
This blog is meant to be a documentation of our journey into the world of retirement. I know the title should be "Older, but wiser". However, I really didn't know if that would be accurate. The "Older, but better...?" title could also be misleading. The 5 cats in the above pics are: Molly, Rose, Tux, Julie, and Ghost. (I have tried to make this collage smaller, but with no luck...)
Sunday, May 18, 2025
Sunday, May 11, 2025
Mother's Day 2025... at the end of the day
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Update on Pulmonologist appointment... and a few ramblings
Thinking that I should post about my first Pulmonologist visit. DH and I went this morning. I liked him. He is older than I expected, but definitely younger than me. Seemed very thorough... went through and showed me CD pics of my lungs on his computer. Asked me questions. Showed me how the 'nodules' in my lungs have changed... sometimes larger, sometimes smaller over the years. That in itself seems to be the indication that it isn't cancer (hurray!).
But they could be due to a lung infection, inflammation, or even aspiration, etc. He is running some tests. I have coughed for over 20 years and was told it was probably a radiation cough (meaning the radiation I was given for my BC likely causes some irritation or scarring in my lungs). I've never been too worried about it... just accepted it as another 'inconvenience'. But lately it has gotten a bit worse as I can't talk too long (especially on the phone) without having a coughing fit. I use Luden's cough drops by the bags. They work.
So that's where we are. Said the tests may take some time. Some bacterial cultures are very slow growing. And he's also having me take a home sleep apnea test. I took one at a facility years ago, and was told that I was fine. But I still get episodes (not every night, but often enough) and my smart watch tells me almost every night that I have mild to moderate hypopnea. So, we'll see.
Now back to my currently piddling/trivial ramblings...
Feral kittens playing on back porch and in high grass. Silly squirrel trying his best to get the seeds out of the bagged finch feeder. Crows cawing for their peanuts! And now we have ducks walking across our front lawn! That's our life and we do enjoy it.
(Do remember to click on arrow, then small square at bottom to enlarge, then esc to get back to blog.)
We did walk at the Senior Center on Monday. Walked and stopped in the cafeteria for coffee. It has been a while since we were there. I need to either volunteer to work in the cafeteria or the plant area and/or take a watercolor doodling class offered this summer. My problem is that since the pandemic and being home so much, I'm afraid I've become a bit commitment-phobic.
Also a funny thing happened last week (twice actually). DH and I were walking out of Central Market when this woman said something to me. I didn't catch it (didn't have my ears in), so I said, "Pardon?" She then said, "Cute Couple.... are you newlyweds?" DH and I laughed and he said, "57 years". She said, "How wonderful". Well, 'that was odd', we both said when we got into the car.
Then the very next day we were checking out at Walmart's (where they check your cart and receipt) and since we use 2 baskets, I always go first and hand them the receipt and say, "we're together" as we go out. This time the checker said, "Really... how long?" And again DH said, "57 years". Then she said, "Don't see that much anymore". Again when we got into the car we looked at each other and I said, "...must be notice old folks week?"
That's about it. Will close with some memes or sayings that I like. If I've posted them before, forgive me...
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this actually works... |
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very true! |
and...
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always works for me! |
Have a wonderful rest of the week!
Hugs (virtual),
Rian
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Back from family get-together...
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Monday, April 7, 2025
Monday thoughts...
Also thought I'd let you know that our 2 young bobcats returned. They seem to like the high grass in our backyard. DH actually seeds it with winter grass so that it's high and green for Easter. The feral cats love it! They hide and play in it - and I put out giant colored plastic Easter eggs in it - which they toss around.
I just love seeing everything green again. When it's green and overgrown, our back looks like Jurassic Park.
I know I've posted these before, but just thought a reminder wouldn't hurt...
Oh, and we saw a strange thing this morning. Our 2 crows (we call Tom and Jerry) were eating on our front lawn... when out of the sky 2 other crows came down and dive bombed them - scaring them off. It was odd as although we've seen some birds attack hawks, etc. we'd never seen crows attacking crows.
Going to add a few memes that I find a bit uplifting:
and
You
had so much life left to live…
So
many sunrises to wake up to,
So
many more memories to make,
So
much more love to receive…
It
will forever break my heart
That
you didn’t get that time.
The world's problems take a back seat at times like this. Not sure they should, but they do...
Hugs (virtual),
Rian
Saturday, April 5, 2025
just a few simple things...
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I think this is true... |
It's Saturday morning here and raining. We had thunderstorms all night and now warnings of flash flooding. Generally this doesn't affect our area, and since there's no warnings of tornados, we're good.
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We don't have a large porch here. But love to do this at my daughter's in the hill country |
I really don't have much to post about. But thought I'd post a few pics and memes. We did have 2 bobcats in the yard the other night. I have videos, but they're not too good as we have to chase them out quickly before they find any feral cats or kittens. But if you look carefully, you will see one in the yard in the first video and one on the fence in the second... and DH chasing the one out on the fence in the third.
*Remember to hit the small square to enlarge video,
then the arrow to play...
and 'esc' to get back to blog*
We get lots of wildlife in our backyard due to the creek and greenback behind us. We have seen bobcats before... but not often. We see more coyotes, raccoons, possums, box turtles, frogs, and snakes... and of course feral cats. We welcome all but the coyotes and bobcats for as beautiful as they are, they are a danger to the smaller wildlife.
The next pic is one I took of our neighbor's peacock sculpture. Their tree died and they had someone do this:
and lastly just a meme that I thought worth mentioning (especially in today's world):
and...
Hugs (virtual),
Rian