anyone past 50 on here?

[Cobie]

.

[Kazbe]

On 09/12/2017 at 2:03 AM, Thea2 said:

But then I met my late husband, and it felt right.

It does happen for some. One of my closest friends met a man at Edinburgh Festival and five days later they married in a registry office. Twenty years later, they're still happy, the relationship is nurturing and supportive, and they love each other to bits. I don't really believe in 'soul mates' but if it did exist, it would look like that.

 

On 09/12/2017 at 3:24 AM, EarthMama said:

Most people want the wedding, not the marriage.  They want the day where everything is all about them - the party, the attention, the 'I'm up on a pedestal and you're not' feeling.

There definitely are some people, mostly women, like that - I've met them! Usually, they've been planning their wedding since their teens and spend their dating years looking for a man to fill the groom's suit they see in their head, rather than looking for a suitable life partner. I do wonder if that way of thinking is more common than it was, say thirty years ago. A work colleague married a couple of years ago and she was shocked when the woman in the bridal store almost berated her for not having a clear idea of every little detail of her wedding dress. Hadn't she already worked that out years ago, before she even knew she was getting married? 

 

However, I think for many people, especially those not in a hurry to marry, the choice is about the person, not the wedding day. It certainly was for my friends with the whirlwind marriage in a registry office. Having said that, I still don't quite get it, but I'm not so hard that I don't look on it and go 'Aww'.

 

[daveb]

I have never had a strong opinion one way or another about marriage for myself. I am not against it in theory. Just never had the opportunity. But since I don't like to be the center of attention or crowds or anything like that I'd prefer a small intimate one (I don't even want to say "ceremony" or "event"  ). As far as other people go, whatever they want for their weddings is their business. I have seen a lot of marriages end over the years, among friends and family, and very few that lasted "until death do us part". Still, I guess I am enough of a romantic to like the idea of soulmates and "living (more or less) happily ever after". Maybe that's not realistic, and maybe I would be "cured" of that notion if I had ever been married - but until then, I guess I will remain an incurable romantic.  (sounds like you had a good marriage at least, @Thea2)  

[will123]

Back in the 80s I was at several weddings including my brother's. I was solo at them and fortunately nobody ever asked me about if or when I'd ever get married.

[Semisweet]

I remember in my 20s saying only half-jokingly that I could see being married maybe two days a week. That should have been my first clue.  Nor did I ever dream or fantasize about a wedding, or of being a bride. (Besides, how could I ever wear a white gown when I'd likely get smudges on it from my chocolate wedding cake?? )  And not sure I can explain why, but the idea of having a husband always sounded more appealing to me than being somebody's wife.

 

 

 

 

[Tja]

I bet you'd look great in a wedding gown, @daveb. 

[Myssterry]

I simply don't get the fantasising about being a bride and all dressed up for the day.  In fact it has always seemed totally weird to me.

 

Little Dog has had an operation to fit a plate to his leg and is recovering well.  The cast didn't work and left him with bad sores.  Especially for little dogs, casts are a bad idea, which I didn't know.  My own vet was away at the time of the accident, and I was referred to another practice.  I am sure they did their best for Little Dog, but a lot of the insurance money went on the treatment that failed.  Hopefully he will soon be ready for walks and games again, but we have a few more weeks of rest ahead before that can happen.

[Autumn Sunrise]

@Mizzletoe, I hope Little Dog's treatment and recovery go smoothly from now on!

 

 

[Skycaptain]

Seconded, hope this treatment works quickly 

[Guest Jetsun Milarepa]

@Mizzletoe, crossed fingers for your friend as he recovers. Sounds like it was a serious situation for him. sending the best to you both.

 

@faraday☘, fess up! who did you get to pose for that enlightening photograph of the snow bully? It's just......the look on his face.....

 

Maybe we should design a gown for @daveb...I have some lace shoulders in mind, silk watermark patterned skirt .....hmmmm.

 

As for the marriage thing, I'm probably very biased here, given my experiences, but it was only a 10 month , so, what the heck!

 

However, I saw something that made me shudder in my new job this week. I was sent to a different part of the building to one of my new colleagues who has been doing some of my training, just blurted this out when introducing a bit about herself ... 'Oh, I've been married for 25 years, but I don't love him, I'm just there because I can't think of what else to do after all that time. Our kids are grown, we have grand kids. I suppose I just don't want to upset the apple cart'. This was just said without any enquiry on my part. I certainly didn't reciprocate with my experiences.

 

Now, let me introduce this lady. she's lovely, kind, cheerful....and eating herself to death. She weighs almost 30 stones (I overheard her telling someone this later in the day), and she ate this during one shift. AM: 9-12 noon: 2 bacon rolls, a family pack of snickers minis, three doughnuts, half a packet of toffees. Lunch 12-2 pm: two burgers with double chips (fries), a chocolate covered flapjack (homemade, 12 inches in length and 4 inches wide, 2 inches deep. All while sitting immobile at her desk. I'm just not going to go any further! That's what a sad marriage can do to a person.

 

Naturally, she wanted me to join her in this self harm, which I politely declined on the understanding I was vegetarian. That didn't go down well! 'I suppose I'll have to pick you off the floor when you collapse with low blood sugar!' she says.....the good thing is that I'll be working in another area of the office , but that did wonders for my own diet! Made me think seriously about how deluded and mentally skewed that lifestyle choice can be. Little did the person know how much of the opposite effect they had on me!  Enough of that though...

 

So, busy week! Good job though, making sure the national pharmacy chains and hospitals are getting their supplies in time. I'm dealing with calcium channel blockers, that stop calcification of the major blood vessels, then other calcium modifying drugs that remove excess calcium from kidneys in people on dialysis for example, or move calcium into bones for those with osteoporosis, Calcium person, that's me! haha!

 

Haven't been able to keep up with the thread, now back on track. Great to see you're all in top witty mode as usual. Hope you have a great restful weekend!

[Cobie]

@Mizzletoe Best wishes to Little Dog. 
 

 

 

[Cobie]

22 minutes ago, chandrakirti said:

... Calcium person, that's me! haha!

Good to hear the new job is going well. 

[daveb]

11 hours ago, Mizzletoe said:

Little Dog has had an operation to fit a plate to his leg and is recovering well.

Adding my wishes for the best to the pile.

 

8 hours ago, chandrakirti said:

Maybe we should design a gown for @daveb...I have some lace shoulders in mind, silk watermark patterned skirt .....hmmmm.

 

8 hours ago, chandrakirti said:

However, I saw something that made me shudder in my new job this week.

Yikes! 

 

On a different note: I just finished baking around 14 dozen chocolate chip cookies for Christmas packages to be sent out later. And I haven't eaten any myself (so far...).  

[Kazbe]

@Mizzletoe Glad to hear Little Dog finally has the correct treatment and should soon be back to his old self.

 

@chandrakirti I echo @daveb - yikes! I do feel sorry for her. She sounds so desperate yet doesn't even to seem to realise how desperate she is, wearing the 'jolly fat person' caricature to blot out her life. I can't help wonder if her husband is one of those men who loves fat women, so she does it to keep him happy, and even though she doesn't love him anymore, she can't let go of that identity. Fat = lovable.

 

Or maybe that's jus the fiction writer in me coming out! 

[BobRossRules]

On 12/8/2017 at 12:05 PM, Muledeer said:

Do people elope anymore?  My parents traveled to a neighboring town in 1942 and secretly got married so my mom could continue her employment - yes, you could get fired for getting married back then if you were a female.  My dad went into the Service to fight in WWII the next day after their wedding.

I eloped for my second marriage.  I could careless about a wedding.  We just went to a judge and got married, then told everyone afterwards.   If I were to do it again, I don't think I would want a big ta-do.  No sure if I'd actually enter into a legal marriage, but would consider a partnership of some kind.  I have so much financial baggage anyway, that I'd scare off any potential prospects.  I guess it will be crazy cat (and dog) lady for me.

 

19 hours ago, Tja said:

I bet you'd look great in a wedding gown, @daveb. 

OMG that would be fabulous!!

 

12 hours ago, Mizzletoe said:

I simply don't get the fantasising about being a bride and all dressed up for the day.  In fact it has always seemed totally weird to me.

 

Little Dog has had an operation to fit a plate to his leg and is recovering well.  The cast didn't work and left him with bad sores.  Especially for little dogs, casts are a bad idea, which I didn't know.  My own vet was away at the time of the accident, and I was referred to another practice.  I am sure they did their best for Little Dog, but a lot of the insurance money went on the treatment that failed.  Hopefully he will soon be ready for walks and games again, but we have a few more weeks of rest ahead before that can happen.

I hope your little dog recovers well and can get back to doggie adventures!!

 

9 hours ago, chandrakirti said:

 

@faraday☘, fess up! who did you get to pose for that enlightening photograph of the snow bully? It's just......the look on his face.....

It was just a pic I stole off the internet.

 

@chandrakirti I hope that colleague of yours won't cause any drama for you.  It's amazing how folks perceive their unhealthy lifestyle as necessary or actually healthy and will criticize someone who is actually eating healthy.  It's kinda like ex-smokers being around smokers.  They constantly pressure them to have a smoke.

 

[BobRossRules]

This morning I bought myself a Christmas gift.  It's an indoor hydroponic gardening system.  It's an Aerogarden.  I bought a big one and got a smaller one for free.  I've been interested in hydroponics for a long time, but never took the plunge to get started.  If I like it, I can get more or build my own system.  I have a retired dog kennel that I can potentially turn into a grow room.  It looks like a closet just off of my living and dinning room.  It worked great for the dogs when they were puppies, but now that they are trained, the room is wasted space.  For now, I'll just use my kichen island and window sill.  I plan to grow herbs and veggies.  

 

This morning I made Christmas gifts for folks in my office.  

Spoiler

The bag has a little terracotta planter, and the jar is filled with jellybeans.  

  

[Mocha Jo]

On 12/8/2017 at 10:24 AM, EarthMama said:

I've been married 2x, and swear there will never be a 3rd. 
 

Absolutely! I'm not going for 3 strikes. I learned my lesson the first two times.

 

@Tja- Hang in there. It is amazing how resiliant your organs can be.

 

@Mizzletoe- so glad Little Dog has gotten on the right track and hope for good mending.

 

Ha! I want to see Daveb's wedding gown! It is bound to be fantastic

 

@faraday☘- I have thought about a hydroponic garden, but it sort of combines plants (which I want to be good at but am not) and machinery to keep running (which I am terrible at). So I think I need to stick with dirt.

 

I am having a quiet weekend at home, spinning and watching snow fall outside. Feeling very lazy! I might go in to sit in bed and read on my ipad for an early evening. Then trying to get set up to get a new rooster maybe tomorrow. My idea of a great weekend.

[Gentle Giant]

@Tja Hoping your test results come back showing you are fine.

 

@Mizzletoe Hoping Little Dog recovers quickly.

 

@chandrakirti Oh my gosh about that lady with unhealthy eating habits having the nerve to scold you!

 

I got quite a bit done today. Went out for some errands. Then wrapped some presents and wrote most of my Christmas cards. Unfortunately I don’t feel too good today though. Blah.

 

I never liked weddings. People spending outrageous amounts of money on it, and acting like they’re the center of the universe. It goes on too long with the dance later on, I’d be wanting to go home to get away from all the noise and people.

 

[Autumn Sunrise]

@faraday☘ Thanks for the picture of the snow bully. That guy seems to be taking it very seriously, but I think it looks rather like fun

 I'll be interested to hear how your hydroponic garden turns out. I've read quite a bit about them, but I'm rather afraid I would make a mess of something like that - I feel like, soil is easier to deal with, and more forgiving when you make mistakes.

I love your "office" Christmas gifts 

 

Some interesting comments on weddings and getting married. I agree with a lot of what was said, and if I were getting married now I would do things very differently, but then . . . I don't want to get married again - once was more than enough 

 

On 9 December 2017 at 12:17 PM, Tja said:

I bet you'd look great in a wedding gown, @daveb. 

Agreed! 

[Muledeer]

Spoiler

The snow was coming off the roof in a very strange way.  When those big slabs broke loose, they hit the ground with a loud "thump" .

[will123]

Chatting with a friend in Suwanee Georgia and they have 3" on the ground there, while here we only have 2". Other parts of the province are getting a lot more 'lake effect' snow.

[daveb]

6 hours ago, Kazbe said:

Or maybe that's jus the fiction writer in me coming out! 

 

6 hours ago, faraday☘ said:

OMG that would be fabulous!!

 

6 hours ago, faraday☘ said:

I plan to grow herbs and veggies.

Good luck!

 

5 hours ago, Mocha Jo said:

So I think I need to stick with dirt.

I hear you!

 

5 hours ago, Mocha Jo said:

I am having a quiet weekend at home, spinning and watching snow fall outside. Feeling very lazy! I might go in to sit in bed and read on my ipad for an early evening. Then trying to get set up to get a new rooster maybe tomorrow. My idea of a great weekend.

Sounds good!

 

2 hours ago, Gentle Giant said:

I got quite a bit done today. Went out for some errands. Then wrapped some presents and wrote most of my Christmas cards. Unfortunately I don’t feel too good today though. Blah.

I hope you feel better soon!

 

I baked my first double batch of chocolate chip cookies this morning - made about 14 dozen. Boxed up 8 dozen in plastic containers. I need to make more cookies and get more plastic containers. I will package up some of them to ship off to people out of town. And give some to people in town, like my sister and nieces (for them I can wait and bake more closer to Christmas).

 

1 hour ago, Autumn Sunrise said:

I feel like, soil is easier to deal with, and more forgiving when you make mistakes.

Yeah, I never had much luck with indoor plants. I did better with outdoor plants in the past.

 

1 hour ago, Autumn Sunrise said:

Agreed!

 

I was a witness for my mother's second marriage (many many years ago), since I was one of the few adults who was there for their wedding. It was a quick casual wedding. One of those ones where my mom, her husband to be, his brother, and me and some of my younger siblings all piled into my mom's vehicle and drove across to Arizona (I guess there was some legal reason that made that easier to do than get married locally in Calif.). Years later, after I came out to my mom, my sister and my mom and me were talking and my mom jokingly mentioned how I had basically been her maid of honor. SO I said, "yeah, but I didn't get to dress the part".

 

55 minutes ago, Muledeer said:

The snow was coming off the roof in a very strange way.  When those big slabs broke loose, they hit the ground with a loud "thump" .

Fascinating (as Mr Spock used to say). Was there ice underneath the snow? I think it looks like it from the pic, and that would explain hat supported the snow to enable it to do that.

 

39 minutes ago, will123 said:

Chatting with a friend in Suwanee Georgia and they have 3" on the ground there, while here we only have 2". Other parts of the province are getting a lot more 'lake effect' snow.

Are you a bit out of the lake effect area? I recall people talking about lake effect snow when I lived in Pennsylvania. I think that hit mostly near Lake Erie. I know Buffalo and other parts of New York state also get it.

 

I might end up making an early night. Migraine rears its ugly head. 

[will123]

13 minutes ago, daveb said:

Are you a bit out of the lake effect area? I recall people talking about lake effect snow when I lived in Pennsylvania. I think that hit mostly near Lake Erie. I know Buffalo and other parts of New York state also get it.

 

I might end up making an early night. Migraine rears its ugly head. 

Yea, I'm a bit east of the Georgian Bay/Muskoka region that is susceptible. Buffalo and Ft. Erie across the Peace Bridge can get pounded while the rest of Ontario sees nothing. When I lived on the north shore of Lake Ontario, I remember the Thanksgiving storm that hit Buffalo. I was sitting at a gas station with the window of my truck rolled down while I was getting filled up. I had a Buffalo radio station on and they were passing on a request from authorities asking snowmobilers to help transport nurses to and from the hospitals.

 

We didn't have a lick of snow on the ground and 70 miles to the south of us they were enduring a blizzard.

 

That sucks about the migraine. My mother gets on average one a year. When she does, she's in bed for almost two days.

[Skycaptain]

@faraday☘, with a hydroponics system and those gifts I hope the authorities don't get the wrong idea, in Britain hydroponics are used for one thing only 

 

@Muledeer, that's what happens when snow melts from underneath due to the heat in the house rising through the roof

 

The way it's been raining today, I'm glad it's above freezing, if this had been snow we'd have been in trouble 

[Guest Jetsun Milarepa]

Loads of snow (well. by East Anglian standards anyway) , cat gave a derisory glance and ran indoors! I'd have loved to see what she did when her feet hit it, but she's an old girl so she likely had previous experience of it!  I decided not to usher her out for love of the skin on my hands...

 

@Muledeer, yes! I love the 'harrumphh!' sounds going on above my head right now....unless it takes my guttering with it! There's a famous bit of video from the 2010 freeze up, where the TV journalist was doing a piece to camera while a little old lady behind him fell victim to one of those!

 

@Kazbe, you are 100% right! As a nurse I saw so much of this. Even when I worked in the local hospital I looked after a lady who could no longer turn over because of her size. Every day her stick thin husband came in, laden with more junk for her to eat. There was no more room in her locker for sweets and biscuits, and she cried every day about how ill she was and how it was so unfair as she was so young (her liver was failing under the strain). She died at the age of 45 three weeks ago. I saw her in the obituary column in the local paper. It's called 'Non alcoholic fatty liver disease' or Hepatic Steatosis. It mimics alcoholic liver disease, has exactly the same effect and people get those pot bellies full of serous fluid that has to be drained off with a tap every month. Of course, a liver transplant would have been a total waste of time. Information bulletin over for the day...

 

Ooh ! @faraday☘! How exotic! You eloped! Lovely gifts too. As soon as I'm trained, I'm giving her a wide berth! (see what I did there @daveb & @Sleighcaptain?  )

@daveb, hope they won't be frozen cookies by the time they arrive... and hope that migraine never arrived.

14 hours ago, Mocha Jo said:

 

 

I am having a quiet weekend at home, spinning and watching snow fall outside. Feeling very lazy! I might go in to sit in bed and read on my ipad for an early evening. Then trying to get set up to get a new rooster maybe tomorrow. My idea of a great weekend.

My sentiments too....I remember a hydroponicum in a place in the highlands called Achiltibuie. It grew bananas and coconuts ! Don't know if it's still there though, but it was going great in the 1980s and 90s.

 

I'm with you on that @Gentle Giant...I spent £50 on my wedding dress,( it was a flapper style and ivory lace over satin handkerchief hemmed skirt with a large satin bow on the left hip @daveb!). In retrospect that was a waste of money. My daughter wanted it, but she never fitted it, so it went to the charity shop in 2009, after 19 years! Better to start off with the cash for your own place I think. Hope you feel better soon, though!

 

Sounds like you live in a lovely place @will123. I've just been watching a documentary about a couple who have gone to live in British Columbia to run a tourist ranch and be bear guides, it's total wilderness, I love it.

 

Well, I have my spiked shoes, long Skye drover's coat and any thermals to use as necessary, all out of the back of the cupboard, but we get nothing like our US cousins, so I'm over-dramatising...

 to all (metaphorically speaking)

[Techie]

I realized I had not popped in here in a while (there is another site I  hang out on that talks about GPS interests and I have not checked in there in over two months - time flies).  I tried to wade through the 8 or so pages of new content but there was just too much.  I wonder when we will hit 1000 pages.

 

My lower back has been sore and a lot of it is stress.  I really really hate this time of year as the grind is driving me crazy.  If I could have the calendar skip from November 1 to March 1 I would be quite happy.   The cold, holiday's and early darkness just depress the heck out of me.  Plus I have not been able to get out bike riding due to the cold so I have lost a stress reliever.  We had our first snow here on Long Island yesterday but we managed to escape any real accumulation.  Good thing because I was in no mood to dig out my mothers hoard in the garage to get at the snow blower right now.  Of course she got out of bed for the first time in two days (normal behavior now) to go to church.  Saw the snow on her car and said she wasn't going.  I just ran out as I was writing this, cleaned it off wearing shorts and socks (and despite my sore back) and she still will not go.  I am sick of all the drama.  Plus I am, as usual, pulling my hair trying to find the required gifts for everyone who already has everything they want and no place to put any more.  The only one I really desire to pay any attention to is my 11 year old niece.  She still has needs and things she wants.  The crazy thing she wants is a subscription to something called a "Pusheen Box" (Google it).  Basically a box filled with toy cr_p that will be of no interest to her within a year or two when she becomes a teenager.  Ah kids...

 

Finally there is Fedex which flipped me the bird.  I have 8 medium sized boxes that I had to pack on Friday that are being returned due a manufacturer recall.  Took me over 10 minutes to schedule all eight package tracking numbers and details for each for pickup yesterday, one at a time.  Everything was confirmed and I had a pickup confirmation number.  I was here all day with the boxes stacked to go with a 12 HOUR PICKUP WINDOW from 8am to 8pm.  No one showed.  No phone call.  No email.  No communication whatsoever.  I sat around the entire day waiting.  I am NOT a happy camper now.  And there is no customer service help today to find out what is going on.  So now I am stuck with these cartons until next weekend.

[Gentle Giant]

@daveb Hope your migraine isn’t severe and goes away quickly.

 

@Techie Hope your back gets better soon. Sorry you’re under so much stress with all those different things. I don’t like how it gets so dark early now either. I don’t know what to get people for Christmas anymore and some things I give now are more practical, such as postage stamps.

 

I’m feeling somewhat better this morning.

 

@chandrakirti Oh that’s so sad about that overweight lady you were nurse to.

 

I forgot to mention that while doing my gift wrapping and card writing I was listening to Christmas music on Pandora with my iPad hooked up to my stereo. Very enjoyable. You can tailor it so you hear more of the songs you like and ditch the ones you don’t.

[Muledeer]

5 hours ago, Sleighcaptain said:

@faraday☘, with a hydroponics system and those gifts I hope the authorities don't get the wrong idea, in Britain hydroponics are used for one thing only 

 

@Muledeer, that's what happens when snow melts from underneath due to the heat in the house rising through the roof

 

The way it's been raining today, I'm glad it's above freezing, if this had been snow we'd have been in trouble 

I thought the same thing about the hydroponics, especially when she mentioned putting a grow room in the unused closet.  I hope Big Brother doesn't read these forums and pay @faraday☘ a visit!  In Idaho it is probably still a felony to conspire to grow weed . 

 

Regarding the snow scene, on the day I took that photo, the temperature was right at or slightly below freezing, and the sun had been out all day warming up the dark green metal roof.   @daveb I think it re-froze and strengthened the now slabs as they were sliding off the roof.  @Sleighcaptain that roof is actually a snow shelter over my trailer and there was no heat from underneath to make it melt from the bottom.

 

Last night, I went to a Christmas dinner at the local church in the ward (neighborhood) where I grew up.  The dinner itself was pathetic - a thin slice of ham and a dinner roll and cold potatoes.  They ran out of food.  But the gathering was nice and I saw a lot of people from my past and enjoyed visiting with all of them.  They were all so friendly and happy to see me.  It takes a real effort for me to go out and socialize like that, but I am glad I did. 

 

@Techie Sorry you are having a rough time right now.  Hang in there and it will be March before you know it!

 

[will123]

3 hours ago, chandrakirti said:

Loads of snow (well. by East Anglian standards anyway) , cat gave a derisory glance and ran indoors! I'd have loved to see what she did when her feet hit it, but she's an old girl so she likely had previous experience of it!  I decided not to usher her out for love of the skin on my hands...

CTV was talking via Skype with a woman in Hertfordshire. She was on the motorway when traffic was blocked. She abandoned her car and walked two miles to her house.

 

Our beagle didn't mind the snow. However if we were at home, she didn't spend much time out in it to relieve herself. At the cottage she enjoyed being out and about in it, sniffing for rabbits.

[BobRossRules]

Yep, I thought the same thing about my indoor "grow."  There are no windows in that little room, so people won't be able to see in.  It will be supported by LEDs, so the power usage won't go up enough for suspicions to rise.  Yes, weed is a felony in Idaho, but I'll be sticking to the legal stuff.

 

I also bought a microgreens kit.  I'm looking forward to that.  It's still based on hydroponics, but no equipment such as a pump.  From my understanding, hydroponics is suppose to be easier and less maintenance than an outdoor garden.  Well see.  I'll keep you posted.