Remembering the Meeting

          I don’t know how long my brothers had power of attorney for my mom’s welfare when she had dementia. I don’t know if it was when she was still living at home or after we put her into assisted living.  I don’t know if I can find the exact date in my file or not.  I do remember all four of her children had gone downtown for a visitation with an attorney.

          There was concern about finances and how long we would be able to keep her in assisted living and if we could rely on state contribution in the future should the money run out – and just how long would we have before the state could/would assist.  It was a first visit for me and my sister.  I don’t know if my brothers had met with the attorney before in person or if things were done over the phone.  I don’t recall – though I’m certain my youngest brother remembers the details vividly.  He just seems to have an Hyperthymesia memory.

          I remember the session was scheduled for three hours.  Apparently they do that with family members leaving them time to squabble – which was never part of our circumstances.  We agreed upon things according to our faith, our values, and respect for not only our parents but each other as well.  We did not need the full three hours.  In fact, just after the attorney sat down and gave some council and asked if we had any questions before proceeding, I spoke up.  I said it was probably out of the ordinary but could we please start off with a word of prayer.

          That in itself made a huge difference.  The attorney was taken aback to our behavior and agreement.  Being the state executor had been hard on the one brother and asked if he could turn that over to the youngest who already had power of attorney but the attorney advised that the power of attorney and executor not be the same person.  But we were okay with it.  All four of us could sign whatever had to be signed.  The attorney said that in all his years of practice that he had only gotten through one other family as quickly as with ours.

          We put mom in a facility that we could afford.  I think they were understaffed and not so much individualized as other care facilities we had looked into.  But the staff did their best and we certainly don’t cast any blame.  Quite the contrary.  We are grateful to how things were handled.

          My youngest brother researched mom’s condition.  He said there were seven stages.  He said that he believed that mom was in stage five – which was actually a fun stage – which we chose to view it as. We thought mom would live in assisted living for many years – which was a big concern when we had met with the attorney.  But she was in assisted living for only nine months before she passed.  We did not have to see her go through stages 6 or 7 which we all considered a huge blessing.

          It’s quite an odd memory that I would think about.  I just had always wondered if there was a connection between Metformin and Dementia.  There were five individuals who lived on the same street – one had Alzheimers and the other four had another form of dementia. The four that had dementia all had diabetes – though I can’t  if all four took Metforim.  I know for certain that at least one did.  The one with Alzheimers lived the longest.  I don’t know if she was diabetic or not.

          It’s just something I often think about though I would like to let it go. But sometimes it haunts me.

Goat Update

 

I think Sugar believes she is a giraffe as eating from the ground is not good enough.  She wants to reach up. 

Just before Mother’s Day Sugar stuck her head through the fence in order to eat the grape leaves. WE DID NOT PLANT the grapes, the trees, the blueberry bushes – ANY OF IT for her benefit.  Neither Jaime nor I were feeling well and certainly not up to goat chasing.  We squirted the goats back into Mary’s yard and I went around to secure the gate so they would have to stay in Mary’s yard.  Thus far it has worked.

There are surrounding yards that seem to have an overgrowth at the moment. I think Sugar might go to town with some surrounding yards.  But I am certain that she would not be satisfied for long and want to explore outside of those yards. 

A Summary

 

So much going through my head

Willamette Temple

Health

Friendships

Pain

          I have a friend who has always wanted

to see the “Mormon” temple.  I had invited her

 to the open house.  We went day number one.

No lines.  No waiting.

She enjoyed some of the tour, but not all of it.

Of course she had questions.

 

We went out for lunch;  she had a rice bowl with

a southwestern flavor.  I had chips and guac.

We enjoyed one another’s company.

It had been a long day for each of us.

 

I don’t know when I started getting sick. 

I either threw it up, or it went directly

through me without digesting.

I was to the point of eating only a few

ounces of food at a time.

Within a week I had lost 14 pounds.

What was making me sick?  Did I have a virus?

  I don’t think I was contagious as

neither Jaime nor Richard ever got sick.

 

Richard decided to try his hand at the flea market. 

Jaime went with him on Friday. 

He said there were only three vendors. 

I went to a different location on Saturday.

There we befriended a couple and arranged

for someone to pick them up and take them

to church on Sunday.

I went to church mostly out of obligation

 to them.  I left before the first meeting

had ended.  Jaime took me home.

 

I was up all night on Sunday.  Up and down. 

In bed and on the toilet. I woke up at 8:15

We went to the home of our new friends and

took them to Springfield so that they could

see the temple.  They are

forever grateful.

Eating food off and on.  Sometimes it takes.

Mostly I’m still feeling like I have traded

my cough in for something worse.

Where is my happy medium?

An AWFUL Tasting Cure

             Buckley’s cough syrup’s slogan is "It tastes awful. And it works." Both accounts are true.  I remember a time when it had been offered in the states but do not recognize that anywhere in the states had it.  I had to order it online.  Canada is not that far from where I live.

I don’t remember the taste being so awful when it had been available in the states.  It is by far the worse tasting thing I have ever put in my mouth.  The very idea of having it in my mouth is enough to make me vomit.  Apparently they offer a cough drop.  There is no way I would suck on anything that taste like their cough syrups.  I have had three spoonfuls thus far.  I think I am cured.  I think my cough my finally be gone. 

It was an expensive purchase but well worth it – even with the foul taste.  I don’t even know what to compare it to.  Every other nasty thing I’ve tasted in my life somehow tastes so much better.  Even the water from the Lithia Fountain in Ashland has got a better taste to it.

They could rename it 2020 and still not capture

the true awfulness of how it tastes (year felt)

I Blame Gemini

           I know there are some people who enjoy having one’s Google history transfer to each device that they use. They find it convenient.  I find it annoying.  I don’t want what I search on my computer to be on my phone or vice-versa.  I use my phone to occasionally look up different search options to help me with answers to puzzles.  I don’t need that on my computer.  And I don’t need Gemini to make suggestions based on my history.

          The first time I downloaded it, I didn’t know what I was in for and have tried to ignore every update that is given.  If I don’t choose a time the phone does it for me.  I DIDN’T WANT IT!  Grrrr

          So there was one time it seemed to transfer numbers from previous contact lists I had made.  Okay.  That will save me from having to add them later.  But why the rush?  Why not just give it to me to begin with instead of a year and a half delay?  Then there’s the reminder that I have duplicate phone numbers.  Well, of course I have duplicate phone numbers!  Does the system want me to merge them.  I said yes.  But transfer is not necessarily a smooth one.

          Two weeks ago my sister called.  The ID indicated that it was “probably aunt Shelly” what?  I hadn’t saved her number under a phrased.  Perhaps Jaime had.  I hadn’t thought much about it until there was a group text made to several members of the ward.  It’s contents are Kim, Gary, Father, Ang . . . . Father?  Who’s father?  I looked it up and found Richard’s number attached.  What the heck is going on?

          I started to scroll through my contacts and found all kinds of names that Jaime had made reference to.  How did all her contacts transfer over to my phone?!?!?  I showed her and she said I could delete them.  One at a time?  I have better things to do than go through my contact list or phone messaging or anything just to clean it out.  What?

          I handed Jaime my phone and she had it cleaned out within a few minutes saying she hoped that wouldn’t mess up her own phone.  I think it did.  But not to the same degree.  I told her it was alright if she had deleted everything and I could just start over.  Thus far I have not had to. 

          At least I had actual names and not the nicknames she once used for everybody.  Brother 1, Brother 2, Brother 3, Kidnapper, Coffee Table . . . now I will get occasional reminders – though I hadn’t understood the first one to be related to the invasion phone switch but had received said message shortly after all her phone numbers made their way into my phone.  I don’t even know what event appeared but it was to take place in August.  Oh, thank you for the heads up.

          Today’s pop-up was reminding me of the wedding on October 20.  I will have to ask Jai if she has a wedding scheduled to attend that day.  Not loving the AI!  I need to return to Consumer Cellular.  They never messed with my phone!

That is what I see

 During the night my eyes deceive me.  

The toilet paper and trash can become an owl.  

Healing and Itching

 It's not so ugly anymore.

  Gradually the scabs will turn into scars.

Tastebuds

 

          I was not fond of mayonnaise when I was in my youth.  I thought Miracle Whip was the bomb.  Today I cannot stand Miracle Whip and I think mayonnaise makes the BLT or tuna fish sandwhich.

 

          My parents (or Santa Claus) would bring us Life Saver books with ten rolls of lifesavers.  I would always trade my Butter Rum lifesavers for my brother’s wintergreen.  I LOVED wintergreen.  It is no longer my favorite.  There are probably sixty flavors I would put above Wintergreen. 

 

          I also loved Spearmint.  I remember Wrigleys had a Spearmint, a Double Mint and a Juicy Fruit.  I think the Juicy Fruit was my favorite of the three.  But as I recall the Juicy Fruit flavor did not last for very long.  And the Double Mint was my least favorite. Today I like Peppermint better than Spearmint.  I don't know if Wrigley's ever offered a peppermint.  They did offer Big Red as I got older.  A very strong cinnamon I think I had only twice.

 

I now like Double Mint but have not had sugared gum for a couple of decades as I find the flavor lasts longer in the sugarless gums.  For the most part I have to stop chewing before the flavor is gone. I like Orbit Sweet Mint.  I absolutely hate any flavor of Trident.  That would be worse than putting Miracle Whip in my mouth.

          So there you go. Some things you find tasty in your youth do not carry over to your adulthood. Fun, huh?

Omigosh

 

          I was calling the VA to inquire the amount on the latest bill.  I had used the 888 number instead of 866 – and the remaining digits were the same.  The first was for a life alert – which I could probably use – but that is not the number I meant to call.

          So the first answering machine tells me that I may qualify for life alert absolutely free.  I then get a robot named Jessica who tells me the benefits and asks questions but answers (though in a human voice) didn’t always match the response (can you imagine)

          I finally get an actual human who is walking me through the routine and asking questions and providing expression and the more we talked the more I figured this “free” was going to cost me even more than my time.  All I wanted to do was understand the VA statement was so high.  I finally guessed my error and hung up on the life alert call.

          888 and 866 was the only difference – which I still didn’t figure out until just before I started this post.  I think I should return to bed and attempt to restart my day.

Inconviences

 

In my last post I referenced my wounded hand – which is healing but still worse than I had thought. 

                                    

But not as bad as my cough – which I have had for seven months now.  I do have an appointment to see a specialist – but not until June!  I had hoped my cough would have been gone long before then.

We had a stake leadership meeting yesterday.  Those are generally my favorite of three stake conference meetings.  I had forgotten about the participation.  I could not participate myself.  Not only has this cough prevented me from participating with singing but just speaking in general.  I hate that!

The meeting had not even been that well attended.  We didn’t even have half the attendance that we usually get from our own ward. It had been raining off and on all day.  I don’t know if that played a factor and people just didn’t want to drive in it.

We had initially planned on returning for the second meeting after we got something to eat.  But not only did my cough persist but connected to my bladder and so we opted to return to Myrtle Creek.

It appears to be good driving weather right now, but once again I have opted to stay home.  I have NEVER gotten anything from the Sunday meetings unless I am watching from home – which had never been an option until 2021. 

I would rather deal with my ugly scratch than my annoying cough.  Doesn’t the marks on my hand look like it will leave such a fun scar?

Wounded Hand

        Whenever Sugar escapes and can’t figure how to get back, Cocoa bleats.  It’s like an alarm going off to warn us – though that may not be his intent.  Perhaps he feels left out.  Stupid goats.

          I should have probably just left her to fend for herself among the rocks, but I chose to go around and rescue her.  I don’t know what I was thinking.   There is no way I could have thrown the goat over the fence by myself.  Jaime helped me and we both got hurt in the process.

          Her wound wasn’t quite as visible – nor bleeding as mine was. 

It annoys me that the picture gives the impression of paint on my hand.  It’s blood.  I washed it and then took this one.

          I didn’t realize how far the scratch had gone.  Jai apologized that I had gotten hurt.  It wasn’t her fault.  And it certainly doesn’t compare to the injuries I would have received if she hadn’t helped me – or rather I helped her. 

          Her wound was from Sugar while mine was from the fence.  Darn Sugar.

          I noticed she uncovered the area where Cocoa had escaped just a month ago.  He had made it into our back neighbor’s yard – the one who used to house the menagerie – though it’s different people now. It’s a concrete wall!  Mary sent over her grandson to pull him out. 

          If they escape behind the concrete wall again, I’m not climbing the hill and pulling them out.  Hopefully the neighbors behind our yard and Mary’s won’t get upset.  The real hope would be that they don’t go over in the first place.

          Such a weird place for trying to keep protected.