Holiday Senior Tips

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Of course, with this being a holiday weekend, we will still have our ChartPack.  Where you’ll see why I went short near the close Friday.

But there are a number of other items to cover, which we’ve lumped into “Useful Senior Tips” and I hope you find the discussion points useful.

Plus, it may be a good weekend to catch up on our Building a Personal Ark book, which is already somewhere north of 23-thousand words…

Warm up the coffee and let’s go, then…

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28 thoughts on “Holiday Senior Tips”

  1. I Had a dream I was in Poland, speaking the language, (which I can not while awake) so I looked up Poland and it seems to be busy there …

    https://www.ukrinform.net/amp/rubric-polytics/3803778-zelensky-sikorski-discuss-defense-cooperation-between-ukraine-poland.html

    https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2023-12-21/navy-poland-missile-defense-12427699.html

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/poland-donates-additional-5-000-starlink-terminals-to-ukraine/ar-AA1lRdl6

  2. Bear on the Boat (Tx Range):

    Senior tips: whew, time to sign in on the contributor side poste haste. I aspire to be as old as your Ureness so have baited breath :0)

    Our Progeny and Prego Bride rolled in during the wee hours this morn. Mrs. Egor is on a multi-meal mission so I am trying to look busy (I’m not, but am known to be trying).

    MeThinks it’s time for an all day indoor fire before we light the outdoor fire to BBQ Roast Beast, Tiger Shrimp and Lobster. There’s more but I haven’t been told what and hesitate to interrupt Her Cookness.

    ATL: went to a 2nd lake dinner in 3 nights. Word came to arrive early (before mkt close?) for cocktails. Game on. Prime rib with all the fixins. Polish friends know how to serve a feast.

    Foggy, vis. ranging between 100′ and 1/2 mile. Planned to drop off a grateful gift at the Cty. Sheriff but, WeBdrivin nowhere. No matter where you go, or don’t go, there you are.

    Best Regards,
    Egor

  3. I know that Christmas holiday weekend is probably not the time to bring up reducing sugar in the diet, but since you brought it up in PN, I’ll run with it.
    I cut out all high fructose sweeteners a decade or so ago, and my high uric acid levels and gout disappeared. More recently, I have been trying to reduce intake of sugar alcohols and things like synthetic glucose that the artificial sweetener people use as carriers for their chemicals. I have tried a lot of artificial sweeteners. Stevia, monk fruit and allulose seem to be the best options. The dry packets seem to all suffer from undesirable content. I found a liquid stevia-monk fruit combo that works best for me:

    https://www.amazon.com/EZ-Sweetz-Stevia-Monk-Fruit-1-36oz/dp/B078PD2TTJ?th=1

    It’s a bit pricey, but it is the best I have found to date.

    On the subject of ice cream, I have yet to find any ice cream without cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, or sugar alcohols. What I eat these days for a sweet snack is this:

    https://www.chobani.com/products/yogurt/zero-sugar

    It has, surprise, stevia and monk fruit sweetener. The funny things is, they make it in a zillion flavors, but different grocery stores only carry certain flavors. Never found the cherry flavor on the shelf, but I am still looking. The lemon meringue is addictive.

    • 1 cup half and half or 1 cup of whole milk .. or skim ..( yuk I like creamy ice cream ) you can use coconut milk almond milk etc.
      1/2 cup agave nectar (alternatives 1/2 cup of honey, 1 to two over ripe banana ( as a banana ripens up its natural sugar content goes through the roof)
      2 eggs
      Dash salt ( 1/4 tsp)
      (for chocolate ice cream use 8 ounces sugar-free chocolate, melted and cooled or shaved chocolate ( I loveDark Chocolate Chips the wife likes milk chocolate )
      2 cups heavy whipping cream ( only if you like creamy ice cream) do not over churn your ice cream that would whip it into butter..
      1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract or real vanilla
      you can add a little extra vanilla..

      https://www.amazon.com/Elite-Gourmet-EIM916-Fashioned-Appalachian/dp/B08NC5TN33/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?

      I want to wish you all a very merry Christmas enjoy your home made sugar free ice cream.. the banana method is the best in my opinion if your going to get sugar free ..but then its a toss up ice cream or banana bread.. the .ain reason there’s very few selections of sugar free is the chemically sweetened with the common sugar free sweeteners is that it leaves a bitter after taste. using a banana doesn’t leave that ..
      I have never tried that with stevia sweetner.

    • Try some Xylitol for sweetening. Made from Birch bark or other plant-based sources, it’s as close as I’ve found to cane sugar. I use it in my coffee every morning. It also helps inhibit tooth decay. Does something to the bacteria so they do not stick to your teeth. It’s also pricey… but worth it. I will not eat other artificial sweeteners at all.

      I’ve been fond of some dark chocolate treats at bedtime and yes, I’ve noticed a correlation with leg cramps afterwards… especially if I have been lax on my hydration. Water is life. I think I will chug some now… been several hours. Frequency is important.

    • No – not how it is done. We be talking corruption a the top – everything be business model..https://www.theinteldrop.org/2023/12/23/blood-money-the-top-ten-politicians-taking-the-most-apartheid-israel-lobby-cash/

      Not a single politician in DC knows what altruism even is, let alone has any ethics OR Morals..PUHLEASE!

      – Nerp perish those thoughts..NOTHING is what it seems today – NOTHING .
      Cept of course the 3rd party candidate RFK, who will act like Ross Perot and throw the election to Trump..another israhell OWNED & Cucked politician..bolton/wife, trump/wife at same “after hours club” in nyc.
      Should be entertaining as all get out, as tRump should be behind bars wearing orange jumpsuit come election time.. : D

      • Everyone seen what was done to trump during his first administration.. do you truly believe that they would let him take office again…

  5. The more I sit in amazement at the continued persecution of Trump I am now changing my opinion on outcomes – it is now to persistent to be believed – I believe he is a trojan horse and will be ushered in as a savior on the tails of a huge bear market in stocks and unrefutably bogus election. We will be betrayed – notably wouldn’t release Kennedy papers, totally choked on vaccines, no wall, avoided conflicts and war but at what unbeknownst cost, and the thing that never stops giving more debt. The biggest give draining the swamp with which his entire cabinet was swamp critters ……. and a current President that is ripe for making a change in the White House. Beware of Hailey as his running mate – complete sell out to the war machine….

    • Sadly .. I don’t think anyone could turn the tide of what’s to come.
      the coffee pot story.. by buying a cheap coffee pot and writing a post dated check had me in the economic death spiral..the post dated check was cashed right away..within a short period of time had the expenses doubling to over six months of income..it was a horrifying experience.
      Joe Biden is at the verge of his horrifying economic death spiral.
      we were on the verge before trump and trump having had them of his own was able to turn the bow of the USA titanic away from the iceberg of economic collapse.
      Biden has never had a job or had to balance A checkbook.
      if the alleged crimes are true then he sold out the country to enrich himself and his family at the countries expense.
      letting in millions of illegals from countries that swore vengeance was not just the stupidest thing anyone could tout speeds up the process.. china selling off securities and bonds..handing money to countries in wars and printing up trillions recklessly has not only put us on the rollercoaster but released the brakes..
      I don’t think the economic tide can be changed at this point..and for sure devastation is in store for us if we go to war. we have used up a great deal of our strategic reserves..prices are escalating at neck breaking speeds..the people making wages cannot afford it..

    • yeppers, setting him up bigtime savior to judas to savior to destruction via economy, wars, viruses, plagues, etc., etc., etc….

      he be Ze Fall Guy.

  6. Cramps – I have night cramps in my left foot. my doc said, in addition to dehydration, it means I need.more electrolytes. I have been drinking a half.bottle daily of gatorade Zero and it seems to help.

    • Certain types of lower back disc issues and peripheral nerve bundle damage and inflammation can cause night cramps and burning pain in the legs, feet and toes (L5-S1 or L4-L5 are popular) in concentrated areas. Getting a diagnosis gets expensive, and once you get the diagnosis, there may not be anything a surgeon can do until you are bedridden. I have found that the bone witch doctors scoff and dismiss these symptoms as an excuse to get pain-killers, until they see the MRI. That the pain only occurs in one specific area sounds like a prone peripheral nerve issue. Primary care physicians would misdiagnose as gout.
      Lifting heavy things, climbing, running a tiller, jogging, etc can set off that kind of problem. A modern high-comfort air mattress can help about as much as anything. So does high-absorption magnesium, and an anti-inflammatory diet. Prescription anti-inflammatories are a last resort, due to lethal side-effects. Prescription pain-killers are a one-way ticket to a hole in the ground. The OTC pain killers that work tear up your stomach and digestive track. These should be regarded as hints on avenues to explore, not professional medical advice.

      • Naproxen Sodium (tradename: Aleve) is particularly nasty on the gut with regular usage. I developed diverticulitis that got super infected and resulted in ten inches of my colon being removed and resected. Tylenol and Ibuprofen are hard on the liver, too, but they are my anti-inflammatories of choice now, in moderation, with plenty of water and some food intake to buffer them.

  7. I didn’t get to read yesterday’s column and comments until today. There was a lot of good stuff in there.

    Somewhere I read that the two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you knew why. For many of us the “why” part doesn’t come until very late in life and for others it never comes.

    Mine happened very late (59) but thankful it did. All the toys in the world can’t go with you at the end but everything you did for others can if the NDE’s that Andy and others have described are correct. My awakening was not an NDE but a full earthly experience I am sure was put in front of me as a wake up call.

    I am glad that Andy’s comments were able to give some support to William OTRR in his difficult time. I love William’s words “I am as the leaf being washed inevitably down the creek to whatever lake or ocean it will merge into……….trusting in God to run the journey well.”

    Amen my friend,

    Merry Christmas to you all.

  8. “Truth leaks”

    We’re in a global comment stew and just about everything is being said by anyone so depending on which nugget is grabbed, it may float or sink to the bottom.

    Here’s one, rumor is the U.S. military is clearing out pedestrian traffic from the Red Sea to eliminate false targets during the big Christmas Eve attack on Iran. Or is it the Epiphany Day attack? It’s almost here either way. Plausible.

    Most shipping stocks like Maersk and CMA CGM SA are up. They aren’t pricing in extra costs to float around Cape Town. They are pricing in .gov bailouts.

  9. George, the first mineral deficiency to come to mind with leg(and other) cramping is magnesium! Most humans are deficient, though it’s possible to overdo it. Those who take baths can relax with epsom salt soaks. For those who don’t, oral options are available. Oral Mg++ in the form of an organic salt tends to be more bioavailable.

    Avoiding HFCS is an ongoing saga, aka whackamole. The sellers keep relabeling their products as containing some innocent sounding nonsense name. It’s bad and it’s toxic, so re-reading labels is worth the effort. Good luck.

    Lastly, don’t be in such a hurry to be 75! 74 is just fine, and 75 brings a whole new set of challenges, not the least of which are the bureaucratic ones. It’s one thing to be old – it’s quite another to be constantly accused of it by others. Ages 62 and 65 bring some benefits for being old – perhaps even 70, but there’s no benefit to being 75 other than not yet dealing with the alternative. You can’t even stretch it to calling yourself “middle age” anymore.

    Drowning in soggy NM with a persistent “covid cough”, Merry Christmas to all!

  10. I wish to thank Andy for his long post yesterday.
    MARVELOUS.

    What exists “Beyond The Veil” is something that many people struggle with at times in their lives. Some of course believe that once we die it just “ends” and there is nothing more, that a “soul” does not exist so there is no place or meaning to death other than it being THE END.

    Those of us who believe in a higher being /authority /dynamic to the universe are the ones who sometimes struggle with what it all means and what happens “after”. I have not had Andy’s experiences but I do believe he related his experiences as best he could to the rest of us, and for me it was definitely thought provoking, particularly because of the time of year it is.

    I wish to thank Andy for taking the time to write and post that wonderful piece. It was so powerful that I am printing it off to give to my sons as part of their Christmas … in fact imo it may be the most important “Christmas Present” that they receive this year.

    Thank you Andy and may the Holiday Season bring everyone, including those who are dealing with grief and medical issues, some sense of calmness and a appreciation for the good times you have experienced in your lives and the good souls that you have been privileged to meet and maybe even work with during your travel through this life.

    Best Wishes to all

    • https://youtu.be/O-2tpwW0kmU?si=qxxF70zIOkOAjViy

      and those exist…A few million of them at a cost lower than one missile..
      on the military channel they showed a few years ago a space missile launching platform to launch drones.. its no longer being shown.. but imagine drone missiles from space..
      I honestly don’t know if its to late to draw back and protect the CPU try rather than getting involved and instigating drama all around the planet. part of me says yes there’s still times d part of me says we are to far over the edge of the abyss that we have no alternative but to buckle up for the ride..

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