September 2018 Island Trip – Day Four
Lots of priming, finish painting, sanding, spackling, wood filling, laundry, and continued cleaning of surfaces, that somehow still need paint, happened today. In the details were: The Amazing Neighbor stopping by to go over the plumbing problem (of the washer backing up in to the shower) under the house. His fix makes sense, and he’s […]
September 2018 Island Trip – Day Three
I started the day off on a different tact by cleaning all the interior windows that weren’t in sunlight. This was something I could do in my pajamas and bare feet. (While the air cast provides a sense of security, it is also very tiresome.) Even with only one side of most windows cleaned up, […]
September 2018 Island Trip – Day Two
In my gimppy state I managed to: Make a run to the hardware store for various supplies. The cashier commented of the variety of projects I must be working on. Ah, Yup. Stop in to say “Hi” to a high school buddy. We’re going to get together while I’m here. I owe her dinner as […]
September 2018 Island Trip – Day One
The day got off to an embarrassing start as I managed to kill my battery in the ferry line (a first). The ferry staff is used to car mishaps of all description, this one being the most common. Suffice to say I was the last one on the boat. The truck agreed to start at […]
Pre-Rental Island Trip
I head to the Island on Tuesday to push through the last maintenance/upgrade details before the house is ready to lease. After I get the 1100 square foot vapor barrier laid down in the crawl space (a one day task at most), and scrub the last of the dust/soot/grub off the floor where the furniture […]
Two Dimensions
I turned to my dementia expert for help with the struggle to wrap my head around mom’s sudden paranoia bloom. I understand a lot about mom’s limitations, but probably not, it turns out, exactly how limited mom’s perceptions are. Ellen explained that mom is starting to see me in two-dimensions rather than as a whole. […]
Adam’s Insights
Adam is likely the only person on the planet who knows my mom at least as well as I do, and likely better in some ways. As I mentioned before, we are the only two remaining people who, together, have context for the vast majority of her life. Adam and I talked further Friday morning, […]
The Visit
On Thursday mom’s oldest best-est friend from the 1950s visited her. It was no small feat given that he had to drive 6+ hours to get to our place the night before (not to mention he’s only in the states every other year). Mom’s dear friend also ran the summer camp my DH and I […]
Iconic Red Phone Book
In mom’s most recent voice mail to me, she accuses me of taking her red phone book, which she’s had since I was a kid. When she first went into care, she asked for it, and I told her I was unable to find it at either house. Her drive to possess that resource went […]
Furniture Move – Day 3, Part 4 – Voice Mail Transcriptions
Most of the “ums,” “uhs,” and stutters were omitted from these voice mail transcriptions to make them more understandable. Otherwise, they are 98.5% word-for-word. 8/14/18 5:23PM:I just got back, and found that you have moved all of my Island things in here, and I need to tell you that I am not at all happy […]
Dementia Dance - Travels with Mom 