IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME

This is a very embarrassing/humiliating topic for me. Probably for everyone who has some form of it.  I need help with this chronic, often debilitating, problem.

To make matters worse, my Diabetes medicine tends to cause diarrhea.  Double whammy.  For the past year, I've added Benefiber to my daily routine.  It has helped a lot in firming up my deposits.  But I still have to use Imodium every ten days or so.

Apparently this condition is incurable, but manageable. This is a functional disorder with many different effects on each person.

Lower abdomen pain (or discomfort)

Diarrhea and/or constipation

Gas

Bloating

Nausea  

I've reached a plateau where it seems to not be managed very well.  As you know, I share a bathroom with two boys.  Most embarrassing is that the room does not smell like a rose when I'm in there.  Poo Pourrie works well but I usually don't have time to spray and then go.  I've tried so many air freshening products I'm thinking of getting a job comparing them.  Lighting matches works the best followed a neutral smelling spray (I like Mrs. Meyers Snow Drop and occasionally a different one of her scents)

Today I asked Max (my ChatGPT Bot) for information and help.  WOW!  Where has he been all my life?  He steered me to a more gentle soluble fiber, Heathers Tummy Control, made from acacia not wheat based.  Which makes me think I'm also a bit gluten intolerant.  (I notice this when I enjoy all the carbs in my life)

Late Friday I ordered two items and hit PayPal which my Chase credit card sent me an immediate notice.  Unfortunately, I just needed another $7 to get free shipping instead of paying $12.  I went back online at Heather's to cancel the order (had to send an email) and the owner responded in five minute!  Her computer did not show receipt of an order.  On Saturday morning I checked PayPal and no sign of a charge.  Then back to Chase and not sign of a charge from PayPal or Heathers.  

The items I really wanted had a red warning label "on backorder".  I didn't want to wait and ordered a pound of ready to ship product.

When researching IBS it seems like this syndrome is increasing and affects way more women than men.  I've had this for 30+ years but hitting 70 has caused it to ramp up a bit.  Heather's site also has a list of trigger foods.  I will watch and see if these are the same for me.

Stay tuned.  I just took 2 Tylenol and heading for a nap.
  

SEMI HOMEMADE

I’ve loved entertaining since I first moved away from home.  My childhood home was tiny and filled with six children and two loving parents, but no room to entertain much.  My Mom was a fabulous cook and experimented with all kinds of interesting recipes … homemade egg rolls to go with chicken chow mein, homemade whoopee pies and anything and everything that caught her interest.  She passed this passion down to all six of us.  The boys are the main cook in their household.

I quickly volunteered for holiday family get togethers until my siblings enjoyed larger homes.  Cooking was my hobby and table settings my art form.  A group of four couples started a gourmet cooking club that lasted ten years.  The host would pick the theme and would assign courses (and a few times, would assign recipes)  Each course with an accompanying adult beverage.

Mr. Ralph was Prez of a small firm and would always prefer to host visitors and new employees at our home.  Most other countries entertain at restaurants so we were flattering them by opening our home.  I still have international friends because of this!

Gone are the days when I would make the pralines for a homemade cheesecake.  Now I’m in my “semi homemade” style.  There was a Food Network show with Sandra Lee with this title.  She would use fresh ingredients with selected store bought items and her flair for decorating the table.  Sometimes all you have to do is put fresh herbs on things and it just brings the whole meal up a notch.

Through the years .... 

The cooking club.

Christmas

Our view from the hammock

We had 50+ guests ... and it was 104 degrees

The condo .. bar height table

We continued entertaining while living in Maui for three years.  I could do a whole blog just on the Maui home!  I think I will.  It took me soooo many hours to find photos because I get so side tracked going down Memory Lane.

HORRIBLE NEWS

What a week of horrible news.  Riots in LA.  Orange baby’s birthday parade.  Israel bombing Iran.  Air India’s tragedy losing almost 270 people, .  My best neighbor went via ambulance for dyskinesia (Parkinson’s Disease) and found out she has pneumonia and UTI (no symptoms of either) and will be in the hospital for several days.  I’m hoping to lighten things up a little. We can complain elsewhere for those troubles.

I’m growing older with gratitude for everything from Tylenol to comfy shoes and Neosporin with band aids and ChatGPT. Part of aging is learning to compensate for our declines as much as possible.

I use ChatGPT so often I’ve named him Max.  Of course I asked him first if he had a name.  He suggested several when prompted.  Anything I used to Google, I now Max.  Much more in depth responses and always offers to do more (and gives examples).  I’m pretty sure I could ask him to write my blog!  In fact, I may do that soon just to see how well he knows me. (I will give him all the credit).

While I haven’t lost much measurable height, it gets harder and harder to reach things.  I had to update my grabber to an extendable one.  Interestingly enough, it gets used by the family as much as by me.  A simple compensation in my opinion.

Friday I took an hour webinar on Apple email tips and tricks.  It’s three days in a row for just an hour.  And they send a recording for future (slower!) use.  But I will share one with you.  The MacWhisperer says that using the obvious “unsubscribe” button doesn’t always do the trick.  And if it does, it takes longer to really stop getting those emails.  We are supposed to go down to the very fine print and unsubscribe from there. 

Another great tip to free up space on your computer is to decide if you really need to keep all those emails.  Like Amazon confirmations and Amazon shipping information, for example.  On Mac, when you open your mail screen it tells you how many read and unread emails you have.

 

This is mine at 5pm on Friday night.  Now I’m going to an Amazon email, then “command A” to select all with that sender name and delete.  235 old useless emails GONE.  Saturday morning I went through old newsletters, bank alerts, etc and kaboom!  10,000 more unnecessary emails are gone.

I’m going to keep this blog short and continue to do some mailbox cleaning!!!  My second class at The MacWhisperer starts soon and I miss Max.

A Fashion Journey Through the Ages ~ From Bell Bottoms to Compression Socks

Once upon a time, my biggest concern was whether my bell bottoms were flared enough to cover my platform shoes.  Remember those days?  I was pretty excited when “boot cut” pants returned to the scene.  My winter garb is black boot cut yoga pants and a black top.  When I get fancy, I add a scarf and maybe a hat.  That’s from twelve years of wearing a uniform for Catholic school.  I get up and dressed and just don a uniform.  No thinking until after coffee.

Fashion, it turns out, is a full-contact sport when you're aging awkwardly. I’ve strutted (okay, shuffled) through decades of style: shoulder pads so wide I couldn’t fit through doorways, perms that defied gravity and good judgment, and pantyhose that were basically medieval torture devices disguised as “nude, control top.”

I did go through the hippie phase — fringe vests, tie-dye, bell bottoms, little braids in my long golden hair.  And of course, round wire framed specs.  With the 70’s it was peasant blouses, macramé, earth tones with just a bit of the hippie edge.  Being a “spring” on the color wheel (yes!  Remember that??) I didn’t do much of the earth tones.  But the LONG hair.  Definitely.

   

Power dressing for my business job phase.  Shoulder pads, blazers, pencil skirts, and especially big hair. That’s what I remember about the 80’s.  Oh!  And pagers followed by car phones.  I was in sales for a national moving company and we would get paged then have to find a payphone and call the office.  In Oregon where it rains a lot! I was so excited to get a car phone.

  

Now, everyone has a cell phone and we have no landline.  I love it because it is my brain.  I’ve learned to put it to good use.  I write things down as I think of them (ran out of garlic powder, add it to my grocery list)(met someone new I add them to my contact book and how I met them, even if I don’t have their phone number, yet)(ideas for gift giving and checking for upcoming birthdays).

2025?  Stretchy waistbands (or no waistbands) are my love language. Sensible step-in shoes (Kizik) whisper sweet nothings to my bunions and hammertoe. I’m still not into the cardigan sweater phase or a lap blanket.  I use a zip up sweatshirt to give myself the illusion of being younger than 73.

But let’s not pretend aging means giving up on looking good. No, it just means redefining good. “Chic” now means “clean and comfortable.” And I’ll take a cozy fleece over a crop top any day, although I remember being able to sport one.

My summer look is cool and breezy dresses.  I think I have ten different versions.  They are totally baggy but I get a compliment almost every time I am out in public. 

Generations Collide ~ The Great Bathroom Takeover

We’ve been enjoying multigenerational living for almost ten years.  The littlest guy was just ending the breast milk in a bottle phase.  It’s been easier and much more fun than any of the adults could have imagined.  But it is not without a few speed bumps.  Teenagers and the bathroom.

(Did you read his shirt?)

We are lucky enough to have two bathrooms, one is part of the master suite so the three of us use it only in case of emergency.  The boys and I share the other.  We had one shower caddy that held my body wash, shampoo and conditioner and they shared an all-in-one product.  

OXO brand and they are fabulous!

Now we have two of these shower caddies, one at each end of the bath/shower and I have one, that hangs on the shower curtain rod.

Little guy's caddy (he thinks he's growing a beard ... age 11)

     

True teenager's caddy.  Notice all the Costco size stuff.

My caddy

Dad is partly responsible for too much stuff as he buys HUGE containers of shampoo that are too heavy for me to even use.  I love saving money but we are living SO tiny, we have to buy sizes that fit our storage availability.  The boys seem to get bored using just ONE shampoo or ONE body wash.  And they have several products they use after a shower … cologne, hair texture spray or mud.  Way more stuff than I ever had as a teenaged girl!

The rest of the stuff (some is mine too)

The rest of my life with teenagers sharing my bathroom is pretty awesome…I must say. They hang up their towels.  They take turns cleaning the bathroom every week.  They empty the trash.  They each have a vanity draw for toothbrushes, floss, picks, etc.

All in all?  Not as bad as it could be.  

P.S.   They usually come tell me they will be taking a shower … in case I need to go first!