Newbies Nest

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Greetings Nesters,

Still all cloudy here but dry. I met two friends for lunch today & really enjoyed getting out. Imagine how different things are now since we graduated from nursing schools, back in the dark ages, Lol
We worked together for 12 years & two of us are retired. The youngest is 62 & still hanging in there despite dealing with health issues of her own. I worry about her, she picked up Covid at work nearly a year ago & is just now getting her sense of smell & taste back, geez.

Wags, I have a fridge full of leftovers to get us thru the week so I am happy

Slo, I’ve been splitting the hour of walking up into 2 trips. My feet & knees aren’t as young as they used to be. The treadmill is mind numbing boring to me but I’m glad to have it when the weather is bad. I think as long as you keep your knee moving you’ll be OK. Remember the days when we used PROM machines on the post-ops? Now they just send you home & wish you good luck, ugh.

Kensho, I read the Daily OM this morning & just smiled. It was a good reminder that we have to go thru all the steps to get us where we want to be

Hello to all & wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!

Lav

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Slo - sorry your knee is still giving you trouble. I hope you find some relief and improvement soon. It rained and hailed all weekend so no bike, but tomorrow should be a good opportunity.

Lav - you are so consistent with your walks, that is great! I've found that treadmill or similar can be made more enjoyable with audio books. Do you have access to anything like that if your weather turns foul?

Kensho - love Daily OM, thanks for sharing


Big waves to everyone -- Cowabunga!!!

[Slo]

Re: Newbies Nest

My sister-in-law, HB’s sister, had her sister and two sister-in-laws, along with her sister’s main companion caregiver; over for a luncheon in their new home yesterday to celebrate the caregiver’s birthday. I can tell that she has no idea that her brother filed for divorce from me! Ugh!!
She sure put a premium on serving wine with the luncheon! She had told me she’d serve beverages “like wine”, so i brought a bottle of sparkling cranberry juice along with me. She started offering drinks by prefacing, “I hope you will all drink wine.” (!)
I found this to be a real conflict of interest, as the caregiver whom we were celebrating was technically on duty and employed at this time, with a charge under her care! Luckily I drove the caregiver & SIL with dementia out there, so eliminated that double bind (drinking & driving) for her! (Drink with my employer because she wants me too, or don’t drink because I’m on the job?!) So host SIL and the caregiver drank red wine, and the rest of us initially had AF beverages. Although the the other SILs had small glasses of wine with lunch to appease her. And then she’s pushing to open a bottle of white wine for lunch too! Sheesh. But this is the SIL who has embraced drinking culture later in life (in her 60s). I’m dismayed at how many events I am sure will be AF end up being drinking events.

Thank you for sharing the real process behind breaking an addiction, Kensho.

Lav, two half-hour walks sounds much more doable. So glad that you got a chance to get together with your comrades yesterday. The changes in nursing have been astounding, It’s unfortunate that healthcare has become a for-profit industry. I don’t envy your 62-year-old friend still working a rough job like that. I sure do remember the CPM machines! They were rather cumbersome.

24 more AF for me!

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Greetings Nesters,

Just back from my second walk & just in time as it’s getting dark. There’s no street lights here in cow country haha!
I spent the afternoon trying to figure out what I need to add to my embroidered gift stock for a craft fair on the 22nd. A few Halloween themed reading pillows should do it i think

Wags, I have tried music, TV & all sorts of distractions on the treadmill, I’m just being stubborn I guess, Lol
I hope your week is going easier.

Slo, the wine at a luncheon is a bit much especially for people who don’t drink or shouldn’t drink. I’m tired of seeing AL at kid’s birthday parties, baby showers, every possible gathering these days. Yuo never saw that back in the old days. I can’t imagine the over 60 group being all that interested in drinking, let alone daytime drinking, geez.
My Mom & her sister were nurses so they pushed me & a cousin into nursing. Thinking about the changes from their entry into nursing in the early 40’s until now is phenomenal. I know my Mom & aunt never saw a PKM, haha!!

Hello to everyone & wishing a nice night for all!

Lav

[BelleGirl]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hello Nesters,
I did not fly off to boozeville, but have been so busy with work in addition to 3 weekends with kids home (which I thoroughly enjoyed). I need to read back a bit but am feeling under the weather due to getting covid booster shot yesterday. I should be better tomorrow. Read a little, then off to bed. Hope all are well.

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hey everyone, just stopping by for a quick sober check-in. I'm still a little fried from my heavy workload and I'm tired. But I don't drink and that's a happy note on the tiredest of days. Hope your weeks are all off to good starts and I'll see you again tomorrow.

[NoSugar]

Re: Newbies Nest

Slo, I wouldn’t be surprised if your later in life drinking SIL has a problem herself. I’ve observed that most people who push it want to normalize their own behavior. In any case, she was a rude hostess.

I go on at least 2 walks a day and LOVE them . The first is a slow, coffee-drinking (me) and sniffing (dog) stroll for about 45 min. We usually leave around 6 am so everything is quiet, other than the sounds of nature, and now, dark. It is a wonderful start to the day that gives me a chance to prepare for whatever is ahead. Later is a walk for exercise with dog and/or friend - no coffee and less sniffing allowed!
I value both but especially that early morning, grounding walk. In my 40s and early 50s I think I was pretty much exercise addicted in an attempt to appear “fine”. That compulsion resolved as soon as I quit drinking. It is nice to enjoy moving without feeling compelled to do it intensely or distraught if I miss a day. Now I just want to be as healthy as possible – physically and mentally.

I’m a huge fan of audiobooks. I read on a computer much of the day for my job and have no eye-energy left to read for fun in the evenings. I subscribed to Audible for a while but have found that I can get tons of books through our library system using the Libby app.

Here’s a helpful book to consider for getting past habits, which is a less fraught word for addiction: The Little Book of Big Change: The No-Willpower Approach to Breaking Any Habit

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

Im short 5 minutes on my prescribed 60 minutes of walking so I’ll have to go out & run around the yard when I’m done here, haha!
We’re still operating under a complete cloud cover here but there’s been no rain to speak of.

Belle, hope you’re feeling better soon.

Wags, I find it takes my aging brain longer to recover from a good frying haha! Hope you feel like yourself real soon.

NS, the walking is really great & I am actually enjoying myself. But, since I’m walking on a lonely country road with no sidewalks or street lights & I have to be very aware of traffic noise so I can jump out of the way real quick. I can’t listen to any music or books while I’m out. Maybe someday if we decide to live elsewhere.

Hello to all & wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!

Lav

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Slo - I'm sorry things were so al-oriented with your SIL. Good for you on protecting your quit (of course you would) and for thinking about the caregiver and others must have felt. It sounds like you're a very empathetic person.

All this talk about walking reminded me that I once figured out that I had tallied enough dog-walking miles in that dog's life to walk all the way around the planet (like at the equator). The distance is roughly 25,000 miles (about 40,000 km). I had that dog for 13+ years and she needed miles and miles of walking every day. An average of 6 miles (~10k) per day gives you 2000 mi or 3300 km per year. It blew my mind that I'd walked that far, and then I thought about her little legs going that same distance! It really shows what doing a little bit of something every day can add up to over a long time.

On that note, don't drink today. Little by little your quit will really add up!

[Mulburry]

Re: Newbies Nest

I go on at least 2 walks a day and LOVE them

100% agree. I'll typically get in a 1.5-3 hour walk/hike in the late morning (weather permitting), and sometimes a second short walk later on in the day (though it getting dark earlier is making that more difficult). Getting out on walks has been a hugely helpful in trying to get through this. Exercise, sun and nature really are some of the best natural mood enhancers.

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Evening greetings Nesters,

Nice day because we finally had some sunshine today. Walking done, baked a loaf of sourdough bread with my new energetic starter, haha!!
Life is good

Wags, I’ll never get around the equator, I think I started too late, Lol. That truly is a lot of walking, good for you!

Mullbury, glad to hear you enjoy the fresh air walks too/ Good for the body, mind & spirit!

Hello to all & wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!

Lav

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Lav - maybe you can walk all the way to our friends in Australia then! At least figuratively. Speaking of whom... does anyone know how Ava is doing?

Mulburry - hooray for another walker in the nest!


Starting to feel a bit recovered from my hard 6 week working frenzy. Hopefully a few more light days or days off will get me back on top.

Take care everyone!

[Slo]

Re: Newbies Nest

I wonder how Ava is doing as well, and Pav and Narilly. And where’s Byrdie?

You guys are some serious walkers! NS, your first walk of the day sounds delightful. Exercise addiction is a real thing. I’m glad you are free of that one now too.

I had a wonderful occurrence: I was able to walk a significant distance with daughter and her friend & their kids at a large park with a walkway by the lake -and I didn’t get any knee pain! (with the pain gel and the soft brace). The Knees Over Toes guy’s knee exercises really have helped my knee! Just have to find the sweet spot of how many I can tolerate per day or every other day.

Geez, my little brother’s alcoholism has really escalated. I was sitting next to him at his son’s soccer game, and he just reeked like a distillery. Again. He’s not thinking or problem-solving clearly in his personal or professional life, not getting home to the kids or keeping enough food in the house for them; at work he disappears for hours in the middle of the day and comes back drunk. (I know this because he works for HB. I know, I know -eesh!!)
I don’t know what to do. I guess it’s time to see if he’ll have a heart-to-heart with me. Don’t know that that will accomplish anything though.

Wags, I hope you are able to spring back soon from those six weeks where you overdid it. It does seem to be harder to bounce back as we get older.

It’s still awkward here with HB and our impending divorce. I wish I hadn’t sent so many signals that I was done with him last year when I was messed up from my brother’s suicide, and I wish he hadn’t made up his mind so firmly to therefore pursue divorce.

On to an AF weekend we go.

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

Walking done for the day, yay. My husband came home with some fresh Amish grown veggies today, beets & carrots. I roasted everthing in the oven & had some on my salad tonight, yum. Didn’t even need to peel the carrots, just sliced them.

Wags, I’d love to see our friends from Australia, maybe they can meet me half way, haha!
Spekaing of Ava, I haven’t seen her on FB either. The last I remember she was getting ready to go on a trip with her kids, camping or something. Hope she’s OK.
It really does seem to take longer to recover from things these days but then again I’m pretty old, Lol. Hope you are feeling 100% very soon.

Slo, walking pain free has got to be awesome after all this time!
Sorry to hear about your brother, perhaps some sort of intervention is in order before the family gets hurt? It’s reallyhard to say.
Also sorry to hear about the awkwardness at home, it must be difficult being in teh same house. Please don’t second guess yourself, wishing will never chnage his behavior, onlyhe can do that. Keep your focus forward & making life as good as it can be :hug:

Hello to all & wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!

Lav

[Guitarista]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hola friends near and not so far.

Yep, Oz is just a number of short strolls from the USA, so come on down!

I'll text Ava and check in.

Big Waves to all. Have a great weekend. Surf's up.