Not A Cook

I spent the morning cooking. I put some drumsticks in the crock pot with B-B-Q sauce and then put a chuck roast with carrots and potatoes and onions in the oven. I didn't put any soup on the chuck roast because I didn't know if Frank could have the soup. Well, the roast got overcooked. I got my mini food processor out and ground up the meat so we could eat it and then put some brown gravy on that. It had the consistency of dog food and probably didn't taste as good. I told Karen I was going to throw it in the garbage and she said to give it to her and she would feed her dogs with it or mix it in with their food. We'll find out how the drumsticks are tomorrow for lunch. I'll never cook another chuck roast. I remember them being moist and very tender but mine have all been tough and not fit to eat.

I got my hair cut this afternoon. The pictures that Trudy took of our trip showed my hair looking like I had run into a fan on the way to the car. I didn't realize how long it had gotten or how bad it looked.

Tomorrow is another day and is Sunday. I direct the choir tomorrow and will be glad when it's over. The choir will do fine. They always do so it won't matter that I'm the one up there waving my arms around like a bat.

Friday

I got up at 5:30 AM to get the trash out. We had to be in Madison at 7:50 AM to see the spine Dr. Frank's doing okay and it's not time to have spine surgery, so we left and came home. Trudy was there with us. She had taken Sadie to the Stake center to go on a white water rafting adventure and she then came on over to Madison. We got home at 9:45 AM. I cooked squash and sweet potatoes for lunch and Frank had some pork left over from last night. I didn't have any meat and will probably get hungry later on.

The pictures Trudy took on her iPhone told me I needed to get my hair trimmed. It was sticking out every which way. It's much longer now and I like it but it's too fly-a-way. I think I will take a nap and make up for getting up at 5:30 AM.

Thursday Written On Friday

Wednesday night Frankie called and told us his family was coming down to Murphreesboro, TN to pick up Luke from a month long art course at the University there and invited Trudy and I to come and meet them for lunch and see Luke's pictures. It was on the spur of the moment but we got it arranged and Trudy, Sadie and I drove to Murphreesboro. It took us over 1 1/2 hours to drive it and find Frankie and his family. Everyone but Kayla was there. She has something else going on she didn't want to miss.

We walked through the art gallery and saw Luke's work and the work of the other students. It was very interesting. It was getting late, 3:00 PM and everyone was hungry so we checked Luke out and went to a sit down restaurant and had an early supper, 4:00 PM or a very late lunch.

We were using Trudy's iPhone to get directions from but I took a wrong turn and took us on the scenic route on the way home. We were on a two lane winding mountain road through TN but finally made it back to Fayetteville, TN and from there on to Trudy's house. I stayed a bit at Trudy's looking at George's chickens and garden. Forrest was there and I got to say, "Hey", to him. I finally got home about 8:15 PM. It was just getting dark. It was a nice trip. I don't think I could plan an 8 hour trip away from Frank. It wouldn't be right, although he did okay for himself.

VT

Exercise was good this morning. I came back home and waited until 1 PM to go VT. Frank slept until lunch time. Said he was tired.

Ann and I saw Mary Lou and Karen to day and had good visits. Mary Lou was busy making jam and Karen gave us some eggs. Ann and Russ are going out of town to visit people who have a 1850 family Bible and they are going to scan it into their computers. It's so fragile that they have to use tweezers to turn the pages with.

Frankie called tonight and said he was coming down to Murphysboro, TN to pick up Luke, who has been at a month long art camp at the college there. He wanted me and Trudy to meet them there to see Luke's art work and to have lunch with them. He called or texted Trudy, she was out with Forrest and Sadie, but she called me and I'm going to be at her house at 11:30 AM tomorrow and she and Sadie and I will go meet them in Murphysboro. It will be a fun but long day. Frank said it would be okay if I went. I'll fix him lunch before I go and maybe I'll be back before supper. His sugar was 97 tonight.

Visit

Trudy and I went to visit Jackie Allen this morning. She's been sick many years and said on Face Book that she hadn't had VT in years. She is a faithful sister and she needs VT who will come each month and care about her. I will write Joy a note and see if she can't get some faithful sisters to visit Jackie. I wouldn't mind doing it but she lives on the opposite side of the county. I would visit her if she was assigned to Ann and me. Ann and I go VT Wednesday afternoon.

Yesterday I cleaned around the bird cages. I think I blogged about that yesterday. Now I need to clean Rosko's grate with cleaner for it is messy and I haven't done it is quite a while. Girt's cage cover needs washing again. He doesn't chew the cover as much now that he has his "baby" in the cage with him. Being caged and not having a natural outlet for his feelings, he adopted his cage cover as his baby and chews and regurgitates on it. He's over 35 years old. Rikki is 18 and Rosko is 23. They are good company for us but I don't think we are good enough company for them.

Frank sees the spine surgeon Friday. Don't know if his back hurts bad enough for surgery or not. Since the dementia has come, he doesn't complain about his pains as much.

Frank's blood sugar was 123 tonight. He had a McDonald's wrap and a few fries for lunch and I thought it may be high tonight.

Monday

It was really great to be back at exercise today after missing all last week. Janet said she would come over at 1:30 PM to  help me repot my plants. Trudy was here when I got back from the senior center. Frank wanted some special dental floss so we went to Walmart. Of course I bought more. I didn't get any meat Saturday when I went so I bought meat. I found the dental floss he wanted. It was $2.50 a box. Quite pricey but it was what he wanted.

Janet came out and we re-potted the plants. One pot had three plants in it and we divided them into three pots. Another plant was big and needed re-potting. It has a small sprig of ivy in it and I may buy some more to put with it.

I cleaned out the bird area and threw away a lot of things like paper that was turning yellow and chewed on toys. It looks a lot better now. I need to mop the floor.

Tomorrow, Trudy and I are going to see Jackie Allen, if we can find her house! I want to stop by Lowe's and get her a plant. She is sick a lot and has to stay at home. If she comes to church, I don't ever see her.

Wednesday, Ann and I will go VT and see Mary Lou and Karen. It's at the end of the month but we will get a fresh start in July. It's weird that it's almost July. Before I know it, the summer will be over with.

The plant, a hydrangea, Annabelle, that Janet gave me is about 2' tall and has pretty white blooms on it. Too bad it's in the front yard where I don't see it much.

Cooking Day

I went to buy groceries about 10:30 AM and there were plenty of people already there. I guess Saturday is a big shopping day for people. I got the things on my list and then some.

After lunch, I was tired so I drank a Coke to get some energy. I had to wash clothes and practice the piano. I practiced the ukulele too. I ordered three American fold song books from Amazon. After Alita learns a few more chords on the uke, I'll be teaching her songs to sing. I'm looking forward to getting the books. They didn't come for their lessons Friday. I don't know why.

I cooked this afternoon. I cooked cauliflower and yellow squash and we had chicken burgers for supper. I used ground chicken with Ranch dressing mixed in. Next time, I'll use 1/2 the Ranch dressing and will add some bread crumbs or oatmeal to it to hold the chicken together. They had a good taste but were a bit too salty.That with milk and bread rounded out the meal.

I'm still reading The 36 Hour Day. I hope Frank doesn't get as bad as some of the symptoms in the book. When we see Dr Boyer in November, we'll find out what kind of dementia he has. Maybe it will be a slow growing disease.

Quiet Day

We just rested up from our company. I'll go to the grocery store tomorrow morning.

Trudy's facet injections were better this time and she's in less pain. She has an appointment to see a neurosurgeon about her back sometime soon. Her Dr thinks she's too young to go on disability but she can't work inside or outside the home. Maybe the neurosurgeon will have something good for her.

My good friend Kathy sent Frank a birthday card. His birthday is the 23rd which is Sunday. She is always faithful in sending cards for birthdays and anniversaries. It's a talent I wish I had.

The choir sings this Sunday and I need to practice on the song we will be doing. Plus, the next Sunday, the choir sings a song that Summer-Rae will play the piano and I will direct (!) I could have learned the piano part but I thought that April was going to be doing it and I didn't learn it. I complained to Summer-Rae and she said she would play it and I could direct! Wow! I haven't conducted a song since, well, it's been 30 years or so. It will be scary but fun. I need to practice conducting the song, too.

Frank does nothing all day but lie in bed. He comes into the living room and lays on the bed there, then goes back into his room. I wish he could do something. He changed two light bulbs in my room yesterday but it was hard for him to balance. I guess I need to buy a small 3-4 step ladder for the upstairs. We have two 5-6' ladders downstairs but they would be too hard for me to bring up and use plus there would be no place to store a large ladder upstairs.

Mary Kate helped me clean up under the sink in the upstairs bathroom. Slowly, but surely the house is getting cleaned out. Trudy is coming over Monday and spending the night. We can go to the grocery store, no, I'm doing that tomorrow. We'll find something to do.

Mk Left

Mary Kate and kids left at 11 AM to go to Trudy's to take her to the Dr to get her facet injections. They are supposed to help the pain in her back. The last set of injections didn't work. Hopefully these will. Mary Kate and the kids and Trudy went to the Pain Clinic and they waited on Trudy.

At the same time, Frank and I were at Dr Phillips office across the street. I got messed up on the time of the appointment and we got there an hour early. We sat patiently until we were called back. Dr Phillips had gotten the report from Dr Boyer about Dad's dementia and he said that Dr Walker was a good Dr. He made an appointment for Frank to get his first Prolia shot for osteoporosis. That's what I take and we need all the help we can get with our old bones.

We had a great visit with Mary Kate and Sophia and Nate. Sophia is a budding author and I read what she had written and it was pretty good. She's 13 years old and Nate is 11.

Tuesday and Wednesday

Tuesday went went to H'ville to take back a Land's End purchase back to Sear's. We were looking for a bathing suit for Sophia and Went to the Walmart in Madison. We didn't find a suit but we bought some snacks. Mary Kate is taking a new medicine and it makes her tired. We watched TV in my room while the kids watched TV in the living room.

Wednesday, we went to town early. We got to Goody's in Athens a few minutes early before they opened. I had a coupon and I got a blouse and some earrings. The lady in front of me gave me a coupon, which I used. The blouse is blue and white and matches some  short pants that I bought previously. We then went to Burke's Outlet and found Sophia a cute bathing suit. At another store, MK found a pair of pants. We got a pizza and went home. We cleaned out the medicine cabinet and got rid of a lot of old make-up. The girls have really helped us get rid of a lot off stuff in the house.

Tonight, we played Uno and had a great time. Mary Kate won several times and I won once.
Tomorrow, we go to see Dr Phillips. Mary Kate will take Trudy to the Pain Clinic to get some more facet shots in her back. It will take a couple of hours so she will come over to where Dad has his Dr appointment and wait with us until it's time to pick up Trudy. Mary Kate, Sophia and Nate will spend the night with Trudy and go home Friday. We've had a nice visit.

Frank doesn't think he has dementia. I guess he's in a denial phase. We don't see the Dr until November. I'm about 1/2 way through the book Dr Walker told me to read. I bought books for Trudy and Mary Kate. I want all the support I can get with this disease. 

Visit

Mary Kate and the kids are coming today later on this afternoon or night. I have plenty of food and drink. Mary Kate has a Dr. appointment and has to have tires put on the car (or something) and will leave after the Dr. appointment. They will be here after supper.

I cooked a pork roast in the crock pot and have fixings for tacos. I went to Walmart for some more food and when I was leaving, dark clouds and wind blew up. I got the groceries loaded and got in the car before the rain came. It rained really hard on the way home. I had to uses my raincoat to bring the groceries in the house. It's stopped now and hopefully the weather will be pretty tomorrow. We usually go to H'ville to shop the next day after they get here. I think I will buy the kids a book a piece and start a tradition with them. The last time they were here, I bought them books and they seemed to like it.

Dad's blood sugar was good today. I've been reading the book about dementia and have really been getting down over it. The book says that not everyone will have all the symptoms but having just a few of them will tear me up. My brother has dementia and I don't think he's been all that bad. I'm not around him all that much but Ruth would have told me if he were having symptoms like I'm reading about. The book said people die from dementia. What a nice thought.

Father's Day

We had a nice Father's Day at church. The children sang and the speakers were good.

I'm about 1/2 way through the book, The 36-Hour Day about dementia. It is a very sobering book. In fact Frank did something tonight that was mentioned in the book. He accused me of giving the old Accord to Frankie without his approval. The day before we talked about it when we were putting air in the Accord's tires. It's benefiting no one just sitting there and rotting. The battery is always dead and Frankie wants it for Kayla to drive. I was surprised when he accused me. I had hoped that the disease hadn't progressed so far. We see the neurologist in November and maybe we'll find out more about this awful disease.

Saturday

I got up at 6 AM this morning. I couldn't go back to sleep so I got up. Frank got up at 7 and I fixed him breakfast of strawberries, egg and buttered bread. I forget I have some turkey bacon I could fix in the microwave.

In the morning, I read some of the book about dementia and some in the Book of Mormon. We had the same meat we've been eating on for a few days. We had salmon tonight. I get tired of fixing or having to have a meat at each meal. After a while, we get tired of eating the same meat over and over. Frank's blood sugar is still high. It was 149 tonight after supper.

I was going to vacuum the floors today for Mary Kate is coming Monday, but I realized I could do it Monday morning since they won't be coming early, but then again, since school is out they could come early. I'll get the floors done anyway.

Karen always asks how my week has gone when she picks me up for church. I had to look at the calendar to see what I had done and all that was up there was Frank falling off the Gazelle and me buying clothes Friday.

We got our grass cut today. It had been a week since it was cut. It had rained a couple of times since it was cut last. All the neighbors have been cutting theirs and now ours is cut. Got to keep up with the neighbors.

End of the Week

Exercise is so good since Janet has gotten all the equipment for the Silver Sneakers class. We really get a good work-out.

I left the senior center and went to the Salvation Army. I had a trunk full of bags for them. It was what we cleaned out of the bathroom closet.

I next went to Goody's. I had a $5.00 off coupon and I was just going to look around. Well, I did look around and found three blouses, two pair of pants and some earrings I liked. My weakness is clothes. I cleaned out my bedroom closet some and took clothes downstairs to the closet in Trudy's room. It's nice to have some new clothes. I wear them for two or three seasons so I get my money's worth out of them. I have two nice outfits down stairs that I have worn so many years, that I won't wear them any more. I need to give them away. I forgot to use my $5.00 coupon! I'll have to go back and shop again.

I got my ukulele and books today. I was playing on it and planning  Elita's lesson tomorrow when I realized that her lesson was today at 10:00 AM! I was gone, if she came. I called her mama to apologize and got to leave a message on the answering machine. Whew! I didn't want to have to confess in person. I'll see her at church Sunday and can apologize again. I guess all of Frank's problems have been weighing heavy on my mind and I just forgot.

Great Day

Trudy came over Wednesday and spent the night. We cleaned out the closet in her room and the downstairs bathroom. Her closet wasn't very cluttered but the bathroom was a disaster. I cleaned out old sheet sets for a full bed and old pillows, tablecloths and lots of odds and ends. I have about 4 large bags to take to the Salvation Army. I'll do that after exercise in the morning. We had vacuuming and mopping the floors on the list, but after lunch, I didn't want to do that. I'll do it Saturday for Mary Kate and Sophia and Nate will be coming Monday and staying 'til Wednesday. I'm to go VT Wednesday about 1 PM. I don't know when MK and the kids will be leaving.

Trudy wants to dry pack the packages of powdered milk we have in the basement. I don't really want to do that but we have a lot and they cost about $20.00 a box.

I ordered a ukelele from Amazon today. It's like the one I bought at AB Stephens for $50.00. This one cost me $35.00. I wish I could think of Amazon when I want to buy something. I got two beginning uke books and a bag of picks. I had a nice felt pick when I was young and played the ukelele. I kept in inside the ukelele and when I wanted to play with it, I just shook the ukelele upside down until the pick fell out. Those were the days, my friend, I thought they'd never end...

We were going VT today but a big storm was supposed to hit between 1-5 PM, the time we were going to be out. We decided to cancel. It rained furiously for a short period of time and then the sun was out and the skies were blue. Go figure.

Slow Day

Trudy couldn't come over today. I went to town to go to the bank and to take back a razor to Walmart. I had cut Frank's hair with it but it didn't cut evenly, so it went back. I came home and fixed lunch.

Frank has been checking his blood sugar once before meals and then 2 hours after. His numbers have been high. Maybe he needs to take more of the metformin, the diabetic medicine. The dietitian will look at the numbers and the food he are and she can tell me tomorrow what I should do. There's a 2 hour follow up class tomorrow at the hospital.

Dr Walker told us about a book, The 36 Hour Day. He recommended we read it. I ordered it from Amazon that day and got it today (the next day). It's about dementia and the problems the patients and families have. I've read two chapters and find it helpful already. It's a small book and very thick. I guess I'll be reading it at night instead of reading on my Kindle.

Mary Kate and the kids are coming up Monday and staying until Wednesday. Trudy will come over tomorrow. Don't know if Sadie will be coming or not.

No Name

Janet brought some tubing to exercise today. Now we have all the Silver Sneaker equipment to use. We have the tubing, two weights and the ball. It was fun using the tubing. Some people said that they had lost weight since they've been coming to class.

I came home after class and Trudy was here. She couldn't spend the night for she had a Dr appointment in H'ville today. Dr. Boyer hadn't sent any information to Dr. Walker so we just talked about the diabetes. He did recommend a book for us to read, The 36 Hour Day. It's about caring for family members with dementia. I ordered it from Amazon when we got home. The rest of my life is going to be a trial. I had hoped to drift off into the sunset with the problems I already had and now I have more to deal with. With the help of the Lord, we'll make it through.

Saturday-Sunday

Didn't do much Saturday and that's why I didn't write. Sundays I don't usually write because it would be the same thing every time-church was good, came home and took a nap. Same old same old. I don't take naps in bed anymore, I just nap in the recliner. I don't seem to nap as hard in the recliner as in the bed.

We go see Dr Walker tomorrow and will hear about what Dr Boyer told him about Frank and his dementia. The girls wanted to have a girls-night-out again where we go to B'ham and spend the night and go thrift store buying the next day. We could if Frankie could come down and look after his Dad. Or maybe I could be gone for one night and leave a list of food and medicines for Frank to take while I was gone. He's dependent on me to get his medicines for him now. My window of opportunity of going anywhere is closing in.

Nice Day

Had a nice exercise class. Went to Walmart for some groceries and when I was putting them into the trunk of the car, I looked at my watch and it was 10:00 AM and I had a piano student at 10:00. I called Frank and told him to tell them we could make it up on Monday but I don't think they came. Whew! I was depressed about Frank's not wanting to cooperate in eating the food he needs to eat, and I wasn't thinking about anything else. He said he would eat an egg for breakfast so I'll fix him that and a fruit and bread and butter.

It rained some today. Florida is getting some bad weather from the first hurricane of the season and I think our weather is part of that.

We have ants again. I cleaned off the counter and mixed up some Borax and jelly and put it out for them. They have found it and I hope they all eat enough to kill them. I hate sharing my kitchen with any little creatures.

Clinic Day

Went to the hospital at 8:45 AM and got out at 3:00 PM. The dietitian taught the class and we had hand outs. There were two other people there who had Type II diabetes. We were taught about counting carbs and had lunch at the hospital cafeteria. It was a lot of information to take in one day. We have a follow up class of two hours next Wednesday.

Frank has not been eating the food I fix for him. He eats a few bites and then stops. He can't control his blood sugar unless he eats the food. He said he tested his blood sugar at lunch, but when I got back at 3 PM, he hadn't eaten lunch so when did he test? He probably didn't. He must be in denial about the whole thing. It's very stressful for me.

I asked Janet to help me to re-pot a couple of my plants. I can't seems to do such an elementary thing as that. I need to get on my bike and try to ride some. I climbed on it when Frankie was here and I could bend my right knee to make the pedals go around. There's a lot of things I need to do.

Usless Trip

We drove to H'ville for a Dr visit only too find out we didn't have an appointment today. I guess I had written it down wrong.

Trudy spent the night with us. She spent all afternoon organizing the stuff in her father's bedroom. She had boxes and boxes of things which she took to the basement and organized there. She's not finished in his room and has more to do. The room already looks larger. Having dementia has helped him to not want to hold onto everything he has accumulated in his room.

It rained off and on today. That's all.

?

I've written since May 30th. What has happened to my blogs? I didn't write last night, June 3rd, but I wrote the day before. Crazy.

Frankie and Mariam and Josh came over in the afternoon yesterday. I had t-bone steaks for them a big baked potatoes with butter and sour cream. The kids are good at entertaining themselves. They found the Old Maid cards and went about playing. Today, I put up the little table for them to play Uno on. Frankie, the kids and I walked into the woods and down to the creek. We saw a box turtle but he was gone when we got back to where we found him. Yesterday afternoon, Josh and Mariam taught me how to throw the frizbe. I didn't get too good but I could throw it to Mariam and she could catch it.

Frankie and Rachel are closing Friday on a house. They've had no place to stay since they had to get out of their rental place. Frankie spent one night with Trudy and then us and tonight he's back with Trudy. It's been a very nice visit. He said that they would be coming back more often and I hope he will.

Trudy cleaned up Frank's room today. She moved boxes and boxes of things downstairs and neatly stored them away. Thank you, Trudy!