Girls Coffeeshop Talk

[Lisa]

Aw, Leo, that news makes me sad. Please feel free to talk about it. I think people with chronic pain can feel lonely and isolated - my husband deals with chronic headaches and he says no one can understand what it's like unless they've been there themselves.

I knew you had been gone a while but figured you were busy with your coin shows and other hobbies. You had talked about wrist surgery over a year ago but it sounds like you really can't put it off any longer. I didn't even know wrist joint replacement surgery was possible. If you go that route, will you have each wrist done separately?

[Lion]

Originally Posted by Lisa

Aw, Leo, that news makes me sad. Please feel free to talk about it. I think people with chronic pain can feel lonely and isolated - my husband deals with chronic headaches and he says no one can understand what it's like unless they've been there themselves.

I knew you had been gone a while but figured you were busy with your coin shows and other hobbies. You had talked about wrist surgery over a year ago but it sounds like you really can't put it off any longer. I didn't even know wrist joint replacement surgery was possible. If you go that route, will you have each wrist done separately?

Lisa, tell Dave I also suffer from chronic daily headaches and migraines as well and the medicine I get(which is quite expensive)only works marginally.....

As for surgery I may have waited to long(by putting it off for over 10 years)and replacement surgery may not work for me now.....as the bone may have eroded to the point where there is not enough bone to attach the artificial replacement parts to.....if so my only choice will be...do nothing and live with chronic pain(where Norco's- double strength Vicodins do not touch the pain) or fusion.....

As for surgery I will/would do only one at a time and since I will be incapacitated for a while.....I'll be buying and living in sweats and learning to cope again at being stranded at home.....at least I have my books and can play Jazz on the stereo!!!

[Kinnakeet]

Originally Posted by Lisa

Aw, Leo, that news makes me sad. Please feel free to talk about it. I think people with chronic pain can feel lonely and isolated - my husband deals with chronic headaches and he says no one can understand what it's like unless they've been there themselves.

I SO agree with you Lisa!
Having only joined the coffeeshop a short while ago, I am still being "amazed"- on a daily basis, by the feel of this "place"; its not just a thread of superficial gum-flapping....its a true gathering/meeting place where people can bring their life's ups and downs, and can be listened to and appreciated!
I keep getting mental images of those coffee bar scenes from the "Friends" series...
Anyway, Leo, if you are having a bad day, let us know, and we will say a little prayer for you!

[Lion]

Originally Posted by Kinnakeet

I SO agree with you Lisa!
Having only joined the coffeeshop a short while ago, I am still being "amazed"- on a daily basis, by the feel of this "place"; its not just a thread of superficial gum-flapping....its a true gathering/meeting place where people can bring their life's ups and downs, and can be listened to and appreciated!
I keep getting mental images of those coffee bar scenes from the "Friends" series...
Anyway, Leo, if you are having a bad day, let us know, and we will say a little prayer for you!

Michelle, I appreciate your thoughts and prayers for me but I will not be posting anymore or very often about my personal battles. I have found that people(maybe not you or the other ladies and gentlemen here)in general have their own issues and problems to deal with and even though everyones intentions are thoughtful and good.....it can be a turn off to hear someone complain about their issues over and over. So I've learned to stop talking about my health issues and when someone asks.....'I'm fine".....is my answer....
So thank you for your concern and thoughts but I will keep to myself from now on about my health issues.....have a nice day.........
Take it easy.....Leo

[East Bay Rider]

It sounds like a war zone around my house this week.
Deep into the night.
BOOM!
Whistle.... BOOM!
It's almost constant - like a war movie.
Coming from all directions too.
I walk my dog and see huge displays over the treetops.
BOOM! (he's not a fan)

Fireworks are illegal here.
Well, they sell the little ones that shoot sparks but nothing too exciting. One has to travel a few states north or south to get those. But here they are. Every night.
BOOM!
I guess loud stuff that goes BOOM is fun, but I also guess that the folks lighting it must have this week off from work.
I think I'll get some and just randomly set it off on various weeknights throughout the year.
Yeah - now that sounds like fun.
BOOM.

[Lisa]

Bill, did you see what happened in San Diego last night? Somehow there was a problem with the sequencing of the fireworks and they ALL launched at the same time. It was quite spectacular, from what I could see on the news. Twenty minutes worth of fireworks compressed into 15 seconds.

Should I go ahead and take a cheap shot and say that Paul probably had something to do with it?

[East Bay Rider]

Originally Posted by Lisa

Bill,
... Twenty minutes worth of fireworks compressed into 15 seconds.

Who me?
No, not me.
What have you heard?
Have you been talking to Wendrful?

[Lisa]

Originally Posted by East Bay Rider

Who me?
No, not me.
What have you heard?
Have you been talking to Wendrful?

I am quite certain Wendrful would never divulge such information.

[Andelain]

Originally Posted by East Bay Rider

It sounds like a war zone around my house this week.
.................

I'll be so glad when this week is over. I have PTSD and these constant explosions are driving me crazy. there's no bunkers here, otherwise I'd be living in one. If I had body armor here I'd be wearing it too.

[Kinnakeet]

Hey Lisa,
I thought I'd relocate our horsey conversation to the coffeeshop, as poor JRHollywood asks for race horse input and ends up hearing about therapy horses!
I actually don't have many/any positive thoughts on the racehorse industry. Unlike Western and English riding competitive pursuits- which are "Sports" Horse racing,(and greyhound racing etc),is an industry hellbent on money making. Having said this, my disclaimer is "I am a tree-hugging animal lover!"
Anyway- you mentioned in your last post in that thread that ,as kids, your family had a couple of horses on your property! What a great way to grow up; I'll bet you kids had a few more responsibilities then the average urban child; also a good way to grow up!
I'm glad to hear the little fledgling turned out OK. You and your girls have another wild animal rescue/rehab notch in your belts!
Have a happy Saturday

[Kinnakeet]

I have a newbee question folks....
I'm seeing some TRF members carrying "cards" for a retro-grouch-curmudgeon association; Is this an age based or attitude based association ? What is a curmudgeon anyway...

[Lisa]

Originally Posted by Kinnakeet

I have a newbee question folks....
I'm seeing some TRF members carrying "cards" for a retro-grouch-curmudgeon association; Is this an age based or attitude based association ? What is a curmudgeon anyway...

I think you're close, Michelle. Pretty sure it's a crew of like-minded people who share a great respect for the older style Rolex. They like external lug-holes, for example. Those are the holes on the case lugs that the bracelet pin ends insert (like a toilet paper holder). New Rolexes lug holes don't go all the way through and are only on the inside of the lugs. The RGCA people probably also adore stuff like acrylic crystals, but this is just a guess. Maybe one of these members will come by and clear things up a little more.

[Lisa]

Originally Posted by Kinnakeet

Hey Lisa,
I thought I'd relocate our horsey conversation to the coffeeshop, as poor JRHollywood asks for race horse input and ends up hearing about therapy horses!
I actually don't have many/any positive thoughts on the racehorse industry. Unlike Western and English riding competitive pursuits- which are "Sports" Horse racing,(and greyhound racing etc),is an industry hellbent on money making. Having said this, my disclaimer is "I am a tree-hugging animal lover!"
Anyway- you mentioned in your last post in that thread that ,as kids, your family had a couple of horses on your property! What a great way to grow up; I'll bet you kids had a few more responsibilities then the average urban child; also a good way to grow up!
I'm glad to hear the little fledgling turned out OK. You and your girls have another wild animal rescue/rehab notch in your belts!
Have a happy Saturday

I must admit I know very little about the racing industry for horses, but I gathered from one or two of the comments that there is a lot more to it than meets the eye.

Looking back at the way I was raised, it really was a cool way to grow up. My best memories were of selling homegrown tomatoes and cantaloupe to start our college education funds (we had very loyal customers year after year!) and of messing around in the creek, barefoot of course. It was guaranteed that every old pop bottle we'd find in the mud would contain a crawdad. We raised several baby cottontails that our dog would bring to us (the magic formula seemed to be Pet milk and water with a drop of Karo syrup), as well as a tiny armadillo (flood victim!), a starling, and a yellow-billed cuckoo. Also the mallard our hen hatched.

Heh - our horses were the very willing recipients of any overripe cantaloupes, as I recall. It was funny to watch them eat a whole one. And do you know what other special treats they liked? Grasshoppers! Ever heard of such a thing?

Summer mornings were spent helping Mom snap green beans or shell black eyed peas, and digging for buried treasure - potatoes - with my dad. Mom canned all summer and our cellar was full of tomatoes, pickles, peaches, pears and green beans. Only rarely did we eat canned veggies from the grocery store.

On the downside: No ice cream trucks. No kids next door to play with, and we had to beg our parents to drive us to the closest neighborhood to go trick-or-treating at Halloween. All in all, well worth the trade off. We may not have had kids close by, but we'd have fabulous bonfires for my older sister's birthday each year and lots of friends from school would come. We'd open the barn doors and fill Dad's work benches with food and coolers full of pop and weenies for roasting.

Our nearest neighbors were old farm couples; one who lived in the home her parents built after the 1889 Oklahoma Land Run. She used to bring us fresh baked bread, and we'd give her a sack of tomatoes.

You know, those ARE some great memories!

[Kinnakeet]

It appears as though your wild animal rescue instincts were fostered at an early age!
I didn't know horses ate grasshoppers! Most are vegetarians; yours might have been "flexetarians"! As for cantaloupes- yep that would go over well with our horses too; I"ve seen them enjoy watermelons and bananas...
What an amazing way to grow up- thanks for sharing your memories- I can picture them clearly!

[Kinnakeet]

PS- thank you Lisa for your explanation of a curmudgeon!

[Lisa]

Michelle - you might offer your horse a grasshopper and see what happens! I have to confess my brother and I were trying to be sneaky and we wrapped a huge grasshopper in a wad of hay to see if the horse would "accidentally" eat it. To our surprise, those big horse lips knocked the hay from our hands and picked out the grasshopper! So we'd catch grasshoppers for him and he's readily eat them. Crunch, crunch.

You know, our cats liked grasshoppers, too. So did our pet chipmunk, though he would only eat the crunchy bits and leave the soft parts. Ick. Grasshoppers must taste pretty good.

[jatco]

Originally Posted by Lion

jatco(thomas), I made a mistake in my earlier post in answer to your question.....Roots do respire...so they take in Oxygen and release Carbon Dioxide(not Carbon Monoxide) just like us. I have no excuse other then my RA has flared up in my hands and wrists the past two months and I'm not eating, sleeping or coping very well right now. I have lost about 20 pounds and am now under 110 pounds which is getting to be a scary weight for me....food doesn't taste good and I usually am not able to keep it down.....anyways

Sorry, I went off on a tangent.....the commercial is over

Hey..no worries, Leo.. (ps..I live in the Vancouver area..) soil is ok..just the excessive rain and not enough sun has played its toll on the plants...
.
Sorry you're not feeling well..that RA is a 'bi&ch' sometimes, to deal with. That weight loss is something to be concerned with. I presume you're seeking medical attention and advise???

[Kinnakeet]

Originally Posted by Lisa

Michelle - you might offer your horse a grasshopper and see what happens!

You know, our cats liked grasshoppers, too. So did our pet chipmunk, though he would only eat the crunchy bits and leave the soft parts. Ick. Grasshoppers must taste pretty good.

I guess so! There is a butterfly conservatory very close to us, and every March break they have a "BUG FEAST"- where they seriously serve up bugs cooked in various ways.... The grasshoppers are served up chocolate covered...

[Lisa]

Originally Posted by Kinnakeet

I guess so! There is a butterfly conservatory very close to us, and every March break they have a "BUG FEAST"- where they seriously serve up bugs cooked in various ways.... The grasshoppers are served up chocolate covered...

Ha! Well, would you please try one and let me know if they're as good as our critters think they are?

[Kinnakeet]

ohhh boy! would you like to hazard a guess as to how much hard liquor I would need to carry this bug tasting off?

[Lisa]

Originally Posted by Kinnakeet

ohhh boy! would you like to hazard a guess as to how much hard liquor I would need to carry this bug tasting off?

Sip, sip. Nom nom. You could start with the tequila that has the worm in the bottle, just to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

[Lion]

Originally Posted by jatco

Hey..no worries, Leo.. (ps..I live in the Vancouver area..) soil is ok..just the excessive rain and not enough sun has played its toll on the plants...
.
Sorry you're not feeling well..that RA is a 'bi&ch' sometimes, to deal with. That weight loss is something to be concerned with. I presume you're seeking medical attention and advise???

Yes, I am and on Monday I see my Rheumatologist to discuss my options.....I have increased my dose of Methotrexate, immune suppressant,(from 4 pills to back to seven pills...which was my dose two years ago-once a week on Sunday) I also increased the Medrol(steroid) I take each day(1 per day which are 4mg.)to 6 pills each day). I started drinking one bottle of Ensure each day and one container of Yogurt at lunchtime. I have increased the nausea medicine to two each day(per doctor's orders). when I see him we will discuss my options for surgery and find out who is the best surgeon in Chicago for wrist replacement surgery. I will then make an appointment to drive into the city to talk to him about my options and I'm sure he will want X-rays and an MRI on my right wrist. From there I will have to make a choice and if surgery is possible(and not bone fusion)I will schedule it for late September or early October.....
Sometimes I can keep the Ensure and Yogurt in and sometimes I'm in the bathroom heaving. But I do drink plenty of fluids each day and we will see what the experts say and advise.....

But again, thank you for your time and sentiments on my health issues and one way or another I will get it under control!!!

I have spoken with another member here on the Forum and I was advised to start taking Chelated Magnesium and a good complete multiple vitamin each day. This will assist me with my chronic daily headaches and now that we are in summer my migraines have calmed down a bit. I was also recommended to buy a book about healthful solutions to chronic headaches and I will go ahead and order a copy and read it. I will also reread Adelle Davis's books on nutrition and get a good handle on giving myself solutions to consume the right foods for heathly living.....

Take it easy.....Leo

[hdrazor251]

Originally Posted by Lisa

I think you're close, Michelle. Pretty sure it's a crew of like-minded people who share a great respect for the older style Rolex. They like external lug-holes, for example. Those are the holes on the case lugs that the bracelet pin ends insert (like a toilet paper holder). New Rolexes lug holes don't go all the way through and are only on the inside of the lugs. The RGCA people probably also adore stuff like acrylic crystals, but this is just a guess. Maybe one of these members will come by and clear things up a little more.

Spot on Lisa. Here's the original thread http://www.rolexforums.com/showthrea...uch-curmudgeon

[East Bay Rider]

Lisa,
Best childhood ever! I would have LOVED that. That actually sounds like my dream retirement. Quiet, private, busy but not hurried. Funny how my wife and son wouldn't though.
I've got a real soft spot for critters and grew up playing in the woods behind the house. Bows and arrows, BB/pellet guns, rabbits, gerbils, hamsters and a hog nose snake, chickens living in the garage, dogs and cats and lots of them. Seems we always had a new litter of kittens and had a sign on the mailbox giving them away. My brother and I hunted/sold night crawlers and had a sign on the mailbox for that too. We just used the money for more fishing stuff probably.
Those are the good memories I like to remember.
Thanks for that. I hadn't thought of that stuff in a long time.

[Lisa]

Originally Posted by East Bay Rider

Lisa,
Best childhood ever! I would have LOVED that. That actually sounds like my dream retirement. Quiet, private, busy but not hurried. Funny how my wife and son wouldn't though.
I've got a real soft spot for critters and grew up playing in the woods behind the house. Bows and arrows, BB/pellet guns, rabbits, gerbils, hamsters and a hog nose snake, chickens living in the garage, dogs and cats and lots of them. Seems we always had a new litter of kittens and had a sign on the mailbox giving them away. My brother and I hunted/sold night crawlers and had a sign on the mailbox for that too. We just used the money for more fishing stuff probably.
Those are the good memories I like to remember.
Thanks for that. I hadn't thought of that stuff in a long time.

You're welcome, Bill. Did you grow in a rural area?

There are some not-so-nice memories from growing up, but it's more enjoyable to choose to think about the better ones. I think you understand.

[Lion]

Bill and Lisa, I too want the quieter side of life. When we retire...we are thinking/at least I plan on moving to rural Southwest Missouri down in the Ozarks. Out in the country where the nearest one horse town is 5-10 miles away. We can have chickens, cows, horses and goats...you name it.....a real veggie garden and I will plan and implement an Arboretum which will be in tune with the native landscape(Ozark Wildflowers and trees)...and of course we will have to have a fishing hole. And Bill you can bring a pole anytime and cast your lure for all kinds of fish. Lisa, you and Dave(the girls will probably be grown...but they can come too)can sit on the veranda in a swing sipping Mike's(of course!!!)and take in the peace and quiet.......

[Lisa]

Leo, I'm glad you're going to take up Dave's suggestions. He reiterated with me the importance of boosting your magnesium levels. He says that's something most doctors don't even know about.

I like your retirement plans very much. I'd like to do something similar, but having married a city boy, it might take some convincing.

[East Bay Rider]

Originally Posted by Lisa

You're welcome, Bill. Did you grow in a rural area?

Yep, but not quite as far out as you. I had neighbors. From my backyard I could walk through the woods into the next town. I could ride my dirt bike two towns away down the old railroad tracks and a large selection of trails.
It was considered to be living in the sticks (by Massachusetts standards) back then but since I left its gotten all built up with big new houses and I could never afford to live there again. I google earthed my old house and found a neighborhood has been built into the woods behind the property line of my old house.
I rode my motorcycle through earlier this year and found its changed so much I really didn't recognise it. Old town landmarks are gone and rebuilt with modern buildings. I really can't see going back. The cemetary where my stepfather rests is on the edge of town. That's as far as I need to go.

[Lisa]

Originally Posted by East Bay Rider

Yep, but not quite as far out as you. I had neighbors. From my backyard I could walk through the woods into the next town. I could ride my dirt bike two towns away down the old railroad tracks and a large selection of trails.
It was considered to be living in the sticks (by Massachusetts standards) back then but since I left its gotten all built up with big new houses and I could never afford to live there again. I google earthed my old house and found a neighborhood has been built into the woods behind the property line of my old house.
I rode my motorcycle through earlier this year and found its changed so much I really didn't recognise it. Old town landmarks are gone and rebuilt with modern buildings. I really can't see going back. The cemetary where my stepfather rests is on the edge of town. That's as far as I need to go.

Is your old house still there?

Yes, it's kind of a weird thing to see how the area you grew up in has changed. It's the same at Mom's house - she's surrounded by office buildings, condos, houses... none of the old farmhouses are standing anymore. The old people we knew who have passed away wouldn't believe what was done to their land where there were cattle, ponds, horses and wheat fields.

This is one cool thing about living in an old suburban neighborhood - our street and the streets around us look very much as they did 75 years ago. I guess the cars parked along the street are newer and trees are huger and that's about it. I'm sure if any of the previous owners of our house came back to visit, they'd smile and be glad that so much was still as they remembered it. We are the 5th family to live here, and interestingly enough, as far as I know all but the very first family are still living.

Have you eve read "The Little House" by Virginia Lee Burton? It's a children's book, written in the 1940s I think. If you have read it, you'll understand why I ask. The darn story makes me cry every time!

[East Bay Rider]

No, I haven't read that, yet.
It's funny but my son likens me to the old guys in the movie 'Second Hand Lion'. Have you seen that movie? IMO its a great movie. He figures that, if left to my own devices, I'd probably be a lot like them. LOL
People's perceptions are interesting. He thinks I'm hard. I'm really a softie but he doesn't know it yet. Gotta admit; living in the middle of nowhere with a trout steam nearby and a big barn full of cool stuff and some animals would be a pretty good life. I don't really care for gardening though. A goat would quickly end that gardening nonsense.
No worries. Wendrful drags me into civilization kicking and screaming. Reluctant city guy here.