Larry - Thanks for letting me know that the ready to eat food at Costco, is prepared right there!  Very reassuring, as I had a mental picture of one huge assembly line style kitchen somewhere, where the food was prepared and then shipped.  I can see where that would definitely not be cost effective.  Next time I'm there, I'll take a look at the meat department, and check it out! Our Costco is gigantic, and I've never really seen the entire store.  My husband usually goes alone, so I'm not as familiar with what is there, as i should be.

Larry, I think you are right.  LOL

Mary Ann - I think it's wonderful that Tom is there for you, and does the shopping and driving, and takes you out to lunch or dinner.  Believe me, if I didn't have a Whole Foods within a mile of my house, I would make due with Safeway or other markets!  As long as WF is so close, I do like to go there, but I also frequent the other markets as well.  This area of California, (now called Silicon Valley), is so densely populated, that one large community merges into another, and each one is chock full of places to shop for food or anything else a person would desire. There are four Whole Food stores, within ten miles of my house!  Each one is filled with shoppers, seven days a week.  The young, so called "Millennials" (sp?), work at the tech companies, and make a shocking amount of money.  They love to shop at WF, and all stores cater to them and their wants. 

By the way, speaking of age, I'm only 10 years younger than you are, not 20!  I think I'm the same age as JaneS and Shirley?  Do you remember Soultwin?  She and I had the same birthday, the same year . . . 1934. I sure do miss her. 

Gee, I was born in 33

Quote from: wjoan on March 03, 2017, 11:24:56 AM
Gee, I was born in 33

Me, too!!   

To start it off, I was born in 1924!

Correction:  Tom does not take me out to eat.  Sometimes he does pay for both of us, but other times I pay for both of us.  When/if Terry, Tom and I are the only three, once a month I'll treat - because I want to.  And I'm more able to. 

Our Costco and Trader Joe's is 15 to 20 miles from here.  Occasionally, Tom's lady friend will want to go to Trader Joe's and Tom might bring home something from there, but not often.  She also likes Whole Foods and has been known to ask him to drive to Ann Arbor with her to buy from there.  Ann Arbor is about 100 miles from here (on the way to Detroit) and neither of us would do that drive on a regular basis.  We have two supermarkets nearby, locally owned, and we patronize both of them. 

We have suburbs around Grand Rapids, in fact, I live in one of them.  It is impossible for Grand Rapids to expand because of the suburbs; they butt up against the city on all sides.  When I was young, we lived in the city and the city limit was a block away.  Now it is a good mile away from where I lived. 

Mary Ann

It is certainly different reading about your lives in what seems to me another country. I remember living in 1970 in Covington, Kentucky just across the state line from Cincinnati, Ohio with my first husband. or as some say now, my starter husband.    When I rode the bus there, you could go through parts of Kentucky, Ohio, and New Jersey without ever leaving town, only the signs saying you are entering or leaving this or that "town."

In Fairbanks, a city of 100,000 at last census, we are the second largest city in the state with Anchorage somewhere just over 300,000. We are partway up the foothills and partway on the valley floor in a sort of sprawl. The main quarters for the University, (There are nine plus an ice breaker and a number of research ships, throughout the state.); are on one of the ridges. We are bound by foothills from spreading further and are in the midst of an arboreal forest and bounded by five rivers.

There are small towns and villages around us on the valley side, but even in the city limits proper, you know you are in the midst of a forest. It is an eight-hour drive from here to Anchorage and you are driving throughout mountains and passes. You may drive North and then hook around South to one shorter way to reach Anchorage,(The 8-hour drive); Or you can drive East or West and hook further South to drive which will give you three or more hours on your journey. Some speed demons will make the trip in six hours although driving through the passes with dizzying drops or rock slides or avalanches is not what I prefer or encourage.

Also, we do not have the multiple choices for eating, shopping, or services that you have further South. And when we do get them, they never last long for a multitude of reasons. Alaska has a lot of laws such as hiring Alaskans first and dealing with what you can or cannot bring into the state in plants or animals due to the land's vulnerabilities. You can still see tracks and damages done by the gold miners from the beginning of the last century. Yet we are still dealing with new plants, trees, and animals getting through such as coyotes, biting flies, prairie dogs, and other nuisances.

We are bound by three sets of government, Federal, State, and Tribal depending where you are at in the area which gives us multiple sets of Fish and Game, Police, and bureaucrats. And this is only one area of the state! "The Alaska Interior covers most of the U.S. state's territory. It is largely wilderness. Mountains include Denali in the Alaska Range, the Wrangell Mountains, and the Ray Mountains. The native people of the interior are Alaskan Athabaskans. The largest city in the interior is Fairbanks, Alaska's second-largest city, in the Tanana Valley. Other towns include North Pole, just southeast of Fairbanks, Eagle, Tok, Glennallen, Delta Junction, Nenana, Anderson, Healy and Cantwell."

By the way, I was born in 1951.

Food was in Short supply growing up during the war in UK. from 1939 on but I do remember in about 1942 when the US came in that we got a shipment of Spam and one of peanut butter.  Most people got really sick from the Peanut butter but I loved the spam. Still do to this day.  Its good but for some reason does not taste as good as in 1942.  We didn't get it after that. I buy it now and do think it makes a good sandwhich. Like it friend.  True it is a lot of fat.

I received this in an email and its good to know for heart patients and similar issues,

https://www.yahoo.com/news/heart-patients-know-herbal-supplements-222746241.html

“Natural does not mean safe," says the lead study author, Graziano Onder, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of medicine at the Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome. Onder and his colleagues summarized the evidence on the effectiveness and side effects of Asian ginseng, astragalus, flaxseed oil, garlic, ginkgo, grapeseed, green tea, hawthorn, milk thistle, and soy.

In particular, green tea, garlic, ginkgo, ginseng, and hawthorn have the potential to reduce the efficacy of certain heart medications or increase their side effects. Onder says that people taking aspirin or blood thinners such as warfarin should be especially wary, because supplements paired with those medications can increase the risk of internal bleeding. And ginkgo has been associated with potentially severe side effects including, in rare cases, brain hemorrhaging.

The researchers also concluded that there's no clear evidence that supports the use of any of these 10 supplements to promote heart health. Flaxseed oil, garlic, grapeseed, green tea, hawthorn, milk thistle, and soy all have "limited evidence of benefits," the researchers said, meaning they might help but more research is needed. The other herbs were found to be completely ineffective or there was conflicting evidence about their potential benefit.

Taking these supplements with medications is concern especially when patients don't tell their doctors. According to a nationally representative survey of nearly 2,000 Americans by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, more than half of people who take supplements don’t talk to their primary care doctor about it.
The Risks of Herbal Medicines

Doctors may not ask you specifically about herbal supplements you may be taking, but you should speak up anyway. "Always report and discuss with your doctor the use of herbal medications,” Onder says. Better yet, talk with your doctor before you start taking one.

Duffy MacKay, N.D., the senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs at the Center for Responsible Nutrition, a trade association for the supplements industry, characterizes the authors' conclusions about the lack of proven benefits as "not a fair portrayal of the evidence." But he agrees with a key message of the paper. "Patients should always discuss the benefits and side effects of herbal medications with their physicians," he says. "That's very reasonable and rational."

That is always a good reminder, Angel.

I take Red Yeast Rice and CoQ-10. Before I started taking Red Yeast Rice, I had my bloodwork done and then again after 2  months. For me it works. It is a natural statin, so precautions given for statin drugs should be followed for RYR as well, including known drug and food interactions. I was taking CoQ-10 with it before the medical community started recommending it for the prescription drugs.

MarsGal, I hadn't heard of CoQ-10 before so I googled and WebMD posted http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/heart-failure/tc/coenzyme-q10-topic-overview#1

Angel, I take the CoQ-10 to help combat the loss caused by taking Statins. I see they've been doing more research on it, which is good. I was interested in it to keep from muscle problems associated with Statins. I never heard of claims for cancer, heart failure or periodontal disease. Interesting that they are doing research on drug interactions as well. I don't use anticoagulants and don't have diabetes, but I am sure there will be additions to the list of precautions in the future. When I run across new interactions or precautions I usually print them out and give a copy to my Dr as well.

Hi everyone.  It is a chilly but sunny, with the birds singing, South Carolina morning.  We were under a freeze warning last night but I do not believe we got that low, although close.  There is a large strawberry farm not far from here and I just read in the newspaper that they are already picking the strawberries.  They have a problem because their Mexican workers are not due here until mid-March.  There are no more nights in the 30's predicted for the next 15 days. 

I had a very quiet day yesterday although did have to take my car down to let my son use it as his had to be towed to a tire facility as he had a flat and in trying to get a stubborn lug nut off he had to apply so much pressure that it broke off the bolt.  He should get the car back today and bring our car back home.  Nothing on the schedule for today that requires us to leave the house so plan a very laid back day. 

Marilyne, I suppose each COSTCO store prepares their food items that we find in the meat department.  A good idea to check with a staff member when you next visit.  Our store is also the same size as the one that was in the location where we moved from.  I wonder how they can sell all of that merchandise but they always seems to be busy.

Joan, I guess I am a bit of a younger as just turned 76 but see that Patricia is 10 years younger than I. 

JeanneP, had the peanut butter turned rancid? I am sure the Spam was a welcome treat when the food supply was short.  I read not to long ago that Hawaii is the State where the most Spam is sold.  I did a Google search and found the following:  Hawaii consumes more Spam than any state in our union â€" in total, 7 million cans a year. According to the SPAM website, the island's love affair with Spam began in World War II, when GIs were served the salty luncheon meat because it didn't require refrigeration and had a long shelf life.

Patricia, interesting info on heart patients and supplements.  I don't take any herbal supplements. 

MarsGal, I have had been under the care  4 or 5 different cardiologists over the years and not one of them ever said anything about taking CoQ-10.  However, I have taken statins for many years and they are effective for me. 

Mary Ann, nice of you to treat the group once a month.  I bet that brings you a sense of pleasure and thus is a good use of your resources.  Driving a 100 miles to go to a particular market seems rather extreme and I wouldn't do it.  Our current home is within the city limits and it is the first time for many, many years we have lived in the city limits.  There are advantages and disadvantages. 

Patricia, I have never heard the term "starter husband" but it sure makes sense.  Driving between Fairbanks and Anchorage sounds like it could be quite an adventure.  It that now an Interstate Highway.  I remember when we lived in Anchorage it wasn't a very good road.

Larry, "starter husband or wife," is a term I've often heard from people in their mid-twenties to probably thirties and it reflects today's culture in jobs or partners. When I would say my father worked at the same job for just over fifty years, going from welder to shop foreman to department superintendent, it is incomprehensible to today's culture.

He began as a welder in what was termed the city's garage, became shop foreman and was the head of Fairbank's public works when he retired. He was asked to run for city manager, but he had an ingrained dislike of bureaucrats and said he had enough problems chasing the young guys away from the secretaries when they should have been working! As you can see, it was another time, and he would never have made it in today's culture.

MarsGal, I always look up information I'm not aware of. I'm just always curious. However, anything medical is important as I used to read my medical folders between appointments and so much of it was just plain wrong, rather from the doctors, nurses, or typist. One item, for example, is that they had my daughter dying from Alzheimer's at 18 and my mother dying from a brain tumor at 78 when it was obviously the opposite.

Now they don't let you read your charts unless you petition to do so and then they strip most of it from the information they send you. The fact that I react differently to medications is rarely noted unless they have seen it for themselves. For example, I tend to wake up during operations, and under anesthesia, you are paralyzed and unable to speak. I have it noted at the doctor's office and the hospital. I also make a point to tell each anesthesiologist before an operation personally.

Each one has acted as if I'm silly to bother them. The last one said afterward they had to stop the process four times and put me back under and he sounded so surprised. What did he think I was speaking of? And yes those four occasions were duly noted and charged! As you can see, I know why they call it a practice!

Larry, there are three routes now, and all of them are maintained as interstate highways. However, the route goes through foothills and mountain passes, so there are sizable drops and incredible scenery for those inclined to look. I am of the opinion that I'll take my views when I am out of the car and prefer the driver does as well and while driving keeps his eyes forward on the road! 

There are in the summer, incredible waterfalls, scenery,  and bears, moose, caribou out and about. In the winter there can be storms and whiteouts which is why I will no longer ride in the winter, only fly. Going through a whiteout in a mountain pass where you have no idea where the edges are, or at least I never could, is terrifying. If I was the one driving and familiar with it, it might be different.

MaryAnn, when we go out in a group to have lunch or a drink and snack, it is almost always each one pays for themselves. But there is one lady in the group who is not very well off, and someone will invariably say she's paying today as a treat when she's along, and we usually send that someone our amount later. The woman we pay for is wonderful and cares for her four grandchildren at 76 and rarely can take a time to join us.

Larry, I believe that Sandy is the youngest of the group.i

http://www.ba-bamail.com/content.aspx?emailid=24883

The above link is to several totally free courses, talks, and sites to learn everything from guitar playing to how engineers cook. It is not skany websites either.

P.S. Joan, check your figures.

What figures??

Good afternoon, another very cool day.  Last Sat. I set on the sun porch  most of the day reading, with the sun out it got to 80, this Sat. it is about 30 out there.

Larry, I still like my spam and eggs.  My neighbor goes to Costco, at lest once a week, he likes there pizza.  I have been in there a few times, but not made it to the meat Dept. as it is to much walking.  When we lived in Charleston, we went there every Friday as they had a fresh fish dept. only on that day.

I have to say the last time I was in the hospital (Jan.) I got more information from the ER. When I got to my room and settled they gave me a paper which showed why I was being admitted and who the doctor was who admitted me. Heart Attack, edema pneumonia and CHF. On discharged there was another 4 pages of who I saw while there and what they did for me etc. In Fact I think I got more info then I needed. Then when the nurse came to the house she gave me more papers.  By the way I now have a new emergency button, and one part of the machine has a blue button it, which I can push and talk to a nurse.

When you say I pay for the group on our Wednesday outings, it is when Tom, Terry and I are the only ones eating out that particular day and I do it only once a month.  And if there are more people each time, I pay only for myself.  When I pay for the three of us, the bill usually is about $30-$35 plus a tip and either of them often takes care of the tip.  I'm not so generous that I'd pay for the entire group because there could be as many as seven people.

James and Alicia picked up the car seats yesterday and there is a possibility that Johanna could go home Sunday as she is now up to five pounds.  She is eating better but still has some problem and that might keep her at the hospital longer.  Eleanor is not quite up to five pounds and will stay in the hospital for a few more days but she is close to the five pounds.  James and Alicia have their work cut out for them!  They'll be in Holland so I won't see them often.

I don't know if I wrote this earlier or not, but at 3:30 am our temperature was 11 degrees.  When I got up around 8:30 it was 18º (thought I'd see if that still worked) and now at 2:30 it is 35 degrees.  I went after the mail not wearing a coat but I did not intend to meet anyone and carry on a conversation!

Mary Ann

Joan, Sandy is 73 while I am 65.

I saw I had forgotten to put the link in my earlier post and it is now listed.

Gloria, the new norm seems to be several papers to cover the insurance when you are admitted or discharged from the hospital.

MaryAnn, one of my friends recently had something to do with her shoulder rotor cuff and she called it a "frozen arm." She will have some months of PT and it sounds like your shoulder.

Well, I had one of those days and its not even noon yet! 1st, I was standing in line for a disabled person to get their food box, holding my mug of coffee when suddenly I started to go over backward. Everyone else moved their carts and walkers back, and someone kindly took my coffee cup away. I proceeded to fall back in what felt like slow motion until I conked my head on the carpet. It took two folks to lift me back upright and while I appreciated the help, why didn't someone break my fall or attempt to?

2nd, I opened my door, put in my keys, coffee, and mail and for some reason set out to bring my neighbor his food box while leaving my keys on top of my mail in my locked apartment. It took 20 minutes after using my neighbors phone, to get a maintenance man and of course even though he knows me, he has to see my ID, check that he did on his paper, we both sign and I get my copy with a rote announcement that I can pay my $25.00 fee anytime up until the first of the month, money order only.

I wonder what the rest of the day will bring?

Oh! Patricia, I wish I was there to just give you a hug, what else can I say about your day.

I probably should have clarified it.   She was always the youngest of the Senior Net Group.   Since I don/t check everyone's History, I stand corrected by you.,

Yes,  I was the youngest for a very long time...

But unfortunately for me,  I didn't  stop aging...   


Oh well.... What's  a gal to do?

Sandy, I was in SeniorNet about 2000. I was a lot younger than as well.

Joan, I wasn't trying to be persnickety in answering your question. I apologize to both you and Sandy if it was taken that way.

Thanks, Gloria, it seems to be moving right along in the same direction.

I always seemed to hang out with people that were a few years my senior....  and now it is my turn to become one of the "elders"...   I just hope that I can keep on being that for many, many more years!!! 

Patricia, that must have been frightening to fall back as you did.  I have done that, but at home and the one I remember is where I backed up to the davenport and just managed to sit on the edge.  Any further away and I would have made it to the floor.  I hope your head and you are OK.  Then to lock yourself out of your apartment.   What a start for your day!

I don't feel my shoulder problem is a frozen arm, but that could be a technical name for it.  I can lift my arm to just below shoulder height which prevents me from putting dishes on the second shelf of a cupboard and I cannot reach into the microwave with my right arm.  My left arm is taking care of things but it is awkward because I am very right handed.  Sometimes the pain is quite severe, other times more subdued.  I may see a doctor about it again, but at my age I don't want surgery but there may be something I can do besides taking arthritis pills - which do help.

Annie came here for a pizza supper and she and her dad are now watching a movie, either on Tom's computer or computer flat screen.  Tom gets a vegetarian pizza at Papa Murphy's and it is a "you bake it" pizza so is hot when we eat it.

Mary Ann

MaryAnn, my fall was more dramatic than painful. One of those times when everything seems to slow down as you try to regain your footing and your balance until you hit the floor. I think I hit the wheel of the cart behind me and tangled up in my shoes. The pain went away rapidly, but I was a bit upset at everyone only moving away and not helping.

And yet conversely amused at the same time as everyone just spread out and back while one guy grabbed my coffee mug. It was a very awkward, odd moment Just imagine all those slow moving walkers, scooters and canes moving out and back in a rapid yet slow movement, (rapidly slow or slowly rapid, is there such a thing?). One lady said I just seemed to crumble and fall out of the line with no cause that she could see.

Then to set my keys down and turn right around and leave again. It was certainly not one of my finer moments.

I Googled frozen shoulder as it was her left arm and sounded so similar to your pain. But the description said not to be confused with a rotor cuff, and she was right about the possibilities having just had a heart muscle lining infection, pneumonia and having stents put in. She lost her husband last year, he had been very ill, and she is certainly having a time of it.

It has warmed up again from yesterday's 32 below to today's plus nine and since everything is turning white again, I'm going to guess it's going to snow.

Patricia, I also have arthritis in that shoulder - the doctor told me that the shoulder was full of arthritis and my rotator cuff was weak.  He suggested I not have surgery at my age - 90 then but I'll be 93 soon.  I remember going to a clinic several years ago where they gave me some exercises to do.  I don't remember why I went to the clinic; it was that long ago. 

I think falls such as you took are largely involuntary; I know mine was.  I just started going backward and could not stop until I got to the davenport.

Mary Ann

My Farmer friend came over the other day and we spent 3 hours catching up.  He has been snowed in for months but had pruning to do.  They used his backhoe to  make room for the crew to prune.  Mostly melted now so life goes on as usual.  Was a good visit and we finally did catch  up on each others news.

Hi everyone.  It is another beautiful Sunday morning here in the South and we will get up to about 70º this afternoon.  Pat and I will go to Sunday School and Church and then eat out or pick up something to bring home for our big meal for the day.  Then we expect to spend a restful day.  I will watch the last day of the PGA Championship from Mexico City later this afternoon.  Our granddaughter brought our car back about 4:30 yesterday and stayed to have dinner with us, which was most enjoyable.  About 7 pm I took her back to where Scott works so she could get his car. 

Patricia, your father must have been a very good employee.  Job tenure seems to be an idea of the past.  It used to be that there was loyalty in both directions but that is certainly not the case anymore.  I am very happy to be retired and out of all of that.  Thanks for the info on the Interstate Highways in Alaska.  I sure wouldn't want to drive in those mountains in the winter.  We ate out with groups a lot before we moved here and it was always the policy for each couple or single to pay for their own food.  I do get emails from babamail and agree there are some really interesting things in them.  Hope you have had no lingering effects from your fall. 

deAngel, I have not tried the pizza at Costco but it does look good.  There is a lot of walking in Costco and they don't mark where things are located so I always have to hunt.  I am beginning to know where they are usually located although they move things about quite a bit.

Mary Ann, nice to read that the twins are growing and soon will be going home.  I hope James and Alicia have good health insurance as can't image what the hospital bill is going to be for such a long stay in the hospital. 

Joan, for quite a few years, like Sandy, I was among the youngest on SeniorNet but the years have marched on. I think Jackie is now one of the youngest that participates in the few discussions I follow.  You haven't mentioned your farmer friend for quite awhile.  Nice that you could catch up with each others lives. 

Sandy, I have also always been comfortable with older folks and now am one of them.  Like you I hope to keep hanging around for more years.