Feelings vs Reality

PictureQuotes.com

I was brought back to reality when we were at the bottom of the driveway (safely, even after having to drive over the ice on the last third of the driveway!) and I was taking the trash bags out of the back of the truck and putting them to one side of the driveway for pickup.

The trash people didn’t pick up the trash last week. I’m not sure what the state of the road was in front of our house, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they couldn’t do the pickup due to the ice storm. Anyway, I noticed we were a bag short from what I put out. I found the bag on its side in the ice and water-filled ditch beside our driveway. An animal had gotten in it, torn it open and had a big time.

When I was younger, I would have just balanced on the edge of the ditch, reached over and pulled what I could out of the water, rebagged it, and would have been done with it.

Reality struck when I TRIED to balance on the edge of the ditch and had trouble. Sanity kicked in, deciding that a spill into the ditch filled with cold water and ice wasn’t worth it.

So, this old lady will put a trash bag and rake or hoe in the back of the truck and I’ll tackle the problem the next time we go down the hill…

HOPEFULLY the trash guys will get the double load of trash now waiting for them.

“When I grow up I want to be an old woman.”

The above is a quote from Michelle Shocked

I am 74 today – older than dirt – older but not wiser – still ornery and kickin’ .

I have started a petition – in my own mind at least – to obliterate the word, “Elderly.” Supposedly, this includes people 60 and above. Every time I hear the word, realizing that the people uttering it are referring to ME, I get hostile.

“I’ve enjoyed every age I’ve been and each has had its own individual merit. Every laugh line, every scar, is a badge I wear to show I’ve been present, the inner rings of my personal tree trunk that I display proudly for all to see. Nowadays, I don’t want a “perfect” face and body; I want to wear the life I’ve lived.”
— Pat Benatar

I’m just getting a good start now. Right at this moment, I’m feeling a bit older than usual, though. My husband and I got our first shot of the COVID vaccine yesterday. My arm is a bit achy, and I’m not feeling very energetic, but that is a TEMPORARY condition, and this one time I’m glad I’m ‘old enough’ to get something.

I am full of plans for spring. I want to re-plant the elephant ear plant bulbs I’ve been storing in the garage for the winter. I want to repair our irrigation system where the cold weather busted one of the pvc pipes we use to water our plants. I am eager to uncover my raised bed planters so I can get spring veggies started.

I have ideas rattling around in my head for things I can try in my art room. In fact, I’m planning to spend part of my birthday today up there. :0)

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”~ Sophia Loren

It’s a nice day, so I’m going to spend time on my elliptical trainer in the garage, and then do a good, long session of yoga stretches this afternoon.

BoredPanda

“You don’t stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.”
— George Bernard Shaw

I truly love finding things to post on this blog. There is so much to share that is hopeful!

“As long as I am breathing, in my eyes, I am just beginning.” — Criss Jami

Wonderful Marathon Birthday Celebration

Cartoons by Ron Leishman

When you are my age, the more celebration the better.  (I will be 73 on Monday, March 9th.)

My friends at Lunch Bunch made me feel really special yesterday and I’m still grinning.

When we walked into the Pizza Barn, this was one of the things on the table –

I put them in the center of our dining table so that my husband and I can enjoy them together. The first thing he said at breakfast this morning was, “These are lovely.”

Spring-Scented candle and holder.  I wish you could smell this!

Ceramic OWL candle or tealight holder. This has a peach and mango candle. Delicious!

Kitchen towels with attitude!

And beautiful birthday cards.

TWO pieces of chocolate sheet cake with chocolate frosting.

My lunch was free.

Conversation, laughter, and hugs from long-time friends. (we have been meeting every Friday for Lunch Bunch for almost 19 years now – a true gift.)

My husband and I indulged in hot dogs with BUNS and Fritos last night for dinner – I haven’t had those – or the cake – in over a year now.

And Monday my husband is taking me for a lobster tail lunch at Red Lobster – a celebration of another year of life, PLUS having over 1400 subscribers to my blog now.

“I’ve enjoyed every age I’ve been and each has had its own individual merit. Every laugh line, every scar, is a badge I wear to show I’ve been present, the inner rings of my personal tree trunk that I display proudly for all to see. Nowadays, I don’t want a “perfect” face and body; I want to wear the life I’ve lived.” — Pat Benatar

 

Thoughts on a Monday 9-9-2019

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

Good morning! (barely)

I’m getting a really late start again today because our Internet service is super wonky again today. I’m looking at this problem as another of life’s character-building exercises. I get halfway through a post, email, or reading an article, and everything goes dead. The sun is shining. This seems to be a case of being attacked by gremlins.

It occurs to me that when you retire, many things get turned upside-down.

One big example is a change in perspective – how we feel about Mondays.

We have worked most of our lives. Mondays were something that happened with great regularity – like clockwork – and meant an end to most free time and lots of hard work for the coming week. We lived for the weekends, getting to sleep in (until we had kids) and then rushing around to get all the errands done while the stores were open that we couldn’t make time for during the week. We made a point of playing hard, wringing every ounce of fun out of our time off, only to return to yet another Monday.  The week would C-R-A-W-L past (even though I liked most of my jobs a lot).

Since we retired, we have the opposite situation. We like to have all the stores open, deliveries being made, mail being delivered, banks open, etc. We stay super busy, not able to figure out how we EVER found time to work full time. Our lives are full of interesting and fun things to do. Many of these things come to a screeching halt when it’s the weekend or a holiday.  We start to do something and the bank is closed, or the stores are closed, or….

I’m not REALLY complaining. I’m just trying to explain the change in perspective now that we’re as old as dirt.  :0)

 

 

 

 

Thoughts on Being 72…

Oleg Vishnepolsky – LinkedIn

“As long as I am breathing, in my eyes, I am just beginning.” — Criss Jami

Happy Pat on the Head

I’m a sucker for all kinds of ‘feel-able’ pats on the head: gold stars on my desk calendar when I’ve done whatever exercise is scheduled for the day; and these cute little bears that NutriSystem sends out for each 10 pounds one loses.

As you can see from the picture above, I’ve gotten my 4th bear – the one for 40 lbs off. (Actually, right now I’m at 43 pounds off  :0) )  There is also 44.2 inches less of me than there used to be.

I have a good start now. I will try to get another 30 pounds off, and whatever number of inches that goes with that any my exercises.

The really big thing is that I FEEL BETTER.  I’m 72 as of yesterday, and I can honestly say I feel better than I did a year ago. On March 9th of 2020, I hope to be able to say the same thing, whether or not I’ve reached my weight loss goal.

Smaller, but again – a VISIBLE thing  – is that I’m able to fit in favorite clothes I’ve kept in closets for years, hoping that ‘one day’ I would be able to wear them again. There are still several things in the ‘hope’ area of my guest room closet. :0)  I’m between sizes on jeans right now, for example. The size I’m wearing is a bit baggy, but I’m still too lardy for the next size down. I’m also able to order some smaller sizes online, too.

I’m sleeping better with the loss of the lard and my efforts to move more. I get up from the computer after I post something here, do some chore inside or outside before posting again, for example. I’m also trying to do my exercises like a good old girl daily. I’m more successful some weeks than others. I’m doing something different each day – yoga and abdominal exercises one day, a dance video another, the Wii Fit Plus ‘games’ for balance and reaction time (I’m still awful and the program is still insulting me), the walking with Annoying Leslie one day, and the elliptical trainer in the garage one day. Now that spring is near (thank GOODNESS!) I’m working in the yard when the weather permits.

Though I’m getting old-in-the-tooth, I can usually gather enough energy to continue going through the house, concentrating on purging, then cleaning and reorganizing one area at a time. Today it’s the supplies shelves in our office after we go grocery shopping.

Motivation is high though results are slow. I think the older you get the harder it is to get any lard off or make appreciable difference in fitness or stamina, but I’m game as long as I’m breathing!

The Long and Short of It

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

The short answer is 43 pounds lost and 44.2 inches lost to date, since my ‘heaviest and lardiest.’

The longer answer is we’re trying to take care of ourselves, now that my husband and I are getting ‘long-in-the-tooth’ and would like to maintain or increase our quality of life for as long as we can, enjoying our lives to the fullest.

Since we both have health issues, my husband gave up added sugar and I gave up added salt. We are limiting our red beef, concentrating more on chicken and fish, veggies, fruit, and nuts. We’re both trying to drink more water. I’m trying to exercise. My husband said, “Now that I turned 75, I don’t HAVE to worry about exercising.” – as if he ever has. I am exercising more than I ever have, with the exception of when I was teaching swimming every summer and working in a restaurant part-time to help pay my way through college.  I continue to encourage him to exercise.

I’m concentrating on stretching, balance, core strength, and reaction time. Basically just trying to consciously move more. I’m doing a combination of yoga, abdominal exercises, walking, elliptical trainer, dance, and Wii Fit Plus each week. Sometimes I’m successful and get it all in, sometimes not. I’m trying to pat myself on the head (and give myself a gold star on my desk calendar) when I do well and not beat myself up when I don’t.

The same on eating. My husband is almost where he needs to be on weight. I still have a lot to lose to get to my goal of being in the healthy range on BMI and insurance charts. We’ve been on Nutrisystem, but are on hiatus now, trying to eat our way through the remaining food while not having more sent. In May we’ll probably change to A LA CARTE. We are doing our own thing a lot of the day and are needing the packaged stuff less and less. I’m substituting healthy recipes we really like for the entrees.

We’re giving ourselves permission to eat out when the mood strikes – a quality of life issue for us. Last night we ate dinner at The Dari, one of the new restaurants in Greenwood, Arkansas. Last night we got a seafood platter and two plates. This gave each of us plenty of food without overeating. We enjoyed our splurge/treat without breaking our diet. I made it a point to ask at the front counter who was responsible for the seafood. Several of the cooks raised their hands. I gave them a two-thumbs up, a big grin, and told them they were WONDERFUL.

I have to get a blood test on the 18th of March to see if I’ve improved in a couple of areas. Fingers crossed.

 

 

Older than Dirt

Commander Bill

My husband and I are being dragged – kicking and screaming – into the current century.

We like gadgets, but keep discovering we are living in the stone age on some things.

We had to replace our old land line phones because rats got under the house and ATE through the wiring. Since we didn’t want to crawl around under there trying to replace all the wiring, and couldn’t find anyone willing to do it for us, we bought essentially a cell phone on a base to replace our system. We’ve used that for a long time, adding an answering machine that we liked better than the one provided,  and then my husband designed a call screening program that had callers pressing 1 “if they were a real person and weren’t selling anything” in order for the phone to ring here.

This got wonky, not recognizing callers we had put on our list, and hanging up on people after they pressed 1. We’ve been living with NO caller screening for awhile, and I’ve been going nuts.

We got a new phone system yesterday and my husband and son set it up. We’ve ordered two more phones and charging bases so we can have phones everywhere we would like them. I managed to ANSWER my phone last night, patting myself on the head. This morning I actually manged to MAKE a call, after fumbling around awhile. My husband has just finished creating a directory.

We have gotten several reminders that the rest of the world has gone on past us, while we stayed in our cocoon –

• We installed a geothermal heat and air system several years ago. Our thermostats have been misbehaving and we were having trouble getting them set correctly. The guy who checks our system out twice a year tactfully suggested that since our thermostats were older than he was (he didn’t say that) maybe we should get ones that were made to work with geothermal, which doesn’t need ’emergency heat.. He helped us decide which ones to get and installed them for us. We’re now doing fine, able to control the temperatures in our house just fine for the most efficiency.
• We have actually donated several items that were causing havoc and tension around here, rather than ‘helping’ us or making our lives simpler. :0)
• We were even reminded how old we are when we got a Synology – a device that allows us to record our DVD collection, making them available to play on our television and get rid of the physical DVDs. I looked each of them up on Amazon with the idea of selling them. I had DVDs that had the same cover picture – and many were Blu-rays, but the production date on ours was so old Amazon sneered at us and wouldn’t allow me to list them. We ended up listing the ones that were ‘acceptable’ and giving 217 DVDs to the local library for their next fundraising sale…

We may be older than dirt, but we’re still able to kick and scream as we’re forced to enter the current century!

 

Getting Older is SO Much FUN!

holyapostlessoupkitchen.wordpress.com

A little sarcasm – maybe a LOT. :0)

 

My husband wanted to go to an auction this morning. He said he wanted to leave at 9:00. Knowing him, I set the alarm in the office where we were working and having a first cup of coffee (me) and sugar-free hot apple cider (him.) When the alarm went off, I said, “It’s time for you to go.” He said, “Where?”

He searched until he found his phone. He only takes it when we aren’t BOTH going somewhere. Then he came back in because he didn’t have the address. Then he came back because he didn’t have money. I programmed the GPS in the truck and he was off.

The above is told with a smirk at one of his foibles. He’s the smartest person I know. If he can’t figure something out or fix it, we ask our son. If neither can fix it, it can’t be. He’s really good with electronics, bending things to do his bidding. Sometimes the fight is long, but he gets it done. I look at it and figure it’s ‘magic.’

While he was gone and it was cooler and not raining outside, I swept out the garage where the truck had been. Then I weed whacked beside the sidewalks and around the flower beds. I was finishing up, coming around to switch the weed whacker for the leaf blower and he was back!  He said one of the things he was interested in sold, but for much more than he was willing to pay. The other thing he thought might be interesting was junk, so he came home. I got the leaf blowing done and put things away.

It’s amazing to me how quickly I tire these days. I’m very lucky that I can work until some part of me is yelling, stop and rest and drink some water, and then do another session until the job is done. It also takes me a LONG time to cool down and for my breathing to be normal again. One of the joys of becoming ‘mature,’ I guess.

“As long as I am breathing, in my eyes, I am just beginning.” — Criss Jami

Klutz of the Day Award

elizabeth hill – liz.blogspot.com

Sometimes my husband and I vie for this coveted award, but today I won hands-down.

I did another session in my closet. (The rest of it is fine tuning.) I got the towels and washcloths out of my closet and put them on the hallway shelves that are between bedrooms. In trying to clear off a couple of shelves, I was carrying a big bag of quilts and managed to stumble on ‘something.’ The next thing I knew I was on my face on the floor. Happily, my face was in the big bag of quilts, so it was none the worse for wear. My knees and forearms not so much. I have a very mild, but stinging, rug burn on both knees and my shins, plus my forearms. I started to yell for my husband, realized I was more embarrassed than hurt, and so just got to an upright sitting position on the floor and patted Amber, who was being quite companionable.

When I felt okay again, I was able to finish what I was doing, strip the bed and change the sheets, and brought the laundry downstairs. I told my husband about the fall, and he related that HE also fell this morning (while I was out having a massage) trying to discipline Amber, who had gotten into my trash can again. So we’re a pair. We agreed that we need to be even MORE careful than we thought we were being.

I’m going to finish vacuuming ( I need to do the tiled area on the first floor), the second load of wash, and then I’m done for the day.

I would rather win the award than have my husband win it. As Bette Davis said, “Getting old ain’t for sissies.”

Stupidity Reigns

Sarcasm Dujour – http://www.pinterest.com

Between my husband and me, our life is one LARGE surprise party.

Our latest ‘party’ is listing two things for sale on eBay. We’ve done this for years, but not often. We listed an iMac, and then two external drives, asking that payments be made via Paypal.

We sold both in the last several days, but then the party began. It turned out that we had neglected to check the email address listed for our account at Paypal (listed nowhere on the site except on listings you’ve posted.) We still had our OLD Paypal email from when I had my Creative Artworks website on our LAST listing, so it went on the NEW listings automatically. Since we’re old and doofus, we didn’t think to check. The buyers paid, but the payments went to lala land, since neither that email nor the Paypal account associated with it, exist now. We tried everything to fix it, finding out that the ONLY place you can change it is in a new listing. We listed a DVD, changing the information to the current email and Paypal account associated with it, but that doesn’t help us with the old listings. ARRRGH!

When we explained our goof to the \buyer of the external drives, sending him an invoice via Paypal, he said he had found the drives elsewhere, so we canceled the sale. After communication with the buyer for the iMac,  he said if we would list it again with the “buy now” price he had bought it for during the auction, he would buy it right away. We’re in the process of doing that now, hopefully not losing this sale, too.

What should have been simple listings and sales got hopelessly complicated because we FORGOT that the old information was on the Paypal account (only on eBay) and that we didn’t understand where we should have looked to make sure our information was correct before listing. Since we don’t sell things that often on eBay, we’ll probably forget what we have now learned the hard way. We’ll make notes about this, but then the notes will mysteriously disappear….

As Bette Davis said, “Old age ain’t no place for sissies.” 

 

Embarrassed

http://www.thegrindstone.com

 

My husband and I have sold used books and DVDs on Amazon for several years now. We make enough sometimes to make us feel we’re recouping some of what we’ve spent on books, allowing us to feel less guilty for buying more.

My husband opened the seller account, but I handle the packaging of the books sold, record keeping, confirming shipments online, etc.  If we only sell one book, the process is very easy. Selling 7 books in less than a day’s time makes it difficult to keep orders straight.

I told you yesterday that I went through the books in the entertainment center in our living room, listing some for sale on Amazon and donating the others to our local library. I listed several, and bagged up 7 Walmart bags of donated books that we’ll take to the library today.

Last night we sold 3 books. I packaged them for mailing and put them on our go-out table. By this morning, we had sold 4 more! I went through things carefully, printing out the shipping labels and info and packaging one book at a time so I didn’t get confused.

I made a list of what had sold and where the books were being shipped so that I could get online later today and confirm each shipment with a USPS number. (The only ones not on the list yet were the ones ready for shipping on the go-out table.)

I ran into one sale for which I didn’t have the book! I looked through the ones for sale very carefully several times. I couldn’t find it. I finally admitted defeat, wrote to the buyer, apologized profusely, telling her I didn’t know how this happened since I list books by their ISBN number. I cancelled the order and issued a refund for her money. I was embarrassed, telling my husband I was old and doofus, but was being as careful as possible.

I took the newly packaged books in to the go-out table and added the ones already packaged to my list for confirmation. THERE WAS THE BOOK I COULDN’T FIND.  You can’t UN-cancel an order. You can’t put spilt milk back into the bottle.

SO – I’m embarrassed TWICE now. I’ll wait a week and then list the ‘sold-and-order-canceled’ book again next week….

Getting Older

Evergreen Choice

“Old age is always fifteen years older than I am” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

 

Funnyjunk

“Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you’ve got to start young” – Theodore Roosevelt

“Don’t let aging get you down. It’s too hard to get back up” – John Wagner

 

Mari Chris – Deviantart

“None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm” – Henry David Thoreau

___________________

Source of quotes – Holidappy.com

 

Lessons Learned in Life via Jennifer Mitchell Carroll

 

“A stockbroker urged me to buy a stock that would triple its value every year. I told him, ‘At my age, I don’t even buy green bananas.'”
– Claude Pepper

Happy Birthday tooooooooo ME……….

My friends and relatives are making me feel very special today – feisty and sassy – though I’m definitely getting long-in-the-tooth.  The day has only begin and already I’ve been showered with cards in the mailbox and e-cards, songs and gifts. The very best gifts, though, are the people BEHIND all the attention I’m getting today. What a lucky, lucky lady I am!

“Getting old ain’t for sissies.” – Take 1

Suggest.com

“Getting old ain’t for sissies” ~ Bette Davis

Getting old sucks. There’s no getting around it.  The list of ‘what-you-can’t-do-anymore’ continues to grow as does the list of ‘what-you-can’t-eat-anymore.’  Your body goes on strike, yelling at you from one area or another. You move more slowly – and many times, stiffly – as you move through your day. Your memory begins to fail. But every once in awhile – if you can stand back and pretend you’re watching a MOVIE of an old person – you can laugh at yourself.

I did that this morning. My husband and I get up each morning groggily wandering through our list of what we need to do to get the day started, doing things out of habit, rather than having to think right after awaking. One of the things I do is wash my hair in the kitchen sink after my group of things is done and we’ve eaten breakfast. I take off my watch and put it on the counter beside the coffee thermos and my waiting coffee cup.

I had just finished washing my hair and was walking while drying it with a towel on the way to the hair dryer in the bathroom when Amber was clamoring around, wanting to go back outside – after just coming in again – and was doing her best to herd me toward the garage door. I managed to NOT fold up like a tent when our sweet 91-pound ‘puppy’ hit me in the exact right spot behind my knees that has brought me down many times.  I managed to get a gate between us. When I saw the pile of clothes and towels on the utility room floor, it reminded me that I was planning to do several loads of laundry this morning. I stopped and started a load and then dried my hair in the bathroom.

When I went back to the kitchen to pour myself some coffee, my watch wasn’t there!  I walked around, checking all the surfaces in the kitchen, on the divider between the kitchen and the dining area, the dining table, the bathroom counter, but no watch! I checked everything again – KNOWING it HAD to be SOMEWHERE, but it wasn’t.

I looked at the washer and thought, “Oh, no!” I must have scooped it up with the first load of laundry… I paused the machine, stuck both hands in and felt around in the soupy combination of clothes and soapy water. I even turned the bin several times and felt all around again. NO WATCH.

I had decided that ‘it must have been eaten by snakes” (something that happens around here all too often) and prepared to tell my husband that we needed to add getting a new watch for me onto today’s errands list. I steadied myself to look down at the clothes remaining on the floor and put my HAND on my WATCH on top of the washer!

The mystery is solved, but I guess I’ll make good use of ‘standing-back-and-watching-myself’ more and more over the coming years. I really need a good laugh now and then…

“How Much is that Doggie in the Window?”

How Much Is That Doggie In The Window
Recorded by Patti Page
Written by Bob Merrill

How much is that doggie in the window
The one with the waggley tail
How much is that doggie in the window
I do hope that doggie’s for sale

I must take a trip to California
And leave my poor sweetheart alone
If he has a dog he won’t be lonesome
And the doggie will have a good home

Repeat #1

I read in the paper there are robbers
With flashlights that shine in the dark
My love needs a doggie to protect him
And scare them away with one bark

I don’t want a bunny or a kitty
I don’t want a parrot that talks
I don’t want a bowl of little fishies
He can’t take a goldfish for a walk

Repeat #1

____________________

I know I’m showing my age, but when Amber started putting her head through the cat/small dog door in the walk-thru gate one morning, watching the people get ready for breakfast and Molly ate her breakfast in the pantry, this song was the first thing that popped into my head. I started singing it and Amber immediately perked up, getting agitated. She didn’t growl, bark, or yodel, but she sounded like she was listening.

I’ve been trying to remember to take my camera into the dining area for weeks now, but never remember to do it until I see her with her head through the door again. Today I used the camera on my phone.

I don’t do that often because my phone and my iMac don’t get along. My husband has to take the pics off the phone on his PC (Microsoft 10) and then put them in the backup files on my computer. I can’t open them until I change the ‘permission’ on each one, change the ‘ownership’ of the file, look at it, then either trash it or unlock it and hit ‘duplicate’ so I can put a name on it. UGH.

Anyhow, I just did this, one picture at a time with a whole group of them, remembering WELL again why I don’t use the camera on my phone unless I need to.

If you’re old enough to remember Patti Page singing this song, you’ll also remember (I think) that there was a dog barking in the song – It would go, “How much is that doggie in the window” (bark, bark) – the one with the waggley tail…..