Weather Change for the Better, Bill Up and Out Early, Puzzles with Mom, Birthdays

It was nice to know that when I woke up as Bill’s alarm went off on Tuesday, Sept. 11^th, our little furry guy hadn’t moved all night. That meant Bill should have had a peaceful night at least. Clemson slept right through until Bill came and said goodbye to me at 6. Yay! This makes me hopeful that he’s getting better (again) and that he’ll do the same for me tonight.

The morning was cloudy and cool

I looked out the window and it was still dark so figured I’d doze off until 7. At 7 when I stirred again, it was very foggy and I knew a walk was out of the question at that time of the morning. One of my readers suggested I get a safety vest that will keep me visible for my walks and I’ve procrastinated with that. It’s a great idea and I know the dollar store has them. No excuses.

I slowly made my way out of bed around 7:15 and made myself a tea. Clemson curls up on his bed on the couch and the day begins. I read comments on my post and then got into cleaning up my email folder. I was looking for one from Rockwood that I thought might have ended up in the Trash or Spam folder. But it wasn’t there. I need an Invoice sent for Mom’s July stay so we can send it off to Veteran’s Affairs. I’ve contacted them for one to be sent out.

Today's harvest

At 8:30 I slipped a sweater and wind breaker on and went for a walk. By the time I turned onto North Line, I was chilly and knew I hadn’t dressed warm enough. Too late now, I’ll walk to the corner and back. I hopped in the shower and then at 11 drove into Durham to see Mom. I meant to go yesterday but the morning zipped by before I realized the time. She was good today and quite chipper.

What a beautiful day this was
Perfect, really

We stayed in her room and worked on a puzzle. By 5 to 12 when it was time to walk her down for lunch, there were some pieces yet to be placed so she said ‘maybe by the time you come next week, I’ll be done’ and then added ‘maybe not’. Too cute! It was like she was totally with it. On the elevator, one nurse joined us along with two wheelchair-laden residents. On Main floor, because the doors don’t wait, I helped push the 2^nd lady out and she pointed to Mom’s table. The nurse thanked me and called out ‘she sits at your Mom’s table!’ Mom seems a little a put out when we pay attention to other residents and we assume that has to be the dementia because she was never like that before.

I started out in jeans

Comical that a man on the elevator asked Mom if she found where she was going earlier. He said she didn’t know where she was going and he didn’t know where he was going either so they went nowhere together. That got a good laugh. 😊 Mom blushed and poo-poohed it. No doubt she had no recollection. I said my goodbye and waved at Mom and many others with their arms in the air.

And ended up in shorts

The sun had come out before I left home and it was a joy to see so I’d unplugged the Suite. The panels had the battery charged up to 13.7 by the time I’d returned. A gorgeous day sitting between 67F – 74F temps all day. Before I left this morning, I emptied the left-hand side of the fridge. It was so jammed full that it was time to empty some jars of ‘stuff’ or at least inventory it and wash the shelves.

Lunch today hit the spot

I didn’t get rid of much in there but was able to downsize a couple of jars to take up less space. I warmed up a jar of my homemade tomato soup and grilled another cheese and pastrami on rye. Yummy. I cleaned up dishes and then went outside for a bit. The sun felt great and the wind was low. I sat with my book, it is a page turner for sure. After enjoying the heat for a while, I let Clemson out and we walked down to check the mail box.

Clemson leads the way

Inside around 4:30 I fed him his regular food to stop the staring and then at 6:30 I began warming up my leftovers from last night. I mixed some rice and mashed potatoes with tiny pieces of chicken and added them to Clemson’s dish. It pleased me that he ate much of what was in his dish. 

He likes the chicken and rice mixture

My supper was good and I think his was tasting pretty good too the way he ate it up.

Are you coming, Mom?

I caught up on my post and Bill called around the same time after finishing his day. Clemson and I went out for another short walk. I have some windows open tonight to let some of the cooler air indoors. It is reading 80F inside at 7 and going down to about 54F overnight. I woke up yesterday morning with a double batch of shingles after not having them for a few weeks. I started taking the pills.

Clemson enjoyed some heat with me

Today, they were pretty bothersome and with the early cool weather, I needed to find pants that didn’t rub on the sores. Later this afternoon the cream helped ease some of the pain and I could wear something less constricting. I’ll be glad when tomorrow arrives, the 3^rd day I don’t feel them at all. The sun is going down so I was able to get a sunset shot tonight over the trees. When we came back in, Clemson jumped up on the bed and I finished this post while waiting for my Tuesday night programs to come on.

the sunset with the Hangar and my Cat and Mouse wind vane

This has been a nice day with the visit to Mom and there are a couple of birthdays I need to mention. First, my son, Patrick, turns 39 today. I’m not sure how that happened, he’s my youngest. 

Happy Birthday, Patrick
What a handsome young man!

Secondly, our friend, Laurie who was here on the weekend. In 2001, Sept. 11^th was not a good day but birthdays still need to be celebrated.

Good night all!

I hope you have had a good day too. Thank you for stopping by!