Pa & Ma's House...

Now that Hayden is in kindergarten, it is a bit more difficult to have a long weekend in Sadieville. Claude and I have made several trips to LaGrange so we have seen the Mini-Marx's in their home for the last few months. Hayden was sure it was now time for him to come to Sadieville. Andie was able to bring the kids last weekend for this visit.

The Marx's, sans Michael, arrived Friday evening and were able to stay till Sunday morning.

Friday evening the kids found my candy canes. I've had these left since Christmas. They are in a mug on the island in our kitchen. Each month when I go to visit Linda, I carry two of them in the outside pocket of my purse. Linda's two little grand kids know I have them, at least they hope that I have them. They come over to the chair where I am sitting with my purse on the floor by my feet and they try to sneek a peek inside my purse pocket. There are always lots of grins when I pull them out and give each of them a candy cane.

Hayden was very happy to find them. He and Bailey didn't even try to open them to eat them. They just started trying to find things they could pretend with them. Here are a few of their ideas:

Saturday we tried to fill our day with all we could. We only had one full day and we wanted to enjoy it to the fullest. That would include individual boxes of cereal, yogurt and bacon for breakfast, science shows for Hayden, a walk to the bridge for Bailey and me, Papa and Tiny coming to play, playing in the big whirlpool tub, cakes to decorate, a visit to Mimi, a visit to Papa, a movie in the evening, and we even fit quiet time in the middle of all that. I'm tired just remembering it.

On the way to our home Friday evening. Andie bought the kids dinner at McDonald's. Hayden's food came in one of those hamburger boxes. He looked at that box and determined it would make a great computer. I asked him what other supplies he needed to make his computer. He gave me some ideas and I went searching those things and any others I could find that he might like to use. One of the things I brought up was some pipe cleaners I have on hand.

Andie got her idea when she saw the pipe cleaners. She asked me if I had any barrettes. I have a few that you can cover with ribbons and/or flowers to make homemade barrettes for little girls hair. I brought those up to her and we were off and making projects. Hayden making a computer out of his box and Andie making Antlers for Bailey's hair.

Bailey loves Bambi (she used to say 'Bambia'). She wore these antlers until she got in the tub for her turn to play. She took them back to LaGrange with her. Such a cutie.

I did not get a picture of Hayden's computer. Andie has that on her camera. He did a masterful job. He wrote out a keyboard and put it in the bottom of the box. On the top he had a foil screen for the monitor portion with a card of Mars on it to look like that was what he was searching.

Our ward (congregation) at Church had a day of service last Saturday. The week before we delivered bags to our neighbors requesting they donate food to the A.M.E.N. House in Georgetown through our collection efforts. Saturday was the day we were to pick up our neighborhood donations and drop them at the Church in Georgetown. There is a crew at the Church in Georgetown that sorts the donations and loads them in the trucks to take to the A.M.E.N. House. So Saturday morning I needed to walk my neighborhood and gather the donations from my neighbors.

Bailey wanted to go with me. She and I walked the two streets in Eagle Bend collecting food. Then we called Andie and she drove down and picked up our bags. This left Bailey and I free to go down to the creek and the bridge.

She had a great time finding sticks to toss into the water and watch float down the creek. She loved tossing rocks in the water. We picked the flowers on the weeds down there. Papa drove down on his way back to Georgetown to feed Mimi. He parked his car and joined us on the bridge. It was cute to watch him pick up Bailey and hold her so she could toss things over the top of the rails on the bridge. I can't pick her up anymore and she was happy to have Papa get her up a little higher. She gave him her first bouquet of flowers she picked. Then I asked her if she wanted to give him a 'running hug'. She was really into this last weekend. As we walked down the street she would say, "You stay here Ma." Then she would walk back a little way from me and run with her arms outstretched. As soon she got to me she would jump for me to grab her and squeeze her really hard. I would kneel down and be smothered in hugs. These are some of my very, very, very favorite kind of hugs. Bailey was delighted to share this treat of hers with Papa. She had him stand on one side of the bridge and she stood on the other. Papa could tell what was going to happen and he quickly said, "Hold these" and handed me the flowers. Bailey ran at him full force and he scooped her up for an extra long hug. Great stuff.

Bailey and I walked down to a flatter place along the creek edge to toss rocks in the creek and Papa headed on into Georgetown. Every now and then a stick Bailey tossed in would get stuck on a rock close to the shore. I found a longer stick and used it to drag the stuck stick away from the rock. Miss Bailey was sure she should be doing that as soon as she figured out what I was doing. She took my longer stick and tried to toss a smaller stick in so it would run up against a rock and not move. Then she would work with the longer stick to move the stick that was stuck. The more I write this, the more I think it sounds like a limerick.

Bailey and I also found clam shells along the creek edge. I learned after moving here that you can get clams in the rivers. I never knew that before. There are lots of them in our creek. Bailey and I collects some nice ones and put them in my sweatshirt pocket. We even found one that was big with a tiny little one on the inside.

After we got home we showed Hayden our find. He was really enthusiastic about this discovery. I split the shells up between the double sink in my kitchen. We moved a stool over for Hayden and one for Bailey in front of the sinks. They spent the next little while cleaning those shells. I told Andie that is what you call a 'cheap thrill'.

Cake decorating was fun. I have four little round cake pans. If you make a cake mix (we made a lemon pudding cake) it will fill these four little pans. Hayden decorated one little cake layer for Papa and Bailey decorated one little cake layer for Papa. Then they both decorated one little cake layer for Michael. We left the 4th layer with no icing for Claude. I really loved that when it came time to decorate Michael's cake, Andie asked the kids what they wanted to put on it. Hayden didn't hesitate. He wanted Andie to write on the top of it "Thank you Daddy!"  The cake on the left is Hayden's for Papa, the center back is Michael's cake, and the cake on the right is Bailey's for Papa.

 

One of the things I love about my grandsons is their love of cleaning floors. When you have family around the floors get dirty with crumbs and things more quickly. Paul and Hayden both love the Swiffer dust mops. This time I showed Hayden my little vacuum. He was so happy. He set to vacuuming the rug under the breakfast table and then the one under the dining room table. Thank heaven for grandsons!!

After quiet time we went to Georgetown. We would visit Mimi while Claude dropped our food donations at the Church for the A.M.E.N. House. We found Mimi in her room. They had just gotten her up and dressed for dinner and put her in her wheelchair. Hayden and I figured out how to put the braces on the wheelchair for her legs. Mimi was aware enough to hold hands. She could even catch some of the little ones movements and get a peek at them. Bailey rubbed Mimi's cheek. Hayden drew math problems on her back with his finger. Andie held her hands. It was a good visit for Mimi and the grandmonsters.

Next we were off to Papa's to deliver his surprise birthday cakes. We gave Hayden and Bailey each the cake they decorated. They entered Papa's apartment and sang "Happy Birthday" and gave him his cakes. He was so surprised and very happy. The kids had so much fun running through his apartment checking it out. They especially seemed to gravitate to the room in the back with all the guitars and amplifiers. Hayden said, "I could stay here forever!"

We would watch Polar Express for our bedtime movie on Pa's big TV.

Sunday morning we had cinnamon biscuits and eggs for breakfast.  We packed up the Marx family and said goodbye till the next visit. It was a great visit.

Music & Quilt Squares...

Thursday afternoon I headed to Lexington. We have stake conference in two weeks and I'm playing the organ. I needed to find my stops and practice some music. I've never had organ lessons per se so I need to practice before I play.

I love going to practice like this. I find a time when no one will be in the building, hopefully, but me. Then I spend a couple of hours finding stops that sound like what I hope will be good with a building full of people and practicing actually playing the hymns, prelude and postlude. It is just a fun thing to do. However, after sitting on a organ bench for a couple of hours the blood circulation is cut off to your legs and you really need to get up and move around.

I treated myself to another salad a Fasoli's. They have a chopped Italian salad that I'm now quite fond of. Again, it was neat to sit in a restaurant with my salad, bread sticks and Sudoku book and have some time to myself.

The other thing I went to Lexington for was to go to a quilting shop and help with some squares we are making for a quilt for a lady in our ward (congregation) at Church. Karen has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and it is terminal. She is a quilter extraordinaire. The former Bishop of our ward has a sister who owns a quilting shop in Lexington. He had the idea for us to send in a thought or quote and use them to make quilt squares. They have a machine that will embroider your quote or thought on the square. What he needed help with was clipping all the ends of the threads.

I thought this quilting shop was on Richmond Road. This is a very fortunate location because it is across from Krispy Kreme donuts. I left Claude home last night and will leave him alone again tonight to have 'guy food'. I thought a treat of Krispy Kreme donuts would be a great thing to bring home to my hubby. So I stopped first at Krispy Kreme to get donuts.

Then I headed across the street to where I thought the quilting shop was located. I drove all around that little shopping center and found NO quilting shop. I pulled into a parking lot and call Nicole (wife of our former bishop) to ask where I should be since I was obviously not at the right location. Nicole pointed me in the right direction.

I headed there and spent the next couple of hours cutting threads. Anita Linares also came and it was great fun to chat with her as we snipped away at All-Those-Threads.  It felt good to do something for this surprise gift for Karen.

It was fun to have an afternoon and early evening to myself. My hubby was very happy having 'guy food' for his dinner and getting his donut treat for dessert.

Now I'm headed to Sadieville Christian Church for their dinner for the ladies before Mother's Day. Should be a nice evening with my neighbors.

The Hooker...

That was a piece of music in the movie "The Sting" with Paul Newman and Robert Redford. But that is not what I'm referring to in this title.

Wednesday at our Countryside Homemaker's Club meeting, we had a 'Certified Hooker' with us. Really...she is a professional hooker. And she was going to teach us how and let us practice a bit...really.

Her sister is a member of our little club. This is how the invitation was extended. She 'hooks' beautiful handmade rugs out of wool fabric.

When their grandmother passed away, she inherited two of the items her grandmother used to hook rugs. You see, her grandmother was a 'hooker' as well. Our instructor took a class and found she really loved doing this craft.

She brought her cutter which is just the coolest tool ever. You place a piece of wool fabric against a guide and turn a handle on the side and guide the edge of the wool fabric throught his little machine. It make 4 or 5 strands of wool that are called 'worms'.

Then you use a special fabric that is the backing for your rug. You can draw the pattern you want to hook or purchase fabric with the pattern already drawn on it. Then you use a 'hook' and pull this 'worm' through the weave of the fabric.

She had some burlap pieces and embroidery hoops for us to practice with. Burlap was what they once used for backing for these homemade rugs but it does not hold up well. I took a piece of burlap, an embroidery hoop and some worms and gave it a go. It was lots of fun and I could see how one would get addicted to that craft in a big hurry.

So there you have it, I can now 'hook'. Not a pro by any means but I did enjoy learning something new.

My Father's Birthday...

Easter Sunday we opted to meet Papa at the Mexican restaurant for lunch. He helps a mother in our ward who does not drive and her teenage daughter get to and from Church. So Papa took them home and then went to his apartment to let Tiny out before coming to the restaurant.  Claude and I know what he orders so we went to the restaurant figuring we would place the order and have it there when Papa arrived.

We got to the restaurant and it appeared to be closed as the parking lot was almost empty. We parked and went to the door and it was open. We entered and were told they weren't really opening until dinner time. Hmmm...we waited in the car till Papa arrived.

Plan B...the Chinese restaurant. Papa followed us and we had a nice lunch at the buffet. It was a good meal. At the end they brought us our fortune cookies. Claude got the most 'American' fortune in his fortune cookie I have ever read. It said, "The good times start when I count to 3: 1... 2... 3..." I was stunned.

We left full but still longing for Mexican food.

Tuesday, May 5th, was Papa's 83rd birthday.  It was also the day Papa and Claude serve at the Family History Center in the afternoon. They went to do that and I drove into Georgetown and joined them after their shift for dinner at the Mexican restaurant. We all had our favorites and enjoyed a nice 'birthday dinner' with Papa.

For Papa's birthday this year we purchased tickets for the Bardstown Dinner Train (only we are going on the lunch train). That won't happen until May 21st. Katelyn will be here and go with us.

Wednesday, while Papa and I were singing, I told the residents that Papa's birthday was the day before and he turned 83 years old. Immediately they started an impromptu rendition of "Happy Birthday". Gave Papa a nice grin.

Happy Birthday, Papa!

The Downward Spiral...

Wednesday afternoon (Apr 27th) my mom was not doing well.

Tuesday she ate for Papa at lunch.  It took him a long time but he got all her lunch down her.

Wednesday she would not wake up. The nursing home staff got her up and put her in her wheel chair for all 3 meals. She slept through the entire process each time. Papa got no lunch in her. He called me after lunch on Wednesday to tell me we had a real problem.

I found her feverish when I got there Wednesday afternoon to sing with Papa and check on mom. The nurse took her temperature again and it was slight (100.3). They tried to give her crushed up Tylenol mixed in chocolate pudding. She got half a teaspoon down her and the other half down her face and shirt. The nurse called me in the evening to say her temp was up to 100.4 and they got about 4 bites of food in her. She said they would try more Tylenol.



Thursday Mimi still would not wake up. Papa tried to feed her lunch with absolutely no success.

Thursday evening I went in at dinner time. I found her in bed and as white as the sheets on which she was laying. I tried to rouse her with no success. They always keep a large insulted mug with ice water and a straw ready for her. I put my finger on the end of the straw to keep some water in the straw. Then I let some of that water drip on her lips. She reacted and swallowed. I cranked her bed up a bit and kept doing this to get some liquid in her at minimum.

The CNA came in with her dinner tray. I told her I would try and get her to eat. I swirled together her pureed food and put some on the tip of a spoon. Her mouth was open as she slept so I put the food in her mouth. She would not wake up to swallow.

I got her milk carton and put a straw in the milk. I put my finger over the end of that straw to keep some milk in the straw and dropped a few drops in her mouth. As that reached the back of her mouth she swallowed. That got food and milk in her. I kept this up and managed to get about 1/3 of her dinner in her. Then she started to get some color in her cheeks.

I cranked the bed up to almost a sitting position and continued my slow process. Amazingly Mimi started to open her mouth as I touched it with the spoon. When I placed the straw on her lips, she would try to suck on it. These were great reactions. At one point her eyes even opened into little slits. I was so happy I could just about burst. She tried to mumble something. I kept on feeding until she ate all the food and dessert, drank 2/3 of her milk and whatever water I was able to get in her as well.


Then I called my poor father and shared this great news and huge blessing with him. He was like a kid that got the Christmas present he had longed for all year. You could hear the joy and peace filling his voice.

I stayed with Mom for another half hour or 45 minutes with her bed up to be sure she wouldn’t choke. She really had not had anything in her shrunk up little tummy for two days. I was concerned she might be overfull and hurl. Once I was sure she was fine, I put her bed down and turned out the light so she could sleep. (That sentence strikes me as amusing since she really never ‘woke up’ while I was there and hadn’t for two days.)


I left the nursing home Thursday evening (April 28th) with a strong feeling there were two possible reasons Mimi would not wake up. The first being that she might have a bug of some kind and her body had just stopped to use whatever resources it had to heal as best it could from the bug. The second was that her body was quitting completely and she would just pass away.  The nursing staff have no real reason why she was sleeping and could not wake up.

Friday, Papa was able to feed her some lunch again in the multi-purpose room. She was slowly trying to recuperate.

Today, Friday, May 6th, we had a meeting with the nursing home staff. They do these at least quarterly but more frequently if there is a major change in a resident. Attending this meeting was Amy who records things, Kathy Crawley who is the social worker and Lucy who is the head nurse. Papa and I both attended. Kathy Crawley did the explanation.

She assured us she wasn't going to tell us anything we were not already aware of. She kept using the phrase, "She is passing into the next step in the progression of her disease

Kathy again asked Papa about his feelings about a feeding tube. One of the final things with some Alzheimer's patients is their body not remembering how to eat. At this point they need to be feed through a feeding tube. Mimi and Papa long ago agreed to no measures to extend life. Papa is comfortable stating no feeding tubes if and when Mimi gets to this stage. He does not want Mimi to be in pain and has authorized the things that will keep her from being in pain.

They have taken her off all mood-leveling drugs. She was getting agitated and this medicine had been to help her with that. She was not combative, she just fidgeted a LOT as she sat in her wheel chair. The only medications Mimi is now taking are vitamins and some Tylenol.
She weighed 125 pounds in March. Today she weighs 118 pounds. It is apparent she is very thin and getting thinner. That is a 7 pound weight loss in about 6 weeks.

She is starting to curl up. Those are my words of explanation. When I used them in the meeting today the nursing home staff agreed that was a good explanation. Her body just wants to curl up in the fetal position. Her toes are even curling up. They do put her in braces on her legs when resting to try and keep the muscles extended as long as they can.

I asked Kathy if they would be able to tell when Mom was getting ready to pass away. Kathy said there are signs even though Mimi can't talk and tell us verbally. Unless she passes in her sleep, they might be able to gauge and they will let me know. That is just one thing I want to do is be there with her when she passes. I really don't want her to be alone. I know if there is any way possible, this good staff at the nursing home will alert me and Papa when this is happening.

After the meeting, Papa headed home to get his lunch. I went to Mimi's room to sit with her for a bit. She was asleep and I sat on the edge of her bed, which was lowered to the floor, and just watched her sleep. It was a good time to just be quiet and look at my mother. I thought of all the years of caring for me of which I am not aware. Mom's do so much for little children to get them old enough to function themselves. Mother's Day is this Sunday and I just reflected on all that she has done as my mother through my 60 years on earth. So much that I'm aware of and so much of which I am not aware.

I found myself sitting there with tears rolling down my cheeks as I looked at what a human body, my mother's body, seems to be able to endure.  Helen, another head nurse, came down to check on Louise who is the room across the hall from my mother. She saw me sitting there and came in. I told her I was just watching my mother sleep. Then I had to look away because I could feel tears welling up again. Helen quietly left me to my visit with Mimi.

As I left the nursing home, I said as cheerful a good-bye to the nurses at the desk as I could muster. Then headed to the door. Helen came out from behind the desk and gave me a big hug. Bless her heart. They care so much, not only for Mimi, but Papa and me as well. What more could one ask from medical personnel than that kind of unconditional love and care. Amazing.

I woke up several weeks ago from my sleep and sat upright in my bed. I had a strong impression that my mom would not live through Mother's Day. It was so very real and left me wide awake. Papa and I really believed she would probably pass away last week if she didn't start to wake up again and eat or drink something. We were both ready for her to quietly pass away in her sleep. That would have been a quiet, peaceful way for her death to happen. But it was not the right time.

Sunday is Mother's Day. I would venture to say this will be my last Mother's Day with my mom here on earth. The good Lord has blessed me to be with her to the end. She was with me in the beginning and I will be there for her at the end. Kind of poetic when you think about it.

I'm very weepy this afternoon. I came home to a counter full of groceries. Claude did some shopping before he left his meeting in Georgetown. He obviously got home just before me and got the groceries inside and went to change in to comfy clothes before putting them away. I was grateful for a 'real' chore to keep me going. Claude was surprised when he came out and found me home. We put the groceries away. He told me about his meeting. Then he asked me how I was doing. I said, "Not so great this afternoon." I shared the meeting information with him. I was extremely happy he bought me a HUGE chocolate bar for a Mother's Day surprise. I found it putting the groceries away. It was just the kind of comfort food I wanted. He also had a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me. It was such a tender time to get these gifts from my hubby. Couldn't have been better timed.

I'm sure we are in the final steps of Mimi's existence. That doesn't mean it will happen soon, you can never tell with Alzheimer's. I understand and accept that. I do believe that having invested the last 5 1/2 years in caring for my parents will cause me to be particularly sensitive to all of this. My emotions will be right at the surface. But I'm grateful for all my understanding and belief about life and death and life after death. I had a miscarriage many years ago. My belief is that I will have this child in my life after I pass from this earthly existence. Maybe, when Mimi passes she can check on him for me. That would be a good thing.