We got our garage done finally … now our Macan fits inside. :)

I’m on the very final home stretch of purging everything possible before the movers come next week. It’s the first time we’ve moved that I’ve gone through absolutely every cupboard, box, bin, shelf, toolbox, closet, etc and purged every unused/unwanted item before moving. One of the benefits of being retired - time to do this kind of thing. It’s kind of a euphoric experience. I’ll have one more round of purging before I unpack at the lake. I’ve been using old/interim things up there that will be donated or tossed to make space for the better stuff. I have WAY too many towels. I plan to donate a bunch to the local animal shelter.

That happened to us! and ultimately me! My dad’s family had a business. When Dad retired and sold to his cousin, a lot of old files migrated to his office and basement at home. When his mother died, a lot of old family records, personal, professional, medical, migrated to his office and basement at home. And ”stuff”, lots of stationery items. And a lot of it migrated to MY office at home. Along with all his personal papers and finance stuff. (The basement now holds the slides and photos. My brother has the film canisters.)

A couple of years ago we flattened or removed all the seats of the minivan, loaded it with 300# of paper, and took it to the shredder. It was so freeing to see it go!

I am STILL collecting shreddable paper from everything, mainly things we needed to close out the estates and it took me a while to recover, to approach it again.

I would think most formal wear for women would be easy to wear in October. Sleeveless, knee-length cocktail dresses are perfect for any time of year. If the A/C indoors is making it cold, just bring a shrug, but if you dance, you won't need it!

I have been on a kind of tear lately looking for another printed cardigan. I love vintage printed and beaded sweaters but finding one in just the right size, colors and vibe is a long process. Today I found this! A (current stock) cardigan of roughly equal parts nylon, wool and rayon in a bandanna print:

Each sweater is printed individually and I hope mine is as near like this one as possible. They show it with blue jeans of course but I am also thinking white jeans and denim skirts, both white and blue. With or without a white collared shirt or tee underneath.

I like that bandana print, Ks.

I’ve been wanting this poncho for a while and am pretty certain Santa will bring it this year:

https://www.krsaddleshop.com/collections/womens/products/womens-poncho

Update: The ibuprofen started my stomach hurting so I had to quit that too. Good news is I am now able to go without pain meds. The shooting/stabbing pains have stopped and I have just a slight headache and/or discomfort on that side. Scalp is still tender to the touch. A hint of rash is still visible on my face and into my scalp, but it is so much improved. It's not yet been 4 weeks, so I'm hoping this outcome is due to my being vaxed and getting the anti-virals quickly.

Such a simple outlook can make a world of difference. I always feel better when I am upbeat. If you give in to misery, it just wrecks everything even worse. Not always possible to be cheerful of course, but a good reminder to try....

Coincidentally just yesterday I was chatting with 2 friends. One guy has a bff who has been battling shingles for months. He still can't go for their morning walks, it hurts too much. He never got the vax.. The other guy volunteered that he has never been vax'ed for it either. He doesn't "believe" in them. I just said, the diseases sure believe in you. 🤷‍♀️

I don't understand. It is like not believing in gravity or something. It baffles me.

So glad you are improving Annie, and I too am sure you've had a milder course due to prior good decisions.

I’m very glad to hear that you are continuing to improve, Annie. Here’s hoping that it is soon a distant memory.

Early church and breakfast at golf club outfit (both places are freezing). This shirt has a beaded crest on the left breast and our priest saw it when I shook hands with him on the way out. He said it looked just like a bishop’s mitre and thought it was some kind of ecclesiastical shirt. I was kind of mortified and blurted out—inanely—no, no, it’s just Ralph Lauren up to his usual cultural appropriation! 😳

DH bought me an early bday gift in Revelstoke — we visited a local artist’s shop. Way better than a souvenir t-shirt! The stone is blue topaz.

Then from a local farmers market…a silver and peach moonstone ring.

Do we have a September edition yet?

Mtn, yep, had it in 2021 (long covid for ~ 6 months), 2022, and now. We went to dinner and a play a few days before we left, I’m guessing that’s where I got it.

The worst part has been the GI component, which I read is fairly common in these late summer cases. I mainly went to the clinic bc I thought I was dehydrated, but the dr said I wasn’t.

Ha, just saw this.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/well/live/covid-vaccines-fall-2026.html

No, I haven’t died and gone to heaven.

But I did get out for a little walk before we left Lake Moraine and good thing! Look at that scenery!

We are at our next stop and I am feeling human again. I am gonna kick a$$ in Vancouver! 🤣

Just catching up here before its a new week. Sueb I hope you have bounced back and enjoy Vancouver. That picture is cute. Cant tell you’re not feeling well.

I feel fine and am looking forward to the end of this hot humid rainy summer. Seems like its been going on forever. The local kids dont go back to school until the 8th and 9th.

I am having end of summer food struggles! Tomatoes, peaches and sweet corn are at their peak. Of course I love all of them in their most high calorie forms.

Im still gaining then losing the same 2.5 pounds.

C, thats an amazing story and quite a trip. I could not ride a bike around the block, even in 2012. Actually I did ride a bike around the top of the wall surrounding Lucca, Italy. Forgot about that.

Sue, I remember enjoying Granville Market and Stanley park in Vancouver. I loved that city. We stayed in Kitsilano.

Pal, that’s awful, like adding insult to injury.

As for weight struggles, I remember a comment about wishing you weighed the same as the first time you thought you were fat!

Anyway, thats it for me. Ill be getting my flu and covid shots in another month or so. I have a bunch of checkups coming up. Hate them all but I do it.

We only have Guatemalan and Savadoran restaurants here and they sell a similiar griddle cake called pupusas. They're made with masa harina, the same as corn tortillas.

Pike's market?

My DS (amateur pilot) and DH went to Boeing while the girls shopped. I would say a plane nut has to see Boeing. Would a split make sense? Chihuly for the gilrs and Boeing for boyz?

We will have a rental car at least for Friday. In the last hour or so, the plan has become that the boys will go to Everette for the Boeing Factory Tour and the girls will go to Chihuly and the Museum of Pop. DGD1 plays guitar (its pink and electric). I think she’ll love MOPOP. Then everyone (but moi) is going to the Space Needle for sunset.

Saturday morning before we board the ship, we are going to Pike Place Market. DD thinks the kids will like it. Maybe watching the fish get thrown, but I’m skeptical about the rest.

I am out of a full boot and into a surgical shoe. Which is a boot without the upper part.

My toe is is a good position and it moves, but I can't move it more than a few millimeters.

It's almost 8 weeks on the crutches but I don't think I will be completely off them at 8 weeks.

I completely wore through a set of caps on the ends of my crutches

My systolic blood pressure was over 100 at the visit. I think there is nothing I can change to make it not be higher than it should other than a personality transplant.

What is kind of interesting is that in the cast I started sleeping on my side with the foot elevated, which is essentially a pillow or two between my knees, and then with two pillows under my head to balance the others and I have been sleeping all night in one position and not having the bad shoulder pain and numbness (yes I probably need surgery on my shoulder too)

I used to sleep with the pillow between my knees and I don't know why I stopped.

Squee, 0.3 lbs from my (latest) goal weight. Well, at least what has been my ideal goal for like 25 years. I am not sure when i last weighed this much, but I think early HS.

Now that I am essentially here, it is a big surprise to see that I am not a perfect specimen! Whaaaat? After all.this.work. This never occurred to me. 😆

So, I will prob set a new goal. Not a huge difference, maybe another 5 lbs.

BTW have you noticed suddenly everyone is getting thinner? It is actually kind of crazy in my circles. Are we going to reset beauty standards again? Just my luck.

Sue, I hope your surgery goes well and that it resolves the issue. I have never heard of a salivary gland stone either.

Jo, what a rude comment by that woman. I am shocked that anyone would make a comment like that. You are beautiful inside and out. You have dealt with many challenges in the last few years, so maybe you have eaten more than normal for you. The real measure is how you feel inside. As women, society puts so much pressure on us to look a certain way. Hopefully you can let her comment go and focus on what really matters-your health and how you feel.

My bestie and I now joke that we are the only ones in our friend group not on a GLP-1. I saw a friend whom I haven't seen in a few years, and IMHO she has gotten way too thin on the one she takes. It has aged her. That being said, I would never ever make a comment to her (or anyone) about her weight. She did mention that she no longer has sleep apnea, so that is a huge win.

I am feeling good about my eating and exercise, but the heat and humidity here is so draining. My energy is pretty low. We usually leave in August, but were unable to do so this year. Already thinking ahead to next summer-Iceland? Ha ha!

I may be in the minority here (we shall see) but I have no problem with lab created. I like the look/sparkle so I don't really care if it came out of the earth vs lab. If the cost is the same, I'd pick natural but it's not the same.

Now having said that, my DH completely disagrees and the last couple of presents have been real/natural even though I told him lab created is fine with me.

Lab-grown diamonds aren't fake--they're actual diamonds.

I know a couple of recent brides whose engagement rings were lab-grown diamonds. One did it for ethical reasons, as the diamond industry is really seedy, and the other for cost. Jewelry is not a good investment, and given the divorce rate (just being real here), I would advise young couples to buy lab-grown for engagement/wedding purposes.

RNmom, your occasion is more sentimental, so I would say get what you want (and happy bday!). But for myself, I'd go with lab-grown and use the money I'd save for travel or something else. My sister has worked in the jewelry business most of her career, and I have some really beautiful diamond pieces that she sourced for me. But I've never been enthralled with diamonds.

No problem here with the lab grown. I even considered having Mom's ashes made into a diamond, but then I thought again and said no. But an interesting concept...better than keeping a loved one in a dusty urn somewhere. And Mom was a real gem for sure!

"Turning cremation ashes into a diamond involves extracting carbon from the remains, purifying it, and placing it into a high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) machine that mimics the earth's natural diamond-growing process. Prices typically range from $750 to over $17,000 depending on size and color, taking several months to complete. [1, 2, 3]The Process

• Carbon Extraction: Labs like Eterneva or Algordanza take about 0.5 cups of ashes, heat them in a crucible to remove unwanted elements, and isolate the carbon. [1, 2, 3]
• Graphite Conversion: The isolated carbon is transformed into graphite, which serves as the base material inside the diamond growth cell. [1, 2]
• HPHT Growth: The graphite goes into a machine that applies extreme heat and pressure over months to grow a rough diamond crystal. [1, 2]
• Cut and Polish: The rough lab-grown diamond is faceted, polished, and certified just like a natural diamond. [1, 2, 3]" (AI)

"Its' all a convenience until it's not, and it's all about crime prevention until it's not."

Exactly. And it's all just make believe in the movies until it's not. Terminator and AI/thinking machines or Minority Report and precrime arrests. I'd say you can't make this stuff up but obviously someone did.

Map of cameras so far:

https://maps.deflock.org/?lat=39.8283&lng=-98.5795&zoom=2.50

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flock_Safety

”Much of Flock's initial investment came from private venture capital funds associated with Peter Thiel …”

I don't tend to be an alarmist about these things, and in general shrug and think, "Well, the benefit outweighs the negative aspects," but I am beginning over the last few years to feel that there is more nefarious activity within our government than I had realized. My son is a software engineer and will not participate in any social media, 23AndMe, etc. because he knows firsthand what happens to our data.

I highly recommend Giada Beef and Butternut squash stew (link). I make this all the time.

We do eat lettuce, only hydroponically grown. If you can find local, even better.

Dont peel. they are forgivably thinned-skinned . thanks for the stew recipe— my kind of persnickety.😊

What a wonderful package to help your friend heal!

I always make the same stew (rosemary-shallot beef stew) but next time I'll try it with short ribs!

I never peel baby potatoes for stew and those look especially thin. I think you are fine!

Not normal aging. I do agree that doctor visits are brief and they can miss signs that the family is seeing.

Has the neurologist done a brain MRI? Has the neurologist recommended a consultation with a geriatric psychiatrist so the two specialists can discuss their findings?

Consider a 2nd opinion.

Most importantly, keep an eye on MIL’s safety at home if she lives alone and while driving.

ETA - has your MIL seen her primary care physician recently? Untreated health issues like mini stroke, UTIs, diabetes onset, and low calcium levels can cause symptoms that present like dementia.

The incidents you describe definitely point to cognitive impairment of some sort. One relative recently saw a decline his cognitive testing score. In-depth scans showed no evidence of dementia. A subsequent sleep study uncovered severe sleep apnea and prompted the use of a bipap device which has resolved the issue.

There are many possible reasons for cognitive impairment other than dementia like medication, sleep apnea and vascular blockages to name a few.

I missed this the first time I read the OP:

Her daughter takes her to doctors, and she agrees with me, as does my husband.

I think three of you is enough of a quorum to make this assessment that something seems off and you want her to see another neurologist. If you don't want to ask the current one for a referral, ask her GP. Her other loved ones can be informed but I would not ask their permission, especially if MIL herself is consenting to a second opinion. Plus at this stage it is just diagnostic.

I agree that the hotel safe rather than the in-room safe might be an option.

One time the lock broke to my hotel room and they had to call maintenance to get me in. I was shocked at how quickly he broke into the room. Since then, I *always* prop a chair under the door knob to prevent accessing the room as he did.