My "whine moment today." What's yours?

I'd be willing to admit to that if we HAD mice, Veronica.

We have mice in the attic at our house, and here we have 3 felines... they aren't earning their free room and board :P

At least once a week in the middle of the night you hear a mouse scratching or crewing on something... it's creepy sounding... oh well, just turn up the volume on the TV.

i have mice and traps but i cant kill em cause im too cheap to buy peanut butter . sometimes i think the problem around here is ME , mr " i aintta payin it , let em keep it " ..
i did manage to block the bats from getting in here but that too was based on my fools economy . i busted my flyswatter killing a bat and so far i havent sprung for a new flyswatter . they cost a buck and i aintta payin it , let em keep it ..
reminds me of my mom and dad . when they were first married they each had a seperate string to pull to make their windshield wipers work . i asked dad once if he couldnt have just bought a wiper motor at a junkyard for a buck . he said " of course you could IF you had a buck " ..
im used to making the things i need , resorting to the store is an admission of failure to me .. if i wanna kill these mice im gonna have to grow less opium poppies and more peanuts i guess .

I have been staying with my 87 yr old grandmother since February of this year....she needed help and I was in the best position to help . She has declined since February. My vent is her NEGATIVITY!!!! I am still able to go to work and leave her alone during the day but everything in her world is always negative.
her negativity and complaining have gotten me to the point to where I don't even want to be around her anymore.....sigh......I love her and I truly do want to be here and help her but I really need to know how to deal! I sometimes go for a bike ride and I thought about journaling again......how do others deal with constant negativity? What is your escape route?

Cap ol' buddy, you really need to write a memoir of your life, trials, tribulations and those wonderful accomplishments. You grandkids would love it!... h*ll, I'd love to read it :) leave the mice be.... there must be some good in them or else they would not still be here, right? (said from someone who doesn't have mice because their kitty kitty eats them or uses them as (cat)apults) ha!

Been battling a sinus infection for days now.... to lazy to make a doc appt cuz by the time they got me in it would be gone. Hate the headaches and sleepless nights though. I NEED a week of sleep.

I detest those darn chia pet commercials... that jingle just loops in my head all day!

retta,
that elder negativity is the hardest thing in the world to deal with . i dont know of any solution . depression is real and it primarily ( and negatively ) affects relationships . distraction is about the best you can hope for . one of my biggest regrets is not getting my mom out of the house enough . the last year of her life i took her to town for a sandwich every day and it really seemed to perk her up . a good geriatric doctor will tell you that the elderly need to get out as often as possible .
jeanette,
i just cant watch tv . havent had one for years . even the evening news is so hyped up it just boils my blood . 10 minutes of news spread out into two hours of blather .
i can speed read 5 international newspapers online in 45 minutes without one speck of noise or distraction . yea were precision bombing inside syria, putin is losing his a** on oil revenue , chinas workers are revolting for better working conditions , poland is screaming for nato protection , the uk is about to go up in flames over unchecked immigration , and here in the usa the federal govt is trying to reign in its mad dog police policies . i read all that without one d*m commercial and without seeing kim kardashians nasty looking shelf butt ..

My whine moment today is that the homecare nurse, who is supposed to come by 2 times yesterday only came by once in the morning. Yes this is a free service provided by the gov/municipality, but our agreement is for them to come in the morning around 9 to put on compression socks on my mom and to come bsck around 2 pm to make sure she has eaten and taken her meds.... yesterdays nurse was an hr an a half late and never came at 2. I only happened to be home, but what if it was a normal day and my mom was by herself?
So now I have to complain. That's unacceptable.

Ok rant over. Lol.

I hope.the rest of you are coping

oj1977, one has to realize that the service isn't really free.... it is paid for by the taxpayers.... don't get me wrong, I am glad such service is there but imagine if the taxpayers said enough is enough and the service was no longer available.

The homecare nurse usually has a lot of other patients he/she sees during the day... all it takes is one or two of the patients to need extra help which would put the nurse behind schedule. Try to give the nurse the benefit of the doubt. And with all this crazy weather, driving must be a bear for some of them.

oj1977 Why can't you take care of your mother's compression socks and see that she eats and takes her meds. Having a nurse is a very nice service so appreciate it instead of complaining. your mother's needs are low on the priority list for a home care nurse

I *wish* I could get a nurse to come by for free....I understand being upset that things didn't go as planned, but I'll be honest with you, I'm sure there are other patients on this nurse's list who are dying, or seriously ill and require far more care than the simple putting on of socks and a meal/med check. Maybe one of her charges passed away during the time she was there, or required transport to a hospital for a serious illness. Try to be a little more understanding of what is being provided for free, rather than getting the nurse in trouble for something that may not have been her fault. Maybe call the agency and inquire why it happened that way - they might be able to enlighten you.

There are a lot of free or reduced rate services offered by your area's center for aging. Mom gets 9 free hours a week, granted, this is not for a nurse to stop by but if you look over the carer registry, it's possible to find a very well trained carer who can do almost everything! I would be absolutely lost without Lisa... she truly is gifted when it comes to the elderly.

I don't think ol1977 was so much "complaining" rather than just whining... when you're expecting a certain thing to happen at a certain time and it doesn't, well, it can make the best of us whine a bit.
Also, taxpayers.... ahh, don't get me started. Our parent's have and still do pay taxes, so no, not as if it free, rather than something they (and we) pay into for when the time comes when it's needed. Like "banking" it with hopes our Government doesn't spend it on preparing for a Zombie Apocalypse, partying like rock stars in Vegas and the list goes on forever. I bet if you take all the outright ridiculously frivolous money the Government spent, us Taxpayers could open up enough fully funded 5 star Elderly Resorts so our parent's could leave this life behind in style. Other Countries do it for their elders... why can't the Golden Country? Maybe curtail POTUS/FLOTUS to a "set" amount of taxpayers dollars rather than they willy nilly spend tens if not hundreds of millions of ... vacations.

JeanetteB, I agree with you 100% about how the government can waste money, I also was thinking with the billions and billions spent on items I wouldn't have voted for in the first place, that money should go for 5-star elderly housing nationwide and finding the cures for those diseases that affect us the most.

Oh, as for the President and First Ladies, past and present, any vacations come out of their own pocket. We do pay the cost of them being protected 24 hours a day, doesn't matter if they are home in Washington, at their ranch, their summer home, or visiting the Grand Canyon. And Air Force One is the traveling Oval Office and a safe haven if something isn't quite right [like 09/11].

I know ff.... they do pay for most of their personal stuff, which is a tiny drop in the bucket. Guess I've got this bug in my butt seeing that FLOTUS is once again on "The Chew". Is this the "new normal" for the USA? Our President and his wife making the talk show rounds? Wonder how many millions was spent on providing protection so they can idly chit chat whilst others are worrying about finding good home care a few hours a week for our aging parent's whom have paid their dues. Grrr...

Jeanette, people don't get nearly cross enough about what politics costs. Or politicians, rather. Or, more accurately, the business of government in general. This is a non-partisan problem so I am making no comment on any incumbents on your side of the Atlantic or ours. But what does turn me into a swivel-eyed loon (as people of my anti-status quo persuasion were charmingly described by an MP recently) is the complete disconnect between what our lot think is a standard salary package for politicians and their entourages, and what they think is standard for everybody else (aka "punters" or "mugs" or "hard-working families" according to how close an election is). The honest ones - the *honest* ones - legitimately claim modest housing expenses for being in the capital if their constituency is a certain distance away. They're not doing anything wrong. But do you know of any other job where if you have to work far from your home you don't just have to move and like it? And they can claim back all directly related work expenses. We others can tell the tax people what we've paid for goods and services wholly and exclusively required for our work, and we don't pay tax on the amount we've had to spend. But is anyone paying for our stationery, and our staff, and our phone calls, and our fact-finding missions to the West Indies? Are they buggery. Just try swinging that idea past the Inland Revenue and see how far it gets you. I just look at all of them nowadays and think "and how much do YOU cost?" A plague on all of them.

The dishonest ones, by the way, thanks to an American lady journalist who did all the spadework on it but didn't get enough credit for me to remember her name, I hang my head, have not that long ago been sent to jail. Not for claiming for duck houses for their gardens, or having their moats cleared, or needing to equip their London apartments with an entire wedding gift list; those ones were just told not to do it again and in some cases not elected again. But for egregious, shameless and flagrant fraud, one or two of them were eventually prosecuted and convicted ("we find the accused... ***incredibly*** guilty!" as it goes at the end of 'The Producers.') And even then they still affected to feel aggrieved at how unfair it all was that they'd got caught.

And compared to the European Union, that's nothing! The EU hasn't even attempted to submit audited accounts for years. Seriously. Monitoring their own finances is permanently in the 'too difficult' tray. And when their head of audit complained, they solved it by sacking her. Seriously.

You'd have liked John Major's approach to communicating with the electorate. He literally took an old orange crate out and about with him and stood on it to talk to people. Meanwhile he was shagging the Secretary of State for Agriculture and lying through his teeth about it but we didn't know that then. And in my case would much prefer never to have had to hear about, either.

Heigh ho.

My rather odd whine moment for the day is that I have been going around all afternoon for a happy little smile on my face. For why? Because I have reunited a pair of socks, one of which has been pining for its partner in the odd sock box for a full four years. Heaven knows what the absentee has been up to, but suddenly there it was, in the wash. What I'm whining about is that this is my idea of perfect happiness nowadays - whatever happened to my daydreams of chic lunches and red carpets?

That was such an awesome read CM!! I know it's not nice to post politics on this forum but... it's that bug in my butt's fault or maybe it's because my mom has started more unusual behavior that scares me... two days in a row now she's been uber anxious and for the 2nd time in over a year, has called my dad by name and well, see's him.

funny on the socks! it really should be the 8th wonder of the world... the missing sock

CM,
im getting a kick out of germany right now . theyve been imposing extreme austerity measures on southern europe but now that theyre economy has slowed theyre saying " oh man , we need stimulous / quantitive easing " . freakin italians are eating tree bark , ditto greece . germany is flippin out over the price of a beer . lol
saw aunt edna today . i guess she is now medicaide qualified and theyve already gotten her a lower wheelchair so her feet contact the floor and are putting her back into PT immediately . thats wonderful . shes in great spirits and being very well taken care of . come springtime ive got to find a way to get her out of there for some little truck rides . 8 months ago those rides were prescribed by her doc and endorsed by the nh . the best i can hope for is for pia to drop dead between now and springtime . i seriously couldnt care less . i was the worlds greatest guy for the year i took care of ednas meals and meds but one little bit of resistance and im the devil in disguise . everyone sees thru it and by its own non merit pia's hatefulness is doomed to eventual failure . i dont give up , i just back off to fight another day .
edna shoved their lunch aside today and ate my apple rice instead . im gonna fool her ( and those fn mice ) and make sweet rice with peanut butter . ive made it plenty of times . its delicious and packed with protein . yea i spent 2 bucks on a jar of peanut butter today . i wouldnt have to snap too many mouse heads to justify that cost .

JeanetteB, think we would have ever saw Mamie Eisenhower on the Chew or the View? Presidential candidate Richard Nixon was on Laugh-In, so that was the start of it all.

Now a days with social media it is so different, plus the First Ladies are now coming into their own and being heard. Gone are the days when the First Lady was only responsible for picking out the White House china pattern :P

Sadly not enough is being said or done out of the White House regarding dementia and Alzheimer's.... what gets me grumbling is that Laura Bush's father had Alzheimer's and it was on the table to start doing stem cell research to find a cure or a treatment but it needed funding, but there were more important issues to fund. And President Ronald Reagan diagnosed with Alzheimer's 5 years after he left office.

Yep, Social Media is changing everything, some for the good others not so much.

From what I've read and in my limited mind capacity these days, it seems like AD, Parkinsons, Dementia, LBD and other related illness are the next BIG epidemic ...there are not many families who can say that somewhere in their tree limbs was not a person affected by one of these diseases....and I am not talking about a 100 years ago either.

I'm not one for politics, so what I really got a kick out of here was CM's happiness over that missing sock. 4 years? If I had a spare sock that long, it would have long since been cut up for a dustrag. LOL (Cut open and turned inside out, they make a wonderful dustrag, with all that texture inside to catch dust! But obviously not a suitable use for holy ol' teenager sweatsocks. LOL)

SusanA43 Veronica91 and freqflyer. I understand what you are all saying but I dont have time in the morning anymore to do the compression socks and breakfast before work. Being a commuter makes my days very long and i have to leave the house extremely early ,before i was on sickleave as well as i cashed in some vacation days. Things go back to normal Tuesday and mom will be by herself and I will be back at work.
I appreciate you guys so much. And i do realize that this service is free but paid for by tax payers and that the nurse has other patients. I know.... i see it now when i read it over that it was more than a whine...it was a complaint and i apologize for that.

Susan what's dusting?

CM makes me feel right at home to hear the dirt on John Major.

oj1977 have you figured out what will happen when Mom is not safe to be left alone all day?

Hello all ! I have not been on in a while and I guess that is a good thing. Less whining. Well I made one step toward bettering my situation. But I hope its not too little too late. Im now renting office space during my work hours. Im still close enough to the house that I can run home if need be and Im close to my children's school. Believe me I race out of the house every morning. Glad to escape. I have 24 hr access so I can go there anytime I want. My siblings thought I would work out of my sister's house. No way. She is very picky about her things. Spending Thanksgiving at her house was enough to send me out of there ready to scream because she follows behind me complaing if something spills and watching my every move.
This small move has me feeling better about myself. I get up and get dressed every day (not throw on bleach stained sweat pants). Its nice to see other people during the day. My father can rant about his bills and his health problems to the HHA. My only fear is that now that Im not at home during the day. He is too friendly with her once again. Acting as if she the woman in his life and therefore the woman in charge. I worry that he is giving her money etc. We hear of these situations taking place all the time and I know if Im not around, he is going to try to act like he is her "boyfriend"

Veronica91, same here, what is dusting??? Now I just blow at the dust if I happen to see it.

When I am able to take out a new Swifter cloth, it only does one room before I need to get a new one. Oh well, the only people who visit my home are my parents and with their eyesight being so bad now, I really don't need to dust :P

after living thru a bed bug infestation at my moms house a couple of years ago i never plan to dust anything in my bunker . bed bugs and roaches cant live in fine dust . they have a waxy exoskeleton that malfunctions in the presence of dust . the plates dont close tightly and they die from dehydration . i dont tear down the spider webs either . i hate the flies moreso than the spiders . besides if i tore down all these spider webs id have about 50 pissed off , beady little sets of eyeballs staring directly at me . i try to get along with the spiders , i haveta sleep sometime and they know that i know that .

Good GRIEF Cap!! How in the world is anyone going to sleep now with visions of 50 beady eyeballs dancing in our heads?? YeeGads man!

@veronica91.
thank you for asking. She will be checked on 2 times a day and i straightened it out with the nurses....it was a misunderstanding between her and I which is why she didn't come. We are thinking abour getting her a safety alarm...maybe something she can wear. She will also most likely start physical therapy next week so that means she wiĺl also be gone for a few hrs of the day. That, I hope will help her with her depression and regain her strength/muscles.
Fingers crossed
O

I know this is a petty complaint,really just whining/venting. Mother's toes,oh the toes.Why back in the 60's she thought she could put her heifer feet in those little pointed high heels? It was like foot binding and now she and I are paying the price.I am glad I was never a slave to fashion. Got through one bunionectomy this summer because of recurrent foot infections now it has started again. Her toes on the right foot are just entwined with each other and every step she takes just grindes them together and the skin starts to breakdown and then the infection starts. I don't know if I posted but this last episode she tried to hide from me and I just did notice dry betadine on her right leg and after some tense interrogation got the whole story of her trying to treat this one herself,immediately took her to a doc in the box as this was a Sat. afternoon I find this out,started antibiotics. Saw podiatrist yesterday and infection has cleared for now but I know it will be back, he doesn't want to surgically intervene again because her last surgery she got an infection but that was only because she tricked my friend into taking her down to her basement/art studio where she had been told by the MD not to go. I want them amputated, I know that sounds harsh, and they aren't my toes, but now if she is going to start lying by omission she is going to lose more than toes.Today I am going to have to confront/plead with her about no more pedicures. The place I take her to /I also go has given me a fungal infection in both my feet and I will no longer go there. I knew I was playing with fire, those nail places are notorious for this kind of thing.She is in more danger than me due to age and the way her feet are.I am just thinking how can I present this to her this morning without a fight, get her to see I am not trying to "bully" her (her words) every time I tell her something is bad for her.The podiatrist wants to use lamb's wool between her toes, great, one more thing for me to try to keep her yorkie from eating, I can already see the bowel obstruction in a 4lb. dog from eating all the pieces of lamb's wool that will be on the floor. Today will be bathday,good time to start letting her know that if she doesn't want surgery more foot care on her part will be necessary. Bath time will take longer as I will have to make sure all areas between toes are dry, this won't be easy, and I only have an antifungal powder to apply, this won't prevent bacteria. Seems everything antibacterial is greasy and would keep the area moist which is what I am trying to prevent. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for her behavior,she can be such a b*tch.I get tired of the constant resistance to common sense(she doesn't have dementia just a raving NPD).Well, thanks for listening,I know toes are a small battle but why does it always have to be a battle? Let you know what happens when I tell her I won't take her for pedicures anymore.I will for manicure, at least I can see her fingers but I know once I leave her at the place she will tell them to do a pedicure.Just feel like I am banging my head on a wall.

texarkana, some of the pedicure places can do all the wrong things from what I've read. They use instruments they shouldn't use. They push at cuticles -- a no no for feet, since it introduces infection to the nail bed. They use orange sticks on the sides. A lot of their instruments aren't sanitized. I agree that a podiatrist is the only one who should work with elderly feet.

I wish older people could wear sandals, but the support is not good enough. It sounds like your mother could use special-made shoes that would encourage her toes to spread more. I wonder if there is some scent that could be put on the wool to keep the dog from eating it if it fell on the floor. Maybe a good compromise would be to use toilet tissue, since it would break down if the dog ate it. Maybe take a long piece and fold it lengthwise, then lace it between the toes to absorb moisture and cut down on abrasion? I don't know if that would do any good or just make it worse.

Actually the toe talk went well. However, it is VERY rainy here today, pools of water standing in the yard.Now she is all pissy because I won't take her downstairs to her art studio,would involve having to walk through some pools of water,no way just after a bath and cleaning her toes and applying powder,not to mention the fall risk.Also pissy because I won't take her to hairdressers today because of the rain, the area she would have to walk through to get to the stairs of the place is full of areas that collect water on a day like this.Again, pissy because she knows I am going to walmart today for my eye exam,(I am fairly sure my eyesight is going bad again).Also pissy because I won't take her down the 2 flight of stairs to the basement where her art area is ,tried to explain it is just to big a fall risk,I can't catch her and just because there is a bannister doesn't mean it will prevent a fall, her shoulders are messed us and she couldn't hold herself up even holding on to a bannister, I can't win. So now she sits in her beautifully decorated(I have been told this by several visitors) with her 50inch screen TV and Dish satellite,her 2 freshly washed dogs and being pissy.I have encouraged her to call at least 2 people that would love to have someone call them, she has her own Verizon cell phone.Also encouraged her to call shut in members of her Sunday school(she is such a big Christian, on a sunny day).She is NPD big time,I know so many on these forums would love to have her circumstances and she wants to sit in her "golden cage" and have a pity party.No ,everybody doesn't always get what they want when they want it, no one does regardless of age or circumstances, that's life.I am tired of trying to understand all the time(she doesn't have dementia just a BIG sense of self).Selfish isn't living like you want to, selfish is wanting other people to live like you(I think I quoted that right from Oscar Wilde).

captain, regarding the spiders... I remember someone had written on these forums that her Mom didn't want her to take down the cobwebs, her mother said "everyone needs a home* :)