On Growing Old

[George K]

@Renauda said in On Growing Old:

To hell with dead heading lilacs. Never enjoyed gardening, don’t and won’t miss it.

Indeed. I've always hated any kind of yard work.

F-Dat.

[Catseye3]

@George-K said in On Growing Old:

Indeed. I've always hated any kind of yard work.
F-Dat.

LOL. I think George and Renauda just did some righteous bonding.

[George K]

@Catseye3, I may have posted before.

I remember a day in August when I was around 13 years old. I was pushing a lawn mower around the front yard of my house. I was sweating like crazy and was ready to die.

I promised myself that I will always have enough money to pay someone else to cut the grass.

My hatred of gardening, etc was born on that day.

My hatred has thrived, and now, in a condo, it's irrelevant, but not lessened.

[Catseye3]

@George-K said in On Growing Old:

My hatred of gardening, etc was born on that day.

I don't hate it exactly. I sort of feel about gardening the way Dorothy Parker felt about writing. She hated to write, but she loved having written.

[Larry]

I recently bought a commercial grade zero turn lawn mower. In the past I had work crews who took care of those things, but when I sold out I don't have any employees any more. My yard is about 8 or 10 acres, so it takes a while to mow. So far im enjoying riding around playing with the machinery. Other than that, i pay some guys to weed eat and all that stuff. I just enjoy the fresh air and riding around part.

[Copper]

I planted over 150,000 wild flowers this year.

I didn't actually count the seeds, I just added up the totals on the seed bags.

And hundreds of more substantial plants.

If you are old, you must garden.

[Jolly]

@Copper said in On Growing Old:

I planted over 150,000 wild flowers this year.

I didn't actually count the seeds, I just added up the totals on the seed bags.

And hundreds of more substantial plants.

If you are old, you must garden.

Second Hand Lions, indeed.

[Jolly]

@Renauda said in On Growing Old:

@Jolly

I also have watched my weight kept in fairly good shape all these years.

That's good and it helps.

[Horace]

I turned 50 a few weeks ago. Already lost both my knees so I figure the worst is over.

[Mik]

@Horace said in On Growing Old:

I turned 50 a few weeks ago. Already lost both my knees so I figure the worst is over.

It’s cute that you think that.

[Renauda]

@George-K said in On Growing Old:

@Catseye3, I may have posted before.

I remember a day in August when I was around 13 years old. I was pushing a lawn mower around the front yard of my house. I was sweating like crazy and was ready to die.

I promised myself that I will always have enough money to pay someone else to cut the grass.

My hatred of gardening, etc was born on that day.

My hatred has thrived, and now, in a condo, it's irrelevant, but not lessened.

My responsibility is to maintain the lawn and rid it of dandelions and quack grass. Flower beds, trees etc. are not part of that chore. In fact, I classify everything other than a maybe a tulip or petunia as a weed for removal or poisoning.

[Mik]

Hardscape is where it's at. We should all be Arizona.

[Jolly]

Not while they still make Round-up.

[Doctor Phibes]

@Mik said in On Growing Old:

Hardscape

We're right in the middle of having a patio put down on the back yard, which is typically like Narnia in the winter, The Somme in the spring, and The Dust Bowl in the summer.

Sadly, we couldn't afford to have the entire yard done, but it will help...

[Jolly]

Move to the Gulf South. It's the closest green you'll get compared to England.

Mind the heat, humidity and skeeters, though...

[Horace]

@Jolly said in On Growing Old:

Move to the Gulf South. It's the closest green you'll get compared to England.

Mind the heat, humidity and skeeters, though...

What do you think about Houston? We're visiting there in a couple weeks to scout out neighborhoods. The residents must be furious at people like me, driving up home values and property taxes. The taxes are 3+% there and the home values have doubled in the past couple years, from what I understand.

[Horace]

It's been interesting watching my dog, now 10, gradually age out of being able to jump on the bed. He used to be able to do it at will, but now, he'll fail now and again. After he fails, he may try again in a few minutes, after pacing around the bed, or maybe not. After a consistent failure, he'll take a few days off, or even months, before something motivates him to try again. This motivation can be inscrutable, but is often when my wife is eating breakfast in bed. He just now managed the leap. Not since George Foreman won the heavyweight belt have I been this proud of an older athlete.

[Catseye3]

When my cat Popsy grew in age -- or what I thought was aging but was actually illness -- she too had trouble jumping up on the bed. I set up a little stair-step arrangement for her to get up there without strain.

I too was proud of her, because she only required one demo, with me guiding her up the steps with my hands around her middle, for her to get it.

As has been the case with me and most of my pets, she and I had excellent intercommunication.

I miss her a lot.

[Mik]

Yeah, I was going to recommend a step thing for Horace's guy too.

[Horace]

I put an ottoman there he could have used as a step. He’s not a dumb dog, but I couldn’t coax him to use it. He won’t let anybody lift him onto the bed either.