Caregivers coffee break...

I like that! I create my own 'coffee' breaks from caregiving by hiking in the woods and creek around my farm.
I do photography sometimes I do puppy portraits for free and sometimes I do abstract art. I also do still life on those days I have to stay in the house to watch over my husband.

I left the other day to take my husband to appointments, the neighbor stopped by to let out our pup. :)
In a beautiful gesture, the 6 yr old daughter left me a drawing with happy stick people, bugs, flowers, and a puppy on it...the mom left me a craft beer in the fridge with a sticky note that had a smiley face on it.

These are the small thoughtful things that make my days bearable and let me smile and know I will be okay.

Thats awesome Val3rie, a baby drawing and a beer, don't get much better then that!

The other night I came out on the back deck for a smoke break. I sat on a chair right next to the 4 steps going down to the yard.

I turned my head to the right and wouldn't you know it, a bear was laying at the bottom of the steps, eating the duck food!

I just said ...hello and watched him. Then it hit me...take a picture! So I did. Gonna try to figure out how to get a link for the pic.

🐻

Pepsee, make that Bear pix your new AVATAR! I would love to see it!

Last nite while watching tv, my pup Charlie-girl saw or heard something in the bushes outside my (open) back sliding glass door, and it was the Biggest Possum I have Ever seen! Luckily our screen door was pulled shut, or she would have been on it, and no doubt I would have had to break up a fight, my pup is a tiny 5# Chihuahua Maltese mix girl, but she is Feisty and those Possums are Nasty!

So Scary! She's quite the little Scrapper, and I have to watch her every minute she's outside, lest a Eagle swoops in and carries her off! We don't have a lot of Bears in our area (the PNW), but Eagles, squirrels, racoons, and all sorts of birds and other little critters, especially the 2 huge Woodpeckers who seem to love hanging out in our yard lately!

My interest - the family tree. I have been up and down my Dad's side of the family tree via Ancestry. It has been so totally fascinating. Very time consuming.

Now I am printing out from mapping websites and real estate websites copies of the houses/apartments that the relatives had made their homes. Give you more of a bond seeing where they lived :)

Oh my gosh, one family moved every few years. One draw back is that Google maps doesn't always show the correct house. I usually have to zoom in to houses to find the house number. Sometimes that house number doesn't exist any more.... now a parking lot.

My Mom's side of the family is a mystery. Was only able to go as far as my grand-parents, and I still am searching for my grandmother's siblings.

This is so much better then what is on TV now a days :)) [gosh, I am now sounding like my parents]

FF, I Love learning of my families ancestry! My eldest sister has done extensive work on both sides of our family, so I didn't have to, but to spend an afternoon now and then, digging into it is fascinating and never ending.

Last year, I spent a lot of time researching my husband's family, but there are so many roadblocks! He is 3rd generation Norwegian on his Dad's Side but it's his Mother's side that is that much more difficult, because of all of the lies (illegitimate pregnancies, divorces and name changes), and moving around and failure of his Mom to ever even speak about her life and past, so very hard to make heads or tales of it, especially now that she's been gone for so many years.

I had a subscription with Ancestry for about 6 months, and it was so fun researching both my husbands sides of his family's, but his lack of any real interest in perusing it further that 2 generations led me to cancel it, so now I will just put together a packet for his kids of what I found, and let them take over if they choose to.

It becomes much more difficult, when the search takes you overseas, for sure! It's definitely something I may peruse in the future! I would Love to do my DNA someday too, though, I'm pretty sure of the outcome there. I'm glad you are enjoying your hunting!

Just decided to try planting lavender in my yard. I live in the midwest, so hoping the four season weather won't harm it. I bought some fresh-cut stems a few months ago and let them dry in a vase in my bedroom and I still smell the beautiful aroma of lavender each time I walk in the room. It's like the gift that keeps giving and makes me smile. So, I'm going to try growing it myself. Thought I'd share this with my friends on this online community. Anyone have any tips for planting it?

Pepsee, Wow that Bear was Close! Weren't you Scared? I would have been! He appears to be laying down and quite interested in Something, possibly some kind of food, lol!
Thanks for the pix, I think that's Awesome!

Yeah, I found you. Not too energetic today but accomplished this.

Stacy, do the DNA, it is so interesting seeing the results.

When my DNA results came back, it was pretty much what I thought, but thrown into the mix were small percentages from countries that were a "say what???" moment. Ok, what relative traveled to THAT country generations ago?

Searching the old country is a challenge as many of us never learned the old country language in order to read what documents were found. Then thrown in a common first and last name that is like "John Smith" in the old country. It's like trying to find Waldo :P

I know a lot of my ancestry because my grandmother made it her life's work, and since my parents were related a couple of generations back it works for both sides of the family. One branch of the family has been traced back into Germany but I'm not sure how I'd begin to find the rest since I'm not sure how the family name was spelled before it was "englishified".

CWillie, my husband's Grandfather had his Very Norwegian (and fairly common) name changed too, when entering the US in Ellis Island back in the late 1940's, whether by choice or "assignment", we will never know but it is a name that No One else in the world has but Us and his few descendant here in the PNW, as the spelling is So Unusual and Odd, to say the least! I wish I could share my last name to show you, but privacy and all, ya know? 😉

My parents both came to this country from Wales, UK, as most folks here know, and I have had So much fun using Google Earth, to soar over to the UK, to find the places they spoke about, their neighborhoods, the little villages and Seaside resorts that they spent time in. When I went to Wales and England, I had the opportunity to visit the homes where my parents grew up, and putting the places to my mind, the stories that I grew up hearing about was So Cool, and quite honestly, both my parents were very good at recalling and sharing those old stories, that it was almost like seeing their stories come to life. I loved that trip with my 3 sister's So much, I almost wished my parents had never left, I felt such a kinship to Wales, it was like coming home for me!

There is something about our elders Not growing up with TV, or barely even electricity for that matter, that gave them incredible recall, and in my case anyways, they thankfully did share a lot of the life they had as kids and teenagers, and in our case, living through WW2, and the aftermath, being kids and then dating and working all together to save money and to help one another to come to the USA.

Another Cool thing that my sister has is a shoebox full of old letter from various relatives, from the time that my Grandmother and Grandfather and my Mom first came to this country. Letters to my Grandparents from their other 4 kids (and spouses and kids) back in Wales, still awaiting their turn to come to the US, Love Letters from My Dad to my Mom, lots of them, as he awaited turning from 19 to 20, the legal age in those days for him to leave the UK, without his parents permission to follow her to America to marry her her at 20 & 21, as apparently his Mother would not consent.

My parents started dating when my Mom was 16, he was 17. Theirs was a true Love Story, boy meets girl, falls Crazy in Love, follows her across the World to Seattle to Marry her in 1950, Lol! Gets married, has 6 kids and lives happily ever after, a Real LIFETIME MOVIE!

Hi Riverdale, glad you made it!
Im feel blah myself. Got up this morning saw all the dishes , garbage full, beds unmade, popcorn all over Mom's floor, days worth of unopened mail on the coffee table, etc....told hubby, I just can't keep up with all this cleaning, cooking twice a day and taking care of Mom's every whim!

My bathroom and living room look like medical storage rooms. I've been running on 2-4 hrs of sleep, then when it catches up, I crash during the day. I live on coffee and cigs. I feel sick to my stomach with no ambitious, not to bathe, not to shop, nothing.

I have " fatty liver". After monitoring my enzyme levels and bi yearly sonograms, for 3 years, my Dr referred me to a gastroenterologist. I was supposed to see him last month, but cancelled. No time.

My hubby and I spent 2017 running around treating his rectal cancer. Months of near daily
(Mon-Fri) radiation treatments. Chemo treatments and LOTS of appointments with each individual specialist on his care team. After the surgery we we're elated he didn't get a colostomy bag, as Dr wasn't sure going in.

At that point is when I started making the weekly 6hr trip to Mom's house to clean and try to help her. That only lasted 2 months. I took her home with me and the rollercoaster ride began.

Hubby went for his first 6 month check up the end of June, and spots on his lung were found. There was nothing there in his pre surgery chest x-ray. (Nov 2017) This is new. The Dr they sent him to see for a biopsy, said they were too small and impacted to get at. He will check them again in 3 months. Oy.....

Sorry for my verbal vomit, it really didn't start out that way. Obviously I needed to dump...lol. ❤️

Hugs, Pepsee. You have really been through the wringer. Sending good thoughts your way for you, your hubby and your mom.

Thank you Frazzled, you're always right on time with a hug 💜

I started writing my comment before Stacy and Cwillie made their comments. By the time I was done and posted it, it was far away from Riverdale comment, which I was planning to just relate to her feeling non ambitious today
(But it snowballed)....lol...I write so slow.

Anyway after reading Stacy's story, I want to hear more of it!!! Plus I feel better.

My son just came home from work and told me he's taking me to see my all time favorite music group.....TKA on labor day weekend!!!!!! They will be performing at the resort my son works for. Woo Hoo!

I spent my 20's following them around in Manhattan and New Jersey.

What a difference 30 minutes can make!! Life is crazy.

Hi GingerMay!
So glad you're here! While I don't know much about planting, I am interested in growing lavender and Jasmine in pots! Planting anything in the ground gets trampled by the wild life here.

Im going to Google both plants and give it a go! Let me know what you find about it also. Lol, we can do this heehee 👍😀

Tacy,
Tha was crazy!! I couldn't believe the grown men who actually cried over that!! What shame....

Great idea for a thread. I’m tired of only posting about being bitter and depressed. Luckily, those feelings come and go, and in between is plenty of good. Today I’m focused on cleaning up for a visit from my son next week. I also have a craft project I want to start on. I took a walk this morning (while mom was sleeping) and it was perfect 70 degree weather. Hope you all find something positive in your day!

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/healthcare/america-is-running-out-of-family-caregivers-just-when-it-needs-them-most/ar-BBKRlWd?ocid=ientp

Tomorrow is first of two bladder tests. We got through stitches out from a fall and not as bad as eye diagnosis as could have been. So that was a good week. Not looking forward to tomorrow but we will persevere. We dont have the log filled out as that would have required a staff not someone with memory loss and her main hand stitched. Hoping they get that. If one could fill out the log they requested they probably wouldnt need their bladder tested.

Good for you Djavue!

! But if the need to vent arises, feel free... . I already did!

So ok glad you're here!! 🌹💜

Stacy, ah yes, name changes over the generations. One side of my family has 4 to 5 different spellings of one name, but what is great about Ancestry.com is that they take that into consideration, thus you will get info on all those different spellings :)) And sure enough, a match will show up.

What is a bear is when a relative changes their last name completely. It can really mess up the search.

My Mom's mother changed her first name from an old country name to a more American sounding name.

Then there are countries that have changed their name. Like Yugoslavia was broken into 6 separate countries.... Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, and Macedonia. Yikes !!

Did you say share music links?

I dunno if I should be encouraged like that, lol.

Ok, this is my current "jam" as the young people say. It's a musical collaboration with Buffy Sainte-Marie and Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq. (Remember Buffy? She is 77 now and rocking rings around the rest of us musicians.) I can't stop playing it! I must now hear it at least 3 times in a row before I start my day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5zb0WTSLsY

I ordered the whole Buffy Sainte-Marie CD ("Medicine Songs") - because I need this in my car!!! It should be here by the end of the week, fingers crossed. (Also ordered her previous CD, "Power in the Blood" - that's the one that won the Polaris prize mentioned below the video.)

First CD arrived today! IT'S MORE AWESOME THAN I EVEN HOPED! :-D

i actually had a really good day. i went to a meeting and then to lunch with a friend. we went to this beautiful restaurant right on the lake and i even had dessert 🍮. as some of you know i have been struggling with anorexia for 39 years and i was actually doing okay after i got out of treatment again in august. however, life happened again this january. but my friend said that her relationship with me is different than it is with her other friends. she said that i seem to talk about my past and our conversation is deeper. i actually got really emotional and i felt like there was something wrong with me. i am kinda feeling like that a lot. i feel like someone is telling me that who i am is not right. i can’t really explain it but even my therapist said that i don’t dress right. i really need a little positive feedback but maybe there isn’t any to give. actually i just want to have no feedback. i just realized i started this out saying i had a great day but as i am writing this i guess it wasn’t so good. i am actuality emotional again. i am so sorry. i guess i am just venting.

I am a very happy and positive person with great faith. But....this caregiving thing 24-7 is REALLY hard. Due to multiple health problems my husband has paralysis on the left side, trouble eating and drinking and swallowing his own secretions. he has been non weight bearing for 19 months due to partial foot amputations from several really bad infections. We had really wonderful infectious disease Doc and Podiatrist specializing in wound care here in Utah and managed to get the wound soooo close to all healed up that he can now start to stand up. If transfers could get easier I am gong to be so grateful. My challenge is that his mind is very clear and memory great. That makes it difficult for him to deal with his lack of mobility and incontinence. He was very active and all of this started with stubbing his toe. So many demands and I have to remind him that just because I can do something it doesn't mean I should. I have back problems and if I get hurt he will be in a world of difficulty. Thanks for letting me vent.

Staffbull, if even a part of a day is good that is an accomplishment that doesnt disappear. I love desserts. I hope you really enjoyed yours.

How are you doing Pepsee? Have been thinking about you and also have worried as it doesn't seem as you have posted recently.

I feel like making some food to either pickle or jar or can. Any ideas? I had a roommate in college with a grandmother who made her own pickles and they were so delicious I thought I might try buying some cucumbers and getting a good recipe to put pickles in jars as give-aways for the holidays. Thought I might make my own labels too. I need a distraction. Anyone have any ideas on this? Any recipes? Thanks friends.