Attic Diving
Late in 1998 my mom helped me pack up a 3200 square foot house, labeled boxes exquisitely, and enabled me to keep my sanity while orchestrating a 1000-mile move with three kids. I’ll be unloading the final pieces of Jane’s furniture and paintings into storage this afternoon. I knew the attic had at least two […]
Last Trip to Jane’s – Part Two
After a stop at my favorite mixed media store, I headed north to catch the ferry. The interim island I spent the night on has a beautiful set of bridges at its north end, built in the 1930’s during the New Deal. Once over these picturesque bridges, one drives, almost unknowingly, onto another island where […]
Last Trip to Jane’s
Jane’s house sold in the blink of an eye, and closes in 10-days. While my eldest and I got an amazing amount of work done in January, there was still a whole lot of stuff left on the property. The wise real estate broker added a clause to the contract stating that the new owners […]
Operation Elvis
Last Thursday I arrived at mom’s community at 11:40 and checked in with the nursing. After handing me more over-the-counter meds mom isn’t supposed to have, but keeps buying, we got down to tactics. I greeted mom at noon. She had Elvis’ carrier out, and had put some treats in at bait. He wasn’t biting. […]
Storing Documents & Returning Photographs
In preparing to bring a shelf back to the house from storage, for our in-house storage room, I pondered why furniture shuffling never seems to end, and if it’s this way in other people’s lives too. I took a small pine shelf down to my study closet, which necessitated all sorts of shiftings. There are […]
Chinese New Year – 2019
My DH and I attended mom’s AL community’s third Chinese New Year’s celebration this evening. We arrived a few minutes after the Lion Dance started. Mom was sitting front and center with a friend. The Activities Director greeted us with a hug and asked if we wanted a drink. My DH accepted her offer and […]
Mom’s Knee – Part Three, Elvis
I was able to share with nursing that mom’s own hygiene is just fine. However, the cat smell is permeating her clothes. Her apartment needs to be completely cleaned, rugs, upholstery, everything. I suggested we assess (add more to the bill) for help with taking care of Elvis. Nursing wants him gone citing mom’s safety. […]
Mom’s Knee, Part Two
I got to the community early in order to connect with the nursing staff before we had to leave for Dr. O’s. Knowing the exact the path of mom’s knee problem was important. I also wanted their observations of how mom was doing since the medication change. Nursing reported that mom’s agitation, anxiety and paranoia […]
Mom’s Knee, Part One
Yesterday I spent what turned out to be a half a day rather than the second full day at our regional garden show. A combo of plant lust, lectures, and show gardens creates a magnetic draw for me each year. As I’ve mentioned before, during the show, yesterday to the day, six years ago, is […]
Melatonin
The nursing office at mom’s community emailed to let me know that they’ve been removing bottles of melatonin from mom’s apartment. Mom’s medications are (thank you God) managed by the nursing staff, and so she’s not allowed to have any meds in her room. Mom buys melatonin on the community’s weekly shopping trips. While these […]
Dementia Dance - Travels with Mom 