Ole Joyful I wish you lived closer. I would get your mail for you. Be careful.

We call them " naughty Kitties " . lol

Love your stories. But you really do need to be careful!

Listen to Ladypat1!

Thats an order!

Where you live you may not have the same type service but some areas in the US the mail service offers "to the door delivery" for people who can not safely make it to their mailbox. Will not help for the problem of an alert for problems but that part can be done by daily phone calls if you actually tell the caller that you are not feeling good that day.

Yes, you really need to go to your mailbox in the daytime or it would be better if they would bring it to a box at your house.

There was a meeting of several churches this (sat.) morning to discuss whether we might be able to do some projects together, I visited the library (keyboarding there is easier - as is getting stock market quotes on my tablet that doesn't connect here) and I got some groceries.

After I got the car unloaded at the back door, I was walking across the yard over a light covering of snow on the ice ... when, with no warning, my feet went out from under me and I fell (that lovely flashlight was in the high hand).

No damage, except to my dignity - no resulting pain, sprain or other problem.

I haven't got used yet to taking the phone with me all the time, I didn't put it in my brief case this morning, so had I needed it, it would have been a 70 foot or so crawl across the yard, in the back doors, through the back porch up 5 steps, push door open, crawl through small kitchen through dining room and tiny hall then open bedroom door and pick up phone from box with clothes on the other bed.

Drove the car to the end of the lane and back to blow the snow off and now it's berthed in the shed for the night.

There's to be a birthday cake at the suburban church at social hour following worship tomorrow for ole joyful: they checked to be sure I'd be there.

Life is good.

ole joyful

When we moved here almost 15 years ago I realized that there was a need to carry my cellphone with me even to go to the mailbox 175 feet from the house. If something happened here the neighbors would never hear the screaming because we are so far apart and we are surrounded on all sides with woods so anyone driving by 175 feet away wouldn't see anything. I also take it out when I'm working in the yard, in case of a bad fall, a pit-bull attack or a snakebite, whatever. Sure, if you fell and broke your hip you might be able to drag yourself to the phone but if you broke your arm or collarbone too, I doubt it. BTW this happened to my Aunt who lives in a very secluded place in WV and she slipped on her icy lane on the way to the mailbox. I don't remember what parts of her body she injured but she was unable to get up and laid there for a long time before one of the neighbors came home and found her along-side the lane.

You are so right about carrying a phone. I do so for exactly the same reasons. The idea of lying on the ground, alone and injured is just so horrible. Technology is a great thing.

Ed,

Your adventures are wonderful. Thanks for sharing, I hope that I can have adventures like that when (if) I get to your age.

Our senior center runs a phone service where seniors call each other once a day to make sure they're ok. That way, at least if you are unable to call for help, you'd have at most 24 hours to wait before help arrives. It sounds like a long time, but a lot shorter than never.

"Shorter than never ...".

One does gain/builds a different perspective as one ages.

ole joyfuelled

I have a friend in her mid 70s. She is plenty spry and active, but she's had several mini strokes in the last few years. So we arranged that every morning, she sends me a quick email that she is up and running. If I don't get anything by mid morning, I call. If she doesn't answer after two calls, I'll go there. Fortunately I've never had to.

She also sends me an email if she's going up in the attic, and another when she's safely back down.

Maybe a quick text to someone that you're going out in the icy conditions, and another when you return?

Glad you're no worse for wear after taking a fall on the ice. Perhaps, if the day gets away from you again and you notice it's become dark out, the mail could wait until the next day and daylight.

We are often out thinning trees and clearing brush. Hubby scoffs, but I always take my phone in case of some unforeseen thing happening - chainsaw accident, tree falling on one of us, a fall, snakebite, bear attack - there's no telling what could happen and if one of us were injured, it makes more sense to me to be able to call for help immediately rather than having to run home and leave the injured party alone in the woods. Hubby says I worry needlessly, but I don't consider it worrying, I think of it as being prudent and prepared.

Joyful, listen to the good advice here and do be cautious.

Just within the last hour, having been notified by my interior messaging system that a visit to the bathroom would not only be in order, but should be assigned a measure of priority ..

... and was (rather hurriedly) adjusting my pantaloons as seemed appropriate in the circumstances, an issue turned up that I thought would be of interest to you folks, but ... sorry, not doing facebook, I ain't got any pictures to offer.

As I adjusted my pants, I felt a slight twinge on my hip. Later exploration showed a slight discomfort on a small part of my hip, when pressured, right near the spot that I figure contacted the ice as my feet did that fast slip in the yard the other night.

So, as far as I know, that's the only on-board memento of that evening's activities.

I am thankful to my body, that spoils me. And try to take reasonably good care of it.

ole joyful (on Monday)

A slightly larger twinge on the hip on Tues., but only if touched or pressured.

En route to suburban church meeting to discuss issues brought forward in our denominational-related magazine, car got stuck in less than a car-length departure from shed.

Do NOT recommend getting stuck in snow when there's a quarter inch of ice between tires and ground!

Took some shovelling and maneuvering to get turned around to face head-first toward the road ... and snow depth being deceptive, walked the track to find shallowest depth ... took about 3/4 of the 500 or so feet to the road through the field.

Figure I'd better get home before dark, in case the landlord hasn't ploughed the lane.

Missed 3/4 of the hour meeting - but was there for the good stew-based lunch, for sure! (Which included some of he residue of my birthday cake, from Sunday).

ole joyfuelled ... who also likes stew-fuelling (birthday cake, too)

P.S. What's that they say - that guys over 40 shouldn't be shovelling snow? In a pig's eye!

o j

When I got home, just after dark, after a good visit with a friend ...

... the landlord had ploughed the lane, so I had not trouble getting both the car and me into our regular evening slots.

Very cold this morning, especially with about a 20 m p h wind, and I'd decided not to trickle charge the car battery ... and it started without trouble.

But the engine takes a while to warm up, and cools quickly when stopped (nine, I think, so far).

ole joyful

Some good news ...

... it was my turn to provide the snack at the ROMEO's coffee hour at the village church on Thursday and I took the residue of a fruit tray, from the other church (given along with the remnants of the birthday cake - which stayed at home) along with some cake and a variety of cookies.

After that I had an appointment for a catheter change ... at a home healthcare agency where I'm a fairly recent client and the helper that hasn't known me had a rather "Wow!" moment when she took my blood pressure: the numbers are really/surprisngly? low, for a person of my age, it appears, and she was pleased. My docs have been pleased with it.

Then I took the car for an oil change and when they checked the battery, as I'd requested due to that being stranded on a nearby road a few weeks ago and needing a boost, they tell me that my battery is in fine shape - so I don't need to replace it (for a while).

That was on a cold day and I then visited those social agencies to see whether I could find a street-dweller to take to my warm (if messy) home for the night: none found.

So - my ticker's in fine shape ... and I can be pretty sure that my car'll start!

And no disadvantaged guest to possibly put some of my possessions at risk.

ole joyfuelled

Yay! So glad everything is working well for you.

joyful, take care of yourself and stay warm.

Since last Sunday, the next 4 posts (and 4 of the next 5) were all yours. You probably could have concluded some days ago that the thread had run its course without pinging it back up to the top several times.

I actually enjoy reading, just didn’t have anything to say.

I always enjoy hearing what you've been up to, OJ :-)

joyfulguy, I have enjoyed reading your posts for years. :-) You are such a great storyteller and you have some amazing adventures. I admire your positive attitude. Please ignore Elmer's unnecessary and unkind comments. (I wish there was an unlike button here sometimes.)

I do worry about you out in the cold or alone on the road. My mother has a newer medic alert system that includes a GPS, so it still works outside of the house. Maybe you could look into something like that. Mom wears it as a pendant but I think they have watch versions, too. It can be much easier to just push a button than to try to dial a phone number or to even find the cell phone if one is having an emergency.

OJ, I sure hope you don't take Elmer's comments about your post too seriously! This is your post, after all, and there is no reason at all why you shouldn't bring it up as often as you want to! I, for one, enjoy reading your stories, you write with such good humor and positivity! You are an inspiration! I don't often comment because I don't have anything to say.

Please, be careful and continue to take good care of yourself. And continue to share your adventures, in whatever thread you want to!

Rusty

Look, I'm not the sheriff (and only the Houzz folks are) but if over 4 consecutive days, the only post each day is the same original person saying something else to bump the thread up to the top again to try to get more attention (but no one else says anything further), it's fair to say that particular thread has run its course.

If you like seeing the same thread day after day with nothing new in it, great. There are a number of threads stretching over years that he's done the same thing in. If I see it, I'll mention it.

When I first spoke of the fall in the yard, I reported no problem.

A few days later I noticed a slight discomfort in the hip, but only when touched and thought it worthy of reporting, then a slight increase, but only when pressured, and felt that had a bearing on the fall, especially as there had been concern about us needing to be careful.

I am a bit regretful that, now that it's pretty well gone, I hadn't reported that.

I felt that the later issues dealing with the snow were related to the earlier part ... and I think that the cookies and blood pressure were dealing substantially with a new issue, while the reassurance dealing with the battery related to an earlier concern.

Hope you've all had at least a couple of good experiences to start the new year - and a challenge or two.

ole joyful ... (again)

P.S. Speaking of "procrastination" ... maybe I should have delayed making this post.

o j