Its Alzheimer's Day (Thursday)

4.4.13  In exactly five months my little girl will be six years old and in elementary school.

Yes, my blog is beginning with a discussion of the weather.

It is cold (barely into the 40s).

It is yucky (sleet this morning and now rain).

The sun is on strike (but did peek out for a millisecond this morning).

Now for the shocker - I'm ok with it.

Now for the reasoning - spring starts up this weekend.

Dare I say that today I feel is winter's final farewell for many months?  I dare!  Tomorrow we go into the upper fifties.  Saturday the sixties.  Sunday the upper sixties.  Next week the seventies.  I have waited and tried to be so positive (remember my "the ground will be great in the spring" comments) and now I believe my hopes and dreams are coming to fruition - warmer weather, happier seasons are here.

In the words of that little annoying nappy red head Annie - Tomorrow!

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Adventures in Alzheimer's Land update

Today is Thursday and therefore it is hair day for my grandma.  She goes to get it washed and set.  This is a total old person thing to do.  Some women get those ever popular blue and purple and peach rinses put on when they go get their hair "set" (meaning curled with curlers).  Luckily, my grandma isn't into having the punk rocker colored grandma hair. 

Anyhoo - we ventured to town.  Once again it is all new to her.

One thing you should know about alzheimer's disease is that part of the dementia is thinking that other people know everyone you pass on the road, drive by, ordering in the same fast food line, working as a cashier at the home improvement store, etc etc etc.  In this case I am the other person and therefore I should know every tenant of every home we pass by.  This morning was littered by this question times about 60 - "Who lives there" ------ "Do you know who owns that house?" ------- "Who does that place belong to?"

At first I was a constant and cheery - "Hmmm not sure,"  "I haven't a clue,"  "I really don't know,"

Then the cheerfulness started backing away - "I don't know."

Then the deafness pulled in.  "Who lives there?" - - - - - - - - silence

Then the what-the-hell-just-go-with-it came in  "Mick Mouserat lives there."  "Oh yeah that's where Pamela Anderson lives."  "That house I think Hillary Rodham lives there.  No, you don't know her."

The other enjoyable trait of dementia is how she takes note of everything about a person.  She then turns to me and in a not so quiet voice says, "Look at that woman's hair that looks horrible!"  or the other favorite from today - "Did you see his green pants.  He just doesn't care what he looks like."  (Or it was just part of his uniform - but uniform schmuniform when your brain is on deterioration mode).

I get nervous when she starts to ask sales associates questions.  Today she wanted to ask the salesman about vacuum cleaner bags.  Nevermind that she has no clue what model her vacuum is and cannot locate it in the pull down visual.  The poor guy tried really hard to help her.  I eased in and said "Why don't we just write down the model and come back next week."  To which she said I had the info in my pocketbook.  I could have taken this as my grandma is a magician and had magically placed it in my purse the only problem....no purse in my possession on today's trip.

Dementia also slows down the body in the locomotor way.  I let her push the kids in the cart.  I think she was passed by about seventeen Galapagos Tortoises.  The kids probably would have fell asleep if the oldest one would have stopped talking for ten seconds. 

She doesn't realize she is going so slow.  The best I can explain it to you would be by saying - have you ever felt like you were in a dream, everything was foggy and slow?  Maybe you had been up ten hours too long.  Yep.....that's her life now.

Personal hell?  Yep.  Aging sucks but aging with mental incapacities sucks worse.

What more could I share with you....hmmm perhaps her choice of a whopper for lunch and then refusing to eat because I didn't order my seven month old anything.  I must have missed the baby section of the menu.  I tried to explain that seven month olds do not eat that type of food.  She finally started to act like she understood.  Notice I said act.

#EndAlz

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Do you like rennovating your home?  I am in the process as you know.  Just the baby stages of doing a lot of research, math, more research and a bit more math.  I'm deciding that if I do enough research and math I can nip this in the bud for a good Queen of the Tightwads but quality way. 

One non tightwad decision I have made - well I uses that non very lightly - is the decision that someone else needs to paint my hallway.  There is no way I can accomplish that mountain without it looking like a few second graders were given a 55 gallon drum of Mountain Dew and then paint rollers.

I have an idea as to who I would like to have do the work.  However, I am entertaining any one who is local to me that would like to share a good painter/crew's infomration for me to contact. 

I also am happy to report I may have decided on my hall color!  But I am keeping that mum for a while.  The decision is subject to change!

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Last night I made a delicious and pretty nutritious dish!  I cannot tell you how moist and tender my pork was and the cranberries made an excellent addition to the stuffing.  This is totally economical and low cal (280 cals per serving).  If you are Kosher then don't read it - no need to tease you with some little piggies.

Pork Medallions with Cranberry Stuffing

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Have a healthy and happy day -


Brownie

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