Just need to talk to my friends(201)
Comments
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Carl…I agree and now have Bay Alarm Medical. I have been sort of looking for a system for a while and Bay Alarm was always one of the top systems. This year I called the companies and Bay came out way on top. I got the SOS package. Is it the cheapest company? No, but I did not think that $$$ was the most important thing.
One thing about the watches, one has to be able to work the buckle on the strap!
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Judith—
Both Apple and many after-market sellers offer bands that fit an Apple Watch without a buckle. One of my favorite bands is a woven elastic one. I've seen them with magnetic and Velcro closures as well.I have a Best Buy knock-off of this one I wear a lot.
We landed with Apple because mom refused to wear a pendent that looked as if it was "for old people".
Carl— You might consider a lock box as well. I have one on mom's house along with registering her with Smart911. If first responders get a call to her address, they get the combination to obtain the key instead of knocking down the door. They also get her medical/medication history, my contact information and alert them to the cat if there's a fire.
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Morning, Ron, it is hard to remember to put on the pendant at least half the time. My BIL is 94 and he puts his in the charger on his because table. He puts it on when he wakes up and he says he puts it inside his shirt and it doesn't bother him.
. Sorry, forgot to bold this. Usually do because with my ripe cataracts it's easier to read. Thank you all for bolding.
The fog this morning was so thick I could barely see the edge of the pond. The cows walking by looked like shadows. It has now lifted and is beautiful. Birds are singing. Mint, Mocking Birds sing all kinds of songs mimicking other birds. They're dark gray with white on their wings and pretty big and a little aggressive. Those and Cardinals are my favorite birds and Barn Swallows.
Hope everyone is okay this morning. Two more days and we will be finished with 2024. Do you have your black eyed peas for New Years?
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Oh my goodness……I hope my keyboard survives. I just spewed iced tea everywhere when I read: Glitter is the herpes of the crafting world. That strikes me as absolutely hilarious. and very true.
Y'all need to hold on to something when putting on your clothes. I guess I never think about it because with my awful knees I naturally hold on when dressing. No one needs a fall, inside or outside.
Beautiful day here. You'd never know its the end of Dec. Blue sky, birds sings and 72 degrees. My roses are blooming! It won't last, but it's sure nice now. I've got things to do inside, but I think I'll go outside and rake some leaves, or possibly just sit and soak up some sun.
Be safe everyone. Back later.
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Here's Santa
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It's a foggy and rainy day but the view is still absolutely beautiful
Sorry I posted the wrong picture here is the one I took today
The VA and the church did a decent job it was just so cold the snow banks froze too fast but the church kept the sidewalk exceptionally well sanded
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Hello Everyone!
I hope you don't mind me joining your conversation but I've been eavesdropping for a few days and thought it would be rude not to say hello.
Not much happening here in my corner of the world. Gray skies, light traffic. I guess everyone is sticking close to home. I am.
We had to cancel plans for get together with DH's daughter twice (Christmas Eve and following Saturday, yesterday) due to illness. She's 3 hours away and is now stuck with a giant lasagna (hers is the best I've ever had) and we have salad and French bread to last us a month if it would be edible that long. It probably wouldn't hurt me to eat more salad. :)
Anyone do any crafts here? I'm knitting here and trying watercolors for the first time with limited results. I love uTube but it looks much easier than it is.
I live in the city and thoroughly enjoy hearing stories from those with livestock. I grew up in a more rural setting and it brings back good memories.
Hope you all enjoy the new year ahead. jehjeh
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Looks pretty, David, but please keep it up there. Glad you were able you got to Church. I. took down the trash and the roads are still muddy ànd soupy. But overhead it is beautiful.
Got to interact a bit with the girls. Mike called and I asked about hay so he set out a couple of bales. Some of them were in the meadow and some stopped at a fence on their way to hay. Closed one gate and opened two and the one cow came through. Then honked three times, paused, then honked again and here they came. Got to the barn and through the gate and on up to the hay. The ones in the meadow will finally figure it out. I imagine they are the heifers. I enjoyed being with them amd need to do it more often.
Welcome to our front porch, jehjeh. The lasagna sounds good - sorry your plans didn't work out. How she feels better soon. You said you grew up in a rural setting- in which State? Glad you decided to join us.
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I am still adjusting to my new life at the VA. Was glad to go to church. Monday I should start physical therapy to help me strengthen my legs so I can get up of my chair easily. Speaking of chairs my wife ordered a recliner for my room it is heated and has a massage in it and cup holders(I may never get out of it). She said it is your money spend it anyway you want.I plan on being here the rest of my life so why not be comfortable. When it comes "Jan 7 ha ha" I will send a photo lof it.
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That's great, David. That is right, you should be comfortable. Many people sleep in their recliners and I nap sometimes in ours.
Good night, everyone.
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Welcome jehjeh. Glad you are joining us on Lorita's porch! When you have a chance, tell us a little bit about yourself.
I'm Beth, retired RN, and I live in Iowa. The loved one with dementia that I helped with was my mom. She has since passed away (2017) but I've stuck around, partially to provide input/help to others who have questions but mostly because I have friends on this thread. I've not met any of these friends personally, but they still mean a lot to me and I like to follow their lives. I have two children, a son and a daughter, and 8 grandchildren. I am married - 48 years now. I enjoy baking, traveling, gardening and reading. I have a miniature schnauzer who is adorable. :)
Hope all have a good week!
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Had the same concern for my mother, but we got an expansion band and replaced the one the came with the watch. Works well for her.
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Welcome! I live alone but am called on to make lasagna for the grands so I make a pan for myself at the same time. I let it cool then cut into serving sizes and freeze. A few minutes in the microwave to heat and it comes out tasty! No help for the salad…never last very long no matter what I try.
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Pleased to meet you, jehjeh. This porch has no lemonade and no cookies unless you bring your own, but it is a perfect place to visit otherwise.
Lorita, I have a bag of black-eyed peas and the bone from the Christmas ham, and I plan to combine them in a crock pot on New Year's Eve. Sort of an old man's version of getting potted on NYE. I have heard you should eat black-eyed peas for luck and turnip greens for money, but I gave up on money years ago so I'm just having the black-eyed peas.
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You're right, Carl. I think about this every day. But I have no one to be my "person to call".
Iris
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Iris, the kind I am thinking of calls 911 for you, not a relative or friend. Judith recommended Bay Alarm Medical, and IIRC that is the one recommended by Consumer Reports as well. An alarm that calls 911 is better than calling a friend, because a friend might be out of town, ill, or whatever, while first responders are always there.
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Jehjeh, I never was any good at crafts but might take it up again this winter. A doc on TV said arts and crafts are really good for your mental health, and you don't have to be good at them to get the benefit. My wife was good at crewel and other needlework but can't do it anymore.
I made model cars and airplanes from kits when I was a teenager, and that was fun. Some of my friends traded them, but I couldn't see the value of owning one made by someone else.
I was in the Toy Chest one day about 1962, where we bought the kits, spray paints, and glue, when the teenage clerk was demonstrating an air pistol to a customer. He shot it into a cardboard box, and we heard a hiss. He had blown a hole entirely through the box and penetrated a can of red spray paint. When I left the store, he was holding a finger over the hole to staunch the spray of red paint all over the counter. One of those "last day on the job" kind of things.
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Good morning
No black eye peas for me. Thinking about pork and sauerkraut.
Nice to meet you JehJeh. I did lots of crafts when I was younger. Use to crochet a lot and knit some. Do it very little now. Use to really like to do counted cross stitch. Seeing sharply enough to do the counted cross stitch is challenging now and therefore not relaxing anymore so I really haven’t done that in a long time. I still have all my materials And threads though. Once I had to start helping my mom more I really didn’t have time for anything other than to keep her and me existing. My mom was placed a couple of months ago and so once I get all the legal stuff done and get my house decluttered then I hope to start being able to do a few things. I am a retired, healthcare worker, and I live in Ohio. I live in town now, but spent much of my younger life in the country. I also like to cook.
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JehJeh, I used to do counted cross stitch but it got to be too hard on the eyes. Many of the ladies of the family did crochet, but could not teach me as I am left handed. One day I found a booklet for "Lefties" and I got hooked. Started with the scarfs and some sampler afghans. My daughter got into making animals and doing graphgans and asked for my help. Right now am working on one for my soon to be 6th great grandchild.
I also used to be an avid reader since my work had me traveling alot. The last time I moved I donated over 200 books to the local library…I always hated to get rid of them…lol. Still read some but not so much.
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Just sitting here looking out the window watching it rain.im a retired mailman and don't miss going out in the rain or snow.
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Good morning Porch People.
It's warm and sunny today which is odd for suburban Philadelphia. Yesterday was positively balmy. I made a quick trip to mom's to scrub her "Waterhog" mat in the driveway. When mom was last hospitalized, and her cat was on the initial antibiotic for her pneumonia said kitty was "thinking outside the box" as it were. I was not a happy camper as said mat is camel color and I stepped in it 3 times as it blended in. Grrr. I must say, it scrubbed up beautifully.
Lorita— Thanks for the reminder to bold my text. Keep at it. I should know better; I was synching mom's iPad to her phone yesterday and changed the settings to make it easier for her to read.
David— Are you Santa?
Jehjeh— At least lasagna freezes well. Salad, not so much I'm afraid. Nice to meet you. I'm sorry your plans fell through; there's been much sickness here, too. DS and I both had some sort of GI thing. I suspect salmonella from dodgy eggs I ate soft-cooked and Norovirus for DS. He works the Christmas trains and brings home some sort of crud from the littles every year. Last year was a cold and pink eye, the year before that it was COVID and we've gotten flu despite the vaccines several times. I'll be glad when he gets a real job and stops trying to kill his parents.
I'm not much of a crafter these days. I do sew once in a while. Sometimes it's something for DH or the house, but once in a while I do bridesmaids or mothers-of-the-bride as a side hustle. I've even done a couple encore brides. I made DH a pair of PJ pants in a robot print. I am very proud of my proper button fly which is kind of weird.
Mint— I used to do counted cross stitch and crewelwork. I was pretty good but drifted out of it when DS was born and never got back in. I'd made my nieces and DH beautiful crewel Christmas stockings years ago but never finished the one for DS. It lives in my sewing closet and mocks me.
Carl— I don't know how good crafting is for my mental health. DH always comments on the language emanating from my sewing room although it's gotten much better since her bought me a new machine several years ago. I used to sew on mom's old hand-me-down Kenmore which was processed by demons.
DS loves models and still does them occasionally. They're very hard to find. You might enjoy some of the Lego kits designed for adults. My niece, her husband and DS all love their Legos for decompressing. DS is working on a lunar rover at the moment and niece is doing a succulent garden. They're oddly satisfying. The place where nephew-in-law shops, will buy back kits which helps pay for the next set.
I don't have anything I need to do today which is awesome. DH bought me a couple of books, so I may take time to lose myself in one of them. Tomorrow, I see the dentist and mom has a hair appointment on Friday so it's a quiet week here so far. She's been banging on about how bad her hair is since it was cut the day before Thanksgiving. Her regular stylist was sick and the substitute just wasn't as good. Maybe I'll take her for a pedi and get that out of the way.
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Retired RN in Alabama here. We live on 40 acres inherited from my dairyman grandfather. Goats, chickens, dogs, a cockatiel (he messes up my floors with seeds) and a remaining 17 year old cat. DH has no children of his own, but thru marriage has 23 grands and greats, lol. I have a daughter, SIL and granddaughter in Ohio, 1 daughter, 2 grands and a greatgrand here.
I'm the keeper of birthdays, schedules, treats, surprises and baby goats that must be bottle fed inside the house. I don't knit, sew, craft, or do any kind of handwork. I do like to read when there is time. I do a lot of cooking. DH just retired (if you can call it that) in March and the real whirlwind began.
Today I have 2 6-year-olds camping in my living room cutting construction paper and making "art".
Glad to meet you and welcome to the porch.
For New Year's I'll be bringing pork chops, blackeyed peas, yams and turnip greens seasoned with good bacon grease and a pan of cornbread to the porch to share. Who wants to make the dessert??
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Happy Monday my porch friends. Its the last Monday of the year, how in the world did that happen? My mom used to say something to the effect that the older you get the fast the time goes but also the slower it moves. Then she'd add, you'll understand one day. I think my 'one day' is here, because I do understand what she meant.
Welcome to the porch jehjeh, I'm glad you've joined us. I'm in the great state of TX, in suburbs of Ft. Worth and Dallas. On year thirteen of caring for my DH who was diagnosed at 54. We do a daily dementia Zoom which he loves and then the rest of the day can happen! I like being outside in the flower garden in the spring, and generally messing in the yard. I'd love to get back into stained glass, maybe someday. I'm on several boards so those keep me too busy. I'm glad your here.
I need to get our black eyed pea's. I don't love them, but its tradition for DH.
Be safe everyone.
eagle
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HB being a mailman at Christmas time I felt like Santa with all the packages and Christmas cards that I delivered in over 35 years
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up late…..beautiful day
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Afternoon, everyone. Pretty here but very windy. Thanks for the bold letters, HB, really helps. Been watching TV this morning about the loss of Jimmy Carter. Happy he made it to 100.
jehjeh, I live in East central Oklahoma on a farm, now ranch. My dad was a farmer but when he retired we turned to cattle. I lost Charles to vascular dementia ten years ago Jan. 15. Lost both mother and sister to Alzheimer's years before that. I have lived alone since losing Charles except for two Great Pyrenees, Stormy and Sheena and three cats, Max, Lilly and their son, Sammy. I was born in this house and raised on the farm.
I sold my cattle and leased my.land three years ago to our vet. Most of the girls are still here so I still watch over them. I enjoy being around them and miss feeding.
No relatives except for two cousins I'm not close to. There is a sweet couple about a mile away His wife has Alzheimer's . He cares for her and calls me twice a day. That way we check on each other. He is 85 and still cuts his own firewood from his ranch. He also sold his cattle and leased his land a few months before I did, to the same friend.
I retired from the Veterans Administration 30 years ago after over 33 years service. That's where I met Charles 61 years ago. I started our thread 16 years ago when he was diagnosed to learn more about what was ahead. That's my story.
Guess you could say I binge watched The Waltons this weekend. Saw several episodes I had never seen, mostly when the kids grew up.
Awful tornadoes this past weekend. Eagle, I think they were east of you, mostly in Mississippi. I need to get outside some this afternoon because colder weather begins tomorrow- not ready for that. Back later.
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Sitting here looking out my window the rain stopped and the sun came out to make a beautiful sunny day.
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David, my sister retired from the post office last Friday, the 27th.
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Good night, sleep tight, everyone.
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Lorita, I forget to bold my posts sometimes, but I have discovered that I can correct that with the "edit" function. As you said, the posts are a whole lot easier to read that way.
I had my cataracts removed a few years ago, and I can drive and read without glasses. I wear glasses with a little prescription to avoid eyestrain and see 20/20 with them. I can't see much in the dark but there's no help for that. I don't have 20/15 vision like I did when I was young, but I'm really happy with the result.
I sorted the rocks out of the black-eyed peas, rinsed them, and put them to soak overnight. I haven't yet decided whether to add carrots and tomatoes to the mix and make bean soup out of it. Decisions, decisions.
Mint, that pork and kraut meal sounds delicious.
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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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