January 2018 Island Trip – Day One
I arrived at noon and got up to: Cleaning and sorting most of the lower barn. This included sorting through the contents of three rolling shelving racks, emptying a tiny fridge of unknown chemicals and film, throwing away things that are long forgotten, stacking items with some value on the shelves, sorting the overall space […]
Elvis is in the House!
Meet Elvis! He sports a brown/gray striped tabby coat, mixed with brown or seal point Siamese heritage. He has blue eyes, one of which is recovering from surgery to redirect the growth of his lashes away from the eye. He’s eating well, coming out of his shell, and has the entire down stairs of the […]
Anonymous Caller Rejection
Mom left voice mail mid-morning: “I’ve received two very concerning calls regarding my taxes, saying they haven’t been filed or paid. It was my understanding that you were taking care of this! I would appreciate it very much if you would call me back as soon as possible to discuss this…” I called mom back […]
Wooden Spoons
My husband and I are making mindful downsizing moves as part of moving through daily life, without getting crazed or scheduled about it (I no longer store boxes for high ticket items under the house until said item’s warranty has expired etc). Last night while cramming clean wooden spoons into their crock on the kitchen […]
GM Conversation
The GM of mom’s AL community answered his cell phone on the first ring. He shared that: He’s been to mom’s apartment 5 times to help her with the thermostat. The thermostat isn’t programmable. Mom is randomly pushing buttons when she doesn’t think the mini-split/thermostat is working. This takes the mini-split off of ‘automatic,’ where […]
Lunch Conversation
Mom barely took a breath before launching into this round of confabulations. She rounded on them again and again. They are listed below more or less in order: Dr. O has cleared me to return to the Island. I can leave at anytime, and would really like to do that. (3 times) I’m going to […]
Errands
After the doctor’s visit, I wanted to run errands in the local neighborhood. Mom wanted to get a new watchband for an old Timex of my dad’s that she wears. Parking in the neighborhood is very challenging. After scoring a spot, we walked in the, occasionally, heavy rain. Mom has become a professional grumbler. Even […]
Ophthalmology Follow-up
Mom’s follow appointment went perfectly. I learned two things: The YAG laser procedure has actually been around for a l-o-n-g time. The laser now in use is ‘second generation.’ The doc, who appears a little young than me, said the procedure has been around longer than he’s been practicing. Mom had this procedure done on […]
Operation Kitty Kat
A number of mom’s friends at the AL community have cats. My daughter floated the idea past me, some months ago, that perhaps her grandma would like to join the cat club. On top of the companionship, a pet would give mom a sense of purpose. However, we both realized that mom would be resistant […]
Phone Scams Follow Up
It turns out the phone number for my mom’s apartment WAS ported over to Clear Rate Communications. This was discovered after talking to CenturyLink customer service yesterday morning. After getting things back online with CenturyLink, I called Clear Rate Communications. The person I ended up talking with, Evan, was the antithesis of customer service. Defensive, […]
Dementia Dance - Travels with Mom 