Just need to talk to my friends (196)
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In the garden this a.m. A nice sunny day with a chance of showers this evening.
- Lupine. I grow these from seed. I have many in the garden.
- Iris 'Beverly Sills'
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WE have cleaned 4 and 4 more to go
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Had visits from nurse, Chaplain, social worker and aid yesterday. Nurse has already visited today, but another one coming late evening. Just received all kind of supplies from FedEx, to many to list.
Lou is better since leaving the hospital, but also is now in a advanced stage of dementia. Didn't eat well at all yesterday and I gave her a ensure before bed. The breakfast this morning; she ate all the grapes, strawberries, few apples and a couple bites of egg. Hopefully it will get better and a feeding tube want be necessary.
Ron
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I'm awake.
Iris
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Iris…where are you going on your next trip?
Ron…time may be a factor. Try starting with the eggs. You have a way to go before thinking feeding tube. You not even started with the baby food which, by the way, is really quite good now. We also did ice cream with protein powder.
Beth…I have some Iris that look like Beverly Sills. Years ago Martha Stewart was here for a talk. We ended up exchanging iris. She shen me the ones that look like yors and II sent her some purple tectorums (sp).
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Ron, I think it may just take a few says for Lou to get adjusted to being back home.. Being in a strange place with people she doesn't know can tens to accelerate their dementia and confusion. Give her a few days and, hopefully she will be back to her old self. Ensure Is good for her. If she likes ice cream you might even freeze it for her.
I mentioned on my post that didn't post that Darwin thought his surgery was tomorrow and was happy when it wasn't.
Mint, he was given some sort of something he is to draw air through to help his breathing. Or maybe it was to breathe into.
Good for you, David. I cleaned the window sills in the LR this mornning. No window cleaning yet.
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Judith, I will be going to southern Oregon (Crater Lake), Oregon coast and northern California.
Iris
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Good afternoon!
GOOD NEWS: FIL has been accepted into the private care home set for whenever he discharges from Rehab. The bad news is the NP called me after I left to give me blood work results. His white count is 30 (normal is 5-10). No fever. I suggested post op infection or pneumonia (I think he is aspirating silently) and she said "I agree. It's probably both. I'll give him a liter of fluids and start him on 2 antibiotics. I know you don't want him to go back to the hospital". No, I don't.
While there, he was mostly just mumbling under his breath, did not recognize me, just sort of looked out of it until : he sat straight up in the wheelchair and spoke clearly and emphatically and loudly "I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!". Broke my heart. I shaved him and got him situated and toured the other care home option as back up. Then I came home.
Saved popsicle making for today as great-granddaughter was coming. We made popsicles, fed the chickens, rode the golf cart to the front pasture and cut wildflowers, she had a new dress and new napkins for her "tea parties" so she had a good time. I had fun too. Supper is ready, kitchen is clean and I am going to SIT Down and just rest.
Will post popsicle recipe and great grand with the finished product ready for the freezer in a bit. Rest well tonight everyone.
Glad Lou is home. Agree, give her a day or two to adjust.
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popsicles and Nana’ girl ❤️
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we used strawberry blueberry coconut and green grapes with honey, vanilla yogurt.
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JeriLynn she's beautiful, and so are you. I miss seeing my grandkids. They live in Miami, about an hour and a half from me. The oldest girl just got engaged! The middle boy is 19 and the youngest just turned 8. She loves to come to my house for sleepovers, unfortunately those have been few and far between since my LO's stroke and dementia diagnosis. I am missing out on so many family milestones. Makes me so sad.
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Hi everyone, My Wie and I went to the COA had lunch and played bingo my wife won one pot she had to split it . Don't laugh the pot was $4.00 she got $2.00 that is average pot size We go to bingo for the fun and talking to our friends. However when we got home I got a big surprise about one month ago I ordered a new rollator from the VA and it was waiting for me. If you compare a Ford to a Cadillac well my rollator is the Cadillac. It was much more than I expected you can fold it up and put it in the back of the car with a lot of room leftover and it only weighs maybe 20 lbs I am going out tonight to try it out while watching our granddaughter in her first concert she is in the sixth grade
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The severe weather has begun. It's up around the Kansas line Now but most of the counties in our area are under a severe t storm watch. The bad weather won't be here until around MN so looks like another late night. Did take about a 45 min. Nap so that might help. Storm chasers are out watching.
JeriLynn, your granddaughter is really cute,just like her grandmother. The yogurt pops look delicious. I know you enjoy being with her and teaching her things. Had no idea all that fruit was in them. I thought just yogurt.
David, happy you like your rollator. I'm sure it will be a big help for you. The VA provides for our veterans. Surely did in our case, too.
Judith, are you watching the Thunder games? I've watched two or three, first ones since Kevin Durant left.
Hope all of you get a good night's sleep.
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JeriLynn, ❤️ love the picture of you and granddaughter. Grandchildren always holds a special place in grandparents hearts.
Made Lou a ham sandwich tonight and found out the only way she will eat is put small pieces in her mouth. She want open her mouth and bite. I also gave her some ensure, which she drank it all.
Hope storms aren't bad for rockers in the path!
Ron
Ron
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Hello Front Porchers.
Lorita. Yes, I do remember when Lucy made the bread, and it grew right out of her oven. I was a big I Love Lucy fan. You're in my prayers tonight for the oncoming storm.
Iris. What causes your cough? I also have coughs at night and my doctor says it is due to allergies. I take allergy meds, but they don't seem to help much. I live 60 miles from Crater Lake, you will be on hwy 97 Iam right off of hwy 97, 60 miles north of Crater Lake.
Mint, You have taken very loving care of J, she is so blessed to have you in her life. You're an Angel, Iam sure her son appreciates you.
JerilLynn. Your FIL and you are also in my prayers, he is also blessed with you being in his life. Your granddaughter is precious, and you're a beautiful lady. Iam like you I have to have my coffee as soon as I get up. It's on a timer it goes off at 6am and Iam up by 6:05am.
Beth. Your garden is beautiful. Your right I have been so busy downsizing. I will miss my son, but the apartment we get will be 2 bedrooms, so I can spend some of the time with him, when I need a break from the Arizona heat.
Thank You to those asking about my move. I have been giving everything away to my neighbor who is a JUNK collector. I have made a few trips to Goodwill with stuff. This all has to be done by Monday, before the photographer comes to take pictures. The pictures will just be the inside, so I needed to get rid of a lot of clutter. It's starting to look good. I will be able to rest after the pictures have been taken. My poor kitty's are so concerned about what Iam doing. It's funny watching them. I have taken pictures off my wall and my older cat knows something is missing. He is very curious about things. I will have to move the cat boxes and the cat towers before pictures are taken, then right back down they go.
Ron. You and Lou are in my prayers, Iam glad she is home, and happy you're getting a lot of additional care that you both need.
Hugs to all, Zetta
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Morning.
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Beth did you plant the seeds direct for the Lupines ? The irises are a beautiful pink.
Lorita Darwin was probably given an incentive spirometer. it is just to encourage the patient to do deep breathing, which is very important for the prevention of lung problems after surgery.Ron my grandma did not eat at all while she was in the hospital. They asked her children about putting a feeding tube in and the children refused a feeding tube. When she got back to the nursing home, which was where she lived at the time, she started eating again so maybe Lou will.
Jerilynn as others have said, you’re great granddaughters very pretty and has a pretty smile. How did you find out about the private care homes? I’ve seen others mention these and I’m interested in them for my mom if there is a need in the future. I have no idea if we have that available in our area. Do they except Medicaid? My mom probably only has enough funds for a year or a little bit more Right now. Thank you for sharing the popsicle instructions. They will be very helpful as a guide for me.
Lorita how was your weather last night? It rained most of the day yesterday looks like we got a little bit less than a half of an inch. But it was a gentle rain. Then in the evening the sun came out and it was really pretty. I hope to be able to plant more flowers today. They’re giving us a little break in the rain today. I would like to get everything else planted but we’ll just see I have mom to take care of the day and that really interrupts my day and Also I need to get J fruit to her. If she’s not doing something else, I always try to visit with her for about a half an hour so there goes more time so anyways, we’ll see.
David glad you are happy with your new rollator .
A year ago today I got home from the hospital.
Zetta glad you are getting things done, know it makes for a busy time.
I told you yesterday that J kept sending me the texts that were just a bunch of letters. Well, then eventually, I received something from her that was in with all the other messages, and it look like it was from her in that everything including her phone number matched, what normally is there. It look like an ad/link, was very fancy for Vbit. At the top it said new contact and over to the right it said save. I immediately knew something was not right. I have received twice before I believe links in some of this gibberish she sends me. Before I always just thought I wish she wouldn’t do that and I just deleted it. Had always just looked like the normal links you and I would send but it wasn’t too familiar things, but yet it never made me suspicious. I just always thought she’s messing around on that iPad/ iPhone and s he is going to get in trouble. So I deleted it and I contacted my sister who’s text smarter than me and I asked her if she knew what the bit was. Turns out it is bitcoin, and that is what the people who scammed my aunt had her to send the money to and of course she’ll never get any of that money back and it was a lot of money. so I blocked her contact so that I can’t get any more of that stuff from her hopefully. So, my sister wondered since this is just happening to me from her if someone has gotten access to her contact list. So I contacted her son. I hated doing that but I felt if something happened where she lost a bunch of money I’d really hate that. He was very grateful and he told me he’s going to look into it and that he agreed with me blocking her contact for now and he will let me know what he finds. She always tells me that her son and daughter-in-law both are very tech savvy so. He told me she only has access to a very small amount of money that the rest of it is secure so that is a good thing. That’s what I’ve tried to do with my mom to. The good news is my mom has no access to the Internet and wouldn’t know what to do with it if she did have access to it, so that’s a good good thing. He told me he gets the same kind of messages from his mom, but he has never received links.
good morning JoC and Joan
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Morning
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Mint, and everyone, thank you for the compliments about my Great Grand. She's my little buddy. Yesterday my daughter and I were talking and I responded laughingly to a comment with "Yeah, I've had a couple of children myself!" Great grand immediately said "You had some babies? Where are they? Were they in your tummy?"…. DD and I fell out laughing. DD asked her "don't you know Nana is MY Mama?" Nope. I guess she thinks I'm just some old lady they come to visit a lot. LOL
As to the private homes: the Social Worker at skilled care handed me a brochure that was suspicious. I IMMEDIATELY heard @harshedbuzz in my head and asked "is this like "A Place for Mom" where they hound you and get $$ for referrals? Do we KNOW anybody at this place?" Turns out the owner is local and used to be the Admissions Director for the IL, AL and MC portion of the franchise. She knows FIL and was with him until just last year when she left to do this business. I called her and within an hour she had me three referrals. One didn't have a bed. I wouldn't have known anything without her. Google search doesn't bring up much of anything. So my advice would be to contact your local skilled care facilities or MC homes and inquire. If they don't allow folks to age in place, they probably know where the next place is. It never hurts to plan ahead. I find having a back up plan comforting. Though that may just be an illusion of control for me. I do it anyway.
Running now to sit on the patio with DH. Back later. Much love and many hugs to each of you.
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Good morning. It's still very gray here and quite windy still.
Beth— Ninebarks? I had never heard of these. Google tells me they're really interesting— 4 season interest and fool-proof. What's not to like? I envy you your lilacs. I have been trying to get some lilacs going behind my garage with no luck. I planted a couple in 1-gallon pots that didn't do well at all. I planted 4 bare root plants the next year. Two of those made it, but DS didn't realize what they were and weed whacked them. What is it about men and weed whackers? The crew who do the lawn care at mom's community weed whacked some potted hosta I'd dropped off with the intention of planting the next day. They were in pots that said "Monrovia" and were in the mulched bed.
Iris— That sounds like a really nice trip. Is this one motor coach or will you fly to Oregon?
Jerilynn— That little girl is adorable. I'm sure she was just what you needed after the sad tasks associated with your DFIL. It sounds like this new facility will be a better fit for you and him.
David— So what's your wife going to do with her $2? Enjoy your concert.
Carolynne— It's sad that you're missing time with the grands. It's another "cost" of this wretched disease. Early dementia rendered my dad fairly nasty to my son who was still elementary school aged, so DS never really spent time with my parents until I moved them north when DS was in college. As a result, he never had the warm bond with them that my nieces enjoyed. I feel badly for my mom— she tries really hard to connect now but I know deep down he just isn't feeling it. While my niece can look back on young grandparents who hosted sleepovers, fun vacations, shopping excursions and such, DS got a little old lady who needs a ride somewhere once or twice a week. I understand it, but it still makes me sad.
Lorita— I hope your storms have passed safely. Is the poison ivy finally dying off?
Zetta— The thought of moving exhausts me. It's a lot. Staging a house when you're still living in it is hard. HGTV has raised the bar for what needs to be done to sell a home these days. It was really interesting how different this can be regionally. The Realtor in MD who helped us sell mom's resort home were annoyingly fussy compared to the ones in central FL. Mom spent about $5K on staging MD and zip in FL. We had to lower the price in MD, but FL sold very close for asking price which was more than we expected based on comps.
Mint— It is so kind of you to be looking out for your friend as you do. I'm glad her son appreciated your concerns.
Ron— It sounds like Lou is going to need handfeeding. My aunt needed handfeeding for many things although sometimes she'd nibble a cookie if placed in her hand and brought to her lips.
Our family decided against tube feeding based on recommendations from her doctors and friends of ours in the medical field. It's just not an easy solution in severe dementia.
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I'm meeting a friend for lunch later. Her boyfriend is out of town on a Mediterranean cruise with a bunch of guy friends. He has this one friend he travels with a few times a year— they always do a big boys trip out west to ski and have biked through China and done the Inca trail together. He so does not seem like the large cruise ship type, so I can't wait to hear all about it. I expect this to be very entertaining. It seems I travel vicariously now.
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She doesn't know what to do with her "winnings " We had an excellent it lasted 2 and one half hours.
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Good morning it's raining today the last 2 days all sunshine and in the 70 to 80 temperatures
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My rollater had made a big difference already I no longer walk hunched over I'm 6f.5inches.this will make a difference
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Morning, we had heavy thunderstorm about 5 and it's still raining some. I got up to go to the bathroom just after that and had the worst pain in mg lower left side. When I got up awhile ago it is better but still hurts. Reminds me of when I had diverticulitis but some worse. I'm careful about what I eat so no idea. Feltf like something was fwisted.Is that possible? Took a gas pill and will take some Ibuprofen and rub it again. I'll write more later.
Darwin called. Said he didn't get up until about 8. Fixed Donnas breakfast and was going to fix his and rest today.
If this was on my right I would think appendix but can't think of anything on the left except bowel. Any ideas?
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HB, in the past I had the old fashioned lilacs. Over time (20+ years) they become unproductive and we cut them back in hopes of rejuvenating them. It hasn't worked. I do have one old fashioned lilac that I bought a couple of years ago. In addition, I have a Dwarf Korean lilac bush and that is the one by the door that smells delightful. I also have a Bloomerang reblooming lilac.
Mint, my lupine seeds come from a packet called Russell lupines. I soak them for a day or so and then plant direct. A little bit about lupines: They are a short-lived perennial. I've heard to cut the blooms before they go to seed to make the plant last longer. I've also, in my experience, let some go to seed, and they will re-plant themselves. Small lupines can be easily transplanted. I don't think the large ones will transplant effectively.
Lorita, if the pain is bad enough, or lasts long enough (whatever "enough" is), go to the dr. The simple thing it could be would a pulled muscle but who knows. I hope it goes away and is nothing serious.
Judith, that is so incredible that you met and exchanged flowers with Martha Stewart!
How is the window cleaning going, David? It's quite a job, especially if you don't have double hung windows that allow you to clean inside and outside from in the house. Our windows fared well in the tornado but we have 6 screens with holes in them. Probably an easy thing to replace and not too expensive.
Ron, when my mom was in the last stages of dementia she greatly decreased her food and liquid intake. That seems to be part of the natural progression of dementia. Talk with your hospice nurse about it and as HB and Judith said, you can hand feed if needed, and try Ensure, ice cream, baby food, soft foods to increase her intake. I'm so sorry for what you are going through, and my prayers are with you.
JoC, good to have you check in periodically. We love you and support you here and thank you for all the wisdom you have lovingly shared here in the forum.
Iris, your trip sounds great! Enjoy! Do you go with a specific travel agency/bus tour company? Our library has bus tours for seniors. They are all day trips.
JeriLynn, your granddaughter is adorable and you are a fun nana! You make things fun and are making memories.
Hello to Joan; are you getting the new house in order? How are you feeling?
Hugs, Beth
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I feel better. The pain is much better. I think I must have turned over to that side and laid the wrong way. I can't sleep much on my sides because of the costo. Lower ribs are sore. There's one or two ribs at the bottom that aren't attached to the sternum and I've injured them so they can be painful.
It's not raining at the moment but will be this afternoon. Darwin called and said we had .4". He said one of his daughters will call me and keep me up to date tomorrow. I'll be so glad when he gets back home.
HB, all the weeds in the lot have died and the poke I sprayed. Need to spray again. I didn't spray the little weeds with yellow flowers or all the poke. The poison ivy looks a little sick so I will spray again. The yucca is beautiful. All the flower spikes are in full bloom. Wish I had a camera. I've found some plants we had years ago that have come back. Charles and I saw them along the old railroad north of us and transplanted them.. They grow tall with big silver leaves and the tall flower spikes have yellow flowers on top. Also found two of what I think are sunf!owers in the yard. I threw some more seeds behind the holly so maybe they will come up.
JeriLynn, when I was trying to find a place for my sizter, I used A Place for Mom. Worked really well. Never got a bill from them.
Beth, the Beverly Sills iris are beautiful. Judith, you met Martha Stewart and exchanged iris? I used to be a big fan. Received all of her magazines and kept them. Probably still up in the MH unless someone took them. Back later.
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here…
Children can have the most amusing ideas. One of a close friends grandchildren actually thought I was their father's second mother.
Ron…the Hospice nurse will be very helpful re. what to feed Lou.
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Lorita, irritable bowel can be very painful on the lower left side, until you evacuate. I sometimes have sharp pains in that area. I used to eat prunes, probably I need to get back to eating them.
I travel with a travel group. The trip to Texas & Oklahoma had 31 travelers, I don't know how many will be going to Oregon. We will fly from LAX to Sacramento, then ride a bus up to Ashland, OR and around Crater Lake and southern Oregon and northern California for a week, then ride back to Sacramento and fly home.
I love bus trips. We play games and watch dvds to pass the time, in addition to stopping at interesting rest stops. In Texas, we stopped at Buc-ees, a wonderful secret place we had never heard of before. What will we find in Oregon?
Iris
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Beth, about three houses ago I had the ability to raise a lot of flowers there for the first time. I had a Lupine and I believe it was a Russell. Anyways, it was doing really good and it was blooming if I remember right and I went out there one day, and it was just wilted down. I have never seen so many aphids on one plant they literally just sucked it to death, it kind of grossed me out so I just cut it down and I think I put it in a big bag and send it off. I’ve never had one since then because of that experience. I do not like aphids. I usually notice them pretty quick and get rid of them. I guess back then I probably just didn’t have much experience then. Do they have a very long bloom period?
Glad you are feeling better Lorita. I have found that I feel much better in the morning if I sleep on my back. I like to sleep on my side, but I tend to wake up with aches and pains when I do that and it’s because you don’t sleep with your spine in a good position is what happens I think. They just talked about this on Bob and Brad the other day.
Glad they’re going to keep you updated about Darwin tomorrow and we’ll all be glad to hear about how he’s doing also. He probably has no idea how many people will be thinking about him and praying for him tomorrow.speaking of kids and their amusing ideas. A friend of mine had been in three weddings, and she had the bouquets sitting up on top of the mirror of the dresser in the room where her nephews would stay when they were at her house. One day, one of them said to his mother something about his aunt had been married three times. She said, where did you ever get that idea from. He said she has three bunches of flowers in the room where we sleep.
Hope each one gets a good nights rest1 -
Thanks, Iris. Never thought of that. I've never had that sort of problem but guess there's always a first time.. I love prunes, especially stewed obnes. In fact I have a container of them in the refrigerator now. I just like them. When I want a bite of something sweet, they hit the spot, just like candy.
Your trip to Oregon sounds wonderful. You'll get to see the area where Zetta lives. When will you be going?
Mint, cute story about the three marriages guess it made sense to the little boy. Reminds me of an old tv show called Kids Say the Funniest things with Art Linkletter. Really funny. You know he was on a Wagon Train show earlier this week, Zetta.
This evening Darwin called and said they weren't going to take Donna because they have to be there at 7 am.One of his daughters will stay at home with her. Surgery is scheduled for 9 am. He said she was upset about it. He said he would take his phone and call me from the hospital. I will tell him about all of you. I talk about him so much you all probably feel like you know him.
Mint, you have been so good to J, taking her fruit and visiting with her. Hate that she is getting worse. You've a good friend to her.
Thunder lost last night so will have to win the next two games to win the series. Next game Saturday night in Dallas.
Hope everyone sleeps well tonight.
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Commonly Used Abbreviations
DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
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