Merry Christmas

Christmas is a few days away and the month - the year - is speeding to an end.  I'm not sure where the time has gone, but I feel like the little mouse on the wheel, in constant movement but not getting anywhere fast!  Weeks after putting up the tree, we finally got around to putting up a few additional decorations and the house does look Christmasy.  This week we spent two days baking and have distributed the goodies to deserving friends and neighbors. So, if we can decided what we want to prepare for Christmas lunch (not as easy as one would think!), we might have the holiday under control.....Inshallah!

Friday was the first cold day of winter, so I've made good use of the nicer weather, trying to get back into a reasonable walking routine.  We also worked on the area in front of the house where we had planted azaleas....months ago.  It looked very incomplete so I used "eco-border" and rubber chips (both made of recycled tires) to fill the area, and it looks very nice....or at least finished!!  My gardening skills are such that I hope this will  be a lifetime fix!!  I'm thinking of using a less expensive border and the rubber chips for the beds in back of the house but will tackle that when the temperature rises again.

Recycled tires are the answer!

My mother has not had another episode since the packing day, although I think we averted one last night.  She had gone to bed at her usual time and within and hour and a half she was up three times....once to ask about the rain she was hearing (without her hearing aids she can't hear it thunder!), the second time she was amazed that there were so many more Christmas lights this year than in the past, and finally to have some milk.  As she was getting back into bed, I asked if she needed a sleeping pill to help her go to sleep and she agreed.  So, I gave her a second Seroquel as the doctor suggested.  She was able to go to sleep and seemed fine this morning.  The trick is seeing the signs early and being able to adjust the meds.  In this case she had already taken her evening meds and had I approached her the wrong way she would have refused to take anything.  This time I was just lucky!

We also had a tough-love talk several weekends ago. I asked her not to take it the wrong way, knowing full well she would (and she did), but I knew there would not be a right time or an easy way to say it.  She is so unhappy here and appears miserable 24/7, which is not easy to be around, and I said that she might want to consider the nursing home in Wadesboro as an option.  She knows people who reside there.  She would know many people who visit, etc.  She avoids human contact here, but it would be less threatening there....and she needs to be around more people than just me!  She took it in the most negative way possible (no surprise!) and had little to say, except that she knew the nursing home (she had been there for rehab when she fractured her pelvis) and she didn't want to be there.  And I said, "Well, maybe it will make being here seem like a better option!"  She didn't respond and was quiet for a while, but she has been more involved and less dreary.  It probably won't last long, but I'm enjoying it while I can!

I'm still concerned about Gabby and am trying to be consistent with the injections.  Over the past two weeks he has spent two whole days at the vet as they try to regulate the insulin.  It looks like 3 units twice a day is the dosage.  When I do it right, it's a breeze.  When I do it wrong, Gabby bolts, I jump and it's a disaster.  I hope it will become more consistent (and right!) as time goes on.  It breaks my heart to see him.....he's still boney, he has spots of missing hair on his head and shoulders (allergies I guess), and he still isn't himself.  He is such a loving, sweet kitty and I hate to see him looking this way.....and I hope he feels better than he looks.  As long as he's okay, I can deal with his looks.

In my sketchy notes of topics I want to include in this blog, I had intended to rant a little about the shallow, superficial and just disgusting events of Black Friday.  I think I'm going to stop watching the news on the day after to avoid seeing the savagery of people trying to get a good deal on a TV!  But, that insanity was so overshadowed by the events of Newtown, CT.  that it is just so hard to grasp.....and to imagine the devastation of a community of that size (or any size).  I really feel that this is a turning point in our cultural relationship with guns and violence....and it will have been brought about by both the savagery and innocence of this event. It was heartbreaking to hear the families describe the innocence and joy of their children, and you didn't doubt it because they were too young to be jaded by life.  The community has been an example of grace under extreme stress, but I can't help but think of what the holidays will be like in the quiet of each home....just heartbreaking and so senseless. You know me....I've already written/emailed the President and Lindsey Graham and am willing to do more.  I can't imagine why anyone needs an assault weapon and rapid-fire clips. I think that if you are so afraid that you think those things will help, you need to learn to deal with your fear in a  more constructive way.  The NRAs answer is more guns.....the only thing that will stop a bad man with a gun is a good man with a gun!  Those people have been watching too much TV!  They are living in a parallel universe.  I hope this will be just like the election.....they can rant and rave, be as obnoxious as they like; but, in the end the majority of sane people will say "enough is enough". 





We're getting ready to go look at Christmas lights in the Bluffton area, so I'll take this time to wish you and yours all the sentiments of the season....

peace on earth

goodwill to all 

joy to the world