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Freq...we have lots of very tall and very large trees at our home. Our neighbors do as well. I used to never think of it, but now know how those howling winds can bring trees down..especially the kind we have been having, and I think are expected to have over the next few days...it can make for some restless nights....I think they are predicting less snow than at first advised..which probably means we will get a blizzard.. :p
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The last time we were without power for an extended period of time (5 days) at least I was finally saved by a neighbor who brought me a coleman stove to make our coffee on the deck...I had a percolator so viola! funny, but coffee is the main thing I miss when the power goes out. It's sad that Mama can't really enjoy the snow and rain anymore..but at least Hospice keeps us well stocked with supplies so I never have to worry about running out of the things she needs..and if she's OK, I'm OK.
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Katie, so sorry for your loss. Prayers for you all. How very sad.
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Drove home in a freak blizzard in Bmore last night.. 45 minutes to get 15 miles out of the city.. then the highway trip home.. left at 7 pm, home by 915P. Then that freaking wind (I feel for your FF) and so no sleep since it felt /sounded like a train hitting the house. Called out,, inside temp on mail (glass filled) level was 51!! Power went out... Now fireplace on, power back, still freaking windy. Rec room level warm at least, mom is napping there now. Guess I;ll take the grief tomorrow, but what do you do? Gotta keep the place running. Oh yes, and fence sections down...
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-4 degrees now. Very strong winds yesterday with -10 to -30 wind chill. Ugh. I hate to wish the days away but I am so ready for spring.
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I think I figured out why dad thinks he is going "home" when I visit. Perhaps he thinks he is at adult daycare and I am coming to take him home? When went to a Garden Expo yesterday part of the drive there was interesting with blowing winds creating white outs at times. picked up some tulips and brought half over for dad who was sitting in dining room with the others and once again wanted to get his coat so he come go home. Got him distracted this time.
Hope there are days I want your brothers phone # and give him a taking too about your life.
Capt we cut our own firewood, I have helped with all our remodeling, I have a large yard and garden plus my landscaping business so I am well accustomed to hard work. the property we bought next door needs major work on removing scrubby trees I am planning a pumpkin patch already not counting the work the existing garage needs. I am tired already just thinking about it.
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pamzimmrrt, these spur of the moment blizzards are something else. This morning I noticed a neighbor's patio table cover found a new home on the top of some tall trees. The roads are a sheet of ice here.
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57,
10 yrs ago i was laying foundations of 8 - 900 block by myself . not any more . i just work for people for a real reasonable hourly wage , knowing my productivity isnt what it used to be . i told a va doc once that i was wearing down in only 5 - 6 hours of work . he reminded me that generally a marathon is only 4 hrs long .
my pc blew up nearly a year ago and wiped out 15 yrs of product pictures . good . they made me tired just looking at them and remembering the hard labor involved .
if things go well im the stone mason and firewood cutter on the ranch im working at until i can draw ss and beyond . doc plans 2 more homes for family members in the future , all with varying amounts of stonework on them .
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Thanks 57...there are days I'd LOVE to give you that number..lol....I noticed your note about the kitty in your picture...LOVE HIM!! and you for taking him in. One of our babies is a kitty who was also left behind when the neighbors across the street moved. The lady came over right before leaving and told me she was leaving them behind. I told her...please don't do that, we have coyotes and they are used to being in so will not have a chance...she told me oh well...if they don't make it whatever...she told me.. "Besides, I know they will probably find their way over here and you can feed them"...it enraged me to say the least but knowing if I convinced her to take them they were going to be worse off, I just went on with my yard work and sure enough she left them..Three in all. I found an excellent home with one of my friends for one, and one was so skittish she never would let me catch her..she knew where the food was and I frequently found her in our basement filling her tummy but I never did catch her to try and bring her in...She was a beautiful solid white kitty too...poor baby..I can only hope someone fell in love with her and she took up with them..the remaining one, a huge gray striped tabby, is one of the lights of my life now..he was not neutered but is now and he is an absolute treasure! how can folks abandon them like that...but mine, like yours, is better off with us than with someone who would abandon them in the first place...

Well, I see the winter advisories continuing..they keep saying snow/ice, then talk like it is not coming like they thought, then it is then it's not...oh well, we're set here whichever way it goes...Mama is all fluffed up and enjoying herself..she isn't talking today either, but I have caught her watching her balloon that I have tied on her bed rail...she likes her Valentine prizes...so that makes me happy.

Brother normally comes on Sunday so I went on and made a pot of fresh coffee...but so far no sign of him, so he may not be coming...and if he's not, Sunday is the one day I like to just put my feet up with my blanket and watch a good movie...ah well...I guess I can do that anyway and if he comes he comes...
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lol...and here he is....
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Thanks all...glad I could provide some humor! I can laugh at it now, but it definitely wasn't so funny when it happened. I mean, she didn't even sit on it and squelch it a little, but lifted one cheek and let it rip.
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Susan, thanks for the laugh...I needed one today! Maybe you could blame it on the toenail eating kitty?!!
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Awh Katie, I too am so very sorry for your loss. Some days just don't seem fair.

Another glorious day here... what the hell is going on with our weather?? Not complaining but wow.... we've not really had winter? We can't even start spring planting for several more months. Sigh... Mother Nature is teasing us here in the PNW and blasting y'all in the North! hang tight... it has to end ...eventually :))))

I have no whine at all today... it's been nice n quiet. Mom had a big brunch plus 2 of my homemade shakes. Then napped for a few hours. She's up now and I have her playing with the towels (again)... I have to keep her awake for the remainder of the night or else we are in big trouble!
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Susan, I just simply cannot comment on what you previously posted! I CANNOT! LOL!!

hope.... hey girl, how are you and mama doing? Did the weather subside a bit?

Katie... very sorry for your loss. This weather has been a tad rather too treacherous .... (((hugs))) laughing is good for the soul :) We need more laughter in our lives!
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even indiana is in the deep freeze . i dont see any chance of working this entire week , temps too low but i have to find cracky some way to make money or she'll find other employment . she really follows instructions well and i could use her help for the next several months . well unless she tells me for yet a third time how she figures she could whup me in a fistfight . i dont care for pugilists and i dont care to scuff up my nail polish stompin the delusional b*tch .
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cracky texted me a few weeks ago and said her boyfriend had beat her up but she refused to call the police .
hmmm. took me a while to figure that one out . it was a cracked out brawl and theydda both went to jail . lol
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Somehow Cap, you make all of this seem ok :)

What color nail polish are you sportin these days? Hopefully Spring colors!
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Have I ever mentioned how tuff evenings are? If not, they are very tuff some nights.

She's been on a mission for hours now.... oh yeah, she had a nice dinner plus her shake, topped off with 2 ice cream bars.

She just asked me what my name was... I said "George". haha, she said

"George Smith"?.... don't tell me she's not always here... that's my spunky mother I know! Of course she soon said she had no clue who I was nor whom George Smith is. I think I might like this George Smith person ;)
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And did you know today is Christmas?! A very good reson for Mom to have a very depressing day for all of us. UGH!
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glad, been there heard the same!.
Now this was at least 2 years ago when all the siblings talked/hung out on a semi regular basis. Every occasion was Christmas. Mom didn't care my brothers ( or whomever) was coming over, it just mean Christmas Time (happy time). This was mom's most significant last remaining family memory. Least that's what I like to imagine!
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i had a loud royal blue color but it all wore away in about a week of beating on rocks . i hope to be more selective at next nail salon session and get something radical . the girls at nh have already offered .
a woman at the tobacco store tickled me the most . she wanted to know why my nails were painted . when i told her i was just havin a little fun out of my aunt the lady said she knew there was a plausible reason . shes known me for a lot of years .
this gender equality thing isnt going to end well for the women . theyre gonna end up fighting wars and repairing forklifts all day while the neighborhood men all sit in one house smoking weed and telling each other how bad our wives suck .
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from experience jeanette , i think your mom is getting really end stage . my mom was only alive for two months after accusing me of being a thieving , murder bent , imposter . just dont want you to suffer a sudden shock .
there was a good story on the daily mail today about a lady whos daughter was burned to a crisp in an automobile . the lady encouraged her daughter to give it up and her daughter promptly did just that .
your mothers death wont bring you instant peace but i think youll appreciate that she will have found peace . a longer life for my mom wouldnt have been pretty with a cancerous mass on one of her kidneys and total blindness was inevitable .
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Ugh...just not up for fighting the battle today. Mom had an appt. for a med checkup today at 9am. Told her about it last night, reminded her not to eat or drink anything but water after midnight. 11:55 pm and she's asking for something to eat. Reminded her again that she couldn't eat. Confirmed again that she would still be going in the morning to the doc appt (because it's extremely cold out right now) - yup, she wanted to get it over with. I get out of bed this morning to start rushing around, and she's changed her mind. Not going. (sigh) Reschedule appt and start my day. Get her breakfast and she heads for a nap afterwards - which I interrupt by insisting she go to the bathroom. 30 seconds after she gets in there, I go to check and make sure she's changing her pad, etc - and she's already pulling up her undies and headed out the door, tells me her pad is "fine". (right....guarantee you didn't even look at it) and no stopping her, she pushes past me and heads for the bed.

Going to be a wonderful day. I can just see it already.
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Today in the states it's a holiday for many. The banks are closed, and we won't be getting mail. Yay, instant day off for me, from having to deal with a few "mom" related things! I wasn't able to get any doctor appointment scheduled for her last week, so will try again tomorrow. It is what it is.
Susan, I know if my mother does have to have surgery, we'll need to make arrangements for her for the night before, so that she doesn't eat/drink. All these logistics won't stop running through my head...
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Friday evening, my brother (no real relationship, hardly any contact, but we're civil) left me a voice mail, saying that he wanted to 'ask me a favor.' Last time I heard from him (aside from one message around the holidays just letting me know his new phone number), he also wanted to 'ask me a favor.' The only favor is that he wants money. I explained to him last time that he should ask our mother, since I felt that although she could no longer handle her daily money management, she could make a decision like whether or not to give him money. He decided not to ask her, and said he'd be fine.
Anyway, I called him back and he said that he was on his way to our mother's house to get a check for five thousand. He then explained the latest chaos/crisis going on with him. I said thanks for letting me know, and if our mother was ok with it, then I've got no problem with it. Take care, yadda yadda yadda. As the dementia progresses, I won't have that same opinion. Even now, I can tell by the charities she donates to that she has no idea who she's giving her money to.
I'm not angry, just...ready to be done with the family b.s. My brother of course, didn't ask me one question about my life, offered a faux-apology about not being in touch more (which is a blessing, actually), and that was it. The next time I hear from him will be the next time he needs money again.
It didn't dawn on me until yesterday, while I was replaying the conversation in my head, that he lied to me when he asked for money the first time, about 6 months ago. He made up some story about his MIL ALSO having dementia, among other problems, and I wondered how likely it was, but didn't press for details. He didn't keep the first story straight with the one he gave me on Friday, and I deduced that she does not have dementia. She's just nuts.
Yep...definitely ready to be done with the whole "family" thing...
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Well, the snow that was predicted instead is only cold icy feeling rain...and one of my favorite cats is missing...why do they always seem to do this when the weather is bad??? He was on the deck yesterday around 10:00 AM, and since it was a sunny day I let them stay out for a while..which they wanted to do anyway...after my brother left, they started wanting to come in..by then it was around 3:00PM...and he was not there...at first didn't think much of it, but when it began to get really chilled, I started looking...and looking and was still looking on into the night..he never stays out in this kind of cold now that he knows he has a home...I am so upset....he was the one taht the neighbor abandoned last year and he took up with me, and I love him so much....this horrid weather is not helping. I have been down through the woods, the garage, the basement...can't find him anyway..praying he decided to go off on a lark and will return soon...I don't fear the wildlife during the time of day he went missing....we have a couple of jerky neighbors who have pets but don't care for anyone else's...even though theirs come here and eat my cats food..I don't care...I love them all...but I am so worried...

At least Mama is having a good morning. She has had a good breakfast, had a good bath and now back to sleep and looks so cozy I'd like to pile in there with her...So going to be positive and thankful that Mama is doing well...and hopefully soon my big boy will come home...

Jeanette send some of that weather this way please...

Susan..just when I compose myself you manage to say something that cracks me up again...the lifting of the buttocks to let it rip...hahaha...reminds me of what my Grandmother used to say in her very old age..."feels better out than it does in"....bless their hearts...and one day it will be us.... :(
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@Loo Loo - no mail! OMG, my mother would go nuts if nothing came through the door slot! I'd have to keep telling her it was a holiday!

Anyway, my main reason for coming here is not a whine...it's something I just read (I'm a bit slow to the party and it's probably been talked about before somewhere on this site, but it seems many come here to vent so I'll post it here....there's an article in the New York Times titled: Government Will Change How it Rates Nursing Homes.

All I can say is Yay..while they are 'improving' they still have a way to go.

Have a nice President's Day...
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Hope, got my fingers crossed that your cat comes back soon!
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Hope did you check the neighbors house where he used to live. He may have a cozy spot he knows how to get into. One of my strays used to disappear for days on end.
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Yes, and I am keeping an eye on their house too..he is a very street smart kitty too, so I don't suspect that any wildlife has gotten him...I thought he might have gotten in their garage and gone to sleep, but so far no show....I appreciate yall caring about him...I am literally physically sick over the slightest thought of losing him...he has been a comfort and Godsend to me with his funny tubby self....praying to see him come rolling up soon.....
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