Out My Window

Hi friends,

How is your week going?

I hope all of you are doing okay with the weather in your area wherever you may live.  I see there is an awful lot of flooding in southern England and still a great deal of snow hitting various parts of the USA. In the wee hours of Tuesday morning I caught glimpses of the news about snowstorm in the Chicago area.

In my neck of the woods, we have had two storms over the weekend. One on Saturday evening and one on Sunday evening. I did go out to run errands in my neighbourhood on Saturday evening and the rain was coming down very heavily. It didn't take too long for my "rain" jacket to get soaked. Fortunately I did not have to go too far.

This was my sky on Tuesday February 18, 2014 after a weekend of heavy rain.

Sky overhead on Wednesday, February 19, 2014.

Others in my city had much bigger problems. Apparently downed trees knocked out power for awhile to about 20,000 homes. Huge, old growth trees, came out by the roots in many neighbourhoods to fall on houses and damage cars. The winds I heard rattling through my fireplace over the weekend were so powerful as to uproot humungous trees. I think the storm hit Vancouver Island much harder. Other parts of Canada were also hit hard as the storm that hit the United States travelled north and closed part of the Trans-Canada Highway.



 I was sitting snug in my home.

View out my window late Wednesday, February 19, 2014.

Since mom moved in to the new facility I have been busy responding to emails and phone calls from the new facility about her care. Her wheelchair suddenly stopped working the 2nd night of her stay there and the technician wasn't able to get there for another 48 hours. Fortunately he worked late on Valentine's Day no less and had it ready for her on Saturday morning.  This was a huge relief as the chair is brand new and we weren't sure what the problem was (we do know it wasn't from lack of charging).

A few visitors have been by to see mom.  Last night she was supposed to have a visit from her grandson but he couldn't go up the mountain highway due to road closure.  The highway is still closed today and he is faced with a hefty towing fee for flagging a tow truck to get him out of the snow.  At least he is safe.

I've managed to deal with one of mom's health issues that has been causing me concern for some time.  That is how to get affordable dental care for mom. J Abbott commented on the previous post that it would be good if mom could avail the services of a mobile dental unit. I could not agree more but for the most part such services don't exist in Canada.  I was able to find someone who will see mom and no t charge more than the insurance will pay.  I know mom will need many more appointments with the dentist as well as various specialists.  I am glad this process is finally underway and I hope the dentist works out to be a good one.

Joanne and Kay also commented on my previous post about mom possibly benefiting from having a roommate. This could well be true. We will have to wait and see. Let's put it this way, I don't want to move her again any time soon.  If she gets along with the room mate (and the new ones that will fill the room), then that would be great.  Mom's current room mate seems to spend a lot of time in bed and doesn't talk much, though she can talk.

Other than dealing with mom's needs, I am slowly getting back to normal; resting, lots of laundry, cooking and reading.  Sometimes when I have too much to do and can't focus to get things done, I turn to cooking or baking.  The ham and scalloped potatoes I made the other day were delicious.  Tuesday we enjoyed pea soup with the left over ham. A perfect dish for this kind of weather.

I'm reading two crafting books: one on crochet and one on quilting. I recommend both to anyone interested in these timeless crafts.

I'm also nearing the finish of  Long Walk to Freedom:  The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela.  I've enjoyed it immensely. It is a great backgrounder for anyone wanting an inside look at the history and development of South Africa and the role of one hugely influential man, Nelson Mandela.  May he RIP.

I'm still feeling very tired but will go out this evening to try and make progress on another long book (The Fall of Giants, by Ken Follett). I've renewed this book several times as I keep getting distracted. It is good but as it is yet another book that deals in part with WW1, I'm afraid I haven't made much progress.  Since I will soon be finished with the book on Nelson Mandela I will be able to focus on the The Fall of Giants. I am half way through this very long book it so it doesn't seem so daunting.

The Long Saga is Over

In late June my family and I looked forward with great anticipation to moving my mother into a new care home. We felt it was going to be very good for her since it was "state of the art" facility and brand new staff. Boy were we ever wrong!  It has been a virtual nightmare for mother and I and a very tiring and stressful one at that.  We have now moved mom back to her former facility and the difference is like night and day in a good way.  The move went smoothly though it took long as most of her things needed to go into storage.  She no longer has a private room. That was the only way to get her moved quickly.  There was only one hiccup which wasn't of the facility's making and that issue has since been resolved.

I had a couple of not very nice surprises about mom's condition.  One of them was the state of her pressure wounds.  Right after moving mother was assessed by her new nurse as having stage 3 pressure wounds, rather than the stage 1 which she was told by staff at the former facility. The new nursing team is working around the clock to treat and pack the wounds.  Part of the treatment is keeping mom in bed for much longer stretches of time so they can turn her on her side and relieve the pressure. In between lying in bed she gets up and motors around.  This keeps her happy.  The other problem is the terrible state of her oral health. I have to locate a dentist as soon as possible and make an appointment to address several problems, not the least of which is pain.

The good news is that though mom is now sharing a room, the things I packed for her fit nicely into the space.  We have retained her television and dvd player for her use but had to store the portable cd player, fridge, bookshelves, books etc.  She doesn't use any of this anyway but if you've ever dealt with an elderly person you know they like to have their things around them.   The only thing that helps deal with this situation is that mom is the one who decided over my objections, that she wanted a shared room.  That means she has to adjust to the situation. There are a number of positives about where she lives now.  Too many to itemize but a big one is that she is now she is able to "drive" all over the place without worrying about getting through doors by herself.

The new facility is located all on one level unlike her last residence. That alone really brightens her day.  Plus she was also welcomed back by so many people, staff and residents alike, and that can only lift one's spirits.  Since mother last lived at the "new" facility, there has been a change of management and I observe that things are much more organized and running better all around.  There is also a lot better communication with the family.  This is wonderful!  The long saga of dealing with the former facility is over. I'm so relieved. Now I can start to focus on some of mom's other pressing care needs like dental and eye care.

A huge snowfall was forecast for our journey.  In my city, the snow quickly turned to torrential rains but as we got an hour or two out of the city, the snow was coming down heavily.  These photos (above and below) show the early stages of snow fall.

 

By the time we got up the mountain, the snow was considerably heavier.  One hour from our final destination we passed one terrible accident on the highway due to the icy conditions.  The weather was significantly warmer and sunnier when we returned south a few days later.

I've been home for a few days and am slowly trying to get back into a normal routine. I am quite tired but have managed to do a few errands, lots of laundry and stock up on food for the weeks ahead.  This weekend I am taking it easy. I'm exhausted from the stresses and moves of the last 7 months.  We've moved mom 5 times in total (4 times within the former facility and once last week) and dealt with endless issues.  We may have to move her again if she gets a private room but have been told the wait is very long.  In the meantime I hope to get some rest.

It is a cold, rainy and windy night tonight.  As I sit here I am smelling the comforting aroma of a ham roasting in the oven and scalloped potatoes baking.  This kind of dinner is rare since I only roast ham about once a year at New Year's and make scalloped potatoes even less frequently.

It smells good!

Here is the recipe for the scalloped potatoes.

Ingredients: 

4 cups thinly sliced potatoes
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated cheese, to sprinkle on top
paprika

Directions:

1.   In a small sauce pan, melt butter and blend in flour.
2.   Let sit for a minute.
3.   Add all of cold milk, stirring with a whisk.
4.   Season with salt and cayenne.
5.   Cook sauce on low until smooth and boiling, stirring occasionally with a whisk.
6.   Reduce heat and stir in cheese.
7.   Place a half of the sliced potatoes in a lightly greased one quart casserole dish.
8.   Pour half of cheese sauce over potatoes.
9.   Repeat with second layer of potatoes and cheese sauce.
10. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
11. Top with some paprika for color.
12.  Bake uncovered for about 1 hour at 350°F.

The recipe for scalloped potatoes is from southernfood.com and is the first time I've tried it. I didn't have much cheese so saved it for the topping and omitted it from the sauce.   I'm used to mom's scalloped potatoes which is a much quicker and easier way to prepare them and doesn't use cheese at all.  Perhaps I will share that another time.

I like to cook the ham until it practically falls off the bone. I save the sauce for New Year's Dinner.