A foray into the unknown.

There's 2 unknowns at work here, one good, one bad. We'll start with the bad first.

I had a world of education last night about how to deal with constipation in the elderly and, let me tell ya, it's not as easy as it might seem. 10, count 'em TEN, trips to the bathroom in 3 hours about had me seeing red. I pulled everything I could possibly pull out of my hat of tricks - things I knew to relieve constipation. Let's see, there was warm prune juice, hot tea, a heating pad, drinking hot water, nothing. There was walking, Pepsid tablets, and Sennecot. Nothing. 2 calls to the hospice nurse assured me that I had touched on everything possible and time would tell. Mom was feeling better by the time I put her to bed last night but she's gonna blow today....

My second foray into the unknown is my continued work at Zazzle.com. I have a lot of products planned and have just been focusing on my Santa is real...he just doesn't like you stuff. Hopefully, I'll have some Christmas sales. Squidoo is coming along and I'm getting sales on my articles a few times a week which is nice. Sure doesn't touch the income from the now non-existant eHow though. I sure miss those months of raking in a lot of free dough. Ah well, all good things must come to an end, or so they tell me.

Here's my new products on Zazzle.com - here's my first greeting card by BitterBroads - needs work on the back but still looking for just the right logo:

Santa is real...he just doesn't like you by dogloving1
See other greeting card templates on zazzle.com

How about a nice apron?

Santa is real...he just doesn't like you by dogloving1
Browse Christmas Aprons

Or a cup?

Santa is real...he just doesn't like you by dogloving1
See other Christmas Mugs

The changes - they're a comin'

Mom's had a few bad "off" days the last 3 days. Not exactly sure why she's been mentally floundering as she's drinking her water, but I know she's in a fair amount of pain from her knee which can cause confusion also. I've been trying to be patient as I walk behind her at a snail's pace (it took us 10 minutes to get from the steps to the kitchen yesterday) but I find these changes frustrating, confusing and sad.

John though, has been a saint in the "Keep Gertie pink" campaign. He gently takes me aside and gives me small pep talks about how to accept these changes. He's got the best advice ever. He told me just yesterday that I need to remember that the woman I care for today is not the same as the woman I cared for yesterday, last week, last month, or last year. And, he's so true.

There are moments still though when she looks in my eyes and I know she is who she was. That sweet smile that comes over her face and her "I love you, Lori" let's me know that my mom (as I knew her) is still in there somewhere and still visits frequently.

So, the only thing I can really do is stick even closer, hug even more, tell her I love her as often as possible and practice patience, patience, patience.

As an interesting side note, I'm sitting on the deck with her right now writing as she's napping, waking, sipping her coffee, and napping again. I picked up yesterday's paper and, for lack of anything better to do, I read the horoscopes. I probably haven't done that in a year as I'm not a big believer in that stuff but, yesterday's were almost too spot on to ignore.

Here's my horoscope (Gemini):

A loved one's situation is complicated. Maybe there's some way to help that you haven't thought of yet. Try to imagine what you would like for yourself if you were in the same situation.

And here's Mom's (Scorpio):

As the sign of tranformation, you have a natural grace when it comes to making changes. Your secret is to concentrate on who you are becoming and let go of the rest.

Amen to both of those. Amen.

Outing with Mom

Well, yesterday was my birthday and it was a great day, all the way around! Scooped Mom up and Carina, Mom and I headed off to La Mex to meet up with Bobbi. Favorite bartender Mo was on board so we sat and chatted and had a cocktail for a few hours. Came home and got ready to be picked up by John for dinner at Angler's Inn. OMG! That place is still the best dinner around. Sat outside in their beautiful garden and had a great time. Delicious food and, more importantly, a delightful man by my side.

Life, dear readers, is good....Here's a few more fun pics:

I, of course, look like crap here but everyone else is darling

She's just too darn cute! It was a good day!

She's too darn cute too! What would I do without Carina?!

Steve is one of the locals - he's a huge fan of Gert's

Me and my very significant other in the backyard pre dinner

What an amazing man. I'm not sure what I did to get so lucky but I'm so glad he's the second half of my life...

Well, Gert's about as happy as can be...

Not only is Doris (the new caregiver) totally spoiling Mom, but, now, Carina is in on that game too (well, she always has been actually) but she's moving her game up a notch.

I came home 2 days ago to find Carina giving Mom a pedicure, including a nice soaking and massage. I told Mom not to expect this kind of treatment when they're not here.

Not a bad life if you can get it...

We're planning a girl's lunch out today. Carina, Mom and I are heading to my favorite watering hole, La Mex, as Mo, the bartender has specifically requested to see Mom. So, off we'll roll. Bobbi is coming up and Kimberly is going to try to make it too. Loads of fun.

I've got a caregiver until 11 pm so John and I will head out for some dinner and dancing fun tonight. Date night, here we come!

I've been writing more articles on Squidoo where the money is finally starting to come in. It's slow but steady at the moment and, with eHow no longer in the picture, it's the cream of the crop so far in replacing that residual income.

Here's my latest efforts. Please share these links as I need all the love I can get!

The Dukan Diet

Dessert Shooters - The new min...

Delicious Dessert Shooter Idea...

Chocolate dessert recipes

A Low Sodium Oven Fried Chicke...

Gertie vs. the Dentist...

Queenie holding court outside

The Dentist won. In just 30 short minutes, the root of the tooth that broke off was extracted with no pain. I have the best dentist in the Washington, DC area - he's incredibly skilled and has a very soft manner with patients. Dr. Chan in Kentlands. Great dude.

So, I drove to the office and forgot her wheelchair! Shoot! Luckily, they had one so crisis averted. I got her settled into the dentist chair and was grabbing my Macbook to head to the lobby to do some research. I told her I'd be in the lobby and she just looked at me with that damned hang dog look. Dammit! I asked her if she wanted me to stay and 'yeth' was the soft reply. So, stay I did. But, letmetellya, dentistry from the other side of the chair ain't pretty. I spent a lot of time working on my computer and reading a book - ugh....

When the offending root was finally in Dr. Chan's grasp, he held it up and proclaimed, "Look Lori - got it!" I looked up and, ugh....A 94 year old tooth root ain't pretty although I think he thought it was. So, one small stitch later, we were on our way home.

Momma and her coffee

So, my alarm cat alerted me at 5:30 am that my rolling thunder was underway. She was already sitting on the chair lift when I rounded the corner. She knew I wasn't going to be pleased about her being up at this early hour in the morning so she beamed a beautiful smile at me which, of course, cracked me up. The woman knows how to play me.

We came downstairs and, well, I'll give you an idea of my morning routine (and this is all done without my own cup of coffee yet).

1. Let out 5 dogs
2. Feed the cat
3. Scoop the litterbox
4. Clean up Mom's bedroom. Make the bed for nap #1. Turn off oxygen.
5. Get Mom downstairs and into the kitchen. Settle her in for coffee.
6. Make her a cup of coffee. Put toast in toaster. Give her appetite enhancer.
7. "Release the hounds" into the house for breakfast. They're all so cute - they go skidding around the corners in their zeal to get into the kitchen. Always makes Mom and me laugh.
8. Set out 5 dog bowls with food. Get Hops his 3 pills and pray he takes them with his food so I don't have to treat all 5 dogs to fresh cheese.
9. Get Mom's toast - add jelly (to the edges, please...).
10. Pick up dog bowls
11. Make my own cup of coffee.
12. Let dogs back out.
13. Sit down and talk to Mom for a bit.
14. Take Mom back upstairs and tuck her into bed. Whew!

I've gotten the above routine down to about 15 minutes.

Now, as I was getting Mom up from her coffee this morning, she looks at me and says "That was worth every penny." I said "But, you didn't pay anything." She looks me in the eye and says "That's why it was worth every penny."'

Laughter is wonderful medicine,

Fresh as an old daisy

Yesterday was shower day. I'm always amazed at how gorgeous Mom's hair is - it's as snowy white as can be. Me? I'm gray....Yep, she's done that to me...

The lilacs are from the garden; they're great the first day I bring them in the house as the fragrance is like nothing else (until the roses come in!). But, they shed those little pieces all over the place - what a mess. Sadly, I don't have an animal in sight who will eat them off the floor....

Low salt diet is coming along well. John found some english muffins that are only 40 mg a half. Made her a chicken sandwich on one for lunch which was declared 'bland' so sprinkled it with fresh basil and some Mrs. Dash for chicken. Not too bad, if I do say so myself. I also mixed up another pot of chicken soup with rosemary and thyme for seasoning. I will add just a bit of chicken bouillon to that though so it will be low sodium still but, really, chicken soup can't be 'no sodium.' I usually make a chicken soup so good that even the chicken gets well but, alas, those days are over. I'll just have to get more creative.

I've got some cooking planned for this coming week. Am going to make shrimp scampi over noodles which she really likes. It freezes very well. I'm also going to try a chicken pot pie which is one of Mom's favorites but has over 1400 mg sodium per serving in the prepackaged ones. Can't do that! So, I'm off to try some experiments this coming week. I'll keep you readers posted as to what works and what doesn't (I'm hoping the former out weighs the latter but am really not sure).

What's that you say - TV EARS?????

Wowee! Anyone who is caring for a senior citizen - listen up!

Ron and Linda walked in the other night with these things call TV Ears and, OMG, I'm in love. Mom, on the other hand, was less than amused and downright surly about them. But, WTH, sometimes, it has to be about ME.

So, these things go in your ears and the TV is amplified through the earpieces. This means (get this!), I have the TV on mute (right now!) and Mom can hear it loud and clear. No more bone jarring newscasts that I can hear from the front yard. Now, easier said than done though as Mom is not sold yet. We're weaning her into them.

I've discovered long ago that Mom will do anything in the world for me - as long as it's for ME. So, I'm using that to my full advantage (I'm sure God will forgive me one day).

How this works is that I told her that my doctor said my hearing was suffering because the TV was so loud. She needed to wear the TV Ears so I could mute the TV and it would be quiet for just 30 minutes. Worked like a charm. The house hasn't been this quiet since April 6, 2004 - the day before Dad died and Mom came to live with me full time. Gosh, it's almost been 4 years. In some ways it's hard to imagine it's been that long and in some ways, it seems like she's always been here.

Below pic is a happy Gertie eating oatmeal with maple syrup, brown sugar and butter. Toast and apple butter. She always manages to keep a piece of something that can be divided 6 ways for the dogs. Actually, today, we have 7 dogs running around here as Barley is back and Kelly's chihuahua Marley is here too. John and I are taking off!

Wow!THIS was My Bad....

Yes, that clock says 3:45 and that would be AM!

Couldn't understand for the life of me why mom has been up and down all night. Lately, since I told her that my doctor said she had to keep her oxygen in all night so I could sleep, she's been better about staying in bed. But, not this morning....

I've heard my personal 'rolling thunder' starting up just after 1 am. So, up I go to explain to her that it's 1 am and this is just not an acceptable time for coffee. She's confused so I just gently put her back to bed.

At 1:45 am, I hear my personal 'rolling thunder' starting up. So, up I go to explain to her that's it's exactly 45 minutes after the last time she was up and it's STILL not an acceptable time for coffee. She's confused so I lead her back to bed.

At 2:15 am, I hear my personal 'rolling thunder' starting up. So, I run into her bedroom and exclaim 'WHAT are you doing? It's 2:15 am and it's STILL not an acceptable time for coffee. She's confused so I tell her to go back to bed.

At 3:45am, I hear my personal 'rolling thunder' AGAN! - WTF??? I go flying in her room, she's got her robe on with her right arm where the left arm should be. She's got her socks on, and she's ready to roll. So, this time, I'm not quite as gentle before and am almost pulling my hair out when I happen to look at her bedside stand - there's her sleeping pill and tylenol that I forgot to give her before putting her to bed.

This caregiver needs some care....

Can you hear me NOW???

Life around here just gets funnier and funnier, if you have the right sense of humor, which, thankfully, I do (well, now, that really depends on whom you ask, but the ones who would say I do have a great sense of humor are on the top of the list).

Here's a typical conversation which happened today - note: Gertie's hearing is not what it used to be. In fact, put succinctly, it sucks...

Let me set the scene:

I walk into the livingroom with breakfast #2 for Gert (it's 11 and she's a bit off her feed. She's usually chowing down on breakfast #3 by now). Regardless, I digressed...

So, the news is blaring in the livingroom but, you probably know that as you probably heard it too. Loud enough to rattle my back teeth. We were asked by National Airport to turn it down as it was interfering with their communication with the planes....

Anyway, the newscast about the Bronx zoo's lost snake is on and I catch just the end.

Lori: Mom, did they say the snake is still loose?
Gert: What goose?
Lori: Snake. SNake. SNAke. SNAKe. SNAKE!!!! IS IT STILL LOOSE?
Gert: There's two snakes loose?! Where are they??
Lori: WELL, IF I KNEW THAT THEY WOULDN'T BE LOOSE?
Gert: Two loose?
Lori: Sighs. Yes, two loose...

   

Has it REALLY been two months....

....since I blogged? Well, no excuse except life around here has been fairly busy for the following reasons:

1. Dear Gert. Mom is doing fine but is a bit more of a handful these days. She was put on oxygen a few months ago and hated it! She was really miserable and so was I so I made a pact with the Devil (that would be Gert). She must wear her oxygen at night and when sitting in her chair in the living room; otherwise, she's free to roam. She agreed, grudgingly, so at least I won that small battle. Sort of. I get up every 2 hours to check her at night and her stubborn streak frequently comes through as she's sleeping like an angel with her oxygen dangling from her hand. When she wears her oxygen though, her mind is clearer. Speaking of...

I suppose it's just the normal bane of being a 94 year old but her mental capacity is, shall we say, slipping. Now, sometimes, this is sort of amusing for us both. She'll say something that is totally off the wall and then we'll discuss what she thought she meant. Like, for example, the other night, she told me that the oxygen dudes were running around her room. Now, this would have been an interesting conversation if it hadn't been held at 2:30 am in her bedroom. So, I just put her back to bed and assured her that I had talked to the 'oxygen dudes' and they'd stay still. She was quite happy with that.

We still have the occasional happy hour over here when friends drop by for a bit. And, she still loves when the dogs are in her lap as she dozes in the chair. So, all in all, she's doing pretty good.

2. Poor Rita had to have emergency eye surgery last month. The right lens in her eye dislodged and moved to the front. She was in a lot of pain and, of course, it was a weekend (why is it ALWAYS a weekend?). Off we went to the emergency vet with a trip to a specialist opthalmologist on Monday for the surgery. The poor thing was stuck in an e-collar for 12 days which was interesting. I got pretty good at figuring out how to help her adjust.

So, we managed to keep her eye in her little head (although I did volunteer that it could come out....) but she's on drops for the rest of her life, 3 times a day. Well, she's still worth it.

Mom was quite instrumental in Rita's recovery, holding her for hours a day as hey dozed in Mom's chair. And, Mom always reminded me when it was time for Rita's eye drops - it's interesting how Mom's mind works these days. I'd forget but she'd remember! Go figure.

And 3. I broke a rib! Oy, the tzoris! The emergency room staff told me that I must have found the last patch of ice in Montgomery County when I slipped on Bobbi's cement steps outside and landed square on my back on the edge of a step. Knocked my wind right out! John wanted to run me to the hospital but, noooooooo....that was too easy. Instead, I waited until 3 am to wake him up to run me to the hospital as the pain was so great. This was last month and, right now, I'm finally to the point where it only hurts when I sneeze. But, for a while there, I was in agony when I laughed which was quite an issue for me. I swear that John and Mom went out of their way to be funny....

So, as you can see, I had reason to have been taking a rest. I have been cheating on this blog though with some other websites that I've been exploring, specifically Squidoo. This is a site where you build what they call 'lenses' which are actually itty bitty web pages. So far, I've made a huge 23 cent but, hey, you have to start somewhere. I remember the first day I made 3 cents at eHow - I'm over $200 a month on that site alone now. Not too shabby! Anyway, on Squidoo, we can put anything we like on a lens so I've been writing mostly about dogs.

I just started helping out a local rescue, and here's my first page about one of their dogs up for adoption:

Annies Orphans Dog Rescue Of Maryland Introduces Hummer! That's him to the left. He looks to me to be a spectacular fella so if you know someone who needs someone to love, come meet him at the next adoption show. I, on the other hand, do NOT need someone else to love. We're full at the inn with 6 dogs and a confused cat who was missing from the picture at the rights.

I figure that I'll try to spotlight one dog a week for their dog adoption organization in the hopes of marketing a few of their dogs and finding them homes quicker.

Here's a few of my other articles:

My lens about dear Rita
And Killian
And, finally, wee Gizmo

And a few other lenses about various stuff:
Some ideas for delicious dessert shooters (mini-desserts)
And, since John and I plan on retiring to Key West, we were going down there quite frequently. Here's a lens about Key West Tours.

I also started a blog about Good Movies for Senior Citizens. John gave me an Apple TV so I could easily dial up Netflix for Mom. I've been searching for movies that she might like. Please give me some comments about any movies you think would be suitable. They have to be easy to follow!

Ok, that's enough catching up at the moment. I'll try to be better - I swear!

Mom got caught feeding a dog!

Gert and Rita have enchanting conversations

Out and about - for once!

Amazing snow storm today!

Wow! It was just an amazing storm that blew through yesterday anddropped over 6" of snow on The Mansion. John and I sat in the hot tub for almost two hours, witnessed 3 branches biting the dust under the heavy, wet snow and really enjoyed the moments. The best part though was when a FLYING SQUIRREL visited the bird feeder at 8 pm! Now, I grew up in Maryland and have long known that flying squirrels were around but never have seen one. This guy was just about 10 feet from where we were sitting in the tub and soared from the 'potting shed' (probably the old potty) to the bird feeder, about 15 feet away. He didn't quite make the feeder and landed at the bottom of the statuary holding the feeder. In just a moment, he jumped up the 6' to the feeder and had at it. Very very neat to watch.

Mom had a very slow morning yesterday, having taken off her oxygen a few times last night. She's definitely needing the O2 during the night in order to be really 'with it' during the morning hours. She's had 3 really good days in a row so today was just a sort of 'off' day but it was ok anyway. I'm was on it last tonight, having set my alarm to get up and check that the O2 is on. She's still an amazing woman....

I took her out a few days ago to run a few errands as it was a balmy 45 degrees. After getting her dressed in 4 layers, she informed me that it was just like dressing a 'Barbie' doll. Um, not quite. I had her so bundled up that she could barely move but she was at least warm! We were going to meet John out for a cocktail but he was running late from work so we just came home and got in jammies - Gert's favorite part of the day.

Catching up below with some pictures of some favorite times and friends:

Jeff and Rita's mutual admiration society

Dear friend, Jeff

2 of the most important people in my life

A contented rescue cat

Pretty woman still at 94

Arms full of dogs

Barley aging nicely

Howie and 'Snoopy'

Playing catch up - again

Time just seems to get away from me on blog postings although I've been busy watching a lot of movies and writing reviews on my new blog - Good Movies For Senior Citizens. John gave Mom an Apple TV box which does amazing things including channeling in YouTube, Apple TV, and Netflix. We've become dependent on NetFlix over here as, during the weekends at least, there's not a lot on local TV to amuse Gert.

But, there are some updates to be had so here we go:

Christmas Eve found Gert surrounded by friends at the dinner table where an interesting dinner was served. I decided to combine pieces of Thanksgiving, Hannukah, and Christmas all in one so we had: green bean casserole, potato latkes and ham! Very interesting presentation but, man, it was good. Jeff, Mark, John, Gert and I feasted for a few hours at the dinner table. We really had a fun time just sitting around and talking. Mom loves when people are over as it breaks up our routine (which is doing nothing). In fact, just this morning when I was getting her coffee she looked at me and said 'I think I'll lay low today...' Of course, this cracked me up as I'm not sure how much 'lower' we can lay...Anyway, onto more catchup.

Later in the evening, we had to show Jeff and Mark John's new recumbent table - this thing is just too cool if you have back issues. You simply hang upside down for 3 minutes a day and, like a miracle, back pain dissipates! Amazing.

In between Christmas and New Year's, Greg brought over his son to visit for a while. Cute little sucker and very active. He loves dogs though although just a few returned the favor. It was nice seeing him though and having drop by guests.

New Year's Eve found John, Gert and I having a toast to a healthy New Year, our wish for all of our friends and family.