Beauty

[geezerette]

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee

“You can’t go home again” is true for a lot of people.  We shouldn’t have come back here.  We should have gone to a new place.  I think part of the problem about going back to anything is not only has it changed, you’ve changed too.  

Every place is changing.  And rapidly.  I once heard a scientist or anthropologist say that species can adapt to change if it’s gradual.  It’s the rapid changes that decimate populations.  I’m not sure you can escape anywhere.  Nothing stays the same anymore.  But then, it never really did.

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@geezerette

OMG.  I think I just figured out who's been writing my life script: T.S. Eliot and Thomas Wolfe!

I can't go home again and I'm living in The Wasteland.

No kidding about change.  We moved to the Bay Area in 1971, pre-Silicon Valley.  It was all orchards and when people wanted to go to dinner they'd drive to San Francisco.

I find myself watching Vertigo over and over again, just to see what that city was like in the '50s.  Talk about change...

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@just bee

Yep.  It’s evolution.  And we all do it, to one extent or another.  It why all those things we once thought were attractive and even necessary become burdensome.  Our circumstances change, our bodies and minds change.  It’s why that once attractive big yard is now something to be questioned.

But think about what life would be like if nothing ever changed.

[just bee]

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee

“You can’t go home again” is true for a lot of people.  We shouldn’t have come back here.  We should have gone to a new place.  I think part of the problem about going back to anything is not only has it changed, you’ve changed too.  

Every place is changing.  And rapidly.  I once heard a scientist or anthropologist say that species can adapt to change if it’s gradual.  It’s the rapid changes that decimate populations.  I’m not sure you can escape anywhere.  Nothing stays the same anymore.  But then, it never really did.

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@geezerette

OMG.  I think I just figured out who's been writing my life script: T.S. Eliot and Thomas Wolfe!

I can't go home again and I'm living in The Wasteland.

No kidding about change.  We moved to the Bay Area in 1971, pre-Silicon Valley.  It was all orchards and when people wanted to go to dinner they'd drive to San Francisco.

I find myself watching Vertigo over and over again, just to see what that city was like in the '50s.  Talk about change...

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@just bee

Yep.  It’s evolution.  And we all do it, to one extent or another.  It why all those things we once thought were attractive and even necessary become burdensome.  Our circumstances change, our bodies and minds change.  It’s why that once attractive big yard is now something to be questioned.

But think about what life would be like if nothing ever changed.

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@geezerette

That yard was never attractive.

[aprilskies]

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@Oshare-girl wrote:

@aprilskies I was watching a video by Becky Gillaspy about reducing menopause belly fat.  I'm not quite there but I am gaining more fat in my abdomin so I need to do something NOW.  Anyway, she talked about reducing sugars & refined foods (of course) and increasing fiber & good fat.  She also mentioned fasting for 12 hours (time restricted eating, in her words).  To stop eating 3 hours before bedtime, sleep, then have breakfast 12 hours after the fast began.  It gives the body a chance to burn fat while I am sleeping due to the low blood sugar.  I thought of you.  It sounds like the intermittent fasting you mentioned.  Are you still doing this? I just started this late last week and I see a slight change.  I don't weigh myself but my fingers are less bloated in the morning and I can put my ring on easier.  Even when I have a salty meal that would normally lead to bloating, my fingers are slimmer.  

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@Oshare-girl - yes, that is what I am doing - IF and still doing it.  I am trying to do the 16/8 version.  Have an 8 eight hour eating window and fast for 16 hours.  However, I am doing anywhere from 14-16 hours, for the most part.  So, I stop eating from 7:30 and have lunch at 11:30 the next morning.  And I have learned to drink black coffee in the morning, although I dont think a little cream is bad.  I never thought I would be a black coffee drinker. Some days are an easy fail, it hasnt been perfect, but I can get back on track very easily now. Cutting off my eating at a certain time has really helped me with my snacking well into the night.  I lost 6 lbs but am now scared to step on the scale because i fear I gained some of that back. It doesnt take long anymore, one slip up or two. And yes, I feel less bloated which is great.  And yesterday I was at a birthday party so it kinda of went downhill.  But, I am back on track today and will try and hold true going forward. I really do like this way of eating because it really made me realize it is what and how much you eat and it is showing me how often I reach for snacks as a soother/distraction. I also had to accept the fact my metabolism isnt what it use to be. I still eat junk foods of all kinds just much less of it.

I was really successful in April so I dont want to backtrack now. 

I think you will notice a difference, as you already are, if you stick with it.  As long as you dont use it as an excuse to overeat in the "window" like I did in the beginning. LOL.  I do find it difficult at times though because of the timeframe, life happens, but I adjust that as I need.  I would eventually like to do 16 hour fasts as the "norm."   It is important for me to break the cycle of mindless eating.

And I think it is smart of you to get a handle on it now.  Hormones on top of my bad habits got the best of me. I never thought I would be struggling to lose 25 lbs. I just want my clothes to fit again.

[aprilskies]

Well, I finally got rid of my bookcase and a side table.  I have given them to a relative. I am so happy to have the space although, I now have to deal with the aftermath of the bookcase. I cant believe how much came off of there and I had previously decluttered so many books. I will take a bag of clothes and various things to Goodwill and start another one.  I do need to find a different place than Goodwill but will start to look for one with my next round.

In place of the bookcase, I was able to pull out my rebounder from the closet.  Now if I dont use it it wont be because it is inconvenient, it will be due to laziness.  Which I admit, I can be. I am getting better.

I already went for a short walk, it was very short, but will go out again later if it doesnt rain. 

[aprilskies]

@geezerette - be well and take care of yourself. Sounds like you have a lot of land to take care of.  Must be nice tho.  As much as I dont want to take care of a big yard, it sounds nice to me about now.  LIke @hellokitty, I wouldnt mind living in a small town for just awhile to get away from so many people, noise and pollution. To have my surroundings be a little peaceful and getting back to nature.

@just bee, if you were to move, what area would you be drawn to, besides Chicago, that is?  Your area sounds so nice even though it is the desert. Are you just ready to move on? @geezerette, how about you?

[just bee]

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@aprilskies wrote:

@geezerette - be well and take care of yourself. Sounds like you have a lot of land to take care of.  Must be nice tho.  As much as I dont want to take care of a big yard, it sounds nice to me about now.  LIke @hellokitty, I wouldnt mind living in a small town for just awhile to get away from so many people, noise and pollution. To have my surroundings be a little peaceful and getting back to nature.

@just bee, if you were to move, what area would you be drawn to, besides Chicago, that is?  Your area sounds so nice even though it is the desert. Are you just ready to move on? @geezerette, how about you?

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@aprilskies

Oh, God, no!  I'd never move to Chicago!  I was just thinking about a Cubs game and a quick Italian beef sandwich.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo.  I'd never live in Chicago again. 

Now your question is the question.  BH has always disliked ABQ but he hasn't yet come up with an alternative.  I was terrified that he'd come back from Colorado and tell me to pack.  Happily, he recognized that Colorado is just a smaller version of California.

I've spent all but ten years of my life in the West.  My relationship with Albuquerque is sort of love-hate but it's evenly distributed.  For everything I hate there's something I appreciate.  Balloons.  No fleas.  Big skies.  The scent of Russian olive blossoms.  Sunrises and sunsets.  Seven-inch long centipedes.  (Just kidding.  No, they really are seven inches -- I just don't really care for them.)

I think we need to travel a little.  And see that other places are just as cr@ppy.

[geezerette]

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@aprilskies wrote:

@geezerette - be well and take care of yourself. Sounds like you have a lot of land to take care of.  Must be nice tho.  As much as I dont want to take care of a big yard, it sounds nice to me about now.  LIke @hellokitty, I wouldnt mind living in a small town for just awhile to get away from so many people, noise and pollution. To have my surroundings be a little peaceful and getting back to nature.

@just bee, if you were to move, what area would you be drawn to, besides Chicago, that is?  Your area sounds so nice even though it is the desert. Are you just ready to move on? @geezerette, how about you?

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@aprilskies

As for me, yes, I’ll probably move on at some point.  This is just too much property to have to be responsible for.  I can mow a few acres myself for Carla to run in, but I can’t run the tractors, or keep them up, to do the rest.  And that doesn’t include everything else that needs to be done around here.  I’ll be selling all the equipment as soon I get the okay from the atttorney.  (That’s another thing.  What’s with attorneys?  Why can’t they ever manage to let you know what’s going on, or not, with the things they’re supposed to be doing for you?)

But I digress.  I really don’t know where I’ll go or when.  Right now, I don’t want to make any major decisions like that for a while.  Even though I’d miss a lot about living out here, I’d like to move into a small house with a small yard or even a condo.  And I do have that Monster Dog to consider.  I can’t do that with her.  So that limits my options. Some of my relatives are wondering if I’ll move back up north—“home”.  What they don’t realize is that isn’t my home anymore.  I haven’t lived there for over forty years.  And outside of my relatives, who all have their own lives, I wouldn’t know a soul anymore.  Plus, the weather is crummy most of the year.  

So, it will depend on how things go here.  How much I can do myself and how much I end up imposing on friends.  I hate doing that, and I’ve done it several times already and will be doing it in the future.

For the last several years we had been talking about moving, but the thought of having to deal with all the stuff we had was daunting.  I think that’s why I really regret accumulating so much and want to get rid of most of it.  If we had gone a more minimal route, we would have had more time to just enjoy life instead of feeling responsible for taking care of “stuff”.  That old saying, “You can’t take it with you” is true.  You just end up leaving it here for others to have to take care of, one way or another.

What about you, @aprilskies, are you ready for a move?  And where would you go?

[geezerette]

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@just bee wrote:

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@aprilskies wrote:

@geezerette - be well and take care of yourself. Sounds like you have a lot of land to take care of.  Must be nice tho.  As much as I dont want to take care of a big yard, it sounds nice to me about now.  LIke @hellokitty, I wouldnt mind living in a small town for just awhile to get away from so many people, noise and pollution. To have my surroundings be a little peaceful and getting back to nature.

@just bee, if you were to move, what area would you be drawn to, besides Chicago, that is?  Your area sounds so nice even though it is the desert. Are you just ready to move on? @geezerette, how about you?

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@aprilskies

Oh, God, no!  I'd never move to Chicago!  I was just thinking about a Cubs game and a quick Italian beef sandwich.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo.  I'd never live in Chicago again. 

Now your question is the question.  BH has always disliked ABQ but he hasn't yet come up with an alternative.  I was terrified that he'd come back from Colorado and tell me to pack.  Happily, he recognized that Colorado is just a smaller version of California.

I've spent all but ten years of my life in the West.  My relationship with Albuquerque is sort of love-hate but it's evenly distributed.  For everything I hate there's something I appreciate.  Balloons.  No fleas.  Big skies.  The scent of Russian olive blossoms.  Sunrises and sunsets.  Seven-inch long centipedes.  (Just kidding.  No, they really are seven inches -- I just don't really care for them.)

I think we need to travel a little.  And see that other places are just as cr@ppy.

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@just bee

Colorado was on our list of contenders, but we waited too long and found out that same thing. You Californians invaded everywhere out west.  Changed a lot of places as well as driving the prices sky high.

But I do have to say that my best friend here (Carla’s auntie) is from California,—a native, in fact.  And she’s actually normal.  (As normal as anyone can be and still be my friend.)🤪

[just bee]

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@aprilskies wrote:

@geezerette - be well and take care of yourself. Sounds like you have a lot of land to take care of.  Must be nice tho.  As much as I dont want to take care of a big yard, it sounds nice to me about now.  LIke @hellokitty, I wouldnt mind living in a small town for just awhile to get away from so many people, noise and pollution. To have my surroundings be a little peaceful and getting back to nature.

@just bee, if you were to move, what area would you be drawn to, besides Chicago, that is?  Your area sounds so nice even though it is the desert. Are you just ready to move on? @geezerette, how about you?

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@aprilskies

Oh, God, no!  I'd never move to Chicago!  I was just thinking about a Cubs game and a quick Italian beef sandwich.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo.  I'd never live in Chicago again. 

Now your question is the question.  BH has always disliked ABQ but he hasn't yet come up with an alternative.  I was terrified that he'd come back from Colorado and tell me to pack.  Happily, he recognized that Colorado is just a smaller version of California.

I've spent all but ten years of my life in the West.  My relationship with Albuquerque is sort of love-hate but it's evenly distributed.  For everything I hate there's something I appreciate.  Balloons.  No fleas.  Big skies.  The scent of Russian olive blossoms.  Sunrises and sunsets.  Seven-inch long centipedes.  (Just kidding.  No, they really are seven inches -- I just don't really care for them.)

I think we need to travel a little.  And see that other places are just as cr@ppy.

---

@just bee

Colorado was on our list of contenders, but we waited too long and found out that same thing. You Californians invaded everywhere out west.  Changed a lot of places as well as driving the prices sky high.

But I do have to say that my best friend here (Carla’s auntie) is from California,—a native, in fact.  And she’s actually normal.  (As normal as anyone can be and still be my friend.)🤪

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@geezerette

Sad, but true.  Oregon and Washington are forever changed.  They're working on Arizona and Texas now.

I don't think I've ever been called a Californian before.  I just lived there.  I never understood the point of leaving one area then making the new area just like the old area.  Most of the Californians we moved out here with didn't stick around.

If we hadn't bought a house we probably would have kept moving, too.

[geezerette]

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@aprilskies wrote:

@geezerette - be well and take care of yourself. Sounds like you have a lot of land to take care of.  Must be nice tho.  As much as I dont want to take care of a big yard, it sounds nice to me about now.  LIke @hellokitty, I wouldnt mind living in a small town for just awhile to get away from so many people, noise and pollution. To have my surroundings be a little peaceful and getting back to nature.

@just bee, if you were to move, what area would you be drawn to, besides Chicago, that is?  Your area sounds so nice even though it is the desert. Are you just ready to move on? @geezerette, how about you?

---

@aprilskies

Oh, God, no!  I'd never move to Chicago!  I was just thinking about a Cubs game and a quick Italian beef sandwich.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo.  I'd never live in Chicago again. 

Now your question is the question.  BH has always disliked ABQ but he hasn't yet come up with an alternative.  I was terrified that he'd come back from Colorado and tell me to pack.  Happily, he recognized that Colorado is just a smaller version of California.

I've spent all but ten years of my life in the West.  My relationship with Albuquerque is sort of love-hate but it's evenly distributed.  For everything I hate there's something I appreciate.  Balloons.  No fleas.  Big skies.  The scent of Russian olive blossoms.  Sunrises and sunsets.  Seven-inch long centipedes.  (Just kidding.  No, they really are seven inches -- I just don't really care for them.)

I think we need to travel a little.  And see that other places are just as cr@ppy.

---

@just bee

Colorado was on our list of contenders, but we waited too long and found out that same thing. You Californians invaded everywhere out west.  Changed a lot of places as well as driving the prices sky high.

But I do have to say that my best friend here (Carla’s auntie) is from California,—a native, in fact.  And she’s actually normal.  (As normal as anyone can be and still be my friend.)🤪

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@geezerette

Sad, but true.  Oregon and Washington are forever changed.  They're working on Arizona and Texas now.

I don't think I've ever been called a Californian before.  I just lived there.  I never understood the point of leaving one area then making the new area just like the old area.  Most of the Californians we moved out here with didn't stick around.

If we hadn't bought a house we probably would have kept moving, too.

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@just bee

Oh, Arizona was a goner years ago.

That’s exactly what we used to say.  Whether it be the Californians or the “Back Easters”, they always wanted to change the place they had just moved to into what they had left.  Why leave, then?

When we first arrived in the desert back in the seventies, we loved it just the way it was.  By the time we got a chance to live there full time (mid-eighties) instead of just occasionally, it had already started to change.  But it still maintained much of its unique character.  It was the one place that both of us finally felt “at home”.  I never felt that way before and haven’t since.  Probably won’t again in my lifetime.  I’m glad we got to enjoy it for as long as we did.