Filed under aging
We’re having nice weather here in Arkansas today. I’m planning to spend some time in the yard again today, pulling out spent plants, trimming, pruning, etc. I’m concentrating on not overdoing it, since the people on TV keep insisting on calling me ‘the elderly’ when they’re talking about Covid and vaccinations. GRRRR!
I would like to remind them –
So we will run an errand or two and then I’ll spend several sessions in the yard today – resting in-between – and see how much good I can do out there. :0)
Have a wonderful day!
Most of the time I don’t think about “age.” Happily, I feel good enough to do most of the things I want to do, and I’m trying to move and exercise daily so that I continue that.
My world is expanding. I love to learn new things. YouTube is a wonderful resource for that. I’m also discovering other sites like this, and I feel a whole new world is waiting. We heard about Rumble and Substack, and our son told us about Bitchute and Odysee. I’ve bookmarked them, but haven’t made time yet to explore and decide what I think.
Art techniques demonstrated on YouTube make my mouth water. I saw one a couple of days ago called, “Dutch Pour,” a delicious injection technique a lady used to create a fabulous design with acrylic paint.
I feel old when –
I’ll declare victory each morning I wake up!
I love this picture.
I’m heading out to my square foot garden soon to pull up the sweet onions. Our weather is such that, even with our irrigation system, most of our plants have given up the ghost. This was a weird summer, much cooler and wetter for a lot of it and then super-hot and dry with sun hot enough to almost boil the plants right on the vines.
The only thing left in the garden now is the onions. My plan is to go out this morning, armed with my 2 gallon sprayer filled with EIGHT, and pull the onions. If ants start swarming, I’ll hose everything down with the EIGHT and try again tomorrow. We have an old trailer which basically sits in one spot all year round. It has a metal mesh bed that allows great drainage, so it’s a wonderful place to spread the onions so they can dry. I’m hoping to get the onions pulled up and drying today.
I’m hoping that I can get the garden boxes weeded, topped off with Mel’s Mix (peat moss, Vermiculite, and three kinds of compost), unhook the irrigation system, and then cover each of the six 4’x4′ raised boxes with a tarp to keep the soil alternative IN and the weeds OUT until I’m ready to plant again. I’ll try to show you my progress.
Please keep all appendages crossed that the fire ants don’t attack me. :0)
Filed under aging, Gardening, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
I acknowledge that I am getting older. It’s much better than not.
The thing I am hostile about – feeling a definite emotional slap in the face – is that when the talking heads on TV are talking about ‘The Elderly,’ they are talking about ME. I want to bite them in the leg, and I haven’t had a rabies shot.
We are described as ‘vulnerable.’ They are mainly referring to us that way in regard to Covid-19 and getting the vaccine protection. I acknowledge that my husband and I are more at risk from dying from this awful virus, and we have both received the two shots. The thing I resent is that we are being discussed as if we are all one person, one block of sheep, a group that only matters tangentially to the more important matters we’re facing in the world.
Well, THIS OLD BROAD has a lot of fight left in her. My husband and I have long realized that we have never – and probably WILL never – think like other people of any age. We have never been representative of people of our age on almost any subject you can name. And I think that’s probably true of the rest of the ‘elderly.’
We are individuals, as are the people of any labeled group. We have different goals, different needs, and react differently to the same set of circumstances.
I guess what I’m saying is that being called ‘elderly’ and treated as if that MEANS someone can assume anything about me is my new PET PEEVE. I’m not normally a hostile person (although my husband has always described me as, “mean as a snake.”)
I’m not aging ‘gracefully.’ I’m aging, trying to wring out every drop of joy possible from each and every day, finding wonderful, creative people whose work amazes me, new things to learn and try, a new motivation to get and stay as healthy as I can be for as long as I can, enjoying the people who make my life a joy and the beauty around me.
Filed under aging, Pet Peeves, sass
We took one of our vehicles for diagnosis and service first thing yesterday morning. I told my husband I would follow him, since when senses of direction were passed out, I was AWOL. I can get lost in a paper bag. He said I KNEW where the place was – at the curve of two streets in Ft. Smith. I told him that the company had been sold and they had relocated to the autopark, wherever that was. He got angry, so I let it go and told him I would follow him.
We got to the place he said. There was a big sign that has been there at least a year that says, “We moved!” and gave the address at the autopark. We wound around and around, finally making it to the autopark. We made it in time for our appointment, and he said. “You were right.” as we drove home together.
We changed our TV provider recently. That meant a lot of changes, and as we age, we seem to learn the new procedures with less and less grace. The biggest remaining problem for us with the new system was that our whole DVD collection, taped on a system called, “Synology” was gone. Since my husband got rid of the DVDs as we taped them on this, it was really upsetting.
My husband has been working with Microsoft – who did an update recently that disappeared our access to the program, and the tech support from Synology, trying to solve the problem.
Since I am amazed that my computer works at ALL, my function at these times is to keep my mouth firmly shut rather than voice what are probably inane suggestions.
This once, though, I told him that I THOUGHT I remembered that we accessed the movies through our Playstation. He blew this suggestion off right away, irritated that I interrupted his train of thought. This was two or three weeks ago.
Finally, we were able to access the collection through the Media Player on Roku. This was a really good thing, but he is still not satisfied, since it’s not coming through our main system, but an add-on. I finally suggested that we get on the Playstation and see what it showed. My husband did that, a pained expression on his face. There – right in front of us – was “DS218” – our movie collection! We immediately accessed a move and watched it.
When the movie was over, my husband looked at me and said, “You were right.”
Last night, he said, “You need to write a blog post about this.” I told him I was marking my calendar – that first – he said I was right twice, and second, that he wanted me to tell others about it. We agreed that since we are now considered, “Elderly” by many (though not close enough that we can punch them in the face for saying that) that we need to work together when we have problems – listen to each other more and consider that the other might have a point.
Words to live by. MAYBE I’ll be right again sometime… :0)
Filed under aging, Bright Ideas, Challenges, Changes
Music and dancing make you feel ageless.
I know that when I hear music I first heard when I was a teenager, it takes me back. The years fall off. I feel GREAT. My heart fills, I jump up, and my body moves. Listening and reacting to music can be therapy. Making music is an art.
I hope you listen, sing, dance, and play!
The weather forecast says, “Check on the elderly.” I have no problem with this idea, except they are talking about ME!
I choose to age with sass.
Here are some quotes I love about aging –
Wisdom is the reward for surviving our own stupidity.” — Brian Rathbone
“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
It is lovely to meet an old person whose face is deeply lined, a face that has been deeply inhabited, to look in the eyes and find light there.” — John O-Donohue
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
“As long as I am breathing, in my eyes, I am just beginning.” — Criss Jami
“When I grow up I want to be an old woman.” — Michelle Shocked
Filed under aging, Attitude, Favorite Quotes
I have a yoga routine that I am trying to do every afternoon now. It’s “Old Lady” yoga, emphasizing good, long, slow stretches rather than asking me to fold my body into a paper airplane and then fly out the window.
I’m grateful to Kat Kabira for making a DVD that got me started several years ago now. She has given me the opportunity to get more flexible, strengthen my core muscles, lessen my pain, and learn to relax. (Of course, I actually have to DO the routine in order to reap its benefits. I am finally caught up enough from gremlins causing problems in our house that I am actively making time for my practice now.)
I’m also adding some positions to my core routine. Since it will be too hot, even with the fan on the all, to do my elliptical trainer out in the garage, a longer, richer yoga routine should take up some of the slack. I’m trying to add at least one new position to my routine each day.
I don’t want my body parts to fall off as I’m working in the garden. It’s good motivation to keep up the yoga…
Last night I felt my age was 108 or so. I spent some time in the yard yesterday, stuffing the remainder of the black plastic that used to be the floor of our now dismantled greenhouse into a leaf bag. I had stretched it out first thing yesterday so the sun would hopefully dry up the water and I could shake off the mud enough to get it into a bag. I hauled the bag around the back of the house to the garage, ready for next Tuesday’s trash pickup. I also spread a lot of grass seed on the rectangular section of mud out there now. Happily enough, we got a bit of rain later, so hopefully it’s a start for the area to go back to the tall grass area it was pre-greenhouse eventually. All that bending, pulling, and hauling and trips back and forth to the garage made my parts yell in protest later in the day, making my “feels like” age (like the heat index) soar to 108 or so.
I slept like a log last night, and feel only my actual age this morning. I have found that I have a new pet peeve – I react quite hostilely to being referred to as ‘elderly.’ I never thought about the word much. The picture in my head when I hear that word is someone VERY frail, who can barely get around, has little or no hearing, and can’t follow the conversation around him or her. They fall asleep at the drop of a hat, etc. (The fact that this sometimes is a good description of me is only a coincidence…. )
My hostility started during the pandemic, when they kept emphasizing the group at most risk for dying from the virus. I realized with horror they were talking about my husband and me! Yeah, we’re older than dirt and do have health issues, but that doesn’t translate to ‘elderly,’ in my opinion. We are fully vaccinated, so these two ‘elderly’ people are as safe as possible. I got hostile again this morning reading the local weather website. It’s suddenly summer here, and we may have to break down and turn on the a/c this afternoon. The forecast said, “Check on the elderly.” He was talking about US!
I get hostile realizing that the heartthrobs of the day on TV and in movies are young enough to be my son. At least I’m not old enough to be their grandmother – yet. I may be old, but I ain’t dead yet! I even feel maternal about my primary doctor! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!
I will just continue to keep on keepin’ on – working in my veggie garden; weed whacking in the yard; helping my husband get the irrigation system on, repaired, and scheduled; playing in my art room; reading; enjoying music; writing my blog posts; adding new products to my Etsy site; exercising; and more. Maybe I AM old enough to be considered ‘elderly,’ but I’ll think of myself as the person in the picture above until further notice. :0)
Filed under aging
“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
“Old age ain’t no place for sissies.” ~ Bette Davis
Ain’t THAT the truth.
I have to admit that I surprised myself yesterday. I was out pulling up the black plastic that we put on the floor of the greenhouse, one of the last parts of our dismantling project. As I pulled up part of it, I saw a MOVING snake! This old lady jumped straight up in the air and high-tailed it back to the house, running as if my life were in the balance. It turned out that the snake was NOT a dangerous one – according to my husband, who, unarmed, walked calmly out there and pulled the plastic off the snake again. He said the head was ’rounded.” That means you won’t die if the snake bites you. With MY track record on stings and bites, I don’t want to find that out personally.
Filed under aging
“Note to Self:
None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought. Eat the delicious food. Walk in the sunshine. Jump in the ocean. Say the truth that you’re carrying in your heart like hidden treasure. Be still. Be kind. Be weird. There’s no time for anything else.”
Nanea Hoffman
Sweatpantsandcoffee.com
Actually, I am feeling pretty good today. I’m teed off, though because my husband was nice enough to suggest that we have lunch out before we came home from our errands yesterday. We had a nice lunch with fun conversation and great food – and the result was I GAINED ALMOST A FULL POUND. :0(
Ever since I have gained “full maturity” (read I’m older than dirt) I not only have to WATCH everything I eat, it’s like I’m throwing LEAD into my body. I wish I had inherited my dad’s metabolism. He was 6’2″ tall and ate everything in sight. He would eat a huge mound of spaghetti with garlic toast on the side, for example, and still lose weight. The most he ever weighed was 165.
I’m really trying to eat less and move more. With a sloth’s metabolism, however, it’s more and more of a challenge.
I am thinking we should have a word that describes my husband and me trying to deal with new technology “DOOFAD.” (A person who is the personification of being DOOFUS.)
Yesterday we were lucky enough to finally get fiber optic Internet and TV service installed. The Internet is great – much faster with nothing new for Doofads to learn. The TV service is a ‘whole nother ball of wax.’
We listened carefully to the tech explaining the new system. He was bored because he has to say the same stuff over and over, so he went fast. My husband asked how we could get a 2nd remote, and we lucked out that he just went to the truck, got a 2nd remote, brought it back and programed it for us. He left and the fun began.
Long story much shorter, we managed to choose a group of favorite channels and set some programs up on the DVR. We figured out how to get back and forth between the regular TV and Hulu. Somehow my husband got closed captions turned on and gave up on getting it off again. I fumbled around and finally found the place and turned it off.
We THINK we’re reasonably set up at this point, but still have a lot to go over in the book and learning to use the remotes better.
After another hour or so, We have our old services cancelled and we will send their equipment back today.
Today a tech from ADT Security Systems came because our system was chirping, was signaling low batteries, etc. I got online and discovered that ours was a model that required a tech to change the batteries. He came first thing this morning. I had to admit to him that when I couldn’t get the chirping to stop, I unplugged the system for awhile. He figured out that the ‘low battery’ was on the emergency pendant I can wear to get help that comes with the system. I had forgotten about the pendant, plus the fact that it was connected to the security system. DUH. He changed the batteries in the pendant, then in the main system for good measure. He checked everything out, went over security codes with me, etc. I feel stupid, but I’m glad I got the refresher course.
*A good idea for patient teenagers – be entrepreneurs in offering to help DOOFADS deal with new equipment, trouble shoot problems, and explain over and over again how to set things up and use them. :0)
Filed under aging, Challenges, Changes, character-building exercises
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