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

Carole, sure hope your ailment gets better quick. The steroids should ( if you can take them ) help to allow you to feel better. I decided my cold was actually not so much a cold as pretty much total allergy. I'm far better ( don't sound much like it ) then I was. If I had any cold it must have worn off since I've had this now for over five days. I've taken ( consistently at this point ) allergy meds for about 5 days now. If I don't get any more relief than I have I might check with the V.A. here at the satellite office and see if they might have anything else to use. I have only OTC meds myself. Each day I've 'seemed' dryer and am to the point where the nasal congestion is sticky while blowing my nose. My chest is looser -- but still having some hang on.

Like you I don't like to think of the patients at nursing home facilities. There are so many germs there at good times.

Carole, my granddaughter who is visiting spent the last two days in bed, miserable with a cold. Today she is feeling much better, although not fully healed. Hope yours is the same kind of cold and that tomorrow will be a better day. Homemade chicken soup may have helped?

"Deep within man dwell those slumbering powers; powers that would astonish him, that he never dreamed of possessing; forces that would revolutionize his life if aroused and put into action." -Orison Swett Marden

We have the slow-lowering toilet seat and lid. Now we bang it at other people's houses because we're used to just giving it a push. I never want to go back to the other kind.

Rain here, and some wind. Very windy on the coast, but not to bad in the city. If I'm going to walk to the store, I should do it soon. I need to put more money on my bus card before tomorrow. It's very low, but my senior fare is only $1.

We plant seeds that will flower as results in our lives, so best to remove the weeds of anger, avarice, envy and doubt, that peace and abundance may manifest for all. Dorothy Day.

We lost our Sears here also. I keep thinking of things that I always got there. Flannel nightgowns, and fleece nightshirts. Annoying when I try to think of somewhere else that might have them.

Losing our Sears too but no inclination to buy anything (espec. clothes & shoes, which I need to start winnowing out to declutter).

Sunny & beautiful today: 50 degrees! Tomorrow it might make 60. But right now I'm stuck inside dealing with Amex and Delta trying to redeem points for SkyMiles (after all that, Amex requires Bob, as the primary cardholder, to be the one to do it). And waiting for my travel agent to call me back to buy my airline tickets (looks like it'll be KLM to Amsterdam, and from there to Tel Aviv; the return can be the reverse, or I can do AirFrance from Tel Aviv to Paris and then home. If I do the latter, seriously considering doing a couple of nights in Paris if Bob wants to take the time to fly there & join me--depends on whether he thinks it's too soon after our New Orleans trip).

Tried vaping both the pure CBD and the "Cherry Charlotte" 7:1 CBD:THC juices. Tried the latter (in its own vape pen) first Wed. night, and inhaled too fast & strongly and got a sore throat and coughing fit. Last night I was very, very careful with the CBD (in a different pen with adjustable temperature), and had no coughing or sore throat; but not sure it worked. Then again, CBD is supposed to make you feel "normal" so it's hard to notice. And not sure if I'd even vaped enough, so I took a few drops of my trusty Receptra CBD oil.

My R elbow (the one I hairline-fractured in June) was throbbing all evening, so I did take a 5mg. THC-infused chocolate-covered blueberry after the CBD-only vape. Went to sleep but 1/2 hr later started getting first the muscle twitching that is a precursor of my R tibial dystonia, and then an awful peripheral neuropathy in the underside of my L big toe. First, a little tingle; but then a sharp shocky pain that felt like a cross between a taser and a scalpel slashing my callus. That was the straw that broke the camel's back: had to take a Lyrica, which stopped the twitching & neuropathy and prevented the dystonia, but knocked me out for nearly 9 hrs (my dreams were interesting & entertaining; it's hard to get up without finding out what happens next). I suspect the twitching might be a side effect of the THC (sativa, not indica), so tonight I'll skip taking it. If the neuropathy recurs, I'll know it's time to test my a1c and talk either low carb/keto diet or Metformin with my primary care doc. (And even if it doesn't, that may not be a side effect of THC). Some people have "paradoxical" reactions to THC, with increased pain, or my "sweet spot" of pain relief between no effect and exacerbation might be a really small window. 5mg might be too much for sleep--maybe 2.5 is as much as I need at bedtime.

Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn't blow in the wind or change with the weather. It is your inner image of yourself, and if you look in there and see a person who won't cheat, then you know you never will. -John MacDonald

A life lived with integrity--even if it lacks the trappings of fame and fortune--is a shining star in whose light others may follow in the years to come. -Denis Waitley

An inch of rain tonight and tomorrow morning, temps solidly in the thirties. I have no reason to go outside, I don't trust that temp prediction, although if it is as advertised, we will have a fresh start when the snow begins again. Or maybe this will be a record warm winter.

I walked in after church, looked around at all I ought to do, resolved to do none, but needed some hard-boiled eggs for breakfasts, and while waiting for them to boil, I washed the dishes. I am proud of myself.

Of course, slathering my hands with coconut oil before putting them in the dish-gloves might have been a motivator. No evidence of coconut oil by the time I finished.

I fixed my Fitbit, all it needed was a software update. I was in bed nearly eleven hours in order to get 7:44 hours of quality sleep.

My Mary Kay person knows I have not much money. She gave me samples of two different lines, one not directed at ageing problems, which I have been using with some improvement. Not very expensive. Then there is a more expensive line for ageing skin; I am going to try the samples. For that, there is a reasonably priced travel kit, and I can buy individual items as needed and stay within budget. But I could mix and match with both lines to economize.

My daughter is sending me earrings and hats for a combination Christmas and birthday present. I am currently knitting a black hat, but I am going to bling it with a large rhinestone pin. I have a skein of green tweedy stuff yet to knit, too. I unretired a pair of glasses that has more bling to them, too.

I will get through this. Just wondering if I ought to quit brushing my hair so as to not further irritate those distressed follicles.

I am reading a biography of Winston Churchill, and someone suggested a movie about QEII as a counterbalance, so that is my agenda for today. As well as coffee (antidote to Clonazepam), knitting, and eggs and bread. And later a smoothie-- I think tofu, spinach, mixed fruit, milk, honey, and ground walnuts with a bit of flax seed meal. I forgot to get the yogurt at the store.

I will check into those. Thank you.

My sister has been scheming. My daughter and brother live in California. My brother called me today, had all sorts of ideas for headwraps. I texted daughter and told her to connect with her uncle to figure out some headwraps from what they can find in the fabric stores out there. They should come up with some interesting combinations. Bro was thinking of a quilted reversible one.

I know it is early, but I am tired, and I have the right to go to bed when I want to.

Well, I'm not sure if today's weather can be called a blizzard, but close enough for me. We're expecting about 10 - 12 inches of blowing snow today, although the temps will be in the mid-20's. The past 2 winters have been unusually mild, so it's nice to see something normal for a change. This is northern Ontario, after all! What a great time to be retired!

MCBaker -- love how you characterize where you are in life right now.

I'm with you ping-pong. Things that are not normal ( hello dx. ) can just put you off. I do like a good snow but for today it will get quite warm -- mid 60's and of course hello rain. This is not typical weather for southern/central Illinois at this time. We have had strange weather patterns for a few yrs. now and while it annoys me somewhat, it is based as much if not more, on a dread of global warming and the fact that if we refuse to deal with climate -- who knows.

Anyway, I'm awaiting whatever comes today, but it will be almost certain rain -- just don't know when for sure. Lots to do today --- trips to the store and the bank and checking out doors along the way to make sure ( wind is up to sponsor the oncoming rain ) we are battened down properly.

Hope you all have a really good Monday. Enjoy the snow.....

Lots of rain on & off today--made it up to 55 but quite windy. Bottom drops out tomorrow, with lows in the 20s and highs in the 30s. Ah, well--it's winter in Chicago, and in years past it's been far, far worse. (Chiberia, Snowmageddon, etc.). At least I don't need to shovel rain (which is one reason it broke my heart to move away from Seattle 40 yrs. ago--I think it snowed maybe 3 or 4 times the whole 7 times we lived there, only one snowfall having been significant). Today I noticed my strawberry plants were coming back up, peeking out of the dead leaf debris. Poor things won't know what hit them...

Seattle has 3 north-south arterials (none east-west). They have constructed a tunnel to replace Highway 99 which has a elevated section which is like the one that collapsed in Oakland. So Friday, they're shutting down the elevated section for 2 months while they finalize the tunnel entrances and exits. What could go wrong? It only carries thousands of cars every day. I am not planning to go downtown or beyond until late spring.

Our weather is stuck on 40's with rain. We had a wind storm that blew down trees and light poles. There are still people without power since 3am Sunday.

You could probably do it on the bus from the U. District. But definitely not Bellevue. That is already a nightmare.