Message Forum

"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are"?

Satchel Paige

04/07/14 09:09 AM

#1551

Jim - 55........

04/08/14 07:32 PM

#1552

Nancy,

With me it depends on how long it takes for the bones to stop creaking when I get up and who/(what?) looks back at me in the mirror.

04/09/14 08:32 AM

#1553

Yes, Jim, those creaks upon arising certainly discourage sitting too long......one of the reasons that Netflix is better than a movie theater; the popcorn's better too.

04/09/14 03:48 PM

#1554

Nancy, it is actually possible to make healthy popcorn at home. Unless by "better" you meant "Put MORE butter on!"

04/09/14 04:33 PM

#1555

Terri,

By "better" I meant health-wise AND taste. Lots of butter is yummy, but even plain is great. Who knows what's in the theater stuff? But, at home - NO microwave bags!

04/10/14 01:53 PM

#1556

Nancy, Terri,

Two WI ex-pats speaking negatively of butter? When we were in school, dis-ing butter would have been considered a capital offense.

04/10/14 02:48 PM

#1557

Surgery on broken leg was performed on 3/27, resulting in the insertion of a metal plate and 11 screws. Recovery has been up and down. After visiting the surgeon this past Monday, it was determined that ABSOLUTELY NO WEIGHT can be placed on my right leg/ankle/foot (not my original directions). I'm pretty much relegated to a wheelchair, which can't go everywhere (such as the bathroom), and a walker (used ONLY when needed, right foot up, hopping on left foot...sort of a crutch walk, only a bit safer). My husband still has his foot in a cast, and that likely will be the case for the next couple of months. Neither of us can drive, of course. Getting things done (grocery shopping, laundry, meals, etc.) has been a real pain! As we have no family upon whom to rely, we have to constantly call on a couple of neighbors and friends to help us out.

MORAL OF THIS STORY: If two people in the same home are going to become incapacitated, try to time it so you can help one another. LOL!!

04/10/14 03:26 PM

#1558

Jim - I would NEVER dis butter! We never ate margarine. I would rather have a small amount of something wonderful than a bunch of substitutes. A worthy guideline: Eat real food; not too much; mostly plants. Remember when one had to add a packet of color to the margarine? The margarine that had been smuggled in from Illinois.

Jeanne: I'm so sorry to hear of your struggles. I know how awful it is to thump around on one's butt with one foot sticking out ( bone spur surgery on a toe a few years ago, when we still had our condo - four levels....ugh!) And how happy you will be when you can again shower without a plastic bag on one leg! Two women close to me each fell and broke an arm within the last year; somehow I feel I'm next. Have fallen several times (no breaks, but some pretty banged up knees and shins) and now walk on ice as if it were eggshells.

Soon this will be just a memory; hang in there!

04/10/14 04:47 PM

#1559

Barbara Blair (Brenzel)

Jeanne,

Now I feel bad about all the complaining I've done about my back & what I can't do. You will be in my thoughts & prayers.

Falling down now terrifies me - I used the walker for a long time after I really didn't need it any longer - just until all the ice was gone! And the cane was my "security blanket" for a long time too. A friend once said that getting older is not for cowards!

The back brace is almost a thing of the past & I'm walking now instead of waddling. Recovery is slow but sure.

Ray, that really touched my heart when you said your bride will tie your laces!

04/10/14 06:30 PM

#1560

Barbara: Whatever "complaining" (DON'T call it that!) you've been doing is nothing to feel bad about. If it hurts, it hurts; if it is inconvenient, it is; if it's depressing, I understand. I have major back problems, caused by arthritis and deteriorating discs. I've been told that my only hope for less pain and more mobility is back surgery. Chicken that I am, I've so far turned down that option. Not so sure that I'll change my mind, especially after what I've currently been going through. Thanks for your positive wishes, and of course, I send the same to you. As a friend ordered me on Facebook, HEAL, SIT, STAY! My response? WOOF!

Nancy: Butt walking! That's how I got my way off the black ice, up 4 steps, and back into the house to call 911. The nurse in ER informed me about the major bruising on my rear end, caused not only by the fall but also by the butt walk. Not an experience I want to repeat! Many thanks for the good wishes!

04/10/14 08:27 PM

#1561

Jeanne and Barbara, I am so, so sorry for everything you have gone/are going through I am trying to get all my heavy yard work done before it's my turn - again (torn meniscuses in both knees 4 yrs. ago). Needless to say, I was extra, extra careful going up & down the ladder!

04/11/14 08:23 PM

#1562

Ray Thompson

Jeanne--In my little community in up Nort Wisconsin we have volunteer groups that will help people. They will come to pick you up and take you shopping, to the doctor etc. Check in the Falls as I'm sure there is some group that may assist you both. My prayers for a fast recovery for you both.

04/11/14 09:00 PM

#1563

Ray--Thanks much for the good advice and the positive wishes. If or when I run out of options for transportation, someone to run errands, etc., I will certainly look into your suggestion.

04/13/14 12:24 AM

#1564

Wonder what happened to the monthly list of birthdays.

04/13/14 02:10 AM

#1565

It's on the home page, Jeanne - right next to that cute pop-out Easter bunny.

04/13/14 08:11 AM

#1566

Thanks, Terri! Wouldn't have thought to look there.

04/13/14 12:24 PM

#1567

Terri,

The other day you talked about doing your yard work and going up and down a ladder. Wouldn't it be easier if you just had your yard and garden at ground level?

04/13/14 04:44 PM

#1568

Very funny, Jim! No, the shrubs are too tall, and needed a hair cut at the second floor level. Today is lawn mowing & fertilizing; which won't need the ladder. Everything is definitely GROWING!

04/13/14 09:57 PM

#1569

10-4 Terri,

I never thought I'd enjoy mowing the lawn again, but after 3+ years of senior apartment living, the house we bought has just enough yard to take care of so I can say I did it and it looks good.

04/13/14 10:51 PM

#1570

Gardening is in my blood. The first of our Levenhagens from Germany started a florist shop in Manitowoc, and my "people" have always had a garden. So after living in apartments way too long, I was so happy to get a bit of land where I could have a lawn, flowers, trees and best of all, fresh tomatoes (as opposed to those tasteless cloned beautiies from the grocery store!) Jim, I am so happy for you having a lawn to mow. Now, watering it is going to be the challenge this year in California!

04/14/14 07:18 AM

#1571

Fellow gardeners - feel my pain: snowdrifts up to the knees are melting slowly in the cold rain; patches of grey-brown grass are visible under several inches of water; two-inch daffodil leaves barely break the water's surface; raised beds in the vegetable garden offer the only soil with a remote possibility of drying out before Memorial Day. Curled up next to the fire with a copy of Whiteflower Farms, I dream of the flowers that I hope will survive the below-zero temperatures, root rot from standing in water, drying winds roaring across the lake, and the voracious deer and rabbits. Being a gardener in the north of Michigan is the ultimate definition of an optimist.

04/14/14 01:08 PM

#1572

04/16/14 01:35 AM

#1573

Melody Jones (Parker)

Here is a new picture of my roses in bloom taken last Friday...all ready for Easter!!!

04/16/14 07:15 AM

#1574