I am Canadian

woohoo time to break in a new room

Cool new digs, Sapphire! T'anks lady ma'am.

A new room! Actually the old one felt pretty new to me. The iced cap from Tim Horton's sounds good to me.

Pat

If y'all go to my regular blog or my eharl blog, there are a few pics of the new digs.  :-)

 Donna

Love the pics Donna.  It's a beautiful home, esp love the dining room...and the pillow you *had* to have.   Sincerely hope you'll have many happy years there.

DonnaH, July seems to be a big month for you for b'days.  And ya'know, October seems to be a big month for you for reasons related to the July b'days.  First real cold snap perhaps? 

Been having a blast with my Mom here this week.  Have to take her back to Renfrew this coming Saturday.  Ds has loved every minute of Oma's stay and has already started asking her to stay longer.  She said she has to go home but ds is just getting warmed up, he will continue to beg her to stay until we have to leave on Saturday. 

Bren

Aunt B, you show up at my house, I'll welcome you with open arms!  (that goes for everyone here!)  The more the merrier!  I usually way over prepare, so we eat left-overs for weeks after, so there's no danger of running out of food, no matter how many come.    I have no idea how much wishes cost these days.  As long as it's a big enough coin that the fish can't swallow it. . .     Lucky you to have no damage from the storm.  Sounds like the one we had here a couple weeks ago. 

Hehehe, Bren, one would think you'd lived in this area or something. . . 

Well, the waterfall's running.  I gave up long ago and came in to do other stuff.  Dh has been out there at least 3 hours since I quit.  He just now came in and said I need to come take a look as he's got the water running over the tops of the rocks all the way down except for the bottom layer.  Guess I better go take a look. . .    Maybe tomorrow I'll put the fish in. 

Well folks, I might be scarce again for a while...I discovered how many projects i have between now and next spring to finish up.  That's not to say I won't be around until spring!  But I do have to keep things pretty focused.  Plus there are a few trips to NB to visit family before the summer is over. 

It's all good news though, it's great to have work that needs doing, yanno?

I'll pop in now and again to referee chair usage and timbit fights.

Donna

August 12, then January, and then June as far as I know.  I'm waiting to hear on a title for the June book.  :-)  And don't worry, I'll still be around.  I'm off for today after hashing out character profiles since my initial attempt flopped.  Monday the real writing begins...again.

Have a good weekend all. 

D

Dh may give up and go, but I won't let him.  Amost two weeks ago Dh had a very bad stroke.   It put him in a coma overnight and they didn't think he would make it.   We have him back at the nursing home and he is eating,  not as much as he would have if he were well,  but  it is nourishment.  He has to be hand fed.  When I go in I can get a little crooked smile from him and when I kiss him to go, I put a kiss on his cheek, and I get a movement from his mouth as kiss.   Sometimes it is a real smacker. He only eats ground food, and they thicken his liquid a little bit too.  I suppose I'm selfish, but I will take him any way I can get him.   One of the nurses gave me a pamphlet on seperation and I'm not ready to to read it.  If ever.   Paliative care group gave him 3 to 3 weeks.  We are just at two weeks, and he has improved.  So wish him luck ladies.   My Grds says Grandpa is strong Grandma.  And I hope he is.  My fountains are going quite a bit now.  So I am not very good company.

Take care ladies

Bev.

(((((Bev))))) Thoughts and prayers are with you.

Aunt B

DonnaH, be very, very careful about putting an open invitation to your place in the cabin.  You just might find a wench at your door some day!    Cool about the waterfall.  After waiting so long, I'm sure it was a thrill to see it running. 

 Aunt B.  Yikes about the storm damage.  Nothing too severe here, just rain every day during Mom's visit.  Took her back to Renfrew yesterday, sunshine all the way...and more sunshine all the way home today. 

 Jordie, my Mom isn't fond of dogs, esp dogs that live in the house.  But Hamish turned on the charm and won Mom over quickly.  Maxine, our German Shep, pretty much avoids Mom.  Hamish, being a puppy, set about charming Mom no matter how much she complained.  By the end of the week, Mom wanted me to take pics of her with Hamish.  lol

Bren

Donna, one of these days I just might turn up at your door.  But you can breath easy, won't happen this Summer because I'm bogged down with work. 

 Thanks for asking about my Mom.  Her doc put her on Aricept right after she was diagnosed with early stages dementia back in March.  Youngest sis is a nurse and said, in her opinion, Aricept is no more than a placibo.  But, she doesn't spend much time with Mom.  I couldn't believe how much better Mom was this past week than she was when she was here over Christmas last year.  The only thing I had to help her with was her meds and that was only because she muddled them up when she was packing to come here.  There's very fine print on the little bags that contain Mom's meds.  She couldn't read them so asked me to take care of it.  I set them out on the table in the morn before I left for work and asked ds to make sure "Oma" took them.  But Mom always remembered where I set them and took them before Nick reminded her.  Mom was tickled with ds' concern tho, he asked her every morning and, she said, looked relieved when she told him she'd already taken her meds. 

What bothered me to no end was when I got Mom back home. Almost as soon as we walked in the door, Mom seemed to lose it.  She'd taken her meds out and put them on the kitchen counter and, within seconds, started searching her purse for her meds.  When I handed them to her, she started to cry.  Same with dinner...told her I'd make something and she said that was good.  She went to the livingroom, came back a couple mins later and said she'd ordered Chinese food for delivery.  I had everything on the stove cooking.  Mom cried again while I called to cancel the order, she couldn't remember that I'd told her I'd make dinner. 

She was stressed about being home again, about being alone again.  And stress seems to trigger it for her.  I saw no signs of this kind of thing while she was here with us.  Oh, I wish she'd move here...  It's been discussed a few times but she doesn't want to move so far away from my sisters (all of whom ignore her). 

Bren

Bren -- who cares how long the post was if it helped you.  You have my sympathies on the problems with your mom. Hugs fro both of you.  I can also understand her feelings of being alone and stressed and scared.  Even though I don't have the same problems somtimes I think about the fact that I live alone and no one checks up on me from one day to the next and if something happened I wonder how long it would take before someone noticed.

Bev, oh hugs on the dh and all I can say is hang in there....

Bren and Ellen - Bren sometimes you can only do what you can do.  It is great that your mom had a good visit, and when the time comes that she isn't able to stay alone any more, perhaps then you'll have her closer.  I can't imagine your sisters volunteering to give her a home.  I do agree that the stress can be a big trigger.  That part didn't surprise me at all.

My mum has one of those alert things.  I know it made her a lot more comfortable knowing she had it, especially after her knee surgery.  Now after Saturday she shouldn't have to worry, because she won't be living alone anymore!  LOL.  It has been wonderful how she and Harold have looked after each other.  They are 75 but seem so much younger since being together so I hope they have several years together.

And Donna I bought my daughter a medicalert bracelet.  It was $50.  She'll need another when she gets older, but for now it'll do.

Donna

It's called Lifeline in my area.  Most of my supportive housing clients have them.  Either a necklace or wristband, with a button to push if something happens.  It really is a life saver.  We take turns carrying the pager, my day being Wednesday, and over the past 6 yrs, I've run into work several times to help clients after getting a page from Lifeline. 

 Thanks so much for your kind words.  Mom called here last night and talked a bit about the idea of moving here again.  She's been home since Saturday and not one of my three sisters have called to see how she is.  This would be the same three sisters who thought Mom shouldn't come here at all...too far from home, she'll get confused and Bren won't know what to do etc.  <yeah right!>  Yet she's been home 4 days and none of my sisters have called. So much for their concern about how Mom would manage here. 

 This time, I told Mom in no uncertain terms that she really should think about moving this way. Until last night, I was careful about what I said to Mom...she loves us all equally.  I understand that but there's no excuse for them to ignore her the way they do.  We want her here and if I have my way, she'll move here when she leaves her house this fall.  My sisters say she can't stay in her house for another winter and want her in a retirement home.  Mom has mixed feelings about it and heck, if they'd just spend some time with her, check in on her a couple times a week, she'd be fine in her own house.  Ugh! 

Ya'know, there were a lot of issues while I grew up.  Mom wasn't the supportive kind of person you'd have wanted your mother to be.  But, at 46, I'm 2nd youngest and I'm sorry, there's no excuse for treating Mom this way because we might not have had the ideal youth.   

Bren

I am just about to log off as we're heading to my mum's wedding this weekend, but I had to comment on your post Bren.

Your mom probably did the best she could and what she thought was the right thing, at the time.  I think it's WONDERFUL how you are getting closer and that you are willing - happy - to help her in her later years.  This is about her, not about your sisters and it sounds like you - and she - realize that.  I hope it all works out. 

 Donna

I sincerely appreciate all your kinds words.  Donna, you are so right.  It's been a very long road but I'm so glad I've finally come to a place I'm at.  Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like my sisters ever will. 

Yikes about the storm Aunt B.  We had thunder showers here a couple days ago but nothing major.  Glad nothign serious happened where you are!  I did hear that there were tornado warnings down your way so maybe you got off lucky. 

They said on the news this morning that most ppl in Ontario think that July was a "wet" month.  But, they said that it was no where near setting records, in fact, it wasn't nearly as soggy as we think it was.  Ha!  Try to tell the farmers around here that little tidibit!

Bren 

That's way kewl about the phones. I'm not sure what news you were watching, but I know we've broke records in the GTA for sure. Heard that from a couple different fronts.

 OMG, that was so totally horrific about the incident on the Greyhound Bus. I seldom get physically moved (well, beyond sometimes tearing up when I hear some stories) but I felt like I was going to puke when I heard about that poor man and my skin kept puckering. Those poor people on that bus and that poor, poor fellow! Even the cops having to deal with that, seasoned pros are shaken by it.

Makes you wonder what kind of stress we're putting ourselves under each and every day and to think that someday, all it might take is one little thing to make us go postal and snap. I am so so very glad I made the tough decision to give up my position at my part time job. I knew last week when I found out that my manager wouldn't approve a reduction in hours and I cried so hard and so long that my sinues and eyes hurt until Saturday night that I just couldn't stay there any more. I think I'll be fine to go back and pick up the odd relief shift, but beyond that, I don't want the commitment and responsibility. It'll be tough for the first while getting used to the cuts I've had to make, but we'll all be so much happier in the long run.

Everyone have a great weekend, dbf and I are heading to London to visit some friends of his and hopefully see my aunt as well.

Jordanne

I sit here with nothing to do right now.   Dh has gone.   I was with him and hung onto his hand.  There is not much I can say right now.   I agree with the others Bren.   Your mother should be where you can care for here.

Bev.

((((Bev)))) I'm glad you were with him, holding his hand.

Aunt B

Oh hon, I'm SO sorry, but very glad you were with him.  If I were there I'd give you a great big hug.

Your bit about having nothing to do just put this big hole in me.  I remember that feeling and remember seeing that very emotion on my mum's face when my Dad passed away.  Hang in there and please give the IAC a holler if you need anything...including just something to do.

Donna

Bev....so sorry for your loss huge hugs....and just know we're all thinking of you

Oh Bev, I'm so very sorry to hear that your husband is gone.  But very glad you were able to be with him at the end. 

It's been 3 1/2 years now, and dh's mom still misses his dad.  Many prayers going up for you. 

I repeat what Donna said.  We are here for you.  If you need to chat, just email any one of us.  I've forgotten where you're from, but if you decide to get away from it all for a bit, our doors are always open!

I just came back from physio, and according to this new guy, the exercises I've been doing for my shoulder for the past 15 years are totally wrong, and are only making it worse.  He gave me some new exercises, and a whole long list of things I'm NOT supposed to do.  Thankfully, typing is not on that list!