General topics.

cwillie....I'm so glad your Mother had a wonderful bath.Bless her heart and about that sermon,The human touch is SO important to young and old and everyone in between.It is reassuring and compassionate and everyone needs that.

Mom said she had a "wonderful" bath this morning (she really likes soaking in the big tub), but she wanted to sleep so I only stayed for 5 minutes. Since it was raining all day and then pouring later I didn't go back up again. It's hard to make myself go there just to watch her sleep, I really do understand why so many people don't.
The sermon yesterday included a bit about how orphaned babies that aren't given the opportunity to be cuddled and loved become ill and may even die (he was talking about being supportive and interconnected as christians) and I couldn't help but see parallel's between orphanages and old folks homes.

Cwillie,
Hope mom got her shower and shampoo today

Thought every caregiver knew to use baby shampoo on elder's hair... guess not.

ETA: I suppose it does depend on the exact elder, but in general, baby shampoo is more gentle and non irritating. 

Hmm
Hopefully they are not doing a dry shampoo

The aid pulled out a bottle of artificially sweet gag a maggot smelling shampoo last night and so I showed her the bottle of hypoallergenic baby shampoo I have for mom in her toiletry box - she said she always uses the pink stuff - I nicely said we like this - mom has thin hair and allergies

So I close the lid on the pink stuff and put the baby shampoo out
I'll be damned if she didn't pour the pink stuff on mom's head anyway -

Everyone I ask tells me she is a good eater. I had to clarify what that really means since no one at her table seems to eat more than a few mouthfuls (literally), but apparently she mostly finishes her whole meal when I'm not there.

They are supposed to get two baths a week with her bath days being Sun and Wed, but we've already run into weekend "staffing issues". And I really wonder what they are doing to her hair because it does not smell very nice, and she never had a problem that way in all the years she only went for a weekly wash and set.

Cwillie,
How's mom getting along during meals ?

Is she on a twice a week bathing schedule ?

I stopped by to see mom at the NH this afternoon and could tell right away that something was up, it wasn't even 4:00 and they had almost everyone gathered together in the lounge and hall and several people were already in their PJs. Seems they were short staffed, again. I hope that doesn't happen tomorrow because mom really needs her bath and a shampoo.

I agree but I imagine morning staff is scrambling to get folks up and dressed for breakfast

Plus hoca wanted me to have my private aides shower her and I told them I pay a higher daily rate for them to do it - as it is my overnight weekend caregiver will shower her on Sunday mornings and another one has given her showers in the afternoon if she's had a diarrhea accident

Hoca staff is constantly changing and even if they have someone who will work with her they switch them out all the time and back
In February two hoca staff dropped her in the shower at night

It's exhausting - two of their long time aides told me how tired they were last night

That seems irregular to start a shower at night. What's with that?

After pie and coffee last night, an aid at hoca came to fetch mom for a shower - mom was not having it so despite not being up for it myself I went to help figuring the aid is probably just as tired

Mom has always hated washing her hair in the shower and having water run in her eyes and ears so I tried to handle that part and keep her from scratching the aid as she tried to soap mom up - lord only knows what actually got soaped and rinsed but oh well

We got her lotioned and powdered and I took her out with a towel to dry her hair - otherwise they'd put her to bed with wet hair

Seems the beauty salon is only open once a week in the morning when I don't have a private caregiver with mom so she hasn't had a cut since before Xmas and is looking unkempt

Luckily I had my little hair trimming scissors with me and decide to trim mom's hair - as she started to doze off with her leaning forward I was having a hard time keeping the cut even especially as I thought I'd get fancy and give her some layers for a little bounce - good thing she won't notice the unevenness - ha ha

Veronica,
You can download 5 free articles a month from the NY times website - I peruse the headlines just to keep up with current events

Angels baseball coverage barely mentioned the Preakness, meh.
But I guess the winner was Cloud Computing and Classic Empire second.  The favorite, Always Dreaming,  faded, maybe was last.
So much for sports for me, that's it!
No live streaming of a n y t h i n g when dH is not here.
Will I be okay? I don't know....

Lol, how did you know about the hedgehog, CM?
Maybe the plastic owls belong to people who have rats?
I don't know for sure-maybe the owls are just decorative and were ON SALE at Big Lots.
What are they supposed to deter, anyway? Is it a myth?

You think he might embarrass himself, Send? Like the hedgehog who climbed off the hairbrush saying "my mistake, madam."

Why is your neighbourhood infested with plastic owls, anyway? Whose are they?

Interested in finding something to deter all those plastic owls in my neighborhood, because there is a real owl, often up a nearby tree, and I wouldn't want the little fella scared away, or for that matter, mistaking the plastic ones for real.

Don't take the NY Times but I will heartily second the thought that horses are good for inner city kids and kids of all ages for that matter. Animals can bring such joy in the darkest of times

There's a great article in the NY times on the therapeutic benefit of being around horses for inner city kids

I hear you can buy fake wasp huts to deter real ones from the yard - since I now have a collection of plastic owls which don't work I might as well get a plastic mud hut too

Actually, I re-posted it here because I was interested, and thought others would be too.
Your posts are interesting Gershun, in an ' I like it, rebellious, crazy sort of way'. You can hold your own in a conversation with the best of them, imo.
Even MsMadge had a wasp story and I liked that too.

:)

Send, they might be wondering .............or thinking, Ah, another boring story from Gershun, meh.

Everyone will be wondering about the wasp story now, here it is on
Caregiver's Cats Behaving Badly:

Gershun
about 10 hours ago
I went on holiday to Hawaii for a week. My Mom and brother were looking in on the cats every day. I kept the balcony ajar just a bit for them cause the litter box was out there. When I got back from my vacation I discovered a wasp making a hive in my cat's scratching post. I looked back and remembered that before I had left for my holiday that I would be watching t.v. and see a wasp fly into my place and then just disappear. I guess it was disappearing into the scratching post. You know those scratching posts that have a little area where cats can disappear. Well, the wasp thought that was a great place to build a hive. Yikes!! I stuck a broom handle into the hive and destroyed it. Boy, was that wasp mad. I had to keep my balcony shut cause I could see that wasp trying to get back in every day. LOL

Gershun, they may come back the next year....muwahhhha!


My bad....it is now the story of 'who moved my cheese'.
It was me, Gershun.  I referenced your story on this thread, and coulda, shoulda  woulda
answered it on that thread....but I didn't want to, Lol.

Is it on another thread? No worries.??

Hey Send, it looks like my wasp story was deleted somehow. Why? Was someone offended by it? Scratching my head.

Gershun,
Reading the wasp story...now Hawaii is a great vacation. Even better the more you go.
It is peaceful there. Can someone go with you?

Rainmom, your post reminded me of my daughter in law, who couldn't touch poop, even after having a child. While potty training her son he pooped in his training pants and I came over and she was out in the drive hosing them down, rather than rinsing in toilet. Oh, she wouldn't dare put her hand in there either!

Thx Send............control freaks........ah, yes I have my stories too. :P

Yes Luckylu, heard you loud and clear.
Without going into what my dH has done, I will be silent about that.
But I want you to know I understand your frustration, literally.
It's not you, it's them.
Sometimes the only way to cope is to leave the house.

When Gershun started this thread, she said we could talk about anything, and off topic is okay too.  Actually, Gershun is pretty cool about e v e r y t h i n g
when it comes to her caregiver friends!

This may belong on the Whine Thread or the Dysfunction thread,I'm not sure but I am sure that I live with a huge control freak.Today,I go out to feed my birds and he's tied the wire around the suet feeder so much that I have to get wire cutters just to get it off so I can fill it for no reason.Then I come in the kitchen to get a bowl of food for the kittens and he's taken all the bowls I use with them and put them up high on the shelf for no reason other than he doesn't think I should use those bowls,but it's all I have and have used the last 100 days.Then he turns off the light at my desk,when I'm coming right back which only makes me want to turn on every light in the house.I wish he'd stay out of my business and tend to his.There.Rant done.Thank you.

Paying for the privilege takes the cake, doesn't it? You could teach that stuff with two hands tied behind your back, imo.
Sorry that this present time is even harder on you, and there is sadness.

{{{Hugs}}}} Yes, hugs all around!

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