Looking for cyber friends

oldsunbird said:
Hello Everyone. I am Mary from SouthWest Missouri. I am old. Very old. Probably older than most, if not all of you.

After my husband died, I bought a much smaller house, one perfect for me. Then my sons, one at a time, began moving in.

Chris, who lives with me now,, and I live completely separate lives. It's nice to have him here, but I find the ten or fifteen minutes we are together each day do not satisfy my need for human contact. All my friends are gone and most of my close relatives.

So here I am exploring this fine place, hopefully meeting some of you with whom I look forward to sharing ideas and experiences.
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Hi Mary, good to have you join us!

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Well at least you'll be spared the winking, tickling, and the need to count your shoes at night. It seems that frivolity was a passing fad. Too bad, it was fun while it lasted.

Now we're all just a bit angry. Grr, GRR! 🥦🥭🍐🍅🥔🥕 Watch out for the rotten produce flying!

Maybe it's the rough Winter in the northern hemisphere?
 
Hello Mary and welcome. Being the last friend standing has its challenges but I suspect that is nothing new for you.

I feel pretty old physically now but I’m a quarter century younger than you. I notice my creeping decrepitude when I work in my garden but I thoroughly enjoy it and walks with my wife and dog too. I’ll bet you are a walker too.

Any tips for those of us not yet as high up that mountain as you?
 
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MarkD said:
Hello Mary and welcome. Being the last friend standing has its challenges but I suspect that is nothing new for you.

I feel pretty old physically now but I’m a quarter century younger than you. I notice my creeping decrepitude when I work in my garden but I thoroughly enjoy it and walks with my wife and dog too. I’ll bet you are a walker too.

Any tips for those of us not yet as high up that mountain as you?
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MarkD said:
Hello Mary and welcome. Being the last friend standing has its challenges but I suspect that is nothing new for you.

I feel pretty old physically now but I’m a quarter century younger than you. I notice my creeping decrepitude when I work in my garden but I thoroughly enjoy it and walks with my wife and dog too. I’ll bet you are a walker too.

Any tips for those of us not yet as high up that mountain as you?
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Hi Mark. Thank you for the welcome. Sounds as if you enjoy life, what with your gardening and walks with your wife and dog. What do you grow in your garden? My husband was a Master Gardener. He planted a couple of apple trees from what looked to me like sticks, but they actually grew and bore delicious red fruit.
 
dilettante said:
Mary, just jump in anywhere. That's what I do and.... well no pain, no gain! :ROFLMAO: 🦿 Ouch!

One of the easier threads is How is your day Today, plans and achievements 2024....

Another is 2024 - How's the Weather Where You Are?

For both of those you can just skip to the end, read a few recent posts, and then add your own two cents. There is room to be creative so people get to know you and you can always dole out affirmations ("likes").

Oh yes, similar: What have you bought recently?
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Thank you Dilettante. Good advice. So many interesting threads!
 
AnneTeak said:
Well hello Mary, I hail from Boston, MA. Tell us where you grew up and tell us something interesting about you.
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Hi Anne i grew up in Missouri, moved to Indiana where my husband was a graduate student at Purdue. He later took a job there in the Dept. Of microbiology. From there we moved to Connecticit where he eas employed at UConn. I got my masters at UConn while we were there. We moved back to Misdouri after we retired. I once drove to Bostom to attend a workshope. I loved it there, though I did have a hard time changing lanes on one of the streets. Cars bumper to bumper and going so fast! I finally just held my breath and moved on in. 🙂
 
oldsunbird said:
Hi Mark. Thank you for the welcome. Sounds as if you enjoy life, what with your gardening and walks with your wife and dog. What do you grow in your garden? My husband was a Master Gardener. He planted a couple of apple trees from what looked to me like sticks, but they actually grew and bore delicious red fruit.
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At first I was only interested in gardening if you could eat it. But I’ve always loved nature and the appeal of making a plausibly natural feeling garden with a variety of plants to please birds and insects while appealing to my own awakening aesthetic won out. We still have some fruit trees but they are steadily being removed and one day our local squirrels and rats may be less fat and cheeky and I may have less fruit guilt for all that we fail to harvest.

When I go inside I’ll get on my laptop and add a link to the diary thread I started here which is mostly about the garden but also walks. Here you go but don't feel obliged. More important that you get caught up interacting:

Gardening for nature, walks with my dogs and the books I’m reading.

By the way, though I'm just about to turn 71 my wife Is 81 and I expect to be in your shoes eventually - NO HURRY! She has far more challenges to her health but she is all her doctor's favorite patient.
 
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MarkD said:
At first I was only interested in gardening if you could eat it. But I’ve always loved nature and the appeal of making a plausibly natural feeling garden with a variety of plants to please birds and insects while appealing to my own awakening aesthetic won out. We still have some fruit trees but they are steadily being removed and one day our local squirrels and rats may be less fat and cheeky and I may have less fruit guilt for all that we fail to harvest.

When I go inside I’ll get on my laptop and add a link to the diary thread I started here which is mostly about the garden but also walks. Here you go but don't feel obliged. More important that you get caught up interacting:

Gardening for nature, walks with my dogs and the books I’m reading.

By the way, though I'm just about to turn 71 my wife Is 81 and I expect to be in your shoes eventually - NO HURRY! She has far more challenges to her health but she is all her doctor's favorite patient.









By
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Mark, you're a man after my own heart. I love nature too. In the yard where we had the apple trees, I had a bird sanctuary, including a heated birdbath. I loved sitting on the patio in summer, just watching the birds and butterflies. We had birds of all kinds. Close to the patio was a carnelion cherry where a robin built a nest. We watched the building, the feeding. The tree was so close, we could almost reach up and touch it. My favorite birds to watch were the beautiful, amazing humming birds. Mornings, my favorite sound was the cooing of the mourning doves. I miss watching and hearing their beautiful voices. I miss all the gorgeous flowers and foliage and intoxicating scents.
The midwest has some lovely spots, hills and valleys, rivers and lakes, but I do miss the ocean. There is no body of water so grand, so expansive, so musical! From time to time my neice who lives in Washington state sends me pictures and videos of the ocean, flowering plants , birds and wild animals.

I look forward to reading your diary.
 
MarkD said:
At first I was only interested in gardening if you could eat it. But I’ve always loved nature and the appeal of making a plausibly natural feeling garden with a variety of plants to please birds and insects while appealing to my own awakening aesthetic won out. We still have some fruit trees but they are steadily being removed and one day our local squirrels and rats may be less fat and cheeky and I may have less fruit guilt for all that we fail to harvest.

When I go inside I’ll get on my laptop and add a link to the diary thread I started here which is mostly about the garden but also walks. Here you go but don't feel obliged. More important that you get caught up interacting:

Gardening for nature, walks with my dogs and the books I’m reading.

By the way, though I'm just about to turn 71 my wife Is 81 and I expect to be in your shoes eventually - NO HURRY! She has far more challenges to her health but she is all her doctor's favorite patient.
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My son. Chris, is 73. I tease him sometimes and tell him he is an old man. He isn't convinced. :)
 
oldsunbird said:
Mark, you're a man after my own heart. I love nature too. In the yard where we had the apple trees, I had a bird sanctuary, including a heated birdbath. I loved sitting on the patio in summer, just watching the birds and butterflies. We had birds of all kinds. Close to the patio was a carnelion cherry where a robin built a nest. We watched the building, the feeding. The tree was so close, we could almost reach up and touch it. My favorite birds to watch were the beautiful, amazing humming birds. Mornings, my favorite sound was the cooing of the mourning doves. I miss watching and hearing their beautiful voices. I miss all the gorgeous flowers and foliage and intoxicating scents.
The midwest has some lovely spots, hills and valleys, rivers and lakes, but I do miss the ocean. There is no body of water so grand, so expansive, so musical! From time to time my neice who lives in Washington state sends me pictures and videos of the ocean, flowering plants , birds and wild animals.

I look forward to reading your diary.
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A pretty picture for you. :)

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Welcome Mary from Atlanta. I'm a transplant from NY/New England but have been here for decades. We came here with my husband's job but he has been gone many years. I am 86. My gardening is confined to a few containers.
 
oldsunbird said:
My son. Chris, is 73. I tease him sometimes and tell him he is an old man. He isn't convinced. :)
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He is an old man and though he is a little older than me so am I. I've quit climbing trees and tall ladders and I have to take a walking break now after every hour of driving. But if we started listing our ailments this would really bog down quick. ;)

I can't recall if you said what you studied in college and did professionally. For me it was philosophy and teach math. But my garden making, walking in nature and reading is what keeps me going now.
 

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