Lunch and a Letter

This story was actually written a couple of weeks ago on the day it happened.  I wrote it quickly so I wouldn’t forget the details.  I finally made time to read through it and make the necessary corrections.  I hope you enjoy it.

Today I was behind schedule.  A blueberry cake I had in the oven required more time to bake than I had planned for, so when I walked in to grandma’s house she already had the table set and was getting out a microwave meal for her and grandpa’s lunch.  They were happy to see me and she was content to let me take over.  As I was hurrying around the kitchen grandma mentioned that she had found something for me to read.  She seemed very pleased with herself as she handed me the aged, brown paper.  It was a letter from 53 years ago. 

I’ll get back to that letter, right now I want to finish the story about lunch.  So I threw one microwave meal, well, into the microwave and went down to the bathroom to prepare for ‘the bath lady’. You see the reason for all my rushing around is that today is bath day, and the gal usually comes right around lunch time.  Grandma doesn’t like to bathe first because she gets very hungry.  So I’ve learned that lunch must come first.  I adjusted the bath seat in the shower and grabbed clean towels.  Ding.  There goes the microwave.  I hurry back to the kitchen to pull out one meal and throw in the other.  Then I rush into the bedroom to make their bed, lay out clean clothes and grab grandma’s robe.  Ding.  Back to the kitchen.  Just as I pulled out the second meal, the bath lady walks in.  Grandma immediately declares, “You’re early!  I haven’t had my lunch yet!”  To which the bath lady sweetly replies, “You go right ahead and eat your lunch.”

I quickly put the meal on and apologize to the bath lady for running behind schedule.  She didn’t mind a bit.  While grandpa and grandma ate their lunch, I finished preparing for the bath, then came out to chat.  When grandma was almost finished with her meal, she leaned over towards me and whispered, “Can I have a cookie?”  It was so adorable I had to laugh.  I asked her if we could have our coffee and dessert after the bath and she said, “Sure.  That sounds good.”  So after getting her blood pressure and pulse recorded, she was off to take a bath. 

Once the bath was over and the bath lady had left us, I started to put grandma’s hair in curlers.  We got a surprise visit from a wonderful neighbor who brought grandpa and grandma smoothies from Burger King.  Grandma loved hers, and kept saying how good it was and she was so hungry because she hadn’t had lunch yet.  I tried to correct her the first time she said it but she wasn’t convinced, so I told her that as soon as I was done curling her hair I would get her some lunch.  : )

And I did.  Not only did she have a microwave meal of manicotti, she also had her smoothie, a half of ham and cheese sandwich, apple pie and coffee.  I think she was hungry today.  : )  At one point she left her pie and coffee to help me fold some clothes, but after folding one towel she said, “I’ll let you finish this.  I need to have my dessert.” 

****************

Now about that letter grandma gave to me.  It was addressed to Santa from my dad and his three brothers.  I typed it out for you just as my dad had written it.  It is so sweet.

Dec. 4, 1960

Grawn, Mich.
Route 1

Dear Santa,

What I want for Cristmas is very high in mony for you but I would like very much to have it.  It’s a bb gun, it has a case and other things for oiling and taking cair of it.  If you would pleas get a b-b gun for me and my brother.  He is a very good boy and so am I.  My other to brothers are good allso.  They want guns and holsters, trucks cars and capes for the guns.  But I have a lot of sparrows around the barn and corn crib and we need some practis with handling guns so we can learn to be good hunters.  That is all I can say this year so good-by until the next.

P.S.
Pleas write back soon.
I will not feel bad if you can’t get me a gun.

Sinsirly your,

Don’t you just love it?

Thanks for stopping by.
Krista

Hello Friends,

Yes, I've been gone for a while.  Why?  Well I had a serious decision to make.  I prayed about it and made it.  And it was, hard.  I decided at the end of March to leave my space at The Red Dresser.  Even now it seems unreal.  It was depressing that last day when my husband and I emptied out my little spot.  It looked sad and lonely.  I was sad. 

I decided to leave because financially I just wasn't making enough.  So I did the grown up thing and said it's time to stop.  I was told that whenever I was ready to come back all I had to do was say the word.  That made me smile, and it made me groan.  I was in a sort of tailspin because I didn't know (and still don't know) what I should be doing.  I so wanted to make money doing what I love and for a while I did.  But as sales faltered, doing what I love became stressful instead of enjoyable.  I just couldn't justify the expense of buying great items and supplies when things weren't selling.  I also didn't have the room to store items that didn't sell while bringing in new items to sand, paint and decorate.

So I spent some time being a baby about it.  I admit it.  Now spring has arrived and I can't be sad while there's blue sky, green grass and warm air.  Clothes smell so good when they're hung on the line don't they?  Anyway, I've done some organizing and am preparing for a huge yard sale but first I have a graduation party to plan.  Whoa!  How did 18 years go by so fast?  Never mind that.  Right now I am happily raking yard, trimming brush and planning where canopies and flowers will go.  After the party, after the yard sale, who knows.  I mean there's the garden and the kids, certainly but still not sure what else.  I do know that I'm keeping my eyes and ears open.  I'm praying for guidance and I know that God will provide all that I need.

Thanks for being here friends.

Krista


PS:  I've been working on another alzheimer's post and hope to share it with you soon.

It's that time again.

 

 

 

 

It's a lot of work but so worth it.  This batch took two days and one night of outside boiling, and then roughly 12 hours on the kitchen stove.  We made a little over three gallons of maple syrup.  If the weather cooperates there will be a second batch in our future.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Krista

Just wanted to share some makeovers with you. Over the past few weeks I've enjoyed working on these projects which are now in my space at The Red Dresser.

 Again, I'm not very good with "before" photos, sorry. But here's what I did.

I picked up this little cabinet at an auction.  It was already painted John Deere green.
Orginally, I left it alone because I thought it was cute but it didn't sell at the store
so apparently I'm the only one who appreciates this green.  : ) 
 I brought it home and gave it a touch of femininity.
 

Here it is back at the store.  Actually now I have it hanging up on the wall. 
I added a second hanger so you have a choice on which direction you want the door to open. 
(That was my husband's idea.)



This is another auction find.  It was originally pink with white and gold flowers on the front. 
It also had a lot of rust.  The top was covered in a pink vinyl which was also ripped. 
So I cleaned it up and painted it white and left it for a while. 

One day I felt brave enough to try stamping some flowers and greenery to it.
I liked how it turned out. Some one else did too because it was only
 in the store a few days before it sold.
 I like it when that happens.

These end tables (sorry for the horrid photo), were a yard sale find last fall.

I really like how these turned out. : )


Thanks for sharing some of your time with me.   Have a great weekend.

Krista

Wondering and Dots

Do you ever wonder what goes through the mind of a person who has Alzheimer's?  I mean when the dots aren't connecting, do they know?  I think they do.  At least for a time.  Right now, there's this crazy mid-stage going on where things teeter between "not-so-bad" and "heading-for-terrible",  and I wonder how much do they know that they don't know?  Does that make sense?  Maybe this story will help explain what I'm trying to say.

Once in a while there are days like today.  I was over to my grandparents home as usual to fix lunch.  I helped grandma with her exercises, did a load of laundry, found their bathroom scales for them and tried to visit.  I say tried because it was a pretty quiet day.  Most of the time there's lots of chatting going on between the three of us, but today was one of those quiet days.  I sat at their table with them and neither had much of anything to say.  The weather was brought up more than once but that would end and grandma would look at grandpa, and I got the distinct impression that they were sitting with a stranger who they hoped would leave.  After a bit, I did.

Fast forward several hours.  Tonight at 6:30 I got a call from grandma.  She is wondering where I've been all day.  I tell her that I was over to her house today.  Silence on the line. I ask her if she knows who she has called?   She does.  Really, she says my name.  So I explained that I was over to her house and fixed her lunch.  "Oh, yes", she says but she doesn't sound convinced.  Then I remind her that I found her bathroom scale for her.  The dot connects.  She remembers.  Now she is embarrassed.  She apologizes.  I tell her there's nothing to be sorry about, we all forget.  She says, "But I'm losin' my mind!".  I tell her she's not losin' her mind, and that I'll come over again tomorrow.  We both say, "Love you."  and hang up. 

And I wonder.  Did she forget I was there?  Or, did she figure out that it was me who was there?

Sometimes it's good to forget

She is sitting in her living room, crying.  This is not an unusual encounter anymore but it’s still not easy to handle.  When asked why she is crying her response is, “What have I got to live for?”

I don’t like that kind of talk and because I don’t like it I tend to not pamper it.  I smile but sternly remind her of her huge family and how they all love her.  She interrupts me with, “Well, no one comes to visit.  We sit here alone all day, every day.”  She doesn't remember.  There are family members who come every day to visit.  They deliver medication.  They come to clean and bring groceries.  They make lunches and suppers everyday.  She just doesn't remember.  

To deal with this unwinnable battle against memory loss, I decide to change the subject.  We talk about the weather, about traffic, about church, about making ice cream, and about the good ole days of getting ice off the lakes to store for summer use.  This jars loose memories of a mother making ice cream for a 4^th of July celebration in her home town, of our Youker road having only one lane going down the hill and no one travelled it in the winter.  Our trip down memory lane is interrupted with a phone call.  A visitor is coming this afternoon!  You would think this announcement would bring a smile, but no.  The first reaction is, “I’m not ready for visitors!”    This reaction has nothing to do with the people who are coming, and everything to do with Alzheimer’s. 

“Well let’s get ready.” I say, “I’ll fix lunch and then we’ll straighten up and put on nicer clothes.” 

So that’s what we do.  Lunch is prepared and eaten, and rooms are tidied up.   I help her pick out a change of clothes.  We decide against washing and curling her hair and opt to comb it and add hair spray.  I get her a hand mirror so she can assess my work.  One spot is sticking up a little and she’d like it cut off but I convince her that a little more hair spray will take care of it.  Once the hair is judged passable she’d like the sleeves on her sweater rolled up a little. 

“There, how’s that?”

“This one’s up too high.”

“Okay, how’s that?”

“Well, now it’s down too low.”

“Okay, is this better?”

“Yes, but this other one isn’t the same.”

“You’re a very picky woman.”

She laughs, holding out her arms for me to continue.  Picky or not, she’s not letting me off the hook.  She wants those sleeves perfectly even. 

When I’m done, I tell her it’s time for me to get home.  As I put my coat on, she starts to tell me about some man who borrowed a book from her.  She doesn’t remember who it was, so she asks her husband.  He doesn’t remember either.

“What does it matter?” he says.

“Well it matters because I want it back.  He borrowed it and he hasn’t brought it back.  He never even mentions it and it makes me mad.”

“Oh, everything makes you mad.  Even I make you mad.”

“So you admit it!”

“Well yes I admit you make me mad!”

“I think I better go.” I say.

“You’d better ‘cause we’re gonna get mad here in a minute.”

I leave smiling at their weird conversation and his attempts at humor.  I know that her tears of just two hours ago are not even a memory. 

And in about an hour’s time my visit will be forgotten too.

PIllows!

 

 

 

I used a vintage chenille bedspread for the base of the covering, then chose a tan/cream colored doily for the top.  They were fun and easy to make, my kind of pillow.  Oh, and bonus, the covering is removable and washable.  I don't know about you but that's a must at my house.  These pillows are 12 x 16 and will be in The Red Dresser shortly.



Thanks for stopping by.
Krista