The Struggles of Getting Older

Since 'Struggles' seems to be the theme of the week, I thought I would go with that title. 

There comes a point in everyone's life when you notice that things are changing. It might start with something as simple as a misplaced word here and there or something as extreme as a hip replacement (See Dino's post titled Struggles). Whatever the level, it is going to happen to each of us. I turn 60 this year and have noticed a few things that many people would probably not admit to. If I was still working, I certainly would not admit to it!

 Back in my working days I was what I considered a pretty darn good multitasker. Dual screens on my computer, juggling full calendars filled with conference calls, meetings and multiple projects with critical timelines. In the peak of my career, I could do this in my sleep. Now, if you read my last post, I have trouble getting my shirt on frontwards and no, they were not button up shirts!

I could remember times, dates, names and details without missing a beat. Now I go from the living room into the bedroom and forget what I went in there to get. I know I am not alone, but things, they are a changing! I feel like I could still do my old job but at a much slower pace than a few years ago. I am so glad that I left when I did, still at the top of my game and not when my performance was in a death spiral. I have to give to people who are still working well into their 70's or even later. People like Rick (It's About Time) who... I actually don't know how old he is (70's?), gets up every day and goes off to his job as a welder. 

What other things have I noticed? Constantly looking for my glasses and they are on my head, spend 5 minutes looking for something I literally just set down. I notice it a lot when I write the blog. In my head the sentences are flowing like butter but when I look at what I actually typed compared to what I was thinking..... entire words missing in a sentence. Or a word that should not be in the sentence at all, like "where" instead of "when".  Barb is my proofreader and will sometimes ask me what I was trying to say. I need to reread everything I write a couple of times to make sure I typed it correctly. Or sometimes when talking to Barb, again in my head I make perfect sense but sometimes a wrong word comes out when I say it. 

It is no wonder old couples bicker and think their spouses are stupid. Barb will mention something to me and 5 minutes later I will ask her about the same thing. She is getting more forgetful as well, but instead of saying something, rolling my eyes and thinking she is stupid I remind myself that as we get older this is the new normal and we need to be understanding instead of demeaning. (Well, at least I try not to roll my eyes). What is sometime obvious to others is often invisible to the person who is actually doing it. At this point, I would say that our minds are a 8 or 9 out of 10 compared to what we used to be. We can still use the remote and can figure out pretty much every technological challenge thrown at us. But it is definitely changing! This is exactly why I blog, so I can look back in a few years and remember what we did. I might need Barb to remind me who is in certain pictures. That scenario will go something like this.... Me: "Barb, who is this?" Barb: "That's you honey" Me: "Oh, okay". So here I sit watching the birds from my recliner. It is not an EZ lift recliner, nor do I need a walker, but if my friends are any indication, it is only a matter of time!

Speaking of changing, the seasons took a definite change for the colder when we woke up Monday morning to wind and snow. In fact, those cooler temps stuck around all week. What did this mean for us? Two things; indoor projects and time to get out deer hunting! 

Sunday, before the weather hit, I went over to Kevin's to help him get his bunkhouse weather tight by putting windows in. When I got there, he was out chasing the neighbor's cattle that had gotten out, so I sat on his porch and watched the sunrise. If you look closely, you can see the bunkhouse on the middle of the right edge. Once he got back, we commenced to putting in the windows.

For indoor projects, I have started on the workshop/loft area of the garage. Our garage is 30'x50' and was built specifically for our 40' 5th wheel. Now that we have sold the 5th wheel, we are going to repurpose that space creating a 14'x18' workshop. This will still leave 35' in that bay for our camper or a future Class C. This is my "before" picture. Give me a few weeks and I should have an "after" picture.

Progress so far

Barb is still working on the headboard, an hour here and there. Her steps this week were staining the edges and varnishing the boards. I am thinking she might have them done by next week's blog. 

While she is busy working, I finally got out deer hunting. Some of you may be thinking "There goes Jim having fun while Barb is working". Well think again. Hunting is hard and stressful work. Have you never seen the reality shows where people must hunt just for subsistence? Where the narrator says "If Jim does not get a deer this season, he and Barb will die a slow painful death from starvation". That's right, I am out there trying make sure we survive another winter!

The pending rut and cooler weather mean the deer are going to be more active. I have seen a couple of nice ones out there on camera and am looking forward to seeing them in person. I have been shooting my bow quite a bit (while Barb is working) so I feel pretty confident should an opportunity present itself.

The other animals were busy preparing for winter as the birdfeeder was much busier than usual. I identified them as best as I can...

                     Eurasian Nuthatch                                                      Nuthatch and Chickadee

                       Downy Woodpecker                                               White-breasted Nuthatch

Did you know that the Nuthatch is one of only a few birds that can walk down a tree face first?

Dark-eyed Junco?

Kinda fuzzy as it was taken through a screen 

And of course, there are the ever-present turkeys who are looking for a snack on a frosty October morning. 

Tuesday, neighbor Jim and I went to Rapid City to pick up their new CanAm side by side for Carmen so they have a new toy to hit the trails with!

I was reading Seeing America with Ken and Shirley the other day and was shocked at their picture of Lone Rock in Lake Powell. Those of you who are regular RV'ers probably know of this iconic landmark. Here is a picture of us camping and kayaking around Lone Rock in 2017.

Here's a picture Ken and Shirley took a week or so ago. 

If you look really closely, you can see rigs parked at the base of Lone Rock. 

Today we hit the trails with Jim and Carmen to put their new Can-Am to the test! 

We went from our place all the way up to Jewell Cave through some of the prettiest country you will see. These pictures just do not do it justice.

Checked out a mini cave. Who knows what is really down there!

4 1/2 hours and some 60+ miles later we made it back to Jim and Carmen's where we had to wash away the trail dust with a frosty beverage!

Barb, Carmen and I on a break

We received some sad news from our son-in-law out in Pennsylvania. Their 18-year-old dog ran away several days ago. Cash is a homebody and not one to run away so they knew something was up. He has been living on borrowed time for more than quite a while, with cancerous growths throughout his body. Shane said Cash was acting very weird the day he left. They found him two days later and he was in pretty rough shape. Sadly, it was Cash's time. We are happy that they found him so everyone could say goodbye and have some closure, but it is going to be a hard few weeks for everyone as they move on without Cash. The 18-year span of his life is longer than Shane and Jess have been married and has been a fixture in their 13- and 8-year-old children's lives since they were born. Our hearts go out to them. 

Cash as a pup

Cash and family this past August

Meanwhile at The Farm Bob, Chris and Dylan are adding 10 more bins, that's right 10 more bins. They had to pour a pad 18'x175'. These pictures just don't do it justice, 175' is a long way! Luckily, they had a big crew to help them get it done!

Now for this week's public service segment. For weeks I have had troubles leaving comments on Blogger blogs. It was always asking me to sign in to our Google account, comment as anonymous or enter our name and URL. Well, I did some research and found something that is working so far. Go to this link and follow the instructions and hopefully it will work for you as well. 

How to Turn Off the “Sign in with Google” Prompt on Websites (howtogeek.com)

I also tried a couple different methods to have email notifications when we post a new blog. This of course, would only go out to people who signed up but so far, I have not found a fix. For whatever reason my "Email Posts To" feature is disabled. I tried the "Comment Notification Email" option and added my sisters email address. But as suspected she got an email every time someone commented resulting in 30+ emails in a couple days. I am trying another option this week and will let you know how it works.