. In fact, I hit my head on an iron sink at the animal shelter and only told my DH. Enough bitching. Maybe I'll get a few leaves raked before the rains turn them into concrete.

Because they were all so good today......

As we work to create light for others,
we naturally light our own way.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others
will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.
- Helen Keller

Good works are links that form a chain of love.
- Mother Teresa

Every charitable act is a stepping stone toward heaven.
- Henry Ward Beecher

ChiSandy, for packing a bulky coat try a space saver bag. I have squished down a king size comforter to fit in one side of a suitcase and still had extra room. Here is a picture of a dog bed we squished. The wrinkles pop right out in minutes when unpacked.

Good mornin all

Cautiously optimistic that the inside of the house will be back to normal by this weekend. All the furniture is pretty much back in place. They are putting my closet in as I write this. We have to clean everything, put our area rugs and ( I need your help with spelling Sandy) tchotchkes back in place, switch the TV and all will be good, I hope. There are some tiles in two of the bedrooms and family room that are not level with the tiles that surround them. They are saying the bedrooms can be fixed, but the family room has been down too long and they would have to pull up a whole section to correct three tiles. My problem with that is that we told them about he problems the day after they laid them- as soon as we could walk on them.

We have a roofer ready to go once he permit is obtained, the window and door guy has already filed for the permit and they should be ready in 3-4 weeks. The last major issue is getting a cement slab to put a new shed on. Called someone yesterday who said he would be by last night to give us an estimate, but he never showed.

My PCP made me get a chest X-ray this week. I get so mad at myself because I didn't ask why, but, as all of you can imagine, I was really scared. Her office called this morning to let me know everything is clear and good. What a relief!

Hope all is well with everything and welcome Susie.

Anne

My dishwasher is down. I noticed water steadily dripping from the right side of the door Monday night. I turned it off & hand-washed the dishes. I showed it to S & he got down on the floor to look closer and told me the face boards on either side of the dishwasher were warped (like they had gotten wet) but were dry. I told H about the leak the next morning. We had a repair man out Wednesday. He saw the face board damage & said that it had been there awhile. He pulled the dishwasher out; checked other connections; said they were fine. The floor under the dishwasher was dry, but slightly warped. He guesses it has been leaking a little bit every time it is run since it was installed during the remodel 2 years ago. When he looked under the sink he said the drain hose to the sink wasn't installed properly. He fixed that. He thought he fixed the problem with the drain hose re-install. He told me to run it normally & if it leaks call him. I started it up at around 9 last night; 30 minutes later I went to check on it...water was POURING out of the left side of the door. It took me three hours to mop up the mess & hand-wash the dishes, and it was a big load. I called the repair guy and he's ordering a new gasket. Might be Monday or later before he can get back out here. If it isn't the gasket, I give up and will buy a new washer.

There is a little rain out this am. but very moderate -- more of a mist that gets a bit heavier momentarily, and then goes right back to mist. Not too cold I don't think but won't feel good due to dampness. It will be a good day anyway. Just washing my My Pillow for the first time. The whole idea made me nervous but it was starting to seem a bit flatter than it should be.

I am the type that gets a case of nerves ( I'm sure something must have happened when I was much younger about not doing things I was told ) when I see anything that has those " Don't Remove " tags. Washing pillows just never seemed a thing you should do any more than removing those tags. I would finally take them off but not before looking over my should like someone from the tag gestapo was just waiting to hear that RIPPING sound. So, I put off washing this pillow. It is happily drying in the dryer and I checked -- it appears to be its fluffy self again.

Poppy -- that is so funny -- about the sign. Not sure but so many men seem to have to do this VERY indirect questioning of things that seems to be so devoid of common sense. How can such great intelligence go into such failure in mere seconds or less. Well, I'm familiar with it very much while knowing that I have my own issues, like tags.

We have been fortunate for leaks. When we got ours though -- it was the pipe under the kitchen sink that Dh turned ( trying to tighten up ) the wrong way and it just burst off. Fortunately the shut off was just off our deck -- but it still resulted in totally flooded kitchen. I sure hope the gasket is the total answer. I am really into our dishwasher even though it takes a couple of weeks for us to get enough dirty dishes for it. If I don't want to go that long it has a ' half load ' cycle and when I have dishes I want to use -- or too many plates start going in, I use that.

Anne, your Yiddish spelling is fine (must be due to all those years in FL).

Jackie, when I was a little girl I actually thought it was illegal for anyone to remove those pillow & upholstery tags. You'd be surprised how many people don't know that the "penalty of law" is imposed on the mfrs., distributors & original merchants selling those goods--the tags exist to inform consumers of the materials & country of origin. It's no more illegal for you to remove them after purchase than it is to remove labels from your clothing.

What is it with men who've never lived alone (or even those who have) that turns them into Oscar Madison after they've been married for awhile? I grew up disorganized in a disorganized household (my mom would say "it's not neat but it's clean and I know where to find everything," and I never really believed that). Maybe that's why she insisted so strongly that my sis & I at least straighten our room, and most conflicts in our home were about that. We were always late for everything. When I got married (first time I ever lived away from my family) I vowed I would be as practical as possible--even though not to the point of being anal, I have learned to confirm that being reasonably organized (and familiar with how everything works) makes life so much more convenient & saves time. I always keep a master list and replenish my travel supplies as needed; and it takes me less than an hour to choose and pack a week's worth of clothes, and neatly at that.

Which is why it drives me nuts when I vacation with my guys. They can't pack to save their lives--my housekeeper or I do it for them before a trip. Our suitcases are the kind that open flat like a book, with a full-zip mesh panel over each side so that if there's not enough room on the luggage rack to keep it opened flat I can keep it open in an "L" shape without anything falling out. But before checkout from hotels, my guys wait till the last minute, cram their clothes (dirty & clean) haphazardly (w/o rolling, folding or layering) into their suitcases and then don't understand why the interior zipper pulls keep breaking off. I refuse to take the extra time and effort to do that for them--I travel enough that I never pack anything I can't roll up, and when I take something off I roll it back up and put it back into the suitcase, which I keep on the luggage rack at all times. I call Housekeeping and request extras so that there's one for every suitcase. Yet my men keep their suitcases either on the floor and complain about their backs hurting, or on the bed (I know about the dangers of bedbugs, but they apparently don't care). Early checkout times when I travel solo don't faze me--I pack whatever I'm done with the night before. But they wait till the last minute.

My DH won't use the luggage rack because he says it's too small and his suitcase falls off it. I keep showing him how, but he keeps insisting on doing things the way he's used to--which is sloppily because at work he has nurses & office staff to do all the organization behind the scenes. Same with our son, who's always lived with us (he didn't live in the dorms at college). Both of them are too proud & stubborn to let me teach them how to do things more ergonomically, or to ask for help. DH couldn't find his toothbrush this morning, so instead of calling Housekeeping (they have stuff for free) he went to the in-house grocery to buy one. Rather than try to figure out how to nuke leftovers or make coffee, they'll get dressed and buy Starbucks and an overpriced sandwich or wrap to bring up to the room.

Thanks for letting me vent!