by Judy Handley | Jul 28, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 210: Shop ‘til You Drop
Date: Sunday, July 28, 2024
Weather: Sunny and Hot; High Temp 87, Low 71 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Sister in Mooresville, NC
You know you are in the Bible Belt when there are book racks at the end of aisles full of Bible study books. And you know you are down South when it is so hot that the black steering wheel in your car is literally so hot you cannot touch it. So, yes, I am in the Bible Belt down South. Since it has been a year since I have been here, and since I am the person officially in charge of making sure my sister has all of the clothes and household items she needs, there have been a lot of things to buy. My first foray was back to Walmart to return some clothing items I bought yesterday that didn’t fit. Then I started on the household items. Commander Clips to hang to hang a wreath on Patsy’s door and photos on the walls. Duct tape to match her brown/ beige carpeting to tape down the long phone cord that had to be installed. The cord runs right in front of her door to the outside, so it had to be securely taped down. Paper towels, liquid hand soap, laundry detergent to wash her compression stockings each night, dish detergent. And on and on and on. I got back just in time for lunch. This Wednesday is the last day for residents here to switch their cable tv to a private account instead of being provided by Terra Bella. And one woman at our table has been given the run around by the cable company. Since I have dealt with this already, I had the private cell number for the man from the cable company who is supervising the changeover. I was able to text him and get answers for the woman as we sat there for which she was very appreciative.
The afternoon required a trip to the laundromat. For whatever reason, when I arrived on Friday, Patsy’s dirty clothes basket runneth over. Usually, the laundry is done a couple of times a week, but I don’t think that happened last week. While the clothes were washing, I went to a mattress store. Patsy bed is too high and can’t be lowered any further, so I need to find a solution. I think that will be buying a new mattress that is not as deep as her current mattress and a bunkie board instead of box springs. But that search will continue tomorrow, my last day here.
I was supposed to take Patsy out to dinner tonight, but by the time I got back from the laundromat, it was after 5:30, the time for dinner here at Terra Bella. Patsy was not in her room and she was not in her normal dining room. I found her in another dining room happily eating dinner. She had forgotten that I was taking her out. We did need to go out to pick up something from Brian and Judy Thompson, so we drove there and visited a bit before returning home to watch the Olympics tonight. All of the running here and there today totally wore me out. Hopefully that will help me sleep a little more soundly in the recliner. I miss my bed!
by Judy Handley | Jul 27, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 209: Fun BBQ at Tommy and Marilou’s
Date: Saturday, July 27, 2024
Weather: Partly Sunny; High Temp 85, Low 66 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Sister in Mooresville, NC
Most of today was spent checking things off my list of ‘must do’s’ while here with my sister. After a mostly sleepless night due to the Sudafed I took (the instant cold is gone), I got up at 7:15 to go to breakfast with Patsy. One of my goals while here is to determine if the food here at Terra Bella is just normal institution food or is as inedible as my sister says. After breakfast we worked on going through more piles of papers and cards and getting rid of as much as possible. We did this while watching a bit of the Olympics and suddenly, it was time for lunch. I decided to skip eating lunch with my sister so I could go shopping for much needed clothing essentials. That was a painful, but a partly successful venture. However, trying to find long-sleeved pajamas in the middle of summer just didn’t work. I did find some options to order after seeing the real thing in the store—just not in petites sizes. I am only 5 feet tall, and I look tall next to my sister. So she really is short. Anything not in a petite size is always too long in length and in the length of the sleeves.
When I got home from the shopping trip, I had leftover salad from yesterday’s dinner for lunch, watched more Olympics, and did more apartment organization. Then we were off to our nephew Tommy’s. And what a fun time we had there. Tommy’s wife, Marilou, has her 94 year old father, Bob, living with them. His 94th birthday was this week and his two sons that life out west were there visiting. Patsy and I played a game of Play Nine, a card game where you play nine holes (rounds) and the person with the lowest score wins. This is a game the whole family can play and the two 90 somethings scored in the top half. Such fun. Tommy was outside at the grill all of this time cooking a feast of grilled steak, shrimp, and sausages, potatoes and zucchini and onions. He has a cast iron grill that is fantastic. As we wrapped up the card game, the neighbors arrived, plus one of Marilou and Tommy’s daughters, Madeline. Added to all the meat and grilled veggies Tommy prepared, we had a beautiful fruit salad, cucumber and tomato salad, and a to die for chocolate dessert. It was all fabulous.
by Judy Handley | Jul 26, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 208: Falmouth to Boston to Mooresville, North Carolina
Date: Friday, July 26, 2024
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High Temp 83, Low 69 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Sister in Mooresville, NC
It was an 11 hour trek from Falmouth to my sister’s apartment in Mooresville, NC today. Lynne took me to the bus station at 7 am. There was no traffic this morning, so we arrived at the airport in an hour and a half instead of two hours. Check in was fast, but then I had a two and a half hour wait for my flight. I was a little nervous as I was flying Delta, but everything was on time for the two-and-a-half-hour flight. But upon arrival in Charlotte, things slowed down. We landed on time at 1:40 pm, but it was 3:45 before I got in my rental and started the last leg of the trip, the 45 minutes to Mooresville. Once in Mooresville, I stopped to have a late lunch/early dinner, picked up some items at the grocery store and a drug store, and finally arrived at Terra Bella Senior Living just after 6 pm. Before we landed in Charlotte, I got one of what I call my instant colds. These ‘events’ are obviously an allergic reaction to something and more often than not, it always happens when I fly and is usually gone by the next morning with a little help from Sudafed. I sure hope that is the case this time.
Patsy and I have spent the evening watching the parade of athletes from around the world in the Olympic Opening Ceremony. She put me to work tonight taking a whole shelf of framed photos out of frames. I have a huge list of things I want to accomplish in my three days here, but tomorrow afternoon we will take a break and visit with our nephew who lives about 20 minutes from here.
I am sleeping in one of Patsy’s living room recliners for as many nights as I can handle. One of the tasks on my list is observing just how much assistance she is receiving in assisted living. It is 10:45 pm and no one has come in to take off her compression stockings and help her get dressed for bed. Hmmm. She pays an extra $900+ a month for assistance in showering twice a week and getting dressed in the morning and ready for bed at night. But when I arrived today, she did not have compression stockings on as per her doctor’s orders. It might be an enlightening three days.
by Judy Handley | Jul 25, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 207: A Little Bit of Everything
Date: Thursday, July 25, 2024
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High Temp 76, Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
This was definitely a day of jumping from one thing to another, just a little bit of everything. Lynne went with me this morning to the bank to deal with some Encore business and she got to meet Christinia. Then we were off to the library where Christina and I were presenting a donation to the Friends of the Library as this year’s Encore charitable donation. Lynne served as our photographer to capture the moment, and then we headed to Heather and Jed’s to make sure Ollie was up and about. I then took Lynne home as she hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. I changed into beach clothes, picked up Ollie and then two other friends and we headed to the beach for swim lessons. I dropped the boys and went back home to get Lynne so we could sit on the beach and visit.
After swim lessons, we went home so Ollie could shower and do his chores for today. He had to unload the dishwasher and clean his aquarium. We went to CVS to buy the things he needed for Scout camp next week, stopped at Stop and Shop to buy some clam chowder for Ollie, and then to my house to have lunch. I spent time outside playing with Shadow, fixed a leak in my garden irrigation system, and before we knew it, it was time to take Ollie home so he could get ready to go to the County Fair with Seton and his family.
Lynne and made up a new recipe for stuffed zucchini for dinner that required tofu crumbles. I have been wanting to make them all summer and finally got the opportunity. The crumbles which are fried with a spicey mixture make a great substitute for ground beef in a stuffed zucchini recipe. By this time, my back was beginning to ache, so while the stuffed zucchini baked, Lynne and I sat down and had a glass of wine. After dinner, I finally packed for tomorrow’s trip to North Carolina and we called it a day.
Tomorrow morning, just before 7 am, Lynne will take me to the bus station for the first leg of my trip to visit with my sister in North Carolina. Car to bus station, bus to Logan airport, plane trip to Charlotte, rent a car, drive north to visit briefly with my nephew Tommy, then drive on to my sister’s apartment in her assisted living facility. That will be my day tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Jul 24, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 206: Lynne Arrived
Date: Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Cooler; High Temp 69, Low 67 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
It was another cloudy day with a little mist this morning. And it was cooler by just a few degrees but enough that it felt a little chilly at the beach. I had an morning meeting, picked Ollie and friend Teddy up from soccer, and then it was on to swim lessons. Teddy came home with us and I hung out with the kids until about 3:00 so that I would be home when Lynne arrived. Yesterday she drove from Michigan to Nyack, NY, and then on to Cape Cod today. I only get to see her once a year when she is home from New Zealand visiting with family for the summer. So, it is always wonderful to see her. We went for a long walk with Shadow, had leftovers from last night’s dinner, and watch a movie called, “Eating for Tomorrow.” A number of people recommended it, but I think Lynne and I were not as impressed as others. I think that is because we already know and believe what was being presented. We need to move to a plant-based diet to preserve our health and the earth.
