I call her Sage, hb calls her Jas (the dogs name). He keep thinking we have two dogs. I don't know if it would have been different if she were a different color instead of b/w just like Jas. My leg is healing - she is learning to jump without sticking her claws out. Am training her to leash. She seems to be taking well to it. She has fun outside. Would love to catch them birds that are just beyond her reach at the bird feeders! She is so funny- she will take off running knowing the leash will stop, flips over when she hits the end the turn around and chase it as it goes back in. LOL She does give us a lot of laughing. As for the dog and her - Jas tolerates her. There have been times when I see a hint of Jas turning around and playing when the kitten torments her! Sage likes to 'hit and run'! The last couple cats I had, we got as adult cats. I forgot how much energy they have - just like a toddler!
Sage has an ear for the computer. I no sooner open it up and she is up here. She has done some weird things to my computer. I have no idea how. Most common is screenshot so I have will have a bunch on my computer to delete. One day she flip my screen - took me a while to find out how to flip it back. Found you have to hit control, alt and down arrow to do it, so how she managed to hit them all at the same time - who knows! All I know is I am on the computer less often now. Even when I turn the kindle on she will come running and crawl up on my chest in the way. Being able to type this without her showing up is rare but maybe that is cause she is tired from playing outside.
I did accomplished some this last week: got the Medicare nightmare done. I took SS so I could get ahead a little before he is placed (who knows when that will be) but 35% of it goes for Medicare. I do get the Part D free cause Medicare based it on my SS only. After trying online and talking to someone on the phone I was give the name of a local broker who I went in to see. She explained that Medicare won't revisit it until 2019 comes around. Then it will add another $30 (at today's rates) taking Medicare to 40% of my SS. I also got the heat tape back on the water hose; the heavy duty extension cord we use for the heater run in (plug it in at the poll and run it through the window that way we are not taxing the MH electrical if we run it on high. I haven't finished my curtains - haven't figured out how to do that without the kitten trying to help ! :-) This week I have to get the hoses in the water bay prepared for winter then that just leaves putting plastic on the windows, but the days are still nice so the windows and door are open. It sucks that the guy on our passenger side is a chain smoker, so when he is home he smokes outside so I can't have the window open, but the door is still open.
Woke up this morning to find 3 piles of poop from the dog and as I was cleaning that up she spit up in two places. She spit up in hb's lap earlier today but seems to be getting better. She finally drank some water and ate he soft dog food. I feel sorry because she tries to poop but nothing comes out. I imagine it is like when we have diarrhea, feel the need to go but nothing left to come out.
Poor Jaz and poor you! I wonder if she ate something bad. You're very wise to train Sage to the harness and leas when she is young. I've never had a kitten but we trained two cats on harnesses and leashes when they were 2 years old. Sage sounds like a real comedian. With the ever-present grimness of Alzheimer's, that can be a blessing. The cigarette smoke must be annoying. I smoked when I was in my twenties and I realize now how bad my apartment must have smelled.
After.a couple.weeks.of cooler weather... enough to cool off the pool darn it, it was back up to 100 degrees again. I was out back on a dirt moving mission again. Got too hot. Too sweaty to easily change into.swim suit. Sooo I finally got brave enough to just jump in in my underwear. It is pretty private here, screened by trees, not visible from the street, so what was my problem??? It was heavenly to cool down so quickly. DH has been wearing his winter jacket in the house complaining about being cold, but he went swimming too and said he liked it. Went in several times.
As an x-smoker-----surely my smoke didn't smell that bad. I never thought it did. Our neighbors come outside to smoke and I am amazed how it smells up our front yard.
Have a cat named, Lucy, 14 years old and such a SENSITIVE stomach, I guess. Can't find the right food. Its such a great surprise in the morning to find where she has thrown up, always on the carpet.
MyDH is in care center and he enjoys it so much when I take her out. She isn't too crazy about getting in the carrier to go, but is fine when she gets thereu. throw up, litter boxes and all the rest, I don't know what I would do without her to talk to. Course she understand every word.
No, how do you make your own cat food. I will willing to try most anything. doo you have the recipe. She ate a piece of sliced ham for lunch and I know that's bad for cats-----but her crying and begging is bad for me!
Charlotte, do you do this????? It sounds like more trouble than feeding a baby. I wonder why they can't just eat plain meat without all the other stuff?
They probably can as long as it is not processed but the need nutrients they can't get from just meat. Eggs have a lot of nutrition in them and most cats will eat them. They now have foods that are found in the refrigerator section of pet food - have you tried them?
She might have a condition similar to gastric reflex. Have you asked the vet?
I have never had problems feeding my cats dry food, same with dog. There is a lady in the park that makes her own dog food for her two dogs. She makes up a big batch and freezes all but a few days worth.
.........Since you gals are talking about cats, I thought I should give you my recent cat story.
........ When my little companion, Ozzie, died, my daughters and friends were insisting that I get another pet. I really missed Ozzie ( He was my Dear Helen's little doggie) but I didn't think any other pet could ever take his place. So I resisted them as long as I could. But eventually they brought this huge homeless cat over and told me how they had rescued him from the streets and begged me to give him a home. So what could I do? ........They told me that he could not be let outside because be would run away and the coyotes would get him. He was so heavy I couldn't even pick him up and he made a big mess with the litter box and shed fur all over the house. He was fat as a pig and ate like a horse and was always pawing around on the furniture, and would open drawers and cabinets to see what he could find. He would jump onto table tops and create havoc. A real home wrecker. ........He was always trying to get through Ozzie's little doggie door, which I had sealed off. So after putting up with him for a month, I unsealed it and he wasted no time before squeezing his fat belly through it. ........Wow.....Things started looking better. I think he enjoyed being an outside cat He quit using the litter box and I was happy to get rid of it. Sometimes he would be gone all day or all night but he never missed a meal. ........Everything was going well for about two months until I smelled a strange odor in the house and eventually found that he had decided he didn't want to go potty outside any more so he had made his own litter box in a hidden corner behind some furniture. Well.....That did it for me.....I sealed up the doggie door with him on the outside and fixed a nice place for him in the garage. ........Now....... I still have problems. Feeding him in the patio or garage, The ants get into his food. They seem to prefer cat food over the bait in the ant traps. So I place his food dish in a pan of water because I know that ants can't swim. So he drinks the water out of that pan instead of his water bowl. So I put salt in the water pan but he still drinks it and the ants are right back. ........I feed him dry cat food. Lots of it. But I have to keep the bags on the rear seat of my little car because he will find them anywhere else. He can knock them off of high shelves and rip them open and spread the food all over the floor. ........Now, Since I moved into Hillcrest Old folks Home, I had to send him back where he came from but I keep thinking .....Did I really need that cat?.......Yes, I think I did. Without him I could never have written such a story as this.
..................For My family ..... I made a little YouTube Video of my wonderfull kitty. .................This is the YouTube link ........ .... https://youtu.be/7j6ujuiS2XU
If your cat is throwing up all of the time I suggest a visit to the vet. Probably some issue, possibly easy to solve. Your cat will thank you.
Some people insist that cats should eat raw meat. I've discussed this on my last vet visit. The vet said that what makes the best meal for a cat is controversial among vets. She has seen cats thrive on raw meat BUT these have been healthy cats. If a cat has any sort of immunity problems (such as one of mine) or there are small children around this is a bad idea. I have been experimenting with foods for my three since 2 have medical problems.
The amino acid taurine is essential for cats. This is added to most cat foods. You can buy taurine as pills and crush up and add to their food.
Cats need lots of water, they do not drink enough on their own. Wet cat food provides necessary moisture. It is also less likely to have junk in it (non meat additives) that cats do not need. The extra moisture helps prevent kidney problems. My cats love their dry food (which I have cut back on). I suspect this is their junk food.
georges, I loved the cat story. I may write one on my own. What fixes Lucy is a visit to the vet and a $67 shot. She is 14 years, or will be in 2 days. Thank goodness she used the litter box. I am wondering how to teach her to throw up in it.
I know it's bad, but she loves table scraps, small amounts. She's 14 and I'm 81----and I think what we eat is probable not going to kill us at this stage!
just a change up. Tomorrow, we travel to Lubbock to learn more about th angiosarcoma rare cancer that has that we just learned about. will we have options or jus days left. will see.
Rodstar, remember that no treatment and palliative treatment (pain management and comfort) are valid options in your situation. Hospice can help you evaluate options and manage palliative care if you choose that. Hospice is covered under medicare. Ask for it if they don't offer.
rodstar43, we have used doctors in Lubbock. You must be from West Texas. How do you learn to just live with what you have.? Or make decisions/choices for others.
Rodstar, I'm hoping that your wife expressed her wishes (preferably in writing) about what she wanted in terms of end-of-life care. It is a lot easier to make those decisions for your spouse if you know what they would have wanted if they were capable of expressing themselves.
Screaaaaaaaaaaaaaaming! Started a new container of ice cream last night. He got his after I got mine. Opened the frig this morning and there it was - a gallon of melted ice cream. A first and will be the last for ice cream - won't buy anymore.
It is a whole gallon plus. It is Neapolitan - not my favorite. I usually get chocolate swirl/ripple but they were out. It is in the deep freezer. I will check tomorrow when he is gone to see if it any still edible/taste good. If not, will throw it out.
Got all the curtains made and up except the one between the kitchen sink and stove. Adding color to a place that is basically 50 shades of brown makes it much cheerier. We have cream colored curtain around the front windshield. Think I will buy a white one sometimes this winter or spring.
Elizabeth, my DW did express her wishes for end-of-life-care many years ago in writing that was notorized way before we knew this end game. I plan to honor those wishes which were same as mine which were to not ask for or permit heroic efforts to extend liife here on earth. We have an plan for eternity which we are comfotable with and believe in.
Use to buy blue bell but their container got smaller and the price went up. Wal-Mart sells a ice cream in 1 gallon 1 pint that is not bad. It comes in a square container that fits nicely in the frig. We live in a motorhome so freezer is not that big. Last spring a lady moved and gave me her small deep freezer.
Rodstar43, my husband did the same--we both knew what we wanted (same as you two--no heroics-)--and it was all written up legally years before it was needed. My parents did the same, by the way. When my father's brain tumor came out of nowhere and killed a perfectly healthy 74-year-old in four months, my mother knew his wishes exactly.
Now, in terms of the ice cream...come on, people. If it's not Ben and Jerry's Urban Bourbon, it's not worth eating!
I guess it okay to agree to disagree. Only Blue Bell is is my thinking. But if I buy it, I eat it and that's not a good thing. Charlotte, we had a motor home and basically lived in it for a long time. It has been my favorite home.
No heroics here either. In fact, he says no more tests and wants to quit all his RX. The dr. disagreed with the last, said ending up with a worse stroke could leave him even worse off. He's so unhappy I'm not sure what worse would be.
I miss ice cream. Breyer's was my favorite on the east.coast. Been here 35 years. Finally Breyer's is available out west but now DH is lactose intolerant! Since he doesn't root through the freezer any more I might get some anyway. Right now I snack too much on cheddar and wine as a late night snack IF he will go to bed alone.
Charlotte, yet another coincidence. 50 shades of brown indeed. For variety we have some burgundy. I tried changing the sheets from plain burgundy to a paisley print burgundy. You should have seen it! He didn't think he was allowed to go in that room. He pulled everything off the bed and threw it around the room in every direction, one piece at a time. Then he went around the room picking up the pieces.and throwing them around some more. It was an amazing whirlwind. I finally got hm calmed down and put on the burgundy worn out sheets.and he was happy. I put the new paisley ones on the bed in my safe room. They are so soft I wish I needed to sleep there more often. So I biught burgundy ones in that fabric.
bhv, sorry to be the one to tell you but Breyer's Ice-cream which once was really a great ice-cream has changed to be a" frozen dairy dessert" that looks like ice-cream, but doesn't taste the way it used to. I was eating Brigham's Ice-cream every day for the past several months - comfort food - but haven't wanted any since my partner died.
I'm back now from my trip which was both restful and healing. I went to a Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough Tennessee, bookended with two visits with my son and DIL in DC. Did not know how very much I needed this trip. Slept deeply for the first time in a number of years. Found myself able to roll with laughter when told funny stories, and cry at the sad ones. And when I smile now, my eyes curl up and I think to myself "that is what a smile is supposed to feel like, instead of the half happy, half sad thing that has been my smile for so long." Stress is not all gone by a long shot. House is so lonely. Having two upcoming services for my partner feels just wrong, necessary maybe, but wrong anyway.
LINDYLOU IS BACK! Yay. So glad your trip.was.good. That.story telling festival.sounds like so much fun. You went last year.too I think, but it was difficult to leave.then. I love the thought of your eyes curling up.when smiling. Thanks for telling me about Breyers. I won't waste.money then. Welcome back. Welcome back. Welcome back.
Regarding the Breyers, you have to read the labels carefully. They still make a vanilla and a chocolate that is real ice cream. Worth buying and eating, that's for sure. (Like others, I hate "frozen dairy dessert." Won't waste the calories on it.)
my oldest twin daughter has been here visiting and trying to give dad some space. She took DW down to ALF visitors kitchen to make some peanut butter fudge and yesterday some cookies. Odd, just relaxing by ones one's own self with out her checking on me ever 15 seconds. odd but good odd. Even bingo. your with her so much you forget "normal". Got to drive us all to Midland, Texas today. Daughter flys home. Back to grind.
Yesterday I went out in the field to clear away some brush with stickers. I brought a tarp and had on protective clothing and brand new gloves. Worked hard at not touching the stuff. I didn't think I was out there all that long. My forehead is bright red and itchy. My arms, that were covered are itchy and had some hives last.night. took somenallergy pills and it is a bit better.and put on some cortisone anti itch cream. A bit better now. But very uncomfortable. Not going out there today! All kinds of drama with my incompetent mentally ill sister and her mentally ill daughter trying to suck me and her sane twin daughter into the fray. Good grief. I wish I could extricate myself from their parallel universe. I feel like I should continue to help because I can afford it, so far... and because she was undiagnosed for so many years. A small part of her miserable life situation is not her fault due to the mental illness, but years of one bad decision after another and you really can't say "through no fault of her own..." I am angry with my parents for not helping her and lying to me for years before they died leaving me to deal with it. Three other siblings are blissfully able to ignore the whole situation. It cracked me up that all three of them had the nerve to call her before the hurricane hit to say they hooed she stayed safe. WTF? Does that make them feel like they care? Anyway, the current situation must change for my sanity. It will be interesting to see hiwnthe drama plays out.
bhv - sounds like you got into some poison oak/ivy or sumac. I would definitely stay away from the brush. Might be a job to hire someone to do.
As for you sister and niece, are there programs they can get on to help them so they don't depend on you? You have enough to deal with both financially and emotionally with your husband.
Ice cream - finally tried it last night. Still good, still creamy.
Kitten - she was leashed outside on the patio. Dakota, the Siberian Husky next door that I guess killed a kitten years ago, was let out - she did not realize the kitten was out. I was standing by the kitten when he came rushing in. I yelled at him Dakota no and pulled him back. She was all puffed up, a little wet but not hurt. I don't know if he stopped cause I yelled at him or he didn't want to really hurt her. She chained him up but he was not happy. I finally brought the kitten. At least she got some energy out! I am glad Dakota knows me cause if a stranger yelled no and pulled him a way he would have attacked them.
Saw a commercial for the Dr. Oz show next week. I stopped watching him because he insisted Alzheimer's Disease was preventable. People who have it cause it themselves. The commercial he claims he cured two people of Alzheimer's Disease. He may have once been a good doctor, but I call him a 'quack' now.
charlotte I agree with you. Dr. Oz has some wonderful things, but I don't trust them. Rodstar did you drive thru Andrews. You should have gotten some steak fingers at Bubby's. They are still pretty good.
Hi Charlotte, glad the ice cream survived. Little things make us happy these days.
I think the weeds are some kind of stinging nettles, but the burrs look more like thistles, however the flowers were yellow, not purple. I couldn't find a.picture that matched. But the way I treated it is appropriate. It is almost gone. I did find there is a poison oak or sumac native to California. Just haven't seen anything like that here. We have several kinds of sage, wild fennel (smells.divine) mustard weed, and some kind of yellow daisy bush on our hills. I've been dead heading some of the new daisy plants that showed up on the flat part of our ravine and they seem quite happy about that.
Your comment about Dr Oz reminds.me of Dan Rather. Years ago he did a.story about the B-2 when it was all classified. The press would wait outside our plant and try to ask us questions. One guy said, "You want to.know.what I make in there? A paycheck.". Anyway,.Dan Rather.did a special report, very.serious.. not saying that it was all conjecture. He presented it as truth. I had no idea what kind of airplane he was describing but his story had nothing to do with my airplane. I suppose it was a.good thing because one aspect of defense is to cause the enemy to spend money, time and energy to defend against your weapon. So misdirection was good. But, for me, since a.newsperson just completely made up.a.story and presented it as fact, I have.a.hard time trusting any of them.
There is a great app you can get where you can use a picture or live photo of the plant to identify it. I have used it -not all are in there library. Pl@ntNet. It is kind of fun trying to find out what the names of plants are.
Finished my last curtain and all are hung. Everything was shades of brown, now there are shades of blues on the curtains that add much needed color. Hb comments numerous times a day how nice they look. Now to stop procrastinating and get back to de-cluttering!!!
I got another subjuct that may be questoionable for the care taker. Does youe AD spouse hint for sex? And how do you handle it? Or do you want to. or, do you want to talk about it?
Rodstar43, I just did a search on the word sex and it brought up several.topics about sex and intimacy. I brought one of them to the top. At the beginning it is mostly wives talking about it. But keep.reading there are several men with some good insights. I think you will need to do your own search and read more because I didn't see much where the AD wife wanted sex.
My husband developed ED problems long before his AD surfaced. Once AD hit, it didn't really try. In fact, he would start touching me and acted like he didn't know what to do. Personally, I know many here have said it, having sex with a 'child' is not desirable. I know there are those that continue as long as possible, but not me.
We were always a close couple, but as the dementia developed, our physical relationship just faded away. As he became more needing of care--more child-like--he seemed to forget about it or something...hard to explain...that part of our relationship just evaporated. I would not have felt right about "doing it" anyway--with a person who was not mentally intact. I remember thinking it would have been wrong in the way that having sex with an underage boy would be wrong. Just not ethical--like taking advantage of them, or something.
I am with you Elizabeth I remember well It was a progression of her not feeling comfortable to not understanding To fear. The last time she looked like a deer in the headlights mesmerized and afraid. I just stopped and never brought it up again it was not right . That was the end of that. Just another part of the relationship that fell by the wayside. Hard as you transition from being a spouse to a caregiver.
I'd like to share a memory from the worst times. She was in the stage of partial incontinence, where I had to dress her, bathe her, ect. She recognized me as two different Georges. Sometimes I was the Real George and sometimes I was the Other George. In the evenings we would sit on the sofa holding hands, watching the TV, and she would ask me things like "What is your name?" and I would tell her "My name is George". Then she would say "You're not George" and I would tell her "I'm the other George" and that would satisfy her. Then sometimes she would ask "Where's George?", and I would say "They called him and he went down to FDS".(FDS was the place he used to work) Sometimes she would ask "Are you married? Do you have a family? Do you have a car? How did you get into this house?" and I would always give her an appropriate answer and she would be content. With me playing the part of the Other George, we could spend a fairly nice evening together.
When we were playing around in bed at night, she would say things like "I'm not supposed to be sleeping with you". and "What if George finds out about us?" And I would tell her "George won't care, he just wants you to be happy" And sometimes she would tell me about fun things she and George did together. Other times, she would tell the other George that George was mean to her.
At times, she would be very hostile and I would have to use force to bathe her, to get her dressed, to get her to sit down and eat, or to get her to sit on the toilet and at those times, I was the Real George. Through it all, if I was trying to get her to do something, I was the real George, the mean George, but if things were going smoothly, I was always the other George.
I was sitting at my computer, the door was open and hb was outside joking with the neighbors - dumb, senseless joking. Then I was reminding myself I am jealous that he can do this joking not caring if it makes sense, not caring what others think - oblivious to reality or peoples feelings. I am jealous that he has no responsibilities. I am the one that pays the bills, manages the money, is the memory for both of us, does the shopping, cooking, laundry, MH upkeep, takes care of the animals, etc. He does nothing but lives in his little carefree world. I realize it is not of his choosing, but that is my reality.
Pretty natural feeling, I'd say. We are human, after all. It's a bit like the Martha/Mary story. I've always sympathized with Martha .Be kind to the Charlottes of the world.