Pentagenarians & Beyond: W/B 12/18

Joan, glad you went to the ER. shingles is not to be fooled with. I had a mild case but it was memorable enough to get the vaccine. I've read you can get the vaccine after age 50. I also read that after an attack you should wait a year before getting the vaccine but your primary care person is the one to ask. Hope you scaled back christmas plans.

the vaccine has been available ( I think ) for maybe( guessing) 2 years. Out here the bigger pharmacies advertise it. they put huge reader boards in front of the door saying 'shingles vaccine available". that's how I got mine in june. doctors offices around here usually don't get into immunizations or flu shots at all.
a big percent of people get shingles at some time later in life. almost everyone has chicken pox ( herpes zoster) as kids. the virus lingers dormant in the nerves until it pops up to torment you. I think it cost $20 and I believe my insurance covered it.

Deb, no coffee pot? get an espresso machine! I have an old cheapie Krups that keeps plugging along, must be 20 yo. I have the standard Cuisinart plain coffee pot that works very well. Bummer on the dreaded Holiday Head Cold. bad timing...

My shoulder is a lot better. I'm not working it too much yet. whatever I did...it has been irritated for months ...I'm hoping it settles down. then I can start back in with light weights. If I knew what exactly I did to it...one side only... it would be easier to track. It bothers me more at night than when using it.

The heater we had installed works great. It's silent whereas the heater the camper has is very loud. we wanted something we can leave on at night while sleeping that will keep the water system from freezing up. also that we can leave on if we go away for the day for the same reason. it uses a tiny amount of propane and will keep the indoor temp probably in 40's to 50's. just so the water system doesn't freeze solid. it happened in an older camper we had. the faucet froze up.. cracked and fell off in the middle of the night.
 
Hi Deb, Joan, and Valerie--

This morning I did Athletic Training (56 min.).

Deb, I cannot imagine being without my morning coffee. I have a single serving Melitta drip cone and filters, and just have one superstrong big cup. DH has a coffeepot and brews a lot at a time because he drinks several cups during the day. Yep, you can come to Christmas dinner--as long as you don't bring that nasty cold. Hope you are feeling better soon.

Joan, I am so sorry for what you are going through. Valerie's idea for pizza and a salad sounds good, and she is absolutely right about seeking some help from ds and dh. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

Valerie, the shingles vaccine around here is much more expensive, and some insurance companies don't pay for it, apparently. I also had to read this long thing about possible disastrous effects and sign a disclaimer. Something about how it's a live virus being injected.

Tomorrow it's my short one--Cardio Super sets.
 
I wish I could say more about how to go about getting the shingles vaccine. Our insurance covers preventative things at 100%. All the local chain pharmacies are competing for business and offering flu shots/ shingles vaccines ( probably other stuff too) is one way to get you in the store. we're responsible for the first $5000 spent each year. usually it's worked out to our advantage because the regular coverage is so costly and we are both reasonably healthy, so we've come no where near the $5000.

Our new heater on its test run set off the carbon monoxide detector. so we looked at it closer and the detector is outdated. they only last 3-5 years. so had to go get a new one and will try another test run to see if we have a problem or whether it was the detector itself. always something...
 
Ds went home tonight. I found out he had had a drink Monday night. He told his wife. Her whole family drinks. DS thought he didn't have enough control over it and went to AA. I never felt he drank that much but he should know better than me.

I now know that dil's father is a "functioning alcoholic" and proud of it.
That's maybe why she seems to over react to DS. At least he didn't have to spend much time with them over the last two days.

Joan
 
Morning all.

Same program last night, up at 3:30. It's Keegan now. I guess we need to bite the bullet and walk them at night, instead of just letting them out in the yard for their last trip. He must rush in, knowing that he is going to get a treat and not "finish".

Still hacking, but feeling a little better. I had no sense of taste yesterday, and it was amazing, I didn't eat anything after breakfast, no snacks, no lunch. Now I know that I only eat for the taste of the food. I was starving, stomach growling etc, but still did not want to eat anything. We did get a coffee maker yesterday, not the one we wanted but we were desperate.

Joan, at least now you have an explanation of what was happening with DIL and your DS. She must be pretty sensitive to any drinking. So did you cancel Christmas for 15? You should.

Garance, I love my coffe too, but one cup would not do it for me!

Valerie, do you keep the heater running all winter?

Off to get ready for another "day at the office"...joy.
 
Deb, if we go somewhere in the winter in the camper we want to run the auxiliary heater all night so the water system doesn't freeze. the "pipes" are plastic and small, and are ... just like in your house, behind the inside walls, close to the outside. the regular camper heater is loud. I can't sleep when it's on. I've heard people say, it's "white noise", you get used to it but I can't sleep through it. DH can't either.
the new add-on one is catalytic and silent. it would keep the temp from getting below 40. so we will only use it for cold weather camping, but it applies to at least 6 mon of the year where we go. I don't mind cold temps but if water freezes, it's hard to manage and it breaks pipes and connections ... the water expands as it freezes..

got a new CO detector and will set it up this weekend and try the heater again.

also had to buy a new phone system. have 4 land line phones and 2 suddenly stopped working. batteries failed. the batteries are ridiculously expensive. made more sense to buy new phones. feels goofy to replace "things" for reasons like that.

I like several cups of decaf in the am to get going. Love hot coffee flavor & aroma, but can't deal with much caffeine. I have one cup of partly caffeinated coffee in a latte later. Love that latte!

Did LBB yesterday along with about 10 min fast on the bike. padded shorts help greatly. also pushups.

Joan ...the drinking issue is a volatile one. I'm guessing DS and DIL have a "no drinking at all" pact and your son broke it? If she grew up in a family of alcoholics she may have some horrible memories of out-of-control behavior. If her family is still actively drinking .... she must still get regular reminders. it might explain what seems like an over reaction to everyone who hasn't lived with alcohol abuse.
 
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Hi Deb, Joan, and Valerie--

This morning I did Cardio Supersets (41 min.).

The campus is so quiet with everyone gone. I think there are maybe 2 or 3 of us in this big office building. DS is coming home this afternoon, and I will be making one of Lidia Bastianich's cutlet recipes, with pork. DH pounds them out for me and I make the Marsala and mushroom sauce. Love that cookbook.

Joan, I'm confused. Your son wasn't an alcoholic, but went to AA with the presumption that he might become one? I had a bil who was an alcoholic, and it really ruined his marriage to my sister. He just could not stop, even though he went through rehab so many times. My sister just finally gave up, but she really tried to help him for several years.

Deb, I guess a walk would be better than a final yard session. If it means a good night's sleep, I would definitely try it out. Eating does seem a bit boring if you cannot taste the food or smell it.

Are you going camping soon, Valerie?
 
We'd like to do a camping trip over New Years if the weather cooperates. Don't want to die of CO poisoning over night however! It would be a fairly easy trip.... San Juan islands. not far & quite lovely, and not too busy in winter. we went to one island last year. different year, different island.
 
Valerie trip sounds great. Hope heater will work.

Garance DS believes he is an alcoholic so he probably is one. He has anxiety and stress with his depression. He would like to drink to "help" with the stress and he says the urge is always there. His mind knows it won't help but that doesn't stop him. Dil always has wine in the house for herself. She will stop after work once a month or two and have a drink with coworkers. Fortunately she has stopped having beer in the house for herself. That drove me crazy in the beginning.

Deb Not sleeping is very unhealthy. I don't have dogs but I don't know anyone who has to get up in middle of night with their dogs once they are not a puppy.

I think medicine is working. Throat is still as sore as ever but I don't seem to be getting more blisters. The swollen red has connected across my cheek with bumps under it but haven't blistered yet.

Joan
 
Bought a new CO detector, will put it in this morning. with any luck the issue was the detector not the heater but I'm suspicious. seems like a HUGE coincidence that it went off the first time we ran the heater.

Did 45 min on the spin bike yesterday. Not actually spinning yet, just riding steadily. still haven't gotten the electronics package so no way to gauge except approximate clock time and a HRM. the dealer we bout it from is seriously slow on getting the electronics to us. padded shorts help greatly! on a real bike outside, your position shifts frequently but on a stationary bike you don't, and padding is a must. also coremax 2.

Joan, if your son thinks he has an alcohol problem, then he probably does. Does he go to meetings?
Hope you got on the anti-virals in time to slow it down. also hope you minimized your plans so it's not adding on more stress. can you cover the outbreak ( carefully) with some foundation so at least you don't have to look at it in full color? I hate to sound vain but not looking good affects how you feel.
 
Hi,

Just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas...see Happy Dog's Christmas below:

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Deb dogs look so cute together. I assume they must get along.

Valerie right now some of the scabs are coming off and leaving open sore. They warned me of infection so I don't think I want to cover them. You are right though. I would feel a lot better if I didn't look this bad. The New Year's Eve event at the Flamingo is black tie. I WAS looking forward to it. The few hours I am not sleeping I am eating junk.

Garance DS does go to meeting after kids go to sleep. Dil complains about that too. The only way he is a little different is that if he is not under stress the beer could sit there and he wouldn't mind it. His main problem is the depression and the medications help. Unfortunately the anxiety medication is addictive even though it works. He gets to take it very rarely.

Back to bed.

Joan
 
Oh Deb, they are so cute!! who would imagine they are malevolent little devils that get you up at 3 am... those aren't antlers, they're horns!

My neighbor across the street has one, just saw him yesterday while we were exchanging messed up mail that all got stuck in their locking box.

Joan that's a week away... with any luck things will be settling down and you can do a little cover up so it's less obvious.
 
Hi Deb, Joan, and Valerie--

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Did Housemax this morning, finished sewing this little shrug to go with my red velvet dress for tonight, and wrapped the final gifts. I will probably do Turbo Barre tomorrow morning before Christmas really gets going, since DH will be doing his usual chores and DS will more than likely be sleeping peacefully.

I truly hope you are on the mend now, Joan, and who knows, maybe you will still be able to enjoy that black tie affair in Vegas with a little makeup. I have heard that stress can exacerbate shingles--don't know if that's true, just what I've heard--so maybe your family can be helpful for you. I still say dil sounds like a witch.

Deb, the dogs are darling. In that last photo, it looks like Kylee and Keegan are looking at a third dog?? If so, where did that one come from--or are they just having a playdate?

Valerie, I don't blame you a bit for being cautious with that heater. Take care, and enjoy that camping trip.
 
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