Friday, May 16, 2008

Five Years ago today

Five years ago today, at exactly this hour....I was sitting at my brother's bed, holding his hand, stroking his forehead and telling him it was "O.K. to go...." He had spent about 15 hours gasping for breath, and Doug and I just wanted it to be over for him. I asked the nurse on duty how long he could hang on like that, and she just gave me a sad look and said, "It could be an hour, or it could be all night into tomorrow." Somehow, I guess I thought he would make it through the night. In a moment of weakness, I let Doug talk me into coming back to the house here. We were worried about Mom and Dad. My brother died about two hours after I left him. It's a decision I will regret for the rest of my life. I regret few things, but that's one of them. I wish I had been there for him. Don died at 11:05p.m. He was a great brother.

After he died, Doug came to the house to tell us. Sometime during the night, after I had fallen asleep...I woke up startled to feel a large, very warm hand on my forehead! I sat up so fast, and turned on the light....and looked at my own hand, not understanding what had happened, but I know it wasn't MY hand I felt. I guess it was Don's way of telling me, he was watching over me now! I know he is. He continues to be a great brother.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

oH BOY!!! Now I've done it! I pasted the connection of the Simpson's Avitar (her name is Lilybud, by the way) into my Blog, and I don't know how to get it off! I didn't think the moving part would go onto my blog......just the directions to get to it! Yikes! Hope this doesn't screw up my computer! See????? I knew I should have taken a nap, instead of playing!! It's all Maureen's fault, as she's going to ride the new Simpson's ride at Universal Studios any minute now, and I felt left out!!! HELP!~!!!!!

HELP!!!!!!

Copy and Paste this!!!

UberNana and another quilt......

So, yesterday I officially finished Maureen's quilt. She's been so patient, since it was supposed to be a Christmas present! Anyway, the binding was stitched on, as I sat at Hebert's, next to UberNana, chatting. When I finished, I announced that it was done, and I put it on Nana's lap. She was thrilled, and gently, and carefully looked at every color and seam....complementing me on my wonderful workmanship! All of a sudden, she dramatically pulled the quilt up to her neck, and pretended it put her immediately to sleep! We all laughed, and she thanked me for the Christmas Quilt. Hum......I looked at Grampa, and we both raised our eyebrows. After her saying that a few times, and me telling her that quilt was for Maureen....I finally got up, took HER Ocean Quilt off her bed, and put it on her (taking Maureen's off her) and she said, "Wow! Who's is this? This is beautiful!" So, I had to tell her a few times that that one was hers, and I made it for her for Christmas.......last Christmas....and that it had been on her bed for five months. She said she really liked it, but "no, really.....who's is it?" hehehe
When it was time to go, she wanted to give it back to me! We talked her into "holding onto it for the day", and to enjoy her nap!
Loosing your short term memory is a terrible thing, but sometimes, SOMEHOW.....it's rather entertaining! Aw......that's an awful thing to say, but it's true!!!

Friday, May 2, 2008

Nana's Cat scan

This morning, I arrived at Hebert's around 9a.m. to escort Nana to Fatima Hospital in N. Providence, for a Cat scan of her left eye. She was happy to see me in the morning, as I don't usually see her until after lunch. We sat and chatted, and waited for the van driver. She seemed fine.

Before we left, I whispered to the head nurse that a trip like this could have a big effect on Mom's mood. Even such a small change in her routine, as going out for a while, could upset the apple cart!

She was fine at the hospital, and seemed to be enjoying her outing. Quiet a few times, while we waited for the tests, she whispered to me, "If they ask, what should I tell them is wrong with me?" She seemed content, when I said, "Just tell them your left eye is giving you trouble." After being asked that question a dozen of times, I decided to try a different approach. I said, "Well, you're here for your eye, but you could tell them anything you want. You could even make up stuff!" She laughed, and then told me that wasn't such a good idea! All of a sudden she said, "Well, they'd better get the show on the road, because I'm getting hungry!!!" The Cat scan took about three minutes......waiting time was about 45 minutes.

After the xray, she seemed fine....laughing and joking about different things. I followed her back to Hebert's. Since we got back at 11:55a.m., I took her directly into the dining room where they had just started serving lunch. Well, that's when it all fell apart. She started to cry. She asked where she was, why was she there.....how long had she been there.......told me she felt awful......and lost. So, like the devoted daughter that I am, I started crying also! Hey, when in Rome.......

I tried for ten minutes to calm her down, and then decided nothing was working, so I made sure she was settled at the table.....said I'd be back after lunch with Dad, and then left. On my way out, I stopped at the nurses' desk and told them she was crying. I guess she was doing so well, all along, that it did take me by surprise. They promised to give her extra attention.

It took me 20 minutes to drive back to the house, 30 minutes to have lunch and another 20 minutes to drive back with Dad. When we got there, she was sitting in the activities room, with about 50 other residents, smiling, singing and clapping along with the music from the Providence Civic Orchestra!!! She had forgotten all about her sadness, an hour earlier! Thank God for short term memory loss. See? It does actually work to out advantage, sometimes!

The concert lasted an hour, and was fantastic. We all enjoyed it and it could not have come at a better time!!!

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Plants! Plants! Plants!

Well, two days ago I made a trip to Anderson's farm. Along with growing vegetables for their road side farm stand, and some farmer's markets......then grow plants to sell in the spring. Eight greenhouses filled with flower seedlings, herbs, vegetables, etc. Every year, Dad and I go there to pick up the plants that we don't grow by seed ourselves. This year, I did the flower run alone. Wow, what fun that was! First of all, it was raining.......which was quite nice, actually. It keep all the riff raff home......the wimps.....the psudo-gardeners. (The truth is, I was the ONLY NUT there.) Anyway, I digress....

There I was, lone in eight greenhouses (one at a time, of course!) lusting over all sorts of beautiful plants......trying to imagine how they would look full grown....deciding where to put each one of them. It was great fun. By the time I checked out, I had $47 worth of baby plants. Not bad, considering my budget was $50, birthday money from my brother.

The next day, I went back with Dad and we picked up the vegetable plants. Tomato plants, zucchini, lettuce, peppers (Mike, we got some hot ones for you!) etc. Now, you should see all the plants we have to babysit for a month....moving them into the den in the evening, and back outside in the morning.

Lots of those used to be planted by seed here, at Arthur's farm.......but he can't do that anymore, so we settle for letting "old man Anderson" do it! Of course, little does Arthur know, that's only the tip of the iceberg!! In a couple of weeks, I'll be making my trip down to The Farmer's Daughter for some of my more unusual plants, that can't be found around here.

Sometime in the next month, I also plan on going to a local herb farm, and stocking up on chives, dill, fennel, and lemon grass. I'm ashamed to say, I don't even use that much in cooking, I just love how they look in the garden.

Since we had rain for two days, I started on the brown quilt that I was supposed to make in the class that I missed. Hum..... Step #2 has me completely stumped, and I've had to work my way around it for a while. I actually made it up to Step #7 before I ran into the part where I actually need those pieces to continue. Fridays, at the quilt shop they have a $5.00 drop in fee, and for that you can work in their classroom and get help for the morning. I had planned on bringing my problem to them tomorrow, until I found out Mom has to have a MRI on her eyes at Our Lady of Fatima hospital tomorrow at 9:30a.m. So, I'll be following the van down to the hospital with her. If I'm not there, she would be completely confused and worried. Heck! Even with me there, a little trip like that will be enough to upset her for the day. Wish us luck!

I'll keep you all posted on that one. We're pretty sure these days, that her red eyelids have been caused somehow by her Macular Degeneration, but the MD just wants to be sure there's nothing else going on there. Her left eye is always worse than her right eye.