Ice cream

Well, Mom is doing much better. Yesterday she ate corn on the cob, cheese enchilada, and then I asked her if she wanted various fruits, or ice cream. She said "ice cream".

She stayed awake until my brother came around 8:30. I had him phone our Aunt, and had him put Mom on the phone with her. My Mom doesn't really talk, but will say "hi", and "yes".

Today, my Mom wanted to eat breakfast.

I have invited some of her friends over for Sunday dinner.

She seems pleased.

Life goes on.

Another Day

Mom ate breakfast this morning, but not as much as she use to. She drank juice and water, but not as much as she use to.

I guess one could say she has "dropped another notch".

She hasn't uttered a word today. Nor yesterday, I think.

The home health aide came this morning and gave her a bed bath. She said her feet were dryer than usual. Probably because she is a bit dehydrated.

The "granny sitter" comes from 2:00 until 6:00. This is the one which was in the car accident earlier this year. Luckily she has recovered.

She will be glad to see Mom, as last week she stopped by one evening, and I couldn't get Mom to wake up at all to say hi to her.

Everyone seems to really like my Mom.

And, I don't think they are faking it.

Mom ate lunch

This morning Mom was really tired. I changed her diaper - she had a large b/m, but not diarrhea. I gave her some ice chips, but she didn't say "water", as she often does in the morning. She didn't even open her eyes as I fed her ice chips. I asked her if she wanted breakfast. She shook her head no.

When the nurse came, about an hour later, Mom kept her eyes closed, although she appeared to know what was going on.

Mom's respiration is at 97%, which is quite good and better than last week when it was 93%, her lungs are clear. I asked the nurse not to take Mom's blood pressure, as she really hates it. And, really, what's the point, other than to fill in that blank on the paperwork.

The nurse asked to speak with me in the other room. I told her that if Mom didn't want to eat, I wasn't going to force her too. And, if she didn't eat, I wasn't going to give her pills. What's the point. Just more misery.

The nurse said whatever I want to do is fine. If Mom has anxiety due to oxygen deprivation, the nurse said they could provide CO2. I declined as Mom never liked those things in her nose, or a mask over her face, when she was in the hospital.

The nurse said there is anti-anxiety medicine in the kit, which would help if Mom has problems breathing.

About 3 hours later I asked Mom if she wanted something to eat. She shook her head no, until I asked, "what about corn on the cob?". Suddenly, her eyes lite up. I asked her "is that a yes?", and got her to shake her head.

So, we are off and running again.

Lunch= corn on the cob, macaroni and cheese, garden fresh tomato.

And, the pills. I called the nurse to get one of the prescriptions refilled. I was down to just tomorrow's dose.

But, no dinner, and no nighttime pills.

Just ice chips.

And, unfortunately, more diarrhea.

Reading to Mom

Well, my brother finally got in last night about 8:30.

My Mother was awake. I had let her sleep most of the day, with the hope that she would be able to be awake when he was here.

She didn't say anything, but was awake, and alert.

I suggested he read out loud some of the things she had written.

One thing was a story about a painting she had done. The other was her travel log on her first trip overseas.

I left, as I thought they should have some time alone. I don't think my brother really thought about the need to do this.

I am sure after our Mom dies he will be glad he had that time together.

The nurse comes in about an hour.

My Mom says she isn't hungry this morning, so we shall see. Maybe in a couple of hours she will want something to eat.

I want to leave

It just amazes me how so many people in my life are just totally self absorbed.

My brother should have been here by now.

I want to leave. I am emotionally drained.

My brother isn't even answering his cell phone, so I don't know... maybe he was in an accident? Maybe he dropped dead.

I don't understand why others don't know how much it worries people when they say they will be somewhere, and then don't show up, don't call, can't be reached.

OK, I'll admit it, I would like to be like that also.

But, I am a responsible adult.

Perhaps that's the difference.

I think Mom might be quitting eating

Mom started having trouble with clear liquids again today. She was even chocking with just the ice chips.

I have also had trouble getting all her pills down her- probably successful with only half.

This evening I made corn on the cob and macaroni and cheese for dinner. She took maybe 2 bites of the corn, and didn't want any more.

I asked her if she wanted ice cream, and no response. She was intent on watching the video playing on the TV.

My brother is coming in about an hour. This will be the last of her children to see her this week.

Perhaps she has just been waiting for him.

Time will tell.

If she really has quit eating, I guess it will be only days?

Who knows.

She's back

Mom is pretty much back to the way she was a week ago, except she has had diarrhea the last few days.

However, she was constipated before that, so I hope she is just getting "cleaned out".

I am making sure she gets fluids and salt.

The one thing that is strange, is she is spitting out the chocolate bits from the mint chocolate chip ice cream.

I have been telling people "Mom must be dying if she is not eating chocolate!".
(She was always a bit of a chocoholic).

She doesn't seems to be choking as much, be I am very careful to give her more ice chips and juice, and less water. Also feeding her softer foods - scrambled egss with cheese. Although she is still enjoying her corn on the cob.

Amazing.

At least my brother is here this weekend, so I get some time off. Well, that is, when he gets back from wherever he ran off to this morning.

I want to run away too!

Mom seems mad

I don't know if Mom is mad, or what. It could be that she is going through a memory confusion stage, and keeps realizing she can't get up by herself anymore. I don't know.

It could be that now that she knows she will probably die soon, she might be in the "anger" stage of dying, of Kubler-Ross' five stages of dying.

• Denial and isolation: "This is not happening to me."

• Anger: "How dare God do this to me."

• Bargaining: "Just let me live to see my son graduate."

• Depression: "I can't bear to face going through this, putting my family through this."
• Acceptance: "I'm ready, I don't want to struggle anymore."

The list was praised and criticized by grief experts. Some said the stages got people expressing their emotions; others said the stages were too rigid.

Mom wasn't really interested in eating lunch, until I mentioned corn on the cob, then her eyes lit up. Maybe like "Oh, something to live for!"

My boyfriend and I have been watching the TV series Dexter, and in one episode a woman is dying of cancer, but keeps asking for the perfect key lime pie - saying she can't die until she has the perfect key lime pie.

So maybe just being able to eat her favorite foods everyday will keep my Mom hanging around awhile longer. Today she ate scrambled egg with cheese, meat loaf, corn on the cob, fresh garden tomatoes, ice cream, and crushed pineapple with crushed ice.

She is still chocking some, so we are cutting back on the water and giving her crushed ice, which seems to help.

I phoned Mom's "church group" leader, invited her for dinner on Sunday. But, she is going out of town for a week. So, I invited her for Sunday next week.

By then all of my Mom's children will have seen her, and probably her closest friends, so I suspect she will hang around until then.

Mom rallied today

I don't know if it's the "rally" before the end, or because my Mom slept for about 18 hours straight.

I got up this morning about 7:00 (very early for us), so see if my Mom was still alive, or having trouble breathing. She was sleeping very soundly, but woke up when I made noise.

She asked, in a complete sentence, "What time is it?". So, I got her changed, and she was very restless. Wanting to "get up", which she hasn't tried to do since last Feb. I pacified her by telling her I had to change her, and then I had to get breakfast ready. Then I sat her up in bed (sideways, with pillows all around her). She then said she needed to pea. I told her she had a diaper on, and would just have to pea in it.

She had some trouble chewing and swallowing her normal sausage and bacon(which had not been a problem 2 days ago), so finally I made her scrambled eggs with cheese.

Then she said again she wanted to "get up", so I took her feet off the chair (which I use to put her in a recliner position), and put her feet on the floor, and put more pillows behind her to prop her up straighter. This seemed to satisfy the need to "get up". Then I fixed her hair, washed her face, and put on some make up. By then she was tired enough she wanted to lay down.

The chaplain came about 4 hours later. She had been sleeping up until then, but woke up, and said "I heard you were coming". He spent about an hour with her, and I had dug out some of her travel journals from one of her "Work and Witness" church trips. He read her journal to her, and she seemed to really enjoy it.

Then later in the day I asked if she wanted lunch, which she did, and she ate chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a half and ear of corn on the cob. Then she went back to sleep for a few hours, and later ate 2 small bowls of ice cream.

They say that people often rally before the end. This could very well be what she is doing, or maybe not.

We shall have to wait and see.

Another day in paradise.

Is this the end?

This morning Mom was sleeping, but with her mouth open. You could tell she was dehydrated (from the medicine last night).

I gave her some water on my fingers, not wanting to give her too much to start her choking. I called hospice, and ask for the nurse to come out.

She said Mom's lungs are clear. At least the top of her lungs. There have been problems with the lower part of her lungs ever since she went on hospice. Her oxygen is around 93%. So neither of these are bad, but the nurse said she thought we were starting into the "active stage of dying".

Then later the home health aide came. She is not prepared for my Mother to die. She has gotten quite attached to her.

She woke up my Mom, asked her if she wanted something to eat (just so she could prove the nurse wrong, I think, lol). I fed her ice cream, but then when Mom took a sip of water, she started coughing. I told the aide "see, this is exactly what happened last night".

Then, you could almost see a light bulb go off in her head. She said maybe she is having a trouble swallowing thin liquids, that if a liquid is less than honey thickness it will go down into her lungs and not the stomach.

This made a lot of sense, because last night, the more Mom coughed, the more water I gave her, and then she coughed more.... Just a vicious circle.

So, we shall see tomorrow. Mom did eat a little today. Not much, but a little bit of sausage, bacon and pineapple. And, the ice cream.

Oh, and yesterday she ate corn on the cob, KFC chicken, and vanilla ice cream with M & M's and cashews.

Not exactly the diet of a dying woman.

Mom is coughing

My Mom was very alert this evening. I called on of her friends around 7:00, my Mom "listened" to her on the phone, and said a couple of word.

Then, around 9:00, my Mom starting coughing. A wet cough, but nothing came up. After half hour I thought I should call the hospice agency. The nurse on call suggested I give my Mom cough syrup, which I did. She said to call her in 20 minutes if it didn't get better.

Well, it did not get better, so I phoned again. She asked if I had a kit in the house (which I do) and suggested I give her Atropine. After looking this up on Google, I resisted. It dries up secretions, but it suggested to only give this when someone is in the end stage of dying, which I really didn't think my Mom is at.

But, after a couple of hours, and she is still coughing, I decided to give some to her. I really didn't want to do it, but didn't have much other options.

Finally, 3 hours later she seems to be sleeping.

I will have to get up every few hours to check on her.

If she really is dying, it will be hard to believe. But, sometimes it just goes this way.

It's not always like it is in the movies.

At least I have had the chance to tell her I love her, and even though she didn't respond, I told her that I know she loves me.

Probably tomorrow I will tell you she is perky and eating well.

But, maybe not.

Living Without Regrets

One of my "life lessons" has been to live without regrets.

I guess I came to this conclusion when my husband was dying. He died from colon cancer at the age of 52.

When it was obvious he would not make it, I asked him if there was anything he wanted to do, any place he wanted to go. He said no, the only thing he wanted to do was ski (as in snow ski).

I thought it was quite remarkable.

And thus, I have tried to live my life the same. Doing what I want and/or feel compelled to do.

My Mom has had an up and down week.

Today she slept a lot, but ate quite hardily on corn on the cob, fried fish, and an ice cream sundae with cashew nuts and M & M's. But then, she went back to sleep right away.

Maybe she will die soon. Maybe not. Either way, I have taken very good care of her, and I have no regrets.

No regrets. I have been the good daughter.

Where the #0%# is my Brother!!??

Ok, one of my brother's is coming every weekend to stay with our Mom while the weather is decent, so I can try to get some work done on my house.

The first time a brother (a different one) came to stay the weekend, I thought I could actually have the weekend off. But no. Whenever I showed up at the house to change our Mom's diaper, or get food prepared, he wanted to take off.

This really irritated me. I mean after all, he was suppose to be there to give me time off.

Then, my boyfriend reminded me that yes, I like to get time off, and so will my brothers. It's really hard for any of us to get use to this "locked down" situation, of not being able to just run out whenever we want.

The point of this whole whining is I give my brother time off when he comes to visit. I just ask to know for how long. So, from what I remember this morning, it was suppose to be 3 hours, and he left at 11:00, AND he even counted, OK, 11, 3 hours, then I will be back at 2:00.

That's what I remember.

He has a very bad memory, so probably during his time off, all he remembered was 3, and that will be the time he thinks he is suppose to show back up.

Oh well.

Good thing I didn't make any definite plans for this afternoon.

Help for Leaving Nursing Homes

Apparently there is a government program called Money Follows the Person

Enacted by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, the Money Follows the Person (MFP) Rebalancing Demonstration is part of a comprehensive, coordinated strategy to assist States, in collaboration with stakeholders, to make widespread changes to their long-term care support systems. With the history and strength of the Real Choice Systems Change (RCSC) grants as a foundation, this initiative will assist States in their efforts to reduce their reliance on institutional care, while developing community-based long-term care opportunities, enabling the elderly and people with disabilities to fully participate in their communities.

From what I can tell, it's targeted mainly to those on Medicaid.

The NY Times has an article describing how it has benefited some people to leave the nursing home and live in the community, even if in a wheelchair.

PHILADELPHIA — Walter Brown never wanted to live in a nursing home, but when he had a stroke two years ago, he saw little choice. Mr. Brown, 72, could not walk, use his left arm or transfer himself into his wheelchair.

Walter Brown said that after a while, being in a nursing home “was like being in jail.” Now, he is “more confident in the future.”

“It was like being in jail,” Mr. Brown said on a recent afternoon. “In the nursing home you’ve got to do what they say when they say it, go to bed when they tell you, eat what they want you to eat. The food was terrible.”

But recently state workers helped Mr. Brown find a two-bedroom apartment in public housing here, which he shares with his daughter. “It just makes me more relaxed, more confident in myself,” he said, speaking with some difficulty, but with a broad smile. “More confident in the future.”

For Mr. Brown, the transition to his own home has changed his life, he said. Now, with his motorized wheelchair, he travels the city on public buses, visiting friends in other neighborhoods.

“It’s a great feeling,” he said. “In the nursing home I got up at 5 o’clock in the morning, then the rest of the day was just watching the TV or my VCR. I wanted to be able to get out and see people, see the world. I didn’t want to be confined. Now I go where I want to go.”

Taking Care of Parents

The New York Times has an article entitled

Taking Care of Parents Without Going Broke

Here's the most important part of the article. I haven't checked out the web-site it references, as so far (luckily) my Mother still has money.

... money was an issue. For a time, Mrs. Egebrecht was out of work, having lost her job last year. Although her husband was still employed, without her salary she found it increasingly difficult to pay $180 a week for the adult day care center Mrs. Schwartz attends regularly.

Then, through the Family Alliance office in her town, Mrs. Egebrecht heard about a $1,000 “respite care” grant sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.

Intended to give primary caregivers the break they so often need, the grant money must be used to pay for temporary substitute care, said Carol Steinberg, executive vice president of the Alzheimer’s Foundation. Mrs. Egebrecht applied for and received the grant, which meant her mother could continue to go to the adult day care center and Mrs. Egebrecht had time to find another job, which she has.

Planning for respite care

I plan to take off the month of January. I have decided it's best to find a home to place my Mother.

One reason is because in January, the weather here might be bad, and we have lost electricity.

Also, whenever I have taken off and had people take care of my Mom in her home, there were always problems.

So, I am starting to research places for her to stay. I will do this myself, as in the past, I haven't got a lot of help from the social worker from the hospice agency.

I will keep you posted on my progress.

Mom had an "episode"

Last Thursday my Mother had what I can only describe as one of her "episodes".

I want to call them "mini-strokes", or TIA's, but this is the definition of a TIA

Transient ischemic attack (TIA, Mini-Stroke): A neurological event with the signs and symptoms of a stroke, but which go away within a short period of time. Also called a mini-stroke, a TIA is due to a temporary lack of adequate blood and oxygen (ischemia) to the brain. This is often caused by the narrowing (or, less often, ulceration) of the carotid arteries (the major arteries in the neck that supply blood to the brain).

TIAs typically last 2 to 30 minutes and can produce problems with vision, dizziness, weakness or trouble speaking.

Which is not really what happens with my Mom. Generally over a couple of days she will experience diarrhea and nausea. Sometimes she passes out.

Last Thursday she threw up, twice. And, her eyes got that funny, unfocused look. But then on Saturday, she was quite alert, so I made a couple of phone calls so she could talk (or more accurately, listen) to people.

Sunday evening she didn't look very well, again.

The nurse came on Monday. I told her what had happened. She agreed my Mother was not herself, and told me "we might be near the end".

I then had to tell the nurse there have been countless times I thought my Mother was going to "check out", but she always comes back.

She is not yet ready to go, and enjoys eating too much to quit now.

Someday she will, but not now.

However, I did learn that I have morphine in the special "kit" in the fridge.

Humm.... tempting.

Just kidding.

Am I a Pollyanna?

I had a long chat with my Mother's "Sunday School" teacher. Well, I guess now they are calling them small group leaders.

I don't recall what I said, I guess it was something like "well, I could have it worse, I could have to get up at 7:00 AM, dress and go to a job I hated".

To which she replied "that's a bit Pollyannish".

That's not a word one hears often, although I was pretty sure of it's meaning. But, just to confirm, I looked it up, which is

a person characterized by irrepressible optimism and a tendency to find good in everything

There are other definitions which are even less flattering.

I don't know. I have been in that situation of getting up every morning going to a job I didn't enjoy and which was totally stressful. Granted, this is more than a 5 day a week job, but I do get quite a bit of time off. And, I have a very nice understanding boyfriend, who comes over to visit, and is always willing to go out when I can get time off.

I know when my Mother was in a nursing home, I spent a lot of time running over there a couple of times a day, and was always frustrated with the care she received.

So, this is really less stressful.

Now, if I could find a really good care facility, well, it might be a different story.

More on that later.

Pneumonia, the old person's friend

Luckily, my Mother has already made her wishes known if she were to get pneumonia. Do Nothing!

Unless this has already been spelled out in an advanced directive, Doctors might give an antibiotic, just as described here.

Pneumonia, the old person's friend, may be dismissed with a wave of the prescribing pen—but what if the old person wishes the friend to call?

And sadly, this one daughter still does not understand that her Mother dying of pneumonia was a blessing.

From comments to New Old Age

I placed my mother in the gem of Florida nursing homes, after a 6-month waiting list, and was thrilled and felt fortunate. The night she died, I tried desperately to get the staff to call a doctor. I never knew what “clammy” meant before touching her hands, while seeing sweat on her forehead.

The doctor, who took my call, told me, in these words, “I’d have to drive back 30 miles again to get there and I don’t feel like it.”

Then the battle began, with the trained nurses and staff, who had so many protocols to follow that it took them about an hour and a half to finally call an ambulance, while I desperately tried all I could - pay phones were broken, no one had a cell phone (it was around 10 years ago; people had them but not everyone).

The paramedics said I was absolutely right to have called; my mother died that night, of pneumonia never diagnosed in the best nursing home in Florida.

My father died of pneumonia. It was quite difficult for all of us, as he went from being able to remodel a house, to 3 weeks later, dead.

However, we know that if he had lived, he would have been debilitated. He had rheumatoid arthritis. That would have made him miserable, and my Mother miserable, and all of us miserable.

Better to have enjoyed his robust life, than to linger and linger as an invalid.

Assisted Living in Mexico

Yes!! Someone did exactly what I said needed to be done.

Assisted living facilities in Mexico. One has been built in San Miguel De Allende, which is where I lived for 6 weeks (with a family) while attending Spanish school.

The town is full of "gringos", who began living there after WWII because there was an art school, which one could attend on the GI Bill.

I have maintained that one of the positive by-products of all the Mexicans who have lived in the U.S., but then must return to Mexico due to immigration issues and/or the economic downturn, is they can change Mexico. They can learn from what they saw and experienced in the U.S., and with their English skills, establish viable profitable businesses.

One being, taking care of the aging population of Americans. I think a lot of Americans wouldn't mind retiring in Mexico, especially now with the internet. Where one lives is not so important.

So, the first assisted living facility in San Miguel has been built.

Here is the article from Inside Elder Care.

Hospice, Death Care and Eldercare blogs

I found a site entitled "deathcare.com", which to me is a bit off putting, although perhaps, totally accurate.

It has a list of what they consider the 25 Top blogs for hospice, death care and eldercare.

Here is the link to their list.

It looks like a good list, I'll try and visit them when I get a chance.

End of life care

Another one of the articles in the New York Times "New Old Age" was in reference to an article "Months to Live - with Faith and Friends". It is a great article. Read it if you have time. Here is the link.

The blog article is "Dying with Discernment". I guess the blog format allows for comments.

This was one of them.

as a retired hospice nurse, i can validate the beauty and effectiveness of palliative care. both the patient and the family get the kind of individualized support and care that makes the end of life a time of peaceful letting go in the serenity of a calm, well-supported family. as an ex-icu nurse, i can tell you that we not only waste incredible amounts of money on futile care, we torture our dying patients.

One of my friends' father died a couple of years ago, after suffering strokes for many years. The last year or so of his life, his wife kept taking him to the hospital whenever he had a stroke, or some malady. My friend told me, after several trips to the hospital, her father said "why do we keep doing this?"

It is so difficult for us to let go of loved ones. We always keep doing whatever it is we can do, to keep them around.

I don't think I have that problem with my Mom anymore. I did at one time. It took about a year and a half to come to terms with the fact that she wasn't going to get any better, no matter what I did.

And, the fact that she absolutely hated going to the hospital, hated needles, has certainly aided in my decision.

No hospitals. No needles.

In fact today, the hospice nurse took my Mom's blood pressure twice, and, not being happy with the result was going for a 3rd time. I told her no. My Mother hates even having her blood pressure taken. And, it doesn't matter! They just need it for their silly charts.

I told the nurse to write down the first one (which was lower than the 2nd).

I am sure my Mother's blood pressure went up, just because it was taken.

Other blogs

I haven't found too many other bloggers on caregiving, but today ran across this one.

Back Door Logic

It's more about dealing with a diabetic (which my Mother is not), but has some interesting recipes I might try.

Planning for my future

They New York Times has a section called "The New Old Age Blog".

Generally people submit blog postings on their experiences, such as this one "Being There, and Far Away"

This is how it starts

When my parents were in their 50s — the age I am now — my father told me not to do for them what they had done for their parents: become their caregiver when they were old.

This is what my sister's in-laws told their children. This couple had taken care of one set of parents, and the mother lived to be 100. I don't know how many years they lived in their house, but I am guessing at least 15.

I don't have children, so there will not be anyone to take care of me.

In many ways I think that's great. Having children who try to tell you what you should do, would not sit well with me. Also, because I don't have children, I will have to plan ahead for my care.

My initial plan (which I announced to all my friends after my Mom had her stroke), was that when I turn 75 I am moving to Mexico and doing drugs. Not to try and "off" myself, but just so I won't care.

I still think there are some benefits to that plan. Although, I will probably try to "adopt" a Mexican family, and make sure there is a U.S. attorney in charge of my finances.

Mom is in good hands

I read about caregivers not wanting others to take care of their care receiver (I don't know what would be the generic term, I just made that up).

I knew from the get-go that I needed back-up. My brothers were willing to help, but they didn't know where to begin.

So, I made sure to train them as we went along. Sure, there have been some bumps in the road, and no, they don't do everything as I would, or as I would like, but I know that if I don't rely on them to do the best they can, I would never get a break.

One of my brothers was here for the weekend, and another one came today.

I don't know if it's because my Mom was glad to have me back around, or what, but she was much more "with it" this evening. I made her an ice cream sundae. She sat up and ate it when the news was on. Then, when the local news was over I switched over to PBS.

I enjoy PBS news, but it's not something my Mother really watched. When I laid her back down I asked if she wanted some music on (which she normally does), or if she wanted to listen to the news. She said she was listening.

That really surprised me. I knew she seemed interested in the local news, but past that I never was sure.

I guess she is more "with it" that I thought.

Darn. She is going to be around forever.

From,
Her loving daughter.

Mothering Mother and More

I found a blog entitled Mothering Mother and More

Here is the link

The author has written a book, which she wrote in real time while taking care of her parents.

I'll try to check it out and let you know what I think, although, reading about what someone else else gone through might not be on the top of my list.

Mom is feeding herself

Dinner tonight is fried catfish, fried okra, and garden tomatoes with salt and pepper.

This was the menu we decided on this afternoon when the home health aide was here. I always try to have a conversation with my Mom when the aide is here, so she can see how my Mom reacts.

Not that my Mom talks, but when I went through the options for dinner; polish sausage, pizza, fried catfish.... she got a big grin when I hit fried okra.

I guess because Mom has been contemplating this wonderful meal for a few hours, when it was served to her she started feeding herself. This is something she hasn't done in quite a while. She even managed to stab a piece of catfish and drag it through the tartar sauce.

So here I sit. The proud daughter... watching my Mom feed herself.

Life in reverse.

The dryer quit

If it's not one thing it's another.

Yesterday, the dryer quit working. Just won't do anything.

My brother did his analysis and thinks it's a non resettable switch, which should cost about $30.00. Problem is, when I called Sears, the service charge is $129.00 plus parts, which means we are over $150.00 at least.

We aren't sure how old the dryer is. I asked my Mom, but she doesn't remember. A year ago she might have known, but not now.

My best guess is it's at least 15 years old, maybe even 20. It is a Kenmore Heavy Duty. My parents always bought top of the line Kenmore appliances, and they lasted forever. This thing might be more than 30 years old.

As we will sell the house when my Mom dies, it doesn't make sense to spend too much money on a dryer. I checked the ads, then phoned the appliance store where I bought the fridge and dishwasher for my "bungalow". They couldn't match any of the advertised prices, but after chatting a bit, they said they had some nice used dryers for around $150.00.

Bingo! Just what we need. So, my sister, her son and husband will go pick one up and bring it here.

As much as I complain about my sister, she is usually quite good about these sorts of things. Of course, she does always enlist the help of her kids and/or husband, so I guess it's really them I have to thank.

I was chatting with the home health aide about dryers today when she was here giving Mom a bath. What we believe to be a necessity, my Mom thought was a luxury. She had 4 children born in the winter before she had a dryer. I remember her telling me should would hang diapers out on the line to freeze in the winter, as a way to dry them.

Wow, I have no reason to complain about my life. We live with air conditioning, washer/dryer, dishwasher, remote controls, key start riding lawn mowers.

No wonder we are fat and lazy.

Great dinner!

Eating is one of the true pleasures my Mother has these days. She is very lucky to have her own teeth, and very rarely has trouble swallowing.

She really enjoys corn on the cob. It's a bit tricky for her to eat, as she can hold only one end of the ear, so I must hold the other. But boy, does she enjoy eating it, so the time is well spent.

This was the menu for tonight's meal.

Pot Roast
Corn on the cob
Fresh garden tomato with salt and pepper (she does not have any salt restrictions)
Seedless red grapes
Strawberries with ice cream and M & M's

Yum Yum

Sometimes, life is good.