Crone Cronies - In 2020, you have a mandate to stay home and putz. Week of 8/2
 

The Cronies is a place for women who are mature in age or attitude. The group is highly diverse in that we have ages ranging from 30s to 60s, some are moms, some are single, some are teachers/professors, and some have jobs and work outside the home and some don’t. We do our own thing and are happy when life doesn’t get in the way too often. Some are training for a marathon, some don’t even do vids, you get the picture.

Life and exercise are what we report. A thread is started every Sunday. Some report every day, others whenever they can.

Bottom line: we are a diverse group and very supportive of each other’s goals. Oh, and we’re funny as heck. If you’d like to join us, just come on down.

Good morning!

I had to shorten one of Laura's suggestions, but putzing is my life theme these days!

I met a clown at the park yesterday! Her car was all decorated with circus stuff, so I asked her what her involvement was - she was a retired professional clown! Cool! Gus enjoyed his walk and will again today. More putzing scheduled for today - might do a run to Target for groceries.

Laura, are you in the hurricane storms today? Hope everything stays safe for you! I guess around here tornadoes are the pop up destruction - usually too fast to do any yard pickup of objects or nail boards over windows.

Paula, I'm sorry to hear about your misstep causing you so much hip pain. I'm limiting what I walk on grass these days as the soil is uneven enough to cause pain for me. No falls for me, knock on wood! Hope your hip is just bruised, not deeply injured :(.

Waves to all (from >6 feet apart!)!

Anita

Thanks for getting us started. I knew it was too long and it would be difficult to shorten it effectively, but the Yoda one cracked me up. It's a good theme because it's so timely.

I went for a walk this morning. I'll try to get in some band strength work this afternoon. I have an Excel tutoring session this afternoon. I have finally gotten back to working on my blog/videos and have a plan for the coming week. I may do a little work on it this afternoon.

Paula - I'm sorry about that bad step and hope you feel better today.

Anita - We are slated to feel the effects of the storm starting tomorrow sometime into Tuesday. Yeah, tornadoes are harder to plan for.

Good evening. Workout today was Yoga with Adriene Heart and Hips. Not much else, just a putz around the house day.

Anita, thanks for getting us started, the theme really fit my day. Thanks for your concern about the hip, it's fine today so I guess I just tweeked it. I stretched last night and took some Ibpropren and that seemed to do the trick. The older I get the more I appreciate the necessity of stretching, stretching, stretching - always seems to make me feel better. As long as I don't over stretch which is how I hurt the hip in the first place.

Laura, I emailed my brother and sister about the storm, both seem to think it's not going to be that bad, just lots of rain, wind, and humidity. In any event, stay safe.

They've changed the track of the storm - it's supposed to swing more inland than originally projected. It's now supposed to go between Wilmington and Raleigh, and we are now looking for 3-6 inches of rain. We're still on the back side of the storm, and so predictions say we won't get as much rain or wind as the east side. They're saying that it's more than predicted before, but nowhere near as bad as previous hurricanes like Florence or Matthew. The worst of it is supposed to arrive in the middle of the night tonight.

I predict that I probably won't get out for a walk today or tomorrow. ;) Today, I'll take DH to a PT appointment this afternoon. And, I have a tutoring session this evening. Hopefully, our WIFI will work fine. I want to get some work on a blog post.

Paula - It's good that your hip was okay the day after the walk. It's gotta be hard to find that path between enough stretching and over stretching.

Good morning!

Planning on more putzing, walking Gus, doing a Zoom conference with fellow vet toxicologists, and just enjoying this cooler weather! :sun: I do like the opportunity to participate in the Zoom meeting - usually I'd have to fly to a city and meet with them for about three hours and then have hotel stays, meals, etc. Zoom is lots cheaper than the hundreds to thousands of dollars this meeting takes to get there! We have about 100 members in this group - usually about 7 hit this meeting when it involves travel...

Laura, I hope the hurricane downgrades to a tropical storm if it's inland more. I hope you have a peaceful night tonight! I know where to be in the basement for tornadoes, do you do similar safe sleeping position for hurricanes? Hope your wires stay connected!

Paula, glad the hip is feeling better :heart:. I should do more stretching, sigh... Things are NOT moving in a normal range of motion. My affected hip is deeper in my socket by about half an inch - no way I can reach my foot on that side. Supposedly something expected with my bad hip as my doctor mentioned it. I feel like a stiff board :(. Makes weeding frustrating as I have to grab plants about 6 inches off ground and hope the stems don't break!

Waves to all (from >6 feet apart!)!

Anita

Today's workout was Pyramid Pump, upper body pyramid down only.

We had a storm this morning. One clap of thunder was so loud I jumped out of my chair. :o But it cooled things down a bit. We were in the low 80s today, so that was a welcome change.

Anita, what do you and the other toxicologists talk about? Sounds exciting. ;) I should do more stretching as well. My lower body is getting tight. My inner thighs have been ridiculously tight for years. It's a mystery, though, because I used to do a wide leg forward fold every day after my workout to stay limber. But then it started to hurt. I couldn't understand that since I was doing it regularly. Eventually, I quit doing the stretch because of the pain. And now I have no flexibility at all. Even my quads are starting to get tight. :confused:

Laura, I hope you miss the worst of the storm. I wish everyone could miss it. These storms are always devastating, but it's just too much on top of everything else. Stay safe.

Paula, I'm glad your hip is better and you didn't do more harm.

Lots of hummer activity lately. I'm not sure why. Where have they been all summer? :p The storms don't bother them. We've had several summer storms lately, and my little guy is sitting on the swing, right in the middle of it. He just shakes his feathers out when he gets too wet. :D

Everyone have a good evening.

Good evening. Workout this morning was Ellen Barrett's Pick Youor Level Pilates followed by Yoga with Adriene - Yoga for Writers. We flew to Catalina today and did a little hiking, not as much as usual as it was too hot.

Laura, glad the storm is looking less dramatic. Try to stay cool in all the heat and humidity.

Anita, I suspect many people feel as you do about Zoom meetings - so much easier. Hotels are losing though.

Good morning!

Planning on walking Gus, putzing around, and enjoying this cooler weather (56 currently, going to 76) - we'll be back in the high 80's this weekend. I'll need to do some weed searching out back as Gus is coming in with burs in his hair!

Dede, the meeting was more formal business ends rather than scientific ends - I did the audit committee report. It was good to see so many familiar faces! Next year the meeting they have is going to be in Minneapolis, so maybe I'll go in person, just for this meeting. We had 27 people online! Lots more than what appear at meetings! Cool that you have hummers on your property! I've seen them in fall when they prepare to migrate south, but haven't seen them in my yard on a regular basis. Don't know if I'll see them this year as I don't have the flower baskets they love hanging on my back porch this year.

Paula, guess I rip off the hotel next year also when I drive in to the meeting ;). I do hope they keep a Zoom participation going for members that don't go to the AVMA meeting.

Waves to all (from >6 feet apart!)!

Anita

All Good At My House
 

The first bands of the storm moved in around 6:00 pm yesterday. It rained hard and then stopped for awhile and then started back up. Overnight, we heard rain when we were up in the night to go to the bathroom, but it was not a pounding rain and we didn't hear the rain at all. When I got up around 6:30 this morning, I walked out on the porch to see what I could see. The sun was coming out, the air was crisp and cool, and I couldn't see any damage. After looking more closely, we noticed that the crepe myrtles lost some of their blossoms. :D

I was wrong yesterday about the walks. We went for a short walk yesterday morning because we ended up having sun in the morning. The only problem is that we were both really stiff - side effects of the weather front. And we went for a walk around the pond this morning.

Anita - It sounds like a good meeting and you didn't have to go anywhere.

Dede - Yeah, these storms can be devastating. There were tornadoes in other areas of NC and flooding. I feel for the people caught in the worse areas.

Paula - It's nice you can go to Catalina for the day. Maybe this fall, it will be less hot and more appealing.

Good evening. Workout this morning was Pahla B's Chair Cardio and Strength followed by Strong Women/Strong Bones plus my PT stretches.

Deedee, we must have posted at the same time yesterday. I didn't see your post until just now. I'm starting to see more hummers in my yard too - don't know where they have been. My bird bath on the back patio is not getting any action - up until a week ago or so there was a bird in it most of the time. So not sure what the cycle of things is for birds.

Anita, Glad it's cooled off some for you and Gus. It sounds like Zoom participation is the way to go with these toxicology meetings if you had more attendees than would come in person. Great that it will be in your city next year - COVID premitting. None of us really knows what next year will look like.

Laura, glad the bands of rain are done. My brother said he got over 5" at his house and I think he lives pretty close to you. So that's a heck of alot of rain!! At least my California standards where drought and water conservation is SOP. Fall isn't cooler here most years. In fact many years September and October are very hot. The worst wildfires we've had have been in October because the foliage is dried out from summer heat and we get the Santa Ana winds - add a spark and fire spreads so fast it's astonishing.

Today's workout was another premix from Party Rockin' Step #1. I'm really enjoying these. I can't believe how challenging they are. I'm just using the step topper. I guess I'm really deconditioned. I don't know if I got all red-faced because I worked hard or because the workout room was 80 degrees. (That little cool down from the rain didn't last long.) What's really helping is that I never did these workouts much. By the time they came out, I was growing tired of step workouts. That makes them fresher for me now.

I saw footage on the news of Isaias' devastation. It's pretty awful. And just the first storm of the season. :(

Paula, my birdbath is getting plenty of action. We have a doe who is drinking from it regularly. She was here today. There was another doe who came by later with her fawn, but they were skittish and took off quickly. I don't know if the first doe is getting used to us or is just less skittish. It had been quite some time since we'd seen any deer.

Anita, I'm glad you enjoyed the zoom meeting. I think many people are discovering that zoom meetings can work well. Maybe they'll utilize them more after COVID.

Laura, I'm glad you didn't have any damage from the storm. My mom has had trouble sleeping lately because of the wild weather systems we've been dealing with. She was always our weather barometer. Not an enviable gift.

Sleep well, everyone.

Good morning!

Planning on walking Gus, doing some painting of my backyard shed, putzing around, and enjoying the last of these nice cool days. I did some patch painting of the shed yesterday, just little areas that had peeling paint. I'll do one low board that gets into the grass today to use up the rest of the can of paint (not much). I'm hoping this will patch me over till next year or year after that to do a thorough painting of that shed - I last painted it 5 years ago, so kind of unhappy to already see peeling. Tonight I have another senior coop meeting with my friends over Zoom.

Laura, some of the broadcast news showed awful areas of damage due to the hurricane - hope you just had a heavy rainfall. I at least did wear a nice T-shirt for the Zoom business meeting! :cool:

Paula, yeah, I've seen news footage of the fires in the hills in CA - seems close to the Los Angeles area. How awful! Do the fires affect where you can fly your plane these days? I'm not optimistic that Covid will disappear the day after elections or something like that - it'll affect a lot of people next year also. Sounds like MN will be a test area for a vaccination for that virus starting probably next year.

Dede, I'm very deconditioned also, can't even try to do a step workout these days. I do sit down about 3-4 times in a 1.5 mile walking route with Gus - sometimes because I'm breathless after a hill, but mostly it just helps to enjoy a few breaths without pain while sitting. This park has deer in it also - Gus smelled them and got all excited, but we didn't see them yesterday.

Waves to all (from >6 feet apart!)!

Anita

Anita, it's amazing how quickly things run down. We're on our third deck in eleven years. I keep hoping each new one will last longer than the last, but they dont.

Today's workout was XTrain Burn Sets Chest, Back, and Shoulders. I also did a new-to-me qi gong workout, Qi Gong for a Healthy Heart. Because I was basically previewing as I went (just to make sure the disc wasn't defective or anything), I did the extended version. There is an extended version (51 minutes), a long version (36 minutes), and a short version (24 minutes). I can understand the long and short, but extended? Anyway, I will probably never do the whole thing again. That's too long for my brain to hang in. Plus, my arms got tired. (He is constantly waving them around). And my feet got sore. (I don't think he moved his once!) But I did get very relaxed. I nearly fell asleep near the end. (I kept thinking I would fall over.) :p

I bought several qi gong and tai chi DVDs from that sale, so I hope to be doing them in the days to come. Again, just to make sure they aren't defective. I don't know why I bought them. I like the idea of those practices, but I never commit to them long-term. Just more clutter. :o

I have been dealing with a weird rash on the back of my left hand for about three weeks. I thought it was due to dryness from all the hand-washing I've been doing (although I couldn't understand why it would only affect one hand). A couple of days ago, I looked at it more closely and started wondering if it might be poison ivy. It has itched some, but nothing like what DH dealt with. I've been pondering going to the clinic. It's just that I've spent so much time in that building in the last couple of months, I'd like to take a break. I'm using antibiotic ointment to soothe it. I tried topical steroids for a while, but it only seemed to bother it. The fun continues, eh? :p

Everyone sleep well.

Good morning!

Planning on walking Gus, and doing more putzing about the yard and house. I did get the shed painted, used up that paint can! Also was able to fix a piece of my outdoor bench top by being able to reach the misaligned part with my cane. I just don't climb ladders any more :(. I might mow my yard today before it gets super hot this weekend.

Dede, I can't imagine building three decks in 11 years - my deck has stood at least the 20+ years - not sure how soon they put it in since 1972, when the house was built. I do end up restraining it about three times in 11 years though - hope it makes it till next year for that. If I were to rebuild it, I'd consider the plastic wood appearing slats not needing restaining the next time. I've not tried qi gong - we do have some episodes playing on public TV that I could try. Hope your rash resolves!

Waves to all (from >6 feet apart!)!

Anita

Tuesday night I was getting ready for bed and was flossing and the crown right in the front of my mouth flipped right out. It's over an implant, and I was concerned about getting it put on. My dentist's office is closed on Wednesdays (of course they are!) and I insisted that they find a way to get it back in yesterday instead of me waiting until today like they wanted me to. So, I went to another dentist yesterday who covers for my dentist when he is closed. With all that drama and with feeling off, I didn't do any exercise yesterday.

Today I felt fine and got back to normal. DH and I went for a walk this morning and then I did a Gina B YT cardio and strength workout. Today is my parents' 60th anniversary. Their neighbor makes fancy cakes, so I ordered a lemon cake with lemon curd and she delivered it to them this morning. We went over this afternoon and spent some time with them.

Paula - We heard we got around 3.5 inches. We're not really sure though because it rained overnight and by the time we got up it was over.

Anita - Good idea on the no ladders policy. You used up a paint can? I don't think we've ever done that! ;)

Dede - I hope you figure out what that rash is. It is irritating when it seems like it should be easy to treat and nothing works.

Anita, we didn't build three decks. The first one was here when we got here, but it rotted pretty quickly. The next one we built using fake wood, but it warped. If you remember, we just had it redone around the beginning of the pandemic. This guy said the problem was the foundation (or base, or whatever you call the bones of a deck), and used some of the salvaged planks and bought some new ones. It's already starting to warp. :mad:

I'm concerned if this rash turns out to be poison ivy. I read something on webmd that said not to use antibiotic ointment (which I've been slathering on as it helps with the dryness and cracking). I'd say I'll be in the clinic in the next day or two. It's been three weeks. Whatever it is, it should be gone.

Laura, I assume the rain didn't cause flooding? I'm wondering how Sherry is. I've heard that many in NJ lost power and it's not back on yet. I'm glad you got your tooth fixed and are feeling well today.

Today I did Cathe's Fit Tower Advanced: Legs, Glutes, and Core (minus the squat sections. My knee is much better, but I don't want to push it.) Then I did Qi Gong for Better Balance. I'm happy to report that this one doesn't have an extended version. :p I did the long version (to make sure the whole disc is okay) and it was only 36 minutes. I liked this one better than the one I did yesterday.

I went out to fill the bird bath, and there was a purple finch sitting on the edge of it. He didn't fly away. We looked at each other for a minute, and I said hello and told him I wish I had brought my phone so I could get his picture. Since it didn't appear he was going anywhere, I set down the pitcher so I could go get my phone. And then he flew away. A couple of days ago, I had just hung one feeder and was getting ready to hang the other when a nuthatch started fluttering right beside me. He then flew off to a nearby tree. That's not the first time that has happened. It's like they see the feeder but don't notice me until they're right beside me. They're a hoot. :D

They are breaking ground across the street for a new spec house. This one will block our view of the pond. :(

Everyone have a good evening.

Good evening. Workout this morning was Rael Pilates System 17 then Yoga with Adriene, Yoga for Wrist Pain.

Deedee, when my husband was working he was in charge of changing out the wood benches and decks on the campus to the "new" fake wood planks. He told me they had to put many more support stringers in, every few inches, because otherwise the fake wood quickly warped in the sun. I'm sorry your second "new" deck is warping all ready. How sweet to see a doe and fawn drinking from your birdbath.

Anita, I don't do ladders either and I don't use a cane. I never did do step workouts because when they first came out my knees couldn't take it. We flew today and didn't see any smoke or fire. Showing my ignorance here, but I don't know what Qi Gong is.

Laura, I hope your folks enjoyed the cake - 60 years, whew. We're going to have our 50th next year and I can hardly believe it. Been there, done that with lifting a crown off with floss. I'm very careful when I floss now. Cute story of the birds checking you out at the bird bath. I've had that experience a couple times with hummers just hovering by my face and checking me out - it's fun.

Good morning!

Planning on working at the WRC this morning, walking Gus, and putzing - today should be a hot and humid day! :sun:

Laura, oooh ow! Losing your tooth crown is a main event! I assume your old crown got refitted back in- glad you were able to get in to his substitute! My dentist extends his days off also... Congratulations on your parent's anniversary! Wow! I only had about an inch of 5 year old paint in that can, so wanted to see if it could still be used - it was and now is gone!

Dede, if I ever use the fake planks, I'll have to make sure my supports are close enough to not have that warping! Cool that those birds come up to you to thank you for their food and water! I've seen people using camera lenses attached to their feeders - I see that as your next present to yourself!

Paula, Qi Gong is a meditative form of martial arts - you do a coordinated routine working on your balance and breathing - you're not hitting anyone. I've not been greeted by birds in my back yard, but I do at the WRC aviaries when I go in to feed them. Congrats on your 50th anniversary coming up!

Waves to all (from >6 feet apart!)!

Anita

I have a lot to do today. I want to film a couple of episodes for my YouTube channel today. Before that, I want to exercise. DH needs me to cook for him today and I really need to go to the grocery store before the weekend. I'm not sure how I'll fit it all in and we'll see what happens. Fortunately, I slept well last night, so I'm not dragging.

Dede - It's neat when things like that happen with the bird. It makes me smile imagining it. I think based on the general area where Sherry lives that she should be okay. She's not near the short.

Paula - Yeah, they really liked the cake. Apparently, the lemon curd made it really good.

Anita - We were on at that same time. Yeah, they refitted the same crown using a somewhat stronger cement. Hopefully, the stronger material will work and keep it on longer.

I should have called the derm.

I wasted my time (and co-pay) at the clinic. The PA I saw had no clue what she was looking at. But rather than just say, hey, why don't you go see a derm, she said, hey, let's try this, and if it doesn't work, you can see a derm. Sheesh.

She wrote a script for "something a bit stronger than you've tried" but rather than fill it, I brought it home to ask DH what he thought. He said not to bother. It's not much stronger than an OTC steroid cream, so he didn't think it was worth the time or money.

The clinic called me later and said they'd made an appointment for me to see a derm on the 19th. :confused: If the rash gets better, I can just cancel. Fortunately, they made the appointment with my derm. I'm going to try to get in sooner. I left a message with them, but they didn't call back. In the meantime, I guess I'll stick to the antibiotic ointment. Because I used nothing last night and it was cracking and oozing today.

On the other hand, it could totally heal up by Monday and this will all have been for nothing.

Today I did Burn Sets: Bi's and Tri's, and Qi Gong for Longevity.

Anita, two weeks! :eek: Are you ready?

Paula, did your husband have a biopsy? I'm sorry if I missed that. I was thinking it was last month? Or am I totally confused and have it all wrong?

Laura, I have a lot to fit in tomorrow. Of course, today was partly wasted. Did you get to have any of the lemon cake? I'm glad you get to see your parents. I'm still too afraid to visit my mom. Our little hospital has had three deaths in as many days. :(

Have a good evening, ladies.

Good evening. Workout this morning was Strong Women/Strong Bones. I didn't have time for more. Made two loaves of banana bread.

Anita, Qi Gong sounds interesting, I may have to check it out. My MIL had an aviary, when she would go on vacation we would stay at her place and feed all her animals. I enjoyed feeding the birds, they were always fun.

Laura, lemon curd is always good in cake.

Deedee, try vaseline on the rash until you can see a derm. Yes, my DH had a biopsy and luckily it was negitive.

Good morning!

Another hot and humid weekend! AC is on for the day! My friends will be moving in tomorrow! Gus wants his walk! Life is just full of exclamation marks today! :D

I'll be doing some laundry, walking Gus, stopping by the grocery store and putzing around - might mow that yard... A friend will be dropping by a Cattleya orchid and I'll be giving her some of my divisions. We've been trading like this for the last several years.

Laura, I like lemon curd, but it's got to have some dough texture near it - not just like an inch thick layer - more a quarter inch.

Dede, Hope your rash heals before your derm appointment is needed. I have a weird rash on my left palm - it blisters and peels and then is quiet for about a month and repeats. Weird. It's been going on for about a year and a half now, but no spread, and it doesn't bother me enough for a doctor visit. I'm nervous about the surgery but trust it will eventually help me more than the gimping I'm currently doing. This sucks. My friends will be moving in tomorrow and we'll be helping each other - me with my surgery recovery and I'll provide a place for them to stay until they can move back to Chile (Covid is blocking their entry right now).

Paula, glad to hear DH's biopsy was negative! I love my little finches - they keep me company all day with their peeping :heart:. I did learn the lesson to have two males instead of a male and female so no dealing with eggs and hatchlings. That used to happen a lot when I was in college and living in Madison. They still like their nest building projects!

Waves to all (from >6 feet apart!)!

Anita

DH and I went for a short walk this morning and I did a 20-minute cardio workout later. Both were shorter than I'd like, but at least I did them. I did a load of laundry and did some more cards. We "went" to church this afternoon. It's been a relatively lazy Saturday, and I enjoyed it.

Yesterday was busy. I actually got two videos filmed and will edit them this evening and/or tomorrow. Woo hoo! I feel like I'm back. I'm considering how to keep the momentum going. I also picked up/returned books at the library and put some gas in.

Anita - I don't like lemon so I've never had lemon curd. My parents said their cake is very good. There's nothing wrong with exclamation points! They communicate excitement! :D

Paula - Yay on you DH's biopsy! I'm sure that's a load off both your minds!

Dede- Ugh. The thing that drives me the most crazy in the world is someone wasting my time. Sorry the effort to get your rash treated was such a waste of time. I don't like lemon, so I turned down my parents' offer of a piece of cake. I told my parents they obviously didn't raise me right as I don't like lemon. :p I can understand your hesitance to visit your mom with two people in your household working at the hospital. We and my parents all have the same system of mainly staying at home and only going out for errands and medical appointments and wearing masks, washing hands, using hand sanitizer, etc. The only people any of get together with are each other.

Good evening. Workout this morning was Travis Eliot Yin Yoga. Did our usual Saturday chores - two loads of laundry. The handle on the toilet in the master bath wasn't working right - too much play so we went to Lowe's and bought a new one and DH installed it. So a quiet day of putzing around the house.

Anita, if you have a recurring rash/blister on your palm you should see a dermatologist. I had a spot that kept scabing over, getting better, then coming back and then weeping scabbing over - turns out it was basal cell cancer. I'd let it go so long I needed a MOHS procedure. Please get it checked out. I never used to like lemon curd until my sister introduced me to homemade coconut cake with lemon crud filling - I planned on scrapping out the filling but boy howdy did it taste good in combination with the sweet coconut flavor - you need to give it a try.

Laura, sounds as though you got a lot accomplished today. You're way ahead of the rest of us. Ditto on the coconut cake with lemon crud filling give it a taste test if you get a chance.

Deedee, I hate people wasting my time - I spent way too long on the computer today trying to print out a copy of my latest Verizon bill, something you would thing would be easy. Never got it done, but did have steam rising from my ears.