Last week was busy and productive. It was so nice to have the time to do what I needed and/or wanted to. I emptied my pantry, and Dennis put in the final (top) shelf. Then I went through everything and threw out things that were out of date. I put everything back in (I hope) a more efficient order. I’m still having to learn where everything is. I think it will be better once I get used to everything’s new position.
I also emptied out my dining room storage closet. I had never really organized it to begin with…just added stuff where it would fit when we were remodeling. I thinned out a lot of stuff that I never use anymore and either gave it away or threw it out. I went through all of my recipe cards and consolidated (after throwing out a bunch of unused ones) them all in one card file (instead of four!). I got rid of the last of my shaped cake pans and cake stands. I was able to fit everything back in a much more orderly manner. I still have some old flower vases to get rid of, but I plan to take them to a local flower shop this week to see if they will take them. I think I will tackle my spice drawer this week!
One day, I defrosted Dad’s freezer in his mini-fridge. He likes to turn it all the way up, which causes the freezer section to ice up. My hair dryer made short work of the defrosting operation, and I got everything cleaned up. I have to clean the cups out of it every day or two. Dad’s hoarding instinct is primarily directed at cups of water and milk these days. He will bring one of each back from each meal and adds them to the others from all of the other meals in the fridge. One day I removed about a dozen and returned them to the kitchen. I left him several in there, so the next day I had to remove another half dozen or so. I’ve told the kitchen staff that anytime they run short, just go check his little fridge!
Dad did pretty good all week. He participated in the activities at the home and even made the Fox 4 news! He really got a kick out of that. When I showed him the picture on my phone, he told me to get him a print made for his wall. Thanks to same day photo processing, I had it hung the next day. Some days he was pretty talkative (for him); others, he seemed down…which makes sense, seeing as he is still grieving. His memory seems to be getting worse, but he is more alert than he had been. I guess he is getting into his new norm. He seems pretty comfortable with the way things are. We took him to Haslet today. I figured he would really enjoy seeing everyone. He would smile when folks spoke to him and hugged him, but he didn’t really interact with anyone. He ate a big plate of food at lunch, plus a big plate of desserts! After eating, he played a little solitaire and then went to sit by the door. I asked him if he was ready to go home, and he said he was. So we gathered up our things and took him back to the home. He seems to have lost all of his understanding of social norms. He just does what he wants to do and doesn’t consider how it affects anyone else. We are constantly picking up after him. He is constantly wiping his nose with a tissue and then just dropping it wherever he is. We have to keep an eye on him to try to keep him out of trouble. Everyone at Haslet was really good at helping out today. All of the ladies would try to wait on him and take care of his trash. Then Ed D. “babysat” him when he went towards the door…making sure he didn’t wander off or do something that might get him hurt. After a little incident on our way back home, Dennis and I decided we don’t need to take him out anymore except for short jaunts to church or Braum’s. You just never know what he might do. When we got back to his room, I asked if he had enjoyed the day, and he was noncommittal, so I’m not even sure he gets any benefit from outings. He seems to prefer just being in his room watching tv.
Dennis and I spent all day in Haslet yesterday for the Labor Day Weekend get-together. We always really enjoy our time visiting with everyone and enjoying the activities. Of course, there is always WAY too much food and goodies. Kay always like to have some little special something planned. This year it was ice cream floats. YUM! There were makings for all sorts of embellished and flavored floats, but I opted for an old fashioned root beer one. We really appreciate all of the hard work that goes into the weekend! We’ve been enjoying them for 20 years!
We brought Nam home with us today, since he doesn’t have school tomorrow. His mom will pick him up in the morning. We enjoyed our conversation coming home. I love our talks with that kid! Then just as we were pulling into MW, he fell asleep! Wouldn’t you know it?! But since we had to take Dad home (which is on the far west side of town), he was able to get in a pretty good nap. Dennis stayed in the car with the a/c on, while I took Dad in and got him settled. Nam continued to sleep until we pulled up in the driveway and Dennis got him out of his seat. He and Grandad have played some, we went to McDonald’s for supper, and now we are watching “Lady and the Tramp” before bedtime, then we’ll get up to pancakes in the morning…our little sleep-over tradition.
I have another “free” week this week. I’m hoping to meet with Dad’s new doctor on Tuesday when he makes his rounds. I also have to reserve a room at a restaurant in Ruidoso for the rehearsal dinner on Oct. 3. It’s hard to believe the wedding is just a month away!
I hope I can accomplish as much this coming week as I did last week. I’m enjoying having time to do more around the house. I’ve neglected it for far too long! We don’t plan to start back on any remodeling until after the wedding and our meeting in October. By then it will be hunting season, so we may not get much done until the first of the year! We want to finish the living room (mostly painting and a little remodeling of the “entertainment area”), and then redo the hall bathroom. We will also fix up our spare bedroom into a second guest room. I’m wanting to fix it up for the grandkids. I still have to figure out how I want to do it though. We’ll save our bedroom for last, because it will be a pretty involved remodel. The last thing will be laying the carpet throughout the living room, hall and master bedroom. I HOPE that we can get it all done sometime in 2020.
Well, I hope you all stay safe in this coming week!
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