phyllser

Good Morning! Yes... wind was AWFUL yesterday, especially last night! We did acquire two new "noodles" though... which Earl put back outside this morning hoping someone will claim them. Last week we acquired a CA handicap pass. Must remember to take it up to the office. Earl has asked around and no one knows where it may have come from but I'm sure someone is missing it. Thank you again for those beautiful tulips! They sure add a touch of spring to our humble abode! Look so pretty and I am really enjoying them. Well, I'm not crazy about the "springing forward", but I do like it when we have extra daylight at night. I just wish we didn't have to undo it in the fall! That's what I really HATE! If I had my way, we'd just stay on DST all the time!! But I do feel like a slug this morning. For one thing, my back always hurts more in the morning when I first get up. And, the past few nights have been restless at best... though last night not as bad as the previous two. Only comfortable position is lying on the sore side because on my back or on the other side seems to put more stress on the side that is hurting. But.... shorter sleep has me really groggy and not wanting to move this morning. I am obviously not going to make it to chapel by 9a.m. for choir practice! So I just won't sing in the choir this morning. Missed practice Friday anyway, and I think this might be the Sunday that the men are singing and the ladies are excused. Of course, I don't know if I'm a man or a lady in the choir!! LOL! Alto parts are too high for me so I sing tenor with the men. And we have about 30 people in the choir right now and I'm always scrounging for a place to sit anyway! So... I will skip today.... does that sound like enough rationalization??!!

The corned beef really didn't seem very salty. And I made sure Earl didn't put any seasoning in it other than the little packet that came with it because he tends to overdo it! Hope your dinner goes well. Diplomatic?? Whatever! Can you do it? You need Janet to help you gang up on them! Hugs on your Mom and Aunt issues!! Hope they get the BP, etc. regulated soon! Triple shot... did I teach you that or did you do it on your own?? LOL! Like I said, my "boyfriend" at the Monterrey SBX gives me the quad for free. But he's hardly ever there anymore! I bet I've only seen him about 3X this winter. He was back in NY for a long time taking care of his elderly father. But, "Jose" in DHS gave me the 4th this week one day. So... what's up tonight?? I had a Red Hat meeting today. Nothing exciting going on there. We're just going to be sitting around watching TV tonight. Do you have any marathons coming up this year??

So sorry for your problems! Hoping you get this diagnosed and treated soon! Yes, Cheri.... green neon is not very readable! Sorry! If you want to get us in the St. Patty's mood... try to dark green. It's much easier on our old eyes! LOL Eva.... Yes, I LOVE the guitar glasses and will be waiting anxiously for appropriate times to wear them, like the jazz festival next month!! And any "happy hour" parties we may be going to before we leave!! I didn't buy too much at the mall... got a little billfold at Coach... perfect to hold credit cards, driver's license, etc. And we like the kitchen store... spent some time in there, tried their mustard and dip samples. I bought two packages of dipping pretzels/Raspberry Wasabi Mustard. Hoping it will work out for us to stop and meet Julie. Have to check my "Streets & Trips" to check out possible routes. Ditto on the pictures, Lori! And glad to hear you had no knee problems on your trip. I would like to tackle a trip that ambitious, with that much walking, now that I've had the knee replacement.. Other knee does not give me much trouble even though the surgeon is watching it closely. And I'm trusting these new back problems are not going to impact my mobility too much. Jodi, hope your post-op recovery is going smoothly after all those complications. That is fairly unusual. Pants... very hard for me to find pants that fit properly. My current project... finding a pair of white pants for summer... pants or capris or cropped. I tried on everything from 16W to 1X the other day.. okay, it was K-Mart... and nothing fit right. And the ones that fit best.. were probably the 16W. The others were all too tight in the thighs... my PROBLEM area, to say the least! Plus, I'm so short! Last summer I went through this trying to find black pants for the winter! Okay.. sorry for those I forgot!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! DON'T FORGET TO SPRING FORWARD TONIGHT!

You look great in your new outfit! And, yes, stop calling yourself an "old broad" because that makes me ANCIENT!! LOL! You're the same age as my "baby sister", Shirley! I had a great time yesterday and so glad we got to spend some time together before our retreat back to the great NW~!! Had I looked a little closer at those purse prices, I might have gotten one! But then "someone" wouldn't have given his blessing to go back to COD today and get the Bagellini bag I liked! They had more colors today than they did last week. Plus, I checked them out online before we left to make sure I was getting a good price and so see what colors it came in. I picked one that is kind of cafe au lait with powder blue stitching and lining. I LOVE it! Earl asked me this morning "what is so special about his purse you HAVE to have??" And I smiled sweetly and demurely and said, "lots of zippers and pockets!" So he let me get it! He dropped me off at COD street fair while he went to Trader Joe's for a case of wine. Then he dropped me off at Starbucks while he went to Home Depot and Costco. I met him at Costco where we then had "lunch" on samples. Then I went o a Red Hat meeting. Busy day! Now it's Happy Hour time before we have some of that left over corned beef/cabbage. So glad to hear you cheery again. Sounds like you have a wonderful day planned. And you better stop those "old lady" comments, too!! LOL! Loved your photos, BTW!! Julie, We'll probably be traveling I-90 at least in to Minnesota. Then I think we have to cut south to go through Madison WI where we're stopping to visit a friend... our SIL's sister, actually. She promised to make me some white chicken chili! Anyway, I doubt we'll actually go up as far as Minot, but how close are you to I-90?? And if we stop to see you, is there a place to park our RV?? It's 32 ft long plus we tow our CR-V. We have a family wedding in Buffalo on the 28th or 29th of Aug., so we will probably leave WA about 10 days or so before that.

Welcome! Sounds like you are off to a great start! I think I lost 18 lb. on my pre-op diet. Will be thinking of you on St. Patty's Day! Hi, Cat Lady! I'm on several threads and don't know of any erosion problems that I can think of off hand. Diane, glad your back is better. Mine is feeling a little better, too.

We were stationed at Minot 1974-1975. You probably wouldn't want to hear my "I Hate Minot" song!! LOL!! I bet we wouldn't recognize it now 35 years later! I worked at one of the hospitals in town. We may be coming through ND this summer. Maybe we should take a jog north and see what it looks like now!!

Very ambitious!! You're going to tire of driving!! We started out doing 400-500 miles a day. Now we do closer to 200!! The route sounds great... you hit all the bases! We got back around 3pm and Earl had the table all set outside, wine glasses ready! So we ate pretty early. Had a GREAT day. Walked a lot. Hit the Coach store first. Janet got another purse, I got a little flip thing to hold my driver's license, credit cards, etc. I was afraid to bring home another purse!! They are taking over the RV. And last week I saw a "Bagellini" at the street fair that I don't think I can live without. I'm hoping to maybe go back and get it tomorrow or next Saturday. There's a kitchen store that we like.... le Gourmet.. so we went there and sampled a whole bunch of dips and mustards. I bought Raspberry Wasabi mustard last time we went there and we really liked it so I bogt two more packaged with dipping pretzels. Janet headed home late afternoon to get ready to go see Smokie Robinson concert tonight. Back is better. I took a pain pill just before we left this morning, so I had very little discomfort while we were walking around.

So.... you don't want me to wear the guitar glasses tomorrow???? Bummer!! Earl fixed the flashing lights for me. The switch was broken! LOL! I'll model them for you though! They sort of look like this but mine are blue with flashing lights.

Mmmmm... mango salsa and chicken stew sound great! He's going to put corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrots and onion in the crock pot in the morning for us to have when Janet and I get back from our shopping, etc. Her furlough day.. she is picking me up at 10 a.m.

No... I was completely flabbergasted when the doctor said I had severe arthritis in my spine! Never had any back problems. I have been avoiding the vicodin... I suspect it was keeping me awake nights after my knee replacement surgery last summer. But, felt I needed one this afternoon.

HAHAHAHA!! That explains a LOT!! Well, my pain is somewhat lessened thanks to a vicodin and a little "bubbly"!!

Thanks, Denise. I will look in to the inversion thing, but no room in the RV, so I will wait until we get home next month. Pain is a lot less after taking a generic Vicodin and having a couple of glasses of bubbly!! But no telling what will happen when I try to get up and walk because I've been sitting for a couple of hours now. Yep, butt pain is probably sciatic nerve. Cheez!! You're too young for all those medical problems!! LOL I need to see a derm, back specialist, ophthamologist and I haven't had a PAP smear in several years. I hate it! Janet and I are going to hang out tomorrow... her furlough day. Earl is going to put corned beef and cabbage in the crockpot for us to have when we get back. So I guess I should clear some of my clutter and chaos off the couch tonight so she has a place to sit!!! After almost 6 months living in the RV, it begins to take over! I am not a well organized person. And I can't seem to keep up with reading my magazines, etc. It's horrible. And I have tax stuff laying around. I need to do the taxes!! But my hard drive is as cluttered as the couch is and I KNOW it's going to tell me there's no room to install the new tax software!! All this is called procrastination!!! HAHAHA! I really can relate somewhat to what you said about students/parents, etc!! We have a brilliant SIL who works at Microsoft, but would've been a very gifted math teacher! He was somewhat disillusioned during the student teaching phase of his college experience with exactly what you are talking about. "My son/daughter failed that test because you didn't teach them good enough!", etc., etc.! One day he got so frustrated that he said a word he shouldn't have, under his breath, but within earshot of a student who then reported him. That was the day he decided he was done with teaching!

That sounds really good!! We made something delicious last week that we sort of made up as we went along. We had some pork loin chops in the freezer. I told DH they'd be good cooked in th crock pot with a jar of spaghetti sauce. Well.... as he has done MANY times lately... he accidentally opened the wrong thing and it was a jar of lime/? salsa... Walmart brand. So he decided to dump it in anyway. Then he said, how about a jar of tomatoes... so he put that in. Then we decided to put in a couple of cans of beans... chili beans and black beans. Then some chili powder, dried cilantro, and some fresh cilantro. When it was done, he cut the chops in to bite size pieces and threw them back in. It was SOOOO good! Kind of like chili, but made with salsa. I want to do it again using chicken legs or thighs next time. My youngest sister sent me a pair of guitar sunglasses today!! They have flashing lights! Can't wait til he next "happy hour" party here in our park neighborhood!! HEEHEE!!

You are TRIPPIN', Girl!! Can I have some of what you're havin'?? LOL The karaoke sounds FUN!! Glad we fought off the guy with the green teeth for Janet! Although, she would've decked him anyway! Seriously... I've read every word of every one of your posts and my heart goes out to you! The emotions you're dealing with are painful, but you will be OKAY when you come out the other side of this! We LOVE you VERY MUCH!! HUGS!! I guess I shouldn't tell horror stories, but I just don't understand why people with diabetes don't take better care of themselves! Our current health care system goes out of its way to provide everything a diabetic needs for education as well as care.... special shoes, testing equipment, etc. Anyway, I had a cousin, same age as me.. and also an RN. She was diagnosed with diabetic as a fairly young adult. And even though she was an RN, she never would follow the diet or anything else. She was a completely non-compliant diabetic and she paid with her life. She had to quit working and go on disability way sooner than she should have because she lost much of her sight and was mobility impaired. She died several years ago... barely 60 years old, of an apparent heart attack brought on by the diabetes, just a few weeks before her only daughter's wedding.

Yes, Candice, I did get your emails and the websites. I've looked at most of them. Didn't look at the video yet. Pain is a little less today. But having trouble adjusting to the reality of it all. And not dealing well with Earl's "teasing"... "you mean I spent all day at the doctor with you and ALL IT IS is ARTHRITIS????" I wanted to smack him. Then he told someone at water aerobics that all it was is "OLD AGE"! So... okay, arthritis/old age... it still HURTS!

Good to see some activity on our 60+ thread! My weight loss is going very slow these days. Too much going on the past month.. cruise to Mexico, short trip home to Seattle area, DD & SIL here visiting at our RV park. Now, to complicate my life a little more, having some back issues which are causing me a lot of pain.

LOL!! I LOVE sauerkraut, cole slaw, just about anything with cabbage in it. Don't have a problem with it. Sorry it's causing you so much grief!!

I guess I will call someone tomorrow to see if I can get an ortho appt in the next week or so. I'm supposed to be going to see a dermatologist about this thing on my face, too, but they don't open until 9 a.m. and I'm always gone to the pool by then. When I get back I forget, or it's too late if I'm off to beading or something. But yeah... not going to rush in to surgery! But I was in absolute agony today until after that pain shot.

Yeah... they owe you an answer by now!! Hope you hear something soon! Doctor made it really clear that he wasn't suggesting I needed surgery. He said I needed to see a back specialist ASAP to get some "direction" as to what I should and should not be doing. I was really completely shocked because I have not had back problems with my back. My sister thinks I need a back brace. So maybe I'll see someone down here. So tell me about what is "Bioflex" and what do you recommend?? I really am not to keen on chiropractors, but would seriously consider other suggestions, maybe even acupuncture.. and tell me again how laser therapy can help. Also, do you know if insurance covers it???

Glad you got your nice weather back! Wind is supposed to die down tomorrow down here in Palm Springs, and the temp is going to start rising. I think they're promising 80 degrees by this weekend. I just "moved in" to my size 16 bathing suit that I"ve been saving for a while. I was waiting for my size 18 to stretch out. When the skirt gets about 12 inches longer than it was when new I figure it's time to retire it. So I tried on he 16 I had in the cupboard and it's fits fine! Well, GF, the pain in my side came back last night. Did I already post that?? By the time I finished water aerobics and hot tub this morning I couldn't move wihtout excruciating pain to the point that I was in tears when I got back to the RV. So we went to urgent care. Seems my spine is in quite a bit of "disarray"! Bad arthritis that I didn't realize was there. L-5 protruding and probably pressing on a nerve, which is causing the pain. So... shot of Toradal, Rx for Hydrocodone and recommendation to see a back specialist! Haven't taken any pain pills yet, but a little wine, on top of the Toradal, and I'm feeling pretty okay right now! Will probably take a pill before bed. Hopefully, tomorrow I can get dressed without crying!! LOL You were dead on right about the arthritis causing my pain! I honestly thought it was a kidney problem... kidney stones would not have surprised me. But this did! Was shocked to see the x-rays because I have NOT had back pain at all and my spine is a mess! That's another thing I need to do!! I'm falling apart!! LOL Blurry spot in the middle of my right eye. Don't want them to tell me I have a cataract! Wish I was there to help you with those photos! What program do you use to upload them to your computer? Whatever it is, there should be a place to click on "options". If you select that, you can make a new folder to put them in and give them a name... in most programs. Then you're well on your way to organizing them the way yo want t. I also have an option on my camera to put photos I take in folders according to date. So... like on the Mexico cruise.. I can go in to the dated folder and rename it... Mazatlan, or wherever it was we were on that date. Makes it easier if you want to upload them to Facebook, etc.

Oh, my!! Five weeks won't be long enough!! But we should definitely be home by the time you get there. Not a good day today. Pain in my side came back last night. It wasn't too bad. Still there when I got up but tolerable. But after sitting on the couch for about an hour.. hurt pretty bad when I got up to get ready for Water aerobics. But I went anyway. Afterward I sat in the hot tub with one of the jets hammering my side thinking that might help. But seemed to make it worse. When I got out to go to the locker room, it was pretty bad. Couldn't make it through my shower, so didn't wash my hair.. Getting dressed was so painful I almost had to ask for help. By the time I got back to the RV I was in tears, so we went to Urgent care. Great doc there and they were very efficient and didn't wait long at all. They checked my urine for blood to rule out kidney problem, and took xrays. When doc came back to show us the xrays he says, "I think we figured out what your problem is." Severe arthritis in the spine... discs out of alignment, some sliding out, etc. I was amazed when I saw the xray! What a mess! I've not had a problem with back pain, so I was pretty flabbergasted. He says one of those discs, probably L-5, is pinching a nerve and causing the pain. So they gave me a shot for the pain, and Rx for Hydrocodone. But right now, I'm treating it with a glass of wine! He told me to put heat/ice on it, no lifting, avoid bending, no twisting, but water aerobics and walking okay. And I'm supposed to see a back specialist when I get home. But maybe I'll see someone down here because, as my sister just reminded me, I have to sit in the RV for a long time to get home! She has the same thing and they put her right in a back brace. I have to think about that a while... here or in WA??

JULIE!! That was amazing!! I needed the recap, too! That was great!! BTW.... and this is kinda funny... the walk I walked in was called "MEMORY WALK".... for Alzheimer's research! LOL! You forgot!! Pretty remarkable for me to walk almost 2 miles because I've been using an electric scooter for better than 5 years because of my bad knees.... - 130 lb, new knee... and it's GREAT to be able to walk again.

Don't let them all get to you, Candice!! Good grief!! It's a broken WRIST!! Yes, I did find my missing project! It was right where I left it! i have to tell you... I am terrible for clutter... and after almost 6 mos in the RV, it's taken over! Too many magazines and books not yet read, etc! Well... that's what I was going to suggest... stuff it in that RV. But, yea, guess it won't fit!! LOL! Wish we could help! We're taking an RV trip east at the end of the summer, but we're coming back a different way. Want to go visit friends in OK. When do you expect to be in WA?? We're leaving here 4 weeks from tomorrow, but spending time in Three Rivers on the way home. Not so much in NO CA, though, because our son & family are going to Buffalo that week to visit my Mom, sisters, etc. We usually spend 4-5 days with them. Don't know if we'll still stop there or not. Earl's brother lives there, too. 144/95 kind of high, but not ER high. Better take it easy.

How high is your BP, GF??? Not good to have a headache! Splenda in the fridge, huh?? LOL! We're always having arguments about who put what where???!! And neither of us has a clue! I envy you with the little ones! All but three of our ten grandkids are 10+ up to 22! So I guess the up side of that is before too much longer we should have GREAT-grandchildren to enjoy! Watching Idol and loving it! All but one girl tonight as done a good job! I have my favorites, but too many!! Don't know who to vote for! But the little blond gal with the guitar is a natural! What's her name... Crystal maybe??

That sounds REALLY good! You guys are SO bad!! LOL That sounds good, too!! Yes, Jodi... thinking of you and hoping to see you back online soon. We're waiting to hear how it went for you! Grandparents' Day...I LOVE that! Our grandkids preschool have it in the fall. In fact we planned our departure from the NW with that last fall.. left the next day! Boo Hoo.. I think we just have one more year of that left as our youngest grandchild turns 5 next Oct.! Waiting for Lori to return! HAHA!! Good for you! I MUST find a good place to exercise when we get back home next month! Make sure you chew those rocks REALLY good!! LOL Too funny! I've had some shopping trips like that, too! Good day today! Water aerobics this morning in a very nasty, cold wind!! But I prevailed, with about 15 others, but no one showed up for the 10 a.m. class. Those chickens!! Then we had our last Christian Women's Luncheon for this season. Good speaker, pot luck salads. Someone at my table brought salmon loaf... salmon that her son caught in Alaska and she canned it herself. She mixed it with a little lemon juice, lite cream cheese, and I forget what else, but it sure was good! I LOVE any kind of seafood, but esp. salmon! After the luncheon, I went to beading... 2nd time this week, because I only made ONE of a pr of earrings we did yesterday and I KNEW I'd need help getting the 2nd one started! Before I knew it another 90 minutes had passed! I was afraid (NOT) that I was going to be in trouble again for staying away too long!! Got in big trouble for coming home from a luncheon at 4 p.m. a week ago!! But... all's quiet on the home front! You'd be amazed if you saw the pitiful little bit of work I got done on that 2nd earring in 90 minutes. This was a tough project, and teacher says next week will be as bad. She's doing a heart necklace at another RV park tomorrow, but I'd best not be out another afternoon! It's one that I really want to learn, but I think she's going to do it with us later this month.