What weird weather we're having #3

I think that you're entitled to a break until spring, Sally! no matter what the weather does.

my thermometer is showing 36 deg. outside now, and it feels like it's colder than that. YUK!!!

This message was edited Oct 8, 2008 11:28 PM

actually, according to the 10 day forcast, the next 5 or 6 days after saturday look like great fall weather! you know, after all the fall blooming plants have died :-s


this is sort of interesting, appartently it might be a little windy as well http://www.weather.com/newscenter/nationalforecast/index.html?from=hp_news



This message was edited Oct 8, 2008 11:33 PM

Well, that will be perfect timing for putting the beds to bed. Have to clean out the tomato beds and one more good weeding in the raised beds, a good mulch and they should be good til spring.

I still have to deal with Mom's rehab, talked to physical therapist yesterday, they'll be coming for a while to help her get back to where she was. She's a little leary, too much commotion I think, but I convinced her to give it a try. If it doesn't help she can stop it.

They say there's no rest for the wicked, but I didn't think I was that bad!! LOL

You weren't bad! I thought that it was "no rest for the weary", so maybe you're too tired! Of course, I've also said "no rest for the wicked", but I prefer the other :-p

I think that it will take a while, but I bet that your mom will come to appreciate the therapy. good luck with the beginning of it all though!

I think I like weary better too, at least I know I've earned that one.

I think it'll help her, but I'll have to do a little coaxing. The doctor said she should try it too, and he's such a hottie she listens to him. Hahaha

lol, perfect! What's his name? maybe it's someone that I need to see!! I messed up my hip a little yesterday, so I can come up with a good reason to visit!

He's been our doctor since we moved here and just recently became Chief of Staff at Sacred Heart. He's busy but keeping his practice, he likes to deal with families. Dr. Moshofsky is his name and he loves Mom and treats her like his mom, even went to visit her in the hospital. We really like him as a doctor and a friend. We picked him because he was suggested by a doctor (who was leaving the state for a new practice) we saw before we had a regular one. Figured if a doctor has him as a doctor, must be OK. LOL

That's an excellent way to get a doctor! and a source that I would trust. I will keep that in mind if I ever need to find a new one, he sounds great and cute on top of that. Have your mom and the cat become all settled?

That cat won't leave her side!!! She's not all that fond of strangers, so she hides behind the furniture while someone is there, then comes out and heads straight for the lap! It's so funny to watch.

Sounds like our WA friends should batten down the hatches. Stay dry and warm everyone!

Time to say good night. Good to hear from you again.

This message was edited Oct 9, 2008 12:35 AM

I make a motion that you go see Dr. M for your hip even if it feels a little better. lol

I agree, in the long run, your mom will be better with the therapy. It's hard to coax them when they make their mind up. Sounds like Dr. M is coaxing her just fine, though. It's great to have a Dr. who treats you like family. I wish more did.

Thinking of you with the snow coming.

I wish I was where it snowed.....I love snow......not tons of it, just a little!

It felt cold enough here thi morning.....36. Decided it is time to bring all the house plants in for the winter......back to the jungle theme! I am a sucker for abandoned plants so have inherited a 6 foot tree someone left on the sidewalk.....will be interesting finding a space for that in here................!!!!!

Would sure like to have your Doctor up here. I know some really wonderful Doctors here but they are all with Group Heath....unfortunately WE are NOT...

Sally - my mom has never been one for exercise and she hated physical therapy. After her illness (and before she was really herself again), she would complain and pout and threaten not to eat if they made her go. But I credit them with getting her out of the convalescent center and home again. She's much stronger than she thinks she is and we continue to have to "trick" her into trying things out (like walking up a couple of stairs with our help, rather than sitting in a chair and having a couple of the guys lift her up.

I used to tell her that the physical therapists were the same as personal trainers and that people paid good money to have personal trainers, so she should be grateful. She just called them "torture artists". The funny thing is that she hated it while anticipating it much more than actually doing it.

Mom is good about wanting to do things on her own. She's always afraid if she stops doing things she won't be able to. Like she has a scooter to use in the house, but she only uses it if she has to, other wise she uses her walker. I think it's the anticipation that bothers her. She's so used to her quiet simple life and now all these people are barging in all the time. Her BP was up again today when the nurse came, so I talked to her and they're going to back off awhile, until she gets her BP meds straightened out. Still come, but not all at once and not so often til she feels better. She's gained back 4lbs (she lost 20, down to 110) so everyone is happy with that, it's just the BP isn't right yet. DH and I went and bought her one of those lift chairs today, she used one in the care center and just looked too comfortable in it, it's too hard for her to pull up the foot rest on her chair at home. Tomorrow she'll be able to push a button and get comfy. One of her other problems, post polio syndrome on one leg and she had 3rd deg. burns on the other, so her feet swell. So she's spent pretty much her whole life having to work at getting things done, she's not about to change now. LOL And yes, we all like our doctor and really appreciate what he does for us. The fact that he's a hottie and has the sweetest smile just makes it better!

Cold today and a little rain, DH had to put the pellet stove on, he gets cold so easy. Watching a snowy picture on TV gives him the shivers.

Katie..Sorry it's so hard for your Mom to cope, my Dad was like that too, so I can relate. HUGS to you.

Sally - it sounds like your mom is a trooper. Good for her. Glad she's gaining weight and hope they get control of those. My mom has one of those chairs - it's great. Though she's just impatient enough that she doesn't actually use the lift portion. :-)

Mom is actually doing great - her recovery (from total sepsis from a punctured bowel due to a colonoscopy that ended up finding colon cancer) was pretty much unheard of, especially at her age. So we can't complain!!

Brought some plants in tonight - very cold forecast. This weekend it is time to take out the tomatoes and other vegs.
It is so interesting to read about your mothers. I am trying to figure out how to make my big claw foot bathtub safe for my parents when they come fro Thanksgiving. If anyone has any ideas please let me know! I am trying to talk them into living with me but they are resisting. At 92 and 86 they are beginning to need help around the house and they plan to move to a retirement community close to me but like people everywhere they are having trouble selling their house. They live in a gated community so there are no people cruising around looking at open houses there. sally & Katie it sounds like you have your hands full!

I would say that handles in lots of locations is of #1 importance. Is the tub in the middle of the room or next to a wall? My mother used these and they work better than I could have imagined. My mom wanted to take them with her when she went into assisted living.

http://www.getagriphandles.com/Default.asp?tcode=pi4&tag=google&gclid=CIS9-JacnpYCFQykagodxV1Q6w&bhcp=1

They really do hold for an airtight surface. I don't know how they'd do on a flat, but porous material.

No seizures for the dog tonight and no firemen, either. I had a long nap this afternoon - slept like a log.

It sounds like several moms of PNW people are needing help with serious health problems. My heart goes out to all of you who are in that situation. My mother is thankfully doing ok with only minor issues, but we went through a serious debilitating illness with my father, and I know how things can snowball sometimes without warning.

I ditto the suggestion for lots of grab bars, in every conceivable location. My dad also used a tub chair with a supportive back and side arms, since he could not hold his upper body in a vertical position through a whole bath. My DH installed a hand held shower head, so that my dad and someone assisting could rinse with ease. He also had an extra wide tub chair that sat half in and half out of the tub, so a person could sit down on it while still holding onto the walker handles and then slide over into the bathing position. Unfortunately, it did not have as good a back as the other so the bathing was harder, but it was safer with regard to avoiding a fall.

Yes!! Those tub chairs are great, Holly. My mother uses one of them with a hand-held shower head, as well. It makes such a difference.

The assisted living place they're living in now has a walk in shower (no tub) that is standard tub-shower size. It's so great for my mom not to have to step over the tub edge to get in.

For those who can afford it, these are pretty neat. When I searched on them a few years ago, there was only one. Now there seem to be lots of them.

http://www.bathingsolutions.com/walk_in_tub.html

http://www.arwholesale.com/index.php?ARCN=50&ARKP=WalkInTub&gclid=CJKQm5G-npYCFSahiQodaFJZ8Q

Holly, how old is your mom?

My mom is 80 now, and a family friend who is 96 calls her a Spring Chicken.

The chair is a HIT! She's been practicing all afternoon. I tried to take a picture, but she said not til she combs her hair.

katie...remarkable that your mother recovered!! Like mom says, has to be good genes! I hope I inherited them too. Thank you for the grab bar site, I'm going to order some of those. Do they work on wall paper? I would love to have one of those walk in tubs for myself. LOL Maybe sometime later on. We have a friend who got one and he just loves it, he said I could come use it anytime. Hahaha

Holly...Mom who is 94 calls most everyone a youngster.

Portland...you might check with a local medical supply store, they came up with some great ideas when Dad broke his hip. We ended up with a ceiling to bottom of shower pole because grab bars don't hold well in manufactured homes. Mom is still using that pole and it's solid as can be. And the hand held shower and chair enables her to bath herself for now.

Cold today, the wind was really cold!! Still have the pellet stove going, I tease DH, but it really does save on the heating bill as long as we can get a decent price on pellets. Snow level is getting really low. I had to protect some of my plants tonight, the forecast is for 30deg. Sometimes I think it's colder when we get low temps with no snow.

Holly - I love that!! It's all relative (no pun intended).

I like the idea of a floor-to-ceiling shower pole. Hadn't heard of that. With our population aging, there are so many things coming out that could be helpful. Have to keep up.

In her current place there are metal handles that are longer and hooked into the wall. But I think she likes these because the diameter is not as big and they are contoured for easy gripping. She has arthritis in her hands that gives her pretty much 24/7 pain.

I was so skeptical when I first saw them because nothing with a suction device has ever worked well for me. But they have never come loose on my mother. I looked for any surface exceptions on the site, and didn't find any. All I can think you'd worry about with the paper is that it made the surface porous, which would reduce the effectiveness of the suction. But I'd say try it because they seem great. And they are inexpensive enough that you could put them anywhere (like on the wall by the kitchen sink, which is were people are usually turning around) and move them as you see you need them.

Katie, thank you for the suggestion of the suction handles. I will get a few. I have tried a few shower chairs but they don't fit in my circa 1905 claw foot tub. We will have to muddle through for short visits but if they come to live with me I think I will have to remodel the bathroom. I will keep my big old tub because I am in love with it but I will add a safe shower. Luckily I have a hugh walk-in closet next to the bathroom that I can borrow space from. I feel so lucky that my parents are relatively healthy and spry for 86 and 92!
Today was beautiful - cool but nice and sunny. Will be cold tonight!

Cold for sure...we got a freeze warning from our weatherbug so I covered up a couple of plants. Took a day off today, just didn't want to do anything! Of course that doesn't include making beds, tending to the cats, fixing dinner, etc. LOL But I took time to do some tatting, had a lap cat to help and actually watched a movie all the way through!

Stay warm everyone.

brrr, brrrr, brrrrrrrr.........

Sally I bet we're going to be scraping frost off of the car before work tomorrow morning!

P1: a shower would be the best way to go, I think. And you could use the chair in there. The claw foot tub might be tough for them, but if they don't mind a little assistance from you . . . I still laugh at trying to get my dad dressed to go to his grandaughter's wedding while he was recovering from hospitalization and a pulled leg muscle and confined to a wheelchair.

It's such a blessing that he has a good sense of humor.

redchic...glad I don't have to do that. Hahaha We do have to go out, our friend in assisted living needs supplies, we've been neglecting him with mom being down. Of course I know he's being cared for, he just didn't get his usual goodies that I take him. We'll let everyone get the ice off the road before we go out!! Wave when you go by.

katie...glad your dad has a sense of humor, I got a very funny picture of that from your description LOL!

Careful driving tomorrow.

wow, can't sleep Sally?

I will definitely wave as I go by! Lucky you!!!

It's those pesky unplanned naps LOL I sit to watch TV and the next thing I know, I'm wide awake.

Beautiful day today, took our friend out to lunch and to do some shopping. Can't take him out when it gets too cold.

Should be good tomorrow too, 65deg they say, hope to get some yard work done.

lol. I know how those go. I'm definitely glad that this cold spell passed with out too much ado. I had a little frost on my windshield this morning, but that was it. Yesterday seemed pretty cold, but today was actually pretty good. Not shorts weather by any means, but at least I was comfortable in jeans. Tomorrow sounds perfect!!

Waiting for the sun.....

sorry to hear that. it's wonderfully sunny here! still cold though.

We've had mist all day, I wouldn't quite call it rain.

No rain, No mist, sploches of sun. But a lot of wind here. Had are first frost on Sat.
Tills

Sun came out in the afternoon - everybody was walking up and down the street. Hop on over to the "recipe" forum and go to "vanilla pecans" - I made these today and wow are they great. In addition to nibbling them I will use them in a salad with arugula, oranges, grapefruit and red onion. Worth taking the time to make. Sweet & savory.

Sunny most of the day - got lots of yard work done. Here's a picture of what's done so far.

Just found out you can't add a picture in edit. Oooops.

This message was edited Oct 13, 2008 9:52 PM

See if I can hit the right button this time.

The shed I worked so hard on.

And my favorite spot in the house, on the other side of these windows, which I haven't cleaned yet. And I still have the ugly blue tarp keeping my swing dry. I haven't finished the cover for it yet. The windows look out over a field, a pond and a stand of trees beyond that. Behind that is Mt Pisgah, where I watched the helicopters put out the fire.

I think I'd be sitting in that window like a cat all the time. Except when I was outside.
I would love to be able to see water from our place. That is our dream.

I agree with Jan, I'd want to curl up like a cat on a window ledge. All of your work is definitely paying off Sally! It looks great!

Did anyone else get out to enjoy the full moon last night? It was wonderful. I think that it was at least 25 degrees warmer last night than it was in the early morning yesterday. Actually, that's about true. It was about 35 yesterday morning and almost 60 when I went ouside at 9 last night.