October 13th

[Lavande]

Don’t look now but a new week has started.

It was a pretty quiet Sunday here, sunny & warm. Still no rain & the ground is hard as rock, ugh. It’s fire prevention month in the US so I hope everyone is paying attention. Not doing something stupid like burning leaves. I got word today that my deceased oldest brother’s wife is now on hospice with terminal lung & liver cancer. Not a single family member has had anything to do with her since my brother died, not her kids even. She’s been living with her daughter’s ex husband & his newer wife believe it or not. We think he’s been ripping off her SS & other funds, no one cares. It’s been her choice to be a nasty smoking alcoholic all these years, no tears will be spilled. Sorry to dump that news here.

Slo, I’’m glad you enjoyed the wedding & your sister apparently is making good choices, good for her!

Hello to Ted, Cyn, PQ, Pie & everyone.

Have a nice night all!
Lav

[Mick]

Hiya all how are we today then?its 8am Monday morning and methinks summer has said farewell. A frosty nippy morning. A good weekend was had,enjoyed seeing the engines etc.the site was mobbed yesterday...pretty near empty today .hope everyone had a good weekend.

[Lavande]

Hey all,

I’m back to say I am happy because I got a haircut today, LOL. It really doesn’t take much to lift my mood. Sunny & very windy here which means it will be colder tomorrow. &I’m good with that. Roasted a chicken so there’s something to nibble on for a few days, yum.

Mick, good to see you. When do you return home? Glad you’re enjoying the trip despite the rainy times. Still wishing for some rain here.

Hello to PQ, I sure hope you’re doing OK.
Hello to Cyn, Pie, Slo & everyone.

Have a nice night all.
Lav

[Slo]

Hi all,

I hope PQ is healing up! She must be on leave from work.

Lav, I guess you’re saying that your nasty SIL’s choices led to her lung & liver cancer, and estrangement. I guess you won’t miss her at all.

We’re getting more rain today!

I miss my old house. I could no longer care for a house that size, but I do miss it; my beautiful home & yard. Especially since D3 & her family are staying there this week. The girlfriend has moved in there with ex-HB, and she gets all that time with my kids & grandkids!

Mick, that was an impressive train in the photo on Messenger. I enjoyed seeing it.

I wish you all a good night!

[Mick]

hiya all...how are we doing hope all is well. We are back home ..we came home yest afternoon had to come back early...you could not believe the sh.t this country has ..Julies dad was interviewed by some bloody do gooder gang ..now bearing in mind he cannot wash clothe feed toilet eat ..far less remember any conversation .this advocate came to see him at the home yesterday ...this is under the modern slavery act .to make sure he is not being held against his will.during the conversation this woman said do you want to go home ..he said yes ....result? they are now getting a solicitor to look into it to represent him ...who are these idiots .Julie is really at her witsend ..we got a phone call from the home to tell her .it is unbelievable .this bloody country!!!so we just came home ..Bearing in mind Julie has poa for his medical and financial affairs they had no right doing it without her being present. I need to keep quiet I am absolutely fuming ..come into this craphole of a country in a rubber bloody dinghy and you get treated like royalty, sod everyone else .
Rant over ...on here anyway ..have a good day all

[Lavande]

Good evening group,

Enjoyed a cooler day today, my kind of weather. Still waiting for a little rain, it’s been nearly a month I think since we had any rain. I’m in the process of collecting dried seed heads from my zinnia garden. I want to plant an even bigger zinnia garden next summer & share some of the seeds with whoever wants some. Made a dairy-free chicken tetrazzini for dinner, yum.

Slo, it wasn’t just me but also my other two brothers & their families that rejected the SIL after my brother died. She was too busy being a self-indulgent, chimney smoking alcoholic for so many years. When my brother was sick, she moved them to the middle of the country where we couldn’t see him or assist in any way. We offered all kinds if help & she kept turning us down. Eventually we all gave up & my poor brother got turfed into a nursing home - need I say more?? Our collective hearts were broken, she didn’t give a sh*t. So now it’s our turn to not give a sh*t. I got word yesterday that she was given 2-4 months to live but I find it hard she will last that long. In addition to the metastatic CA she also has a history of 2 heart attacks & only God knows what else.
On that note - let me ask one question - do you think the new girlfriend is cleaning your big old house? Is she being treated like you were, do you think? If so chances are good she won’t last long. Does she work too? She would need a lot of damn energy to handle all that. I can’t help but think you will be just fine in your smaller place & having the grandkids nearby is a plus. Focus on you & your physical & spiritual healing. Sending hugs!

Mick, it’s not just your country, believe me. We all have those advocacy groups looking out for the elderly. They can actually be helpful at times, believe it or not. Asking an elder with a history of confusion if they want to go home is just plain stupid. Of course they want to go home, who wouldn’t? Can they take care of themselves at home? Obviously not & that’s why they are in the care homes, duh. This is what we have here: Pennsylvania’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program


The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program helps people with complaints about long-term care services. It aims to solve these problems and make the long-term care system better for residents and their families. The Ombudsman vision is to "Advocate for those who can’t, support those who can, and ensure all long-term care consumers live with dignity and respect.” Mission Statement


“Pennsylvania Ombudsmen are federally mandated, legally-based and state certified via standardized training to actively advocate and give voice to older consumers of long-term care services, whether delivered in the community or a facility-based setting. Pennsylvania Ombudsmen champion the right of these consumers to achieve the highest quality of life and care wherever they reside. Pennsylvania Ombudsmen may be staff, volunteers or PEER residents; all are united through an impassioned commitment to listen, educate, investigate, mediate and empower through a visible presence.”

Don’t lose your mind over this, it will be blown over once everyone has their say. Glad you’re back home in your happy place.

Hello to the rest of the folks, hoping everyone is OK.
Wishing a good night for all!

Lav

[porqoui]

Hi Everyone
I am doing better. Sometimes it seems like 1 step forward, 2 steps back. I swear, dealing with the broken ribs was easier than this. I did go into work today but didn't last long. Apologies for not keeping up with everyone. Hopefully I'll be back to regular posting soon.....PPQP

[Slo]

I smell frost in the air! But it is supposed to warm back up soon.

Chicken tetrazzini sounds like a good use of your roasted chicken, Lav.
Yes, you were clear that all family members are done with that SIL -even her kids! Now it’s her turn to go through what your brother went through.

I don’t know if the gf is responsible for all the cleaning, or if the Molly Maids still come. She is busy clearing out the closets (per Young Daughter). Stuff is coming back at me from the basement; the older daughters say “Dad” is clearing out the basement, but I strongly suspect that she is spearheading that movement. That doesn’t sound like him at all.
If she is the sole cleaner, it helps that it’s just the two of them: no longer the dog, the cat, and four kids. And she is able-bodied anyways, not like me wearing an off-loading knee brace for 10 years, going through three major surgeries in a row, and sliding through mild then moderate peripheral neuropathy. She was a nurse, but is at retirement age now; so she must be retired.

[Slo]

Mick, that is unbelievable that this has happened again! My former sister-in-law with dementia actually lives at home -but she still doesn’t think she’s home and wants to go home! The same with my MIL with dementia when she was alive! She was in her own home, but wanted to go home to her old home! It’s part of the illness.
Julie is right that if she has the POA for him instead of her dad for himself, then she should be there when they intervene like that.

PQ! Glad you’re doing slightly better. I bet that helped work to have you there even for an hour or two. Thanks for checking in!

D3 with Andy & Ayla visited over at D2’s with Huxley, so I got to hang out with them this afternoon! And best of all, I got to snuggle that little baby Ayla while she slept. Bliss!
Tonight I went to our annual condo association meeting.
This morning I did some cooking-cleaning-laundry etc., but struggled as my affected foot became ever more lame.

That’s it for me. Looking forward to tomorrow as I head up to D1’s along with D3 and Andy & Ayla!

[Mick]

hiya all and good morning to you ..Firstly thanks for taking the time to read my rant from yesterday...Yes I do understand the rationale behind it...on a one off ..agreed ..but on a one off basis ..Dementia doesnt get better ...A lot of this is .a tick in the box exercise to say that we as the authority have done something ...Ill stop there .
Picked up the rabbits last night ,as usual great to see them Waiting for my lens to come back ..it should be today ...at the latest tomorrow morning .

hiya Slo ...sorry to hear about the foot....sounds like you had a good afternoon with the daughters ....good for you!!It is def frosty over here...you take care of that foot and knee .have a great day today .

hi ppqp....look after yourself ...as Ive been reminded we take longer to heal as the number of the summers we see progresses...hows that for polite?My knee is still giving me grief at times and even now I cant walk downstairs properly ,take care .

hiya Lav ..how are you doing ? Any rain yet ...again this morning we have spare ...Thanks for taking the time to put all that stuff down ...and I do understand the necessity ...especially with your brother you have suffered it first hand.
The bit I cant understand is why some woman can come flouncing in and say this needs reviewing ...simply because her dad has said that he wants to go home ..before he went into the home Julie spent 7 years singularily nursing him at home .How she didnt break is beyond me .Only when he became a danger to himself and others did she consider the care home .and we certainly went through ..andstill do at times go through some hand wringing over it .Julies dad was assessed by a medical panel panel as being incapable of looking after himself .and was signed off accordingly ...and yet this can take place with no medical review nothing?I know it isnt going to change but its the stress for him her and to a lesser degree me .anyway ..
I cant remember ..are zinnia flowers fragranced? or am I thinking of stocks and sweet william? hope you have a good day .

hiya teegee how are you doing?

[Lavande]

Greetings everyone,

Sunny & chilly today, I like it like this. Still zero rain though. We have another frost warning up for tonight but temps in the upper 70’s for the weekend, weird.
Forced myself to do a bit of cleaning today, seems like a useless activity to me anymore. Made an appt to get Bob the cat in for his yearly shots next week & got the dog’s two meds refilled, such excitement, Lol

PQ, thanks for stopping in & letting us know how you’re doing. Take it easy friend, really.

Slo, glad to hear you’re getting some good grandkid time in now, that’s great!
Why the hell would the gf even want to clean out closets? That’s strange to say the least. Oh well, let her knock herself out, who cares, right?

Mick, I always found it interesting the way some low level ancillary medical staff take their stupid jobs so seriously & haven’t a clue what kind of grief they are stirring up for the families. Just do your best to ignore it, your FIL can’t be moved without Julie’s permission as POA. You both know what he needs & have chosen the safest place for him to reside.
The zinnias are not fragrant to us but the butterfly, bee & hummingbird population love them as good food sources. I plant them for the pollinators mostly.

Hello to Cyn & Pie & everyone.

Let’s all have a good night!
Lav

[Slo]

Good morning!

Thankfully the full moon is here, and now I can get back to better energy levels, less inflammation, and less sugar cravings!

It was fun being with family yesterday, and watching the grandchildren and a couple daughters spending time with each other.
I did my best to be active with the grandchildren, but the period of activity did me in, and I ended up needing a lot of couch time afterwards.

Lav, it seems that the owners before me at my condo had planted a lot of plants with the polllinators in mind. I hope to keep that going with your zinnia seeds!
The gf is living in my old home of 29 years now, so she needs to clear our old stuff out of the closets and basement in order to move in her stuff. I get it. I mean ideally the original owner ex-HB would do that, but he considers that to be women’s work; so she’s going to have to initiate and carry out most of that herself if she wants to make it her own home.

Knee pain is a pain, Mick! I hope yours heals fully eventually.
It’s hard not to get worked up about the injustice of what you & Julie are being put through with her dad! You know though, that it’s definitely necessary and is definitely the right living situation for him at this point.

I sure feel for you, PQ, as you navigate the early weeks of this fracture. Hopefully soon things will get easier for you.

Ok, time to embrace the day!

[Mick]

hiya all ...how are we doing today then? hope everyone is doing good ..went out with the camera this morning ,but one of the roads was shut so took ages ..ambulance fire bobbies and the cops out ..a schoolboy in his uniform had climbed the parapet of a bridge and threatened to jump off ..apparently they talked him down ..what makes a schoolkid go to those measures ...got some not bad pics this morning will put them up after

hiya Lav how are you doing ? hope all is well .That woman phoned Julie yesterday ...she got one serious shock ..she started giving Julie all sorts ..of bumf ..the policy says etc .little did she know ...Julie used to write policies for the Prison Service as a whole ..and the night before she read up on the policies appertaining to this ..the woman was to say the least dumbfounded .29th these 2 go for their jabs...and I get my flu on on the same day...not at the vets I hasten to add ..

hiya Slo how are you? glad you had a good time with the kids yesterday ..We are over these clowns ..nothing will change ..but has certainly made us refocus on our future plans ....Kneeis sore ...I have to watch I tend to want to kneel down for things and that is a definite no no .hope you have a good day ...Carpe Diem

hiya ppqp ...how are you doing ?hope the arm is healing ...


hiya teegee ..hope all is well .

have a nice day all

[Lavande]

Good evening everyone,

It’s still sunny & coolish here, perfect for me. I just feel bad for the dying grass & plants, they’ve had zero rain. We are now in a moderate drought, I hope it ends soon.

Slo, glad you got a good dose of daughters & grandkids yesterday. Keep those happy thoughts with you to sustain you until the next visit.
If your ex’s gf wants to do all that work I guess it’s her decision but something I know I would never do. Hate to ask but do you think they are considering marriage? Why would she put herself through all that without any promises? I just can’t think that way. I’m glad your garden is pollinator friendly, whatever you add will be a plus! The lot this house was built on was being used as a hayfield so there was nothing here. My BIL sold us the lot & built the house for us next door to his house. It was part of a 17 acre parcel with only 3 houses on it so we have big yards. Attracting the pollinators has been a work in progress for sure. Hope your feet & knees have recovered from all the excitement.

Mick, your pics were awesome, such interesting birds you have there. That’s a real shame about the school boy, depression is a real thing in kids too.
Glad to hear Julie gave them an earful, haha!!! Take it easy on the knee, you know how important it is now.

PQ, thinking of you!

Hello to Cyn, Pie & everyone.

Have a nice night all!
Lav

[Mick]

hiyaall...how are we doing today? hammering down with rain this morning then it eased off ..went out for a walk .not far ..just enough to make sure I don't seize up .and now its raining again .Well the weekend is here ...anyone any plans?

Hiya Slo how are you doing? are you with the kids this weekend?

hiya Lav how are things with you?any word on Doc?you still need rain ...rair bit here going spare yep knee was giving me grief during the nigtake care have a good weekend

hiya pie ppqp and everyone else