Yawn Yawn Wakey Wakey 2024

Hi Lori, been missing you. xx But you've been very busy with your studies ... and I will keep my .

Actually, Jan is not going to be there that I know of but I think Margaret (John's new lady) will be. I have only met her once at the Chinese Christmas dinner. She was very pleasant but rather "loud" and I am actually quite reserved. John and Mike were Music Producers (for big name artists) and J falls right in place there. J invited Ian as he is into technical stuff (an Aircraft Mechanic Trainer) and he and Mike are living a stone's throw apart. I am happy being at home with my furry babes anyway and spent an hour out in the sun playing with my houseplants, rootings, cuttings and seedlings outside.



Hope you girls are okay.

 

Thank @Victoria. We are fine. Em's got one exam over with and then two more next week so we will both be studying our hearts out.

And talking about that, I'd better get to it

 

Friday morning, almost 9AM here. 50F. spitting rain. again soggy mess out there.
Today we focus on posting various items for sale on certain sites. Pictures, descriptions etc. So much I would love to get rid of. Should be interesting, fingers crossed for lots of interest.

The trivia game was fun last night, lots of folks showed up, about 32 folks, in teams. My group is also the chess group. We actually won a couple rounds.

@CanadianLori , love marmalade, my favorite. have you ever used a little when making carrots?

Have a good day all.

 

Back from a nice trip out , we stopped off to grab a quick lunch...only sandwiches today as hubs had already prepared our main meal for today.

Please to report that the journey went well and there was no hanging about as both buses linked up perfectly and the walk turned out to be about 0.5 miles each end....which was nothing really. Hubs wanted some wire which he found and I wanted to buy some Gladioli corms which I found too . I also bought a couple of Begonias for hanging baskets too.

Vicky no he's just having push one with a power pack to make it easier. . He use to have an electric one a few years back for indoor use, it was bought for him by his employers when he was still working ,about 30 years ago, and it was given to him when unfortunately he became unable to to continue ..about 25 years ago.

Lori we doubt he will socialise much as he really can't follow any conversation but I would like to see him dining with the others. We can't even persuade him to join any of the activities they hold. This is the big issue for me as I think he needs to be in a proper dementia care facility where the activities on offer will be more appropriate for his abilities and needs. Where he is they are mostly older but still fairly mentally alert.

If he had an electric wheelchair we would worry in case it prompted him to head out of the main door on an ' adventure ' . My brother in-law's Mum kept doing that and often in her nightwear too. !! When they set their mind on escape there's no stopping them and then of course they get totally overwhelmed and confused once outside and on their own.

 

Oh yes, I visited a "memory care" ward and was amused by those thinking they could latch onto me and get a free pass to the outside. They're not stupid, it's just a different kind of thinking disconnect for sure. I think they must have gotten the meds just right too because there were no zombies or screamers. A true eye opener as to how a proper facility really makes a difference.

I finished today's studying and also finished the 3rd of my new undergarments. I've got one more cut out and ready to sew and I'll do that in stages. Kinda like a little reward to get some sewing in after hours of study. I am taking the weekend off the books because it's the usual laundry/housework/etc time. And I have everything now to make 4 fruit marmalade (Joy of Cooking recipe) and potato salad for grazing throughout the week.

 

"Memory Care" unit, brings back lots of memories (no pun met). Supervised many in my career. Set up a few, they have to be designed in such a way not to trigger other thoughts causing anxiety. As far as medication levels, always on the look out to not over medicate, to find just the right "cocktail". Checking blood levels for the right amount etc.

 

The weather is looking quite good for today so as we have no plans for having to go out I hope to spend it out in the garden.
That's all really...nothing else going on here.. Nice mild weather and a nice quiet weekend is all I wish for.

My brother isn't on a 'memory care ward' or in a 'memory care unit' . He has bought his own brand new 2 bedroomed ground floor apartment. Even I could buy one as it's not necessarily only for people who need care......now . People purchase with the security of mind that IF one day they find they do need it then it's all there for them. So that being so people are free to do as they want and to go out whenever and wherever they wish. My brother still has the final say on all aspects of his life and that will always be respected....it just means we have to try and ' manage ' the choices he has....crafty maybe but necessary for his own safety...... most definitely.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

 

Good morning all….sorry I’ve not been around just been busy with work and Dad, it was my mums Birthday on Tuesday, she would of been 88, we are all going for a meal tomorrow to celebrate for her, Hubby and I put this card on her grave with a helium balloon saying wonderful Mum and flowers ….

The words are perfect I know she would agree.

Upsydaisy sorry to read of your brother deteriorating, I’m guessing he has carers looking after him to take him to the restaurant etc ?.

Victoria has your hubby had his stitches out now ? Hope your well too ?

Lori lovely to see you, you sound very busy with your studies, what are you studying ? And what garment are you making this time ?

 

Morning all.

Upsy, the place where R resides sounds exactly like where J's Mother lived in Cincinnati when we visited in 1996. She owned a one bedroom apartment furnished with her own furnishings from her home. It was a lovely complex with restaurant, games room, etc. She could come and go as she pleased and had her own car there but there was a bus also. She was fully compos mentis when she moved there. The apartment had alarms should she need assistance.

Usual quiet weekend here but I will get out for an hour this morning to tidy pots in The Courtyard and other pots on the Front of House Patio following me doing the Hibiscus and Iochroma the other day ... and maybe I can convince J to do the top of the Iochroma.

 

You popped in there Karen whilst I was typing.

What a lovely memory for Mum. Enjoy the dinner.

J's stitches come out on Wednesday.

Hope things are a bit more tolerable at work. xx

 

Aww thats lovely Flumpy.

You can't add ' decorations ' in the cemetery where my parents are but we do add cards ( wrapped in clingfilm) on special occasions to their flowers too.

Oh yes of course we monitor his needs and set up and buy in all the necessary care he requires. As I mentioned at the moment he can't go to the restaurant, but we're desperate not to get him settled into this routine ( which unfortunately he seems quite nappy with) , once his new wheelchair arrives he'll have no excuses for not going, he will either be able to get himself moving or we will book a carer to push him. At this stage though our main aim is to keep him as actively independent as possible. So once his new chair arrives we will monitor it's usage very closely indeed.

 

Hi there Vicky. Hope all is good in your sunny corner of the world.

Yes it sounds exactly like J's Mums place and is really lovely. People have their own cars too. Right outside the complex there are very regular buses that go the short distance into the lovely market town or into Winchester, Southampton and Salisbury so for the abled bodied it's perfect. It would definitely be somewhere I would consider. There's even a nearby train station too.
He has two bedrooms so if required he could have guests stay over, they also have apartments they rent out to family members too should they want to stay without disrupting their loved one's routine by having to stay with them in their place.
Sadly we always knew that eventually he will need to move on to a specialise dementia care facility....but until then we all strive to allow him an independent lifestyle as is safely possible.

 

Enjoy every moment Upsydaisy it sounds like a nice place where he is

I’m itching to get in the garden but holding back on the tidying up as the
animals and bugs are hibernating plus non a few weeks we are told we are going to get 5 inches of snow in one day…..not looking forward to driving to work in that

Victoria glad to read hubby is ok, is it your hubby who plays the guitar? or you ?

 

Oh I intend to Flumpy time with certain () family members is very precious.

That said I tend to come away on a downer as watching his deterioration over the last 20 years is very upsetting and then added to the long list was Alzheimer's ,officially ' 4 years ago although all us family had strong suspicions many years before they finally agreed to the brainscans in 2020.

Yes it is nice although we've had staff issues and had to recently take a very official path to reslove things...3 members have been issued with warnings and being closely monitored for a year....nothing cruel or unkind but nevertheless bad practice was experienced.

It's particularly hard as obviously we can't ask or check details with my brother as he simply has no recall abilities anymore. It down to us to have eyes in the back of our heads and do thorough checks around his apartment and on all his medications each time we go and then inform each other ( my other sisters) so that any found issues continue to be monitored or raised with the management.

So visiting him is lovely but so very draining , trying to cheerfully keep a sense of normality while constantly scanning for potential problems without him knowing.

Hey..he's our only brother and we adore him and he's guaranteed sisterly support by us all ( and brother in law too) . We won't let him down or our parents either as they knew he wou!d have later life issues.

 

Aawe that’s lovely Upsydaisy he’s got a very good family who clearly care about each other sending big hugs to you all