Hi! Remember me the one who whined about "not having any friends" in our location? I take that back,and with shame. We have two of the sweetest friends...Francis and Ernie...a couple of elderly gentlemen. Yeah;it would be cool if I had another lady my age to hang out with, but Francis and Ernie have come into our lives as "family friends"....friends to the whole family!!! I worry about their eating right,and winter can be kinda rough,so i'm going to make up a bunch of homemade soups, goulash,etc. and put in individual sized freezer containers for them to zap for meals. Also going to have themout to the home for dinner with us once a week. i'll go get them guys if i have to!!!Hey...if any of you are lonely, and need friends in your area, look around you. There is always a supply for your need!!!

"Adopt" an elderly person!!Ther're loaded with good homesteading info too! Especially the ones that lived thru the depression!You might thinkyou're being a blessing to someone, but it may be mutual!!

-- Beth Weber (talmidim88@hotmail.com), December 01, 2000

Answers

Beth, can you give me some good ideas for meals to take to seniors that are fairly easy, nutritious, and palatable for elderly people? I have three teenagers to cook for as well, but the kinds of meals that they like maybe aren't especially suitable for an elderly diet. Soup and goulash sound good.

-- (trigger@mcn.net), December 01, 2000.

I'll bet bread and muffins would be welcome, and they freeze well, as do homemade cookies. Maybe home canned fruit, like aplesauce..???

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), December 02, 2000.

Ahhhh....lets see. Goulash. Chicken and rice soup, chicken and noodles, veggie soup, beef and noodles, ham and beans. All of these are favourites and can freeze individually well! And they're not overly spicy....something you got to watch for!

-- Beth Weber (talmidim88@hotmail.com), December 02, 2000.

Gee, you guys are welcome to come and be my neighbors!!!!! How elderly do I have to be??? It is a good idea, when I was young I learned a lot from people that were the age I am now, I sure never thought I would get this old and still be learning, but I do everyday. Heard something the other day that got me to thinking. "It's what you learn after you know it all that really counts.". diane in michigan

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), December 02, 2000.

oh diane -that is precious,i'll have to remember it.too bad you're not in ky . you could be my neighbor anyday!

I do alot of crockpot cooking and have recipes for pea soup,Scottish highland hot pot(like a jazzy beef stew),saucy chicken and others that also freeze good and are pretty low in fat and sugars.These would be good for the older set.I make them for my folks when I go home.

-- sharon wt (wildflower@ekyol.com), December 02, 2000.

Keep it simple, few dishes, (eat out of the container). Finger foods are great when feeding the elderly. I, too, have a few single male neighbors that love it when I cook for them. My husband calls them my other husbands. The elderly have alot to teach us. If only we can learn!

-- Terri Perry (teperry@stargate.net), December 02, 2000.

Beth, I have a cute story to share about the elderly lady across the street. She is 86 and lives alone, and still sharp as can be, even her hearing is great. Her only problem is she's stiff all over, she can't move too well. I had a yard sale this summer, and I was sitting on the front step with a friend, and Anna from across the street saw us. She comes out on her porch, and ignoring the strangers in my yard, yells to me at the top of her lungs "Cathy, I might need you to come over at one o'clock to help me with my bra, I'm going to a wedding today!" She is a great lady, I wish we were related! And she's offered to feed me!

-- Cathy Horn (hrnofplnty@webtv.net), December 03, 2000.

Beth, not only is it wonderful for us, as adults, to have elderly friends to look after and learn from, but our children can learn so much. I've lived in many small towns where the only friends I had were the grandmas of the church. I had nothing in common with people my own age in those towns.

When I was a little, we lived in a neighborhood that was all old people. One man had been a stagecoach repairman in his younger days and I loved his stories. I learned most of my farming, gardening and pruning from these old folks. Us kids were always sent to do chores or errands for them and Mom was always sending jars of soup for them.

In return, we learned how to behave around our elders, to respect others and learned so many lessons that could not be learned elsewhere. We learned giving and receiving, we learned about love, aging and death. We learned about saving memories. I am trying to pass this tradition on to my children.

I'm glad you found friends in your new community. Sometimes it is the old folks who hold the same ideals us us, and they are so much more valuable than someone our own age who doesn't have character.

-- Laura (gsend@hotmail.com), December 03, 2000.

Good for you Beth.

When I was a Brownie leader, we adopted Grandparents at a nursing home. Don't know if they still do this. Ours turned out to be a bad experience for one little girl. She was so excited to see ner adopted grandma, she had a Christmas present and took her mom to the nursing home(with the rest of the troop). No one told us the lady had passed away. They didn't bother to contact me or the little girl's mother. The little girl was so broken hearted, she sat on her mother's lap and cried. Most of the other girls had good experiences.

It's a shame how we treat the elderly in this country. I guess most of the young and middle-aged don't understand that they'll be old someday, but they won't have the wealth of knowledge the elderly before them had, because they won't have taken the time to gain it.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), December 05, 2000.