NST May 2026 Hitting Rock Bottom

grandmanerd

NST MAY 2926 HITTING ROCK BOTTOM

This is not intended to be a gloomy thread. I aim to be cheerful but realistic with help and comfort for those who are struggling in these uncertain times. We are all getting older and a significant portion of our turtles have to deal with health issues and bodies that no longer work the way they used to. It's challenging but not impossible especially with the support and encouragement of our fellow turtles. NO TURTLE GETS LEFT BEHIND

The Challenge

H HEALTH Your health is a precious asset. The way you treat your body determines how long you will live and the quality of that life. HAPPINESS is something to strive for - perhaps simply by accepting where you are, looking around you and relishing every moment of joy.

I ILLNESS comes to us all. As we age we need operations (repairs) and may develop chronic conditions which come with medication, rules and limitations. I believe in being proactive about my health but I accept medical support and am learning to ask for help from friends and family when I need it.

T TOXIC people and situations should be avoided. If cutting them off is impossible, limit your exposure

T TRY your best, no-one can ask more of you.

I IGNORE all exhortations to get your body 'Beach ready'. The beach will take your body just as it is (you'll float more easily and you're harder to kidnap). Ditto comments about your clothing in relation to your age. If it's comfortable and you feel good/ great, carry on doing you.

N NEEDS Think about what you need (not want, not dreaming). When you are ill think about what needs to happen, anything that can wait until tomorrow, next week, sometime never should be rescheduled appropriately. On a bad day NEEDS means getting into the shower (wash yourself with a flannel if youre at risk of falling), wrap yourself in cosy clothes/ clean pjs and add comfort - blankets, warm/ cold drinks, books, music, simple food, binge worthy drama or movies.

G GROW YOUR OWN Even if it's only 2 tomato plants, a box of lettuce, a few soft fruit plants - messing about in the soil is good for your soul. The raspberry canes and blackcurrant bushes I've planted over the past few years are mostly taller then me (I have strawberries from last year but didn't get around to planting them). They are all self-sufficient but I want to do a lot more this year. Again a lot of the containers were set up last year (it takes a long time when you have to dig soil out of a large container into 10l pots and move them to the other side of the garden pouring them into 40 l pots lifted onto an 18" raised bed). Currently weeding and plan to buy toms, peppers, aubergines and cucumbers in 9 cm pots (on sale).

R REST is not a waste of time. RESTING, RELAXATION and RECHARGING are essential.

O ORGANISATION and ROUTINES A home for everything and everything in it's place - so simple and so difficult. Start small - one drawer, a flat surface, a tangle of mis-matched socks. You can stop when it's time to go to an appointment, pick up the kids or start dinner prep. REDUCE before you organise and never buy containers to organise just whittle it down to a manageable amount. If possible get it out of the door - to the cs, the tip, a friend.

C CONTROL Concentrate on that which is in your circle of control. You can't really change other people or their behaviour (should you even want to?). You can control your own actions and behaviour. There's very little profit in reacting to other people's nastiness. Move on with your life, don't hang around waiting for an apology that never comes.

K KAT'S RULE. Pay to your DEBT or SAVINGS first, live off what is left. (I'll qualify this later). Know your debt free date and calculate how much you need to pay each month to achieve this. Set BUDGETS by May 8th.

B BREAK IT DOWN If you are overwhelmed, break the debt you need to pay or any task which needs to be done, into small chunks, baby steps you can manage. I f you can only walk a short distance, find a convenient resting point and wait until you can do the return journey. If you can only stand for a few minutes, alternate standing and sitting tasks (do as much as possible sitting down - ironing, chopping vegetables, gardening - set it up so that things are at the right height for you).

O OPT to MOVE YOUR BODY. Do what you can. Walking is simple, swimming is good if you have aching joints. I've taken to doing side taps, ankle circles etc when I'm sitting on the bus.

T TAKE STOCK of your cupboards, fridge, freezer and plan your meals around what you have. This is something else I'm struggling with. I'm tired of having to throw out food that I never got round to making into the planned dishes. So I will be building food 'blocks' - a batch of tomato/ onions/ garlic and herbs (for pasta salad, pasta bake, butterbean casserole, chilli), cheese sauce (for cauli/broc/pasta/ mushrooms/leeks and to go on the pasta bake), boiled eggs, tuna butties (they freeze well). The veg can be chopped and cooked and then I can throw it all together later.

T TAKE TIME TO THINK AND PREPARE. I don't want to be a scaremonger but the international situation is a bit of a mess atm (it's like that problem of a toddler who manages to open a can of paint but this particular toddler is acting on a global stage). The cost of living crisis was bad enough (as usual the poorest suffer the most) but I've been thinking about the rapidly rising cost of fuel and the knock on effects - anything involving air miles will become a luxury commodity. I was already building a small stockpile of tins following on from the 8 week bout of illness last year (plus several smaller stretches). KAT always worked on a month to month basis but I'm suggesting that you think about items with a long life and what items might become unavailable. I will also be running down the 'convenience' foods in my freezer and restocking with fish and the aforementioned building blocks. Even if none of the disaster scenarios plays out the tinned and dry goods (rice/ pasta/ beans and pulses) are likely to appreciate more than cash in the bank. I'm not suggesting filling your spare room with toilet rolls, just add a few things each week and set a maximum stock level (I used to use about 20 cans of tomatoes and kidney beans in a month, others I might only have a maximum of 3 and reorder when I use the last one)

O OUR COMMUNITY One of the strongest ways we can push back against the spend spend spend ideology is by building community links. Support your local foodbank (many SM have containers for donations to pet shelters as well), take action with others (even if it's only online), have a clear out and donate clothing, books,bric a brac and electricals etc.

M MAY begins and ends with Bank Holidays so I urge all of you to have as much fun as possible and do something for yourself every single day.

grandmanerd

Reserved for Contenders

1 mothernerd/ grandmanerd

2 weenancyinAmerica

3 beanielou

4 apple-muncher

5 Esmerelda2662

6 Rowan9

7

….

18 Thrifty-Taylor

beanielou

Thanks for our shiny new thread @grandmanerd. Can I please be no 3 or no 11. Thanks.

weenancyinAmerica

Hi, I'm ready to sign up again. I need it.

grandmanerd

Sorry the challenge is so long, I did start out intending to be brief.

My current situation and some of my plans

Health I have long-term depression (that and my eczema/ dermatitis/ hayfever all date back to my mid-teens but were only officially labelled ten years later). I have diabetes, use a CPAP machine (I stop breathing more than 60 times an hour in my sleep) and pronated feet (I walk on the edges of my feet). My womb went 22 years ago after months of constant bleeding and my right hip was replaced 12 years ago (I had 2 raw ends of bones rubbing against one another). My recent diabetes scores were excellent and there were no signs of liver damage or impaired kidney function. However I had asked to talk about my mental health having identified 3 major factors and 2 pages of lesser stressors.

I had an appointment with a doctor the following week and chose to talk about my shaking hands. They are a side effect of one of my medicines, I checked when they first started. However I've recently worked out that that was 10 years ago and they have become much worse and more frequent during that time. Sometimes they affect my legs and my whole body. About 7 years ago I started making adaptations to my embroidery techniques and materials and my writing is also affected - I prefer printing as that gives me more control but my hands cramp if I have to write anything lengthy and I'm actively avoiding paperwork. I sent less than 6 Christmas cards and the posted ones went mid-January as I couldn't get the 2 blocks to the post box.

Illness I self- isolated for an 8 week period last autumn (Covid/ flu/ winter bugs - I had all the symptoms) with further 3-4 week periods earlier and around Christmas. My flu jab and my eye exam each took 3 attempts as I had to cancel due to being ill. These periods of illness were very debilitating, my to do list feels piled up to the ceiling and I struggled with reading and following the plots of dramas. I am now very slow and need to rest after small activities.

The doctor has ruled out Parkinsons but there are another couple of frightening things it could be. I will be having neurology and respiratory consults and the Practice Nurse, who did my diabetes/ MH checks, has also referred me to Wellbeing (MH support) and to Community link who can provide me with practical support (they got stair rails and bath safety rails installed for me last time). I'm trying not to panic and am veering towards having the same condition as my mother had as several symptoms could be interpreted that way. In some ways that's helpful as I have some knowledge but it also means I will become a very expensive patient (I have already checked the surgery boundaries and I'd keep the same doctors if I moved to the locations within the borough where the 1960s bungalows are located).

Whatever the outcomes, there is going to be even more 'pacing' myself in my future. I'm not gloomy, just taking stock and working out the best way forward.

Beach Ready Body I genuinely don't care. I love the anonymity of age. I would like to lose weight for health reasons but it's a ball I'm willing to drop when there's too much going on. I've never worn a bikini, I have swimming costume but haven't been swimming since before my hip operation (I'd have to ask to go in the sling seat and be lowered into the water). I've only worn shorts and vest tops for gardening in hot weather. All my clothes are in forgiving fabrics and they pull on over my head or from my feet upwards. I'd feel uncomfortable in capri pants and hate 3/4 sleeves - they should either be short or come down to the wrist. I am following several menopausal/ over 50s/ over 60s women who are very funny - quite sweary but realistic and funny with it. They also give short shrift to men (generally pot-bellied and balding) who see fit to comment on their appearance/ clothing/ not giving a d@ mm. Anyway DS3 says I'm beautiful on the inside, which is what matters.

Grow Your Own I definitely need/ want more of this. Over the past 3 years I have planted apple and native hedging trees in 90 litre incinerators and a lot of blackcurrant bushes and raspberry canes.with a few perrenial shrubs. That all looks after itself. Part of the garden is set up with 30 l and 40 l buckets on top of raised beds. I have lots of pea and bean seeds and I am going to treat myself to some veg plug plants. DS2 is moving to a larger house and it already has raised beds so it will be a nice house warming present to give them semi grown veg to plant in the beds and containers. For now I'm weeding all the buckets in 5 minute sessions. If I decide to stay in this house I would like to cover part of the yard (polytunnel/ greenhouse/ conservatory).

Rest is not optional. My body just refuses to go at a certain point and takes afternoon naps with or without my consent.

ORGANISATION This is a biggie. Both my phones have been missing for over a week, I have no idea where the bank doohickey is to access my bank account and my purse, glasses (except the ones on my face), filters for the CPAP machine and various small medical/ cosmetic items disappear on a regular/ semi-permanent basis. The last time a phone rang it seemed quite near but muffled (and the same when it did it's little 'I need to be charged' song in the middle of the night).

So far DS3 has helped me pull out the sofa bed in case it had fallen down behind it (we only found tissues, scraps of paper and a pen). Mrs Builder and I stripped the bed (checking each bag as we went along) and pulled up the mattress to see if it had been deflectec and ended up in the unit supporting the bed. I also went through a small pile of paper which had been on the small table (where the phones are supposed to be) and which had fallen off and in the drawers beside the table. I then moved to the window side of the room and checked the armchair, couch and a kitchen chair plus any bags and boxes on them plus bits of the bureau, chst of drawers and coffee table next to them (anywhere I might have put a phone down whilst sitting there).

My next areas are under the armchair and the pile of pet supplies stacked on top of Henry between the end of the sofa bed and the the pet cage. I did find 3 unopened packs of wraps and my much needed emery boards. This is massively inconvenient (and still not got money on one phone) as I missed calls about my cousin's death, can't book appointments or reorder my prescription and from this week the bank want to be able to send a code to my phone before they let me access money from the atm (just protecting us poor doddery old pensioners from fraud, hah!). Luckily I took money out before embarking on my excursion by taxi to A & E

Enough rambling. Being proactive I've been pushing my limits a bit over the last 10 days. I've done at least 3 loads of washing and put them out on the line and brought them in by myself (not always on the same day). I'm getting to grips with the new recycling system (DS3 and Beloved are also on board) and been up a ladder twice - only 2 steps and was surrounded on 3 sides. Walking up and down the yard multiple times in a day has left my legs aching by tea time.

This morning I brushed my teeth, had a shower and washed my hair and then cleaned the CPAP hose and left it drying over the shower door. I've taken time to map out these thoughts, have a choice of 3 easy meal options and spent the afternoon in the yard sorting recycling and weeding. I've emptied 3 enclosed pots into the sieve with a mesh over it so that excess water can run into the drain. I also have a tentative plan for going forward. I'm going to try booking my blood tests online and call in at the pharmacy to request my repeat meds when I go for the blood test. A neighbour is going to help me tidy the yard this weekend.

Grateful for easy meals, a bit of clarity and successful weeding.

apple_muncher

Please count me in!

DawnW

Yes please @grandmanerd.

grandmanerd

Happy International Workers Day

Voting rights, maternity and paternity benefits, the NHS, paid holidays, education, stopping child labour and many other social improvements were achieved by working people coming together. The Mass Trespass of Kinder Scout had it's anniversary last weekend, giving conditional access to most parts of the UK under the Right to Roam (always follow the country code). Campaigners fought for changes in the way people with disabilities, ethnic minority groups (no blacks, dogs or Irish in lodging houses), Mental Health and Mental illness (incarceration in mental institutions, enforced lobotomies, forced sterilisation), gays and transgender people are treated were achieved. The struggle is not over. Powerful companies and some politicians are always pushing back against these rights. Public services are starved of money and semi-privatised (Feargal Sharkey is heading a petition to control the Water Industry and make it do what it should be doing). Apologies to any people/ causes I've missed out. Protect out Planet, there is no Plan(et)B.

The celtic celebration of Beltane is the precursor to our modern May Day. Primarily known for fun, revelry and fertility rites, traditions include maypole dancing, Morris Dancing, selecting a May Day Queen and processions led by Jack-in-the-Green (the Green Man celebrated in pub names). Local celebrations include Hobby Horses in Southern England, Latin hymns of thanksgiving in Oxford and Oak Apple Day in Derbyshire (Charles II restored May Day after bans from the 16th C). (Ben Johnson, History Magazine, Historic UK site)

Quirky Holidays in May

1 Global Love Day promotes love, kindness, and unity worldwide

No Pants Day (first Friday) encourages people to go without pants

Take a Baby to Lunch Day National encourages baby bonding over a meal

Specially Abled Pets Day raising awareness and celebrating pets with impairments

National Tap Dance Day

International Space Day

2 Free Comic Book Day (first Saturday) In comic book stores, often accompanied by cosplay

4 National Orange Juice Day

May the Fourth Day all things Star Wars

(Sources Clare Brown on the Weird Holidays site, 30 Offbeat Holidays to celebrate in May from Mental Floss and Worldwide Weird Holidays)

May be back later with more

beanielou

No pants day. First Friday which is today! Will pass on that I think. 🤔

Pollie

@grandmanerd Could your surgery can contact the Community Phlebotomist to do the blood tests at home, if they are available in your area.

I have a cross body cotton bag about 10ins square, made by my daughter, so that I have my phones with me at all time in case of a fall/emergency. You could also keep glasses and bank card in it.

beanielou

Another loan payment gone out today & just scraped into the £3k’s. Pleased with this.