life — Page 241

Limelights, Finches & Scout

August 3, 2016 at 9:00 am by Claudia

I’m writing this post on Tuesday afternoon, since we’re picking my best friend and her husband up from the train station on Wednesday morning – right around the time I’m usually writing a post!

A few things:

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The limelight hydrangea is blooming. Actually, it’s even further along after all the rain, but I haven’t been out to take a picture yet.

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Two finches clearly admiring my car.

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And this surprise, which arrived in Monday’s mail. It is a gift from my dear friend, Linda. A marker for our Memorial Garden. I was completely surprised and both Don and I had tears in our eyes.

It’s from the Etsy shop, Secret Garden Herbs, and was made by Cecilia, who blogs here. It’s perfect. I’m going to order two more; one for Winston and one for Riley. I love it.

Thank you, Linda! And thank you, Cecilia! We are thrilled with this memorial for our little girl.

If you want to know more about my best friend, read this post: On My Best Friend Laural.

Happy Wednesday.

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Let’s Not Let Dryness Get In The Way

July 27, 2016 at 8:42 am by Claudia

I am – ahem – over 60. We’ll leave it at that. That means a lot of things, one of which is menopause. Now, at this point in my life, I’m on the outside edge of menopause, but I still suffer from some of the symptoms. In fact, one of the things I learned last year from last year’s Google Hangout – Embracing the Change with Dr. Mary Jane Minkin (remember our video?) is that those symptoms can hang on a lot longer than you think. (That explained my occasional encounters with the dreaded hot flash!) During that Hangout, we talked about being of a certain age, menopause, perimenopause, as well as Replens™ Long-Lasting Vaginal Moisturizer and Replens™ Silky Smooth Personal Lubricant because, let’s face it, one of the side effects of menopause can be vaginal dryness. I suffered from it and I bet most of you who are of that age group have suffered from it, too. It wasn’t fun; in fact, it was often painful. Replens-Boxes

Did you know that Replens™ is the #1 doctor-recommended brand of vaginal moisturizer? And here’s something I didn’t know: vaginal dryness not only happens to those of us who are menopausal. It can happen to new mothers, cancer/chemotherapy patients, and women with dryness due to medication, stress, or tampon use. That’s where Replens™ comes in. It’s estrogen-free and fragrance-free. It helps replenish vaginal moisture, supplements the body’s natural lubrication and lasts for up to three days. It’s long lasting. I love that. It’s estrogen-free, and I really love that as the veteran of a Hormone Replacement Therapy-free menopause (though I know that isn’t possible for everyone.) I certainly didn’t want moments of intimacy to be less than wonderful because of a side effect of menopause. And for the many women who suffer from vaginal dryness for reasons other than menopause, Replens™ products just might be for you.

From the makers of Replens™: Replens™ is the clinically tested, doctor recommended brand of long-lasting vaginal moisturizer. As with dry skin that you experience on your face and hands, regular moisturizing treatment with Replens™ Long-Lasting vaginal moisturizer may be necessary to prevent dryness from recurring. Replens™ Long-Lasting vaginal moisturizer is different from most other lotions or lubricants because it contains a patented bio-adhesive ingredient that allows it to attach to dry vaginal cells and deliver continuous moisture for days. Click here to learn more.

This is a sponsored post by Replens™. I received compensation for this review but the opinions are 100% my own.

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A World Gone Mad

July 15, 2016 at 9:10 am by Claudia

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Some days I’m able to write as if there wasn’t an atrocity happening somewhere in the world. I’m able to put pretty pictures in this space and rattle on about my life. That’s not a bad thing.

But it’s not a truly good thing, either. Because every day we hear of some bombing, of some attack, of horrific loss of life. Some of it terrorist sponsored, some of it perpetrated by an angry and screwed up lone wolf – a terrorist wannabe – all of it fueled by hate. Attacks occur all over the world: in Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Syria, Nigeria…

And in France. Maybe I have to acknowledge this one because we happened to turn on the television (which is silent during the day) just after the first news of the unspeakable attack in Nice broke. And we sat there and watched, horrified and sickened, saying what we have been saying daily: “Every day. It seems to be happening every day.”

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A world gone mad.

This is a day where I simply can’t write as if it’s a normal day. This is a day where I find myself at a loss.

And that’s all I can say, except to express my heartfelt sympathies to all those who have lost loved ones in this carnage. And to all those who have lost loved ones to all the carnage that goes on in the world and in this country every day, endlessly. Over and over and over again.

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Limelights, Finches & Scout

Let’s Not Let Dryness Get In The Way

A World Gone Mad

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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