Jeeves

I'll toss this out for comment because I haven't thought it through. But if TLC is behind the vehicle rental, couldn't they do better than a regular minivan? Like, a big passenger van, or even a minivan, with a wheelchair lift? I think that current lifts are rated to handle 800 pounds and some can handle as much as 1000 pounds. Delana was struggling not so much to get through the minivan rear door but to get onto the back seat. If she were in a wheelchair and lifted into the van wouldn't that be better? But of course, that would reduce the drah-mah. Heaven forbid the poundticipants get extra minutes of decency and dignity onscreen when they could be shown struggling. Sigh.

Maybe if they do it they get it an extra payment, like a bathroom/shower scene?

My family.

Me too. I'm old, mobile but I have a few old lady aches and pains. Yesterday I slipped on a patch of black ice on a sidewalk and fell down hard on my naturally well-padded butt. My tailbone is sore. but nothing is broken. and I was able to get up off the ground by with no assistance. But holy carp, it sucks to get old and lose that seemingly effortless ability to move around that I took for granted. I really don't know what to think about Delana but I also hated to hear that pain and panic in her voice.

Hi folks! @CrazyInAlabama - thanks for the recap. I tuned in a bit late and had to deal with something in my allegedly real life so I missed a lot of details. That poor woman, she really does have issues. I hate that she's in pain.

I'm feeling the JOY as I'm reading - and agreeing with - all these posts about the kindness, support, and knowledge we share here in this community. We even sometimes JOKE around in a good way. Healthy humor is so important in life.

Happy anniversary, @ChiCricket!!! ❤️

@athousandclowns - I hope you get some sunshine and that helps your mood. The struggle with depression is real for me in the winter. I'm so glad to hear that your son saved that woman's life. You're rightfully proud of him! CareCheckers offers different services. Care Calls. A real human being calls and talks with you every day. There are different levels of this, it could be once a day or more. The calls could include reminders to take medications. I didn't look too much into this option, but I think that if you don't answer they try again but if they can't get you they reach out to your designated contact(s) and go from there. Monitored Check-ins. They don't call you - you check in with them. It can be by a call, an email, or a text message. You just contact them that you're okay - even just send an emoji in the text or email. The clients for this, they say, aren't so much elderly people as people living alone, often people who have pets. They run their system at 6pm Eastern and 6pm Pacific every day. If it shows you haven't checked in by then they'll try to contact you. If you don't reply or answer a call, they'll reach out to your designated contact(s). Can you set up an arrangement with your son where you will at least text each other each day? Even just to say hi, I'm up and okay. If you can get that going, then he could follow up if you missed a text. Just wondering if that would work. Again, I hope you get some sunshine and start feeling better. And I hope you can meet some neighbors. Sounds like you've moved a lot over the last few years. That's got to be disruptive to your life.

Hi, @zoomama!! Good to see you here! Has anyone had any experience with CareCheckers? It's a company that provides a check-in service for people, I think mostly older people, living alone. They offer daily phone calls, but I don't want or need that level of service. I've just signed up for their $15/month "monitored check in" service. I live alone, and my daily routine over the last year has changed. I used to work temp assignments pretty frequently, but haven't done so for awhile. Also I've lost friends that I used to run around with - to death, disability, declining cognition, moving away, etc. I have a terrific bunch of local relatives but our daily routines just don't intersect. There are too many days now where I don't have commitments or appointments - such as meeting someone for dinner or logging into an online job. Missing one of those things would prompt people to try to contact me and lead to someone doing a welfare check. I'm looking at getting out and about more, but even so I don't think I'll end up with a busy calendar, and anyway that takes time to work itself out. I'm generally healthy for my age, but my horizon isn't infinite. If I get sick I can call 911, or in a fairly bad case scenario I could stagger to the front door of my condo and collapse into the hallway, where someone would eventually stumble over me and call for help. What freaks me out is the idea of my collapsing in here and lying here for days. I like the idea of the daily check-in. If CareCheckers hasn't heard from me by 5pm they will try to contact me and if that doesn't work they will reach out to one of my designated contacts. I have designated three of my local relatives; one's a firefighter, another is a cop, and I trust all three of them literally with my life. If not CareCheckers, has anyone had experience with a similar service? I couldn't find reviews of CareCheckers which may mean they are totally legit, or may mean they're good at SEO and the bad reviews are buried. I hope this isn't too morbid. This isn't an issue only for people who are older or in bad health. Plenty of people live alone, work remotely, and it can be easy to slide into a kind of isolation where nobody may realize you have gone quiet. Thanks.

I'm leaving instructions to my family that after I'm gone, they should destroy my diplomas and framed professional licenses. That stuff shouldn't be let out into the wild via donation - at least I don't want mine out there. I don't have kids or anyone who would want to have those things.

@SunnyBeBe - my goodness, life is complex for sure. I'm so sorry about your friend's situation. I know you'd love to be able to make it all better with the wave of a magic wand. But you're hanging in and being supportive, which is a priceless gift to your friend. About your weight loss and fitness program - WOWZER. Thanks for sharing that. It's helping inspire and motivate me as I'm dealing with a few relevant things I'd rather not talk a lot about right now. You've clearly put a lot of effort into improving your health, and I applaud you big time for it!!

True, that.

Sometimes, you just can't make this stuff up. I wonder if anybody will tell him . . .

@Bastet and @Gramto6 - I can relate to your story of things that go missing in the house. A few years ago I misplaced three envelopes containing my "house stash" of cash. I'd been so "clever" about where I put them (instead of the drawer where they usually live) just before I left on a road trip? That I couldn't find them when I got home. I looked, as they say, high and low and all over, but could not find them. I'd considered taking them with me on the trip as backup. TBH I was really tired during the final day before I left on that trip, and it occurred to me after I got home, that maybe I DID take the cash and it went astray on the trip. Sigh. Several months later, I used the last sheet in a box of Bounce dryer sheets. That box sits in a plastic organizer box on a shelf in my laundry room. The Bounce box is at the back of the organizer, with several smallish laundry things in front of it. When I pulled out the empty Bounce box? The three envelopes of cash were sitting snugly behind it, against the inner wall of the organizer box. Yep. I outsmarted myself. Not imaginary burglars. Myself. Sigh.

I think the comment referred to Josh's sons.

Good points! I agree, I hope that nobody is seriously ill or injured. She uses her social media to serve (a) her need to project herself as a successful "Boss Babe" making money and doing good as a Plexus upline, but also (b) her role as matriarch of a family that has turned its back on the evil world and all its glittery things, in order to travel and serve Jesus (and receive love offerings from church members because they need to be supported in that service). Contradictory, much? It wouldn't surprise me if the congregations they often visit are catching on to her. I wonder how many of those church members have recently left their kids behind to frolic with their spouse on vacation at an all-inclusive foreign resort? (I know, the DR isn't a long way off but you still need a passport to get there.) Edited to add: She mentioned in an SM post that they brought back 'souvenirs' for their kids from the DR but she was too tired when they finally landed in FL to hand them out. Did she ever post anything on SM showing her giving those things to the kids? Just wondered.

I can so relate to needing time to decompress during the workday! That was me. It's not that I never had lunch with people, but most days I was so happy to have an hour to myself, to recharge for the afternoon.

I'm not sure. But Jill says there's a "liscense for lasciviousness." Maybe those licenses are issued by a carnal church? Screenshot from a post way upthread here - posted in March 2022:

I suppose that often people are just trying to be friendly. Or perhaps they don't read social cues well. Or something. But still, when I'm sitting in waiting area in a place like a hair salon or doctor's office, or riding public transportation, and I'm reading a book (either a printed book or an ebook on my iPad mini or Kindle) - I hate it when a random stranger near me asks me if I'm enjoying the book, clearly just wanting to start a conversation. Geez. If I wanted to converse with them I wouldn't be absorbed in what I'm reading. It doesn't bother me if said stranger asks something relevant like, do I know if Main Street is the next stop, or where's the bathroom. I'm not a grouch and I don't mind answering questions if I can help someone. And then I can get back to reading my book. Ahem. It happened yesterday in a hair salon. I knew there could be a wait, so I'd brought my iPad and was reading a book on the Kindle app. Guy came in, not a creep or anything, definitely old (almost as old as me), sat a few chairs away. I heard him pick up a magazine, but in a hot minute he was asking me if I was enjoying my book. I was polite but it was an awkward brief conversation, he mentioned he'd read a good book that his wife had liked when her book club read it. The book and author aren't familiar to me although I think it's kinda romantic suspense or some kind of chick lit. Weird. I've decided he might have been one of those people who just can't sit still and be quiet, and I got kind of an awkward vibe from him. He was pleasant enough. I wondered if his wife was glad he was out of the house for an hour to get a hair cut and leave her in peace. 🤣 Maybe they live way across the metro area so it was more like a two hour break. I suppose my reaction may be related to my being an introvert. Maybe people who are more extroverted are just fine with having their book reading interrupted in those situations. And, probably this has been discussed a long time ago around here. Sigh.

I went to a Supercuts for a haircut late yesterday. I liked this sign on the wall there. I'm pretty sure it's not part of their corporate decor package. 🤣

@Scarlett45 - thanks for the update on your trip, and the fab food pictures! @GeeGolly - I've been pleased with these 680 thread count sheet sets from Costco: https://www.costco.com/kirkland-signature-680-thread-count-sheet-set.product.100511905.html

Hi @BetyBee! I'm happy to see you here, and I hope the eczema clears up ASAP.

Thanks. I should disclose, however, that the trip ended in tears. Truly. Sadly, my old bod let me down. Don't want to get too far into the deets because this isn't the medical chat thread. Short version: I woke up one morning experiencing a nasty flareup of sciatica, the worst I've ever had, thanks to an unstable SI joint. The SI joint had been kept from too much mischief for years thanks to my chiro, some exercises, etc. Not sure what happened to set it off, but there was no way I could maneuver around in the back of the minivan for sleeping, etc. in that painful condition. I got some chiro adjustments that helped, but I still had to stay in hotel rooms vs camping. After a few more days of that I headed home, rather than keep burning money paying for hotel rooms. The worst of it is over now. I'm happy to be home and determined to follow a new program of exercises etc. that may help prevent another such bad experience. Because I wanna go traveling in my minivan again!

You're welcome. I'm so glad that it worked out for your husband (and you). Thanks for letting us know!

Thanks, everyone, for your kind and welcoming comments. I mentioned that I got away from our winter here for four weeks. I went out to the Arizona desert and spent most of the time camping in my minivan. With old friends, and new ones. I had a short detour to visit cousins in LA. With my fine timing, that was when the Pineapple Express, that rainstorm of almost Biblical proportions, had also come to town. That was crazy! This trip was my first time to boondock, and my longest camping trip evah. I had fun and met some great folks. I want to do it again. Here's a photo of a sunrise at camp, taken by one of the folks I was camping with. My minivan is the white one facing away from the camera, with the rooftop box. I was still asleep when the photo was taken. EDITED to add: this photo was taken the morning that we broke camp there. The evening before, we'd stowed away our campsite amenities - rugs, chairs, tables, dog beds, etc. So the scene looks a little different than it did when we were in actual camping mode. I got some nice sunset shots and I'll share one of those.