Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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We had a lovely rain all morning, and now the sun is coming out. Definitely spring.
The new estimates came back for updating L'Andante, and I'm not particularly happy with them. They didn't give an estimate for repairing the gap between the bedroom floor and the back wall or for installing better sway control. Then the repainting estimate was beyond outrageous.
The re-flooring estimate was reasonable, as was the cabinetry remodels for the flat-screen TVs, so we'll probably go along with those estimates. But not until the repair issue gets sorted out.
WLToo is coming up here on 10 April. Then on 12 April, I'll head back home for a medical appointment. After Mom's appointment on 17 April, WLToo and she will come home for a while. WLToo says he's looking forward to not sharing a bed with Spotacus. Apparently, Spotacus feels the need to lay on the pillow and put his front paws on WLToo's head...
Meanwhile, Mom has new hearing aids and new glasses. In a couple more days, we'll go to the DMV to either re-new her driver's license or surrender it and get an ID card. Based upon what she says she can see now, I expect it will be a new DL. So then we kids have to decide if we really want her to keep driving.
Aging is not for wimps...
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Czarny, black cat
Rainbow Bridge: Spotacus, Alexander the Grrreat, and so very many more
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KLO
Southern OK
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Boy did you get that about aging right! I'm 69 and the kids haven't said anything about my driving in the future, hope I can for a lot more time. But a women I know ,and greatly admire, volunteered to give up her DL saving her kids the task of making her give it up. I hope I have as much sense as she did when the time comes!
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magnusfide
On the Road Again and Again and Again...
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Wanderlost wrote: WLToo says he's looking forward to not sharing a bed with Spotacus. Apparently, Spotacus feels the need to lay on the pillow and put his front paws on WLToo's head...
Meanwhile, Mom has new hearing aids and new glasses. In a couple more days, we'll go to the DMV to either re-new her driver's license or surrender it and get an ID card. Based upon what she says she can see now, I expect it will be a new DL. So then we kids have to decide if we really want her to keep driving.
Aging is not for wimps...
Spotacus is missing you ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/awink.gif "awink")
Aging is always about taking everything one step at a time. In our youth we could plan ahead with some assurance that it'll happen. In our autumn years we realize life plans and health conditions don't always mesh. ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/rolleyes.gif "rolleyes")
PS: Just finished reading the first 8 pages of Spotacus' story. Two thumbs up!
* This post was
edited 03/29/17 07:45am by magnusfide *
"The only time you should fear cast iron is if your wife is fixin' to hit you with it."-Kent Rollins
First law of science: don't spit into the wind.
Magnus
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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After two days of soaking rain, the sun's out and it's a lovely spring day. The rabbit that lives under the pine tree in Mom's front yard was almost friendly to me this morning. Was more curious about me than most wild rabbits tend to be.
Not much going on, so I'd best not be wasting my internet minutes.
Later, y'all.
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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Wow. Time does get away from me. Didn't realize it had been so long.
Came home in mid-April for medical appointments. WLToo went to Mother's and brought her to our place a week later, after her medical appointments. So we've all been lolling about, watching spring happen here.
I've been contacting various independent living facilities about an apartment for Mom. So far, all of them have been ridiculously expensive. We'll visit a couple more places before I have to take her back next week. Really frustrating. She doesn't have enough money for those fancy places, and has too much for the subsidized places, and the in-betweens she can afford don't have any space, because that's where the majority of folks fall, so the waiting lists are huge. Sigh.
Spotacus was thrilled to have me home. He's been so very mellow and affectionate since he became an only cat. His only real problem is creepy crawly skin. He's almost pulled all the hair out of a couple places. When he gets real bad, I put a little coconut oil on that spot, but when it's all over him, all we can do is hope it rains and the humidity goes up. It rained off and on all day today, with 98% humidity, so Spotacus stayed in a porch chair all day, and seems to be feeling much better.
We got our first fawn of the season yesterday. WLToo saw a big doe in the meadow and heard her making the "I'm having a fawn" sounds. Ten minutes later, fawn appears. Ten minutes after that, Mom and baby strolled along the fence line from the front meadow to the back of the property. Fawn is still hiding back there, but Mom came to the feeder as usual. The rest of the seven does who hang out in the meadow are still very preggers or were too young to breed. WLToo is charged with photographing as many fawns as he can, since I won't be here for their grand entrances.
The first seven barn swallow babies have flown already. Twice a day, morning and evening, it gets very noisy as they have their gossip fests on the porches. With the windows open, we can't miss their conversations.
Only one hummingbird feeder is up, but I believe we have four regulars, one that thinks it owns the feeder and three that disagree...
We took L'Andante over to Texas Custom Coach today. They're going to give us an estimate for repairing where the back separated from the bedroom floor, leaving a 1/2" gap; replacing the cracked shower surround, installing the two flat screen TVs and making the old analog locations into shelving, replacing all the flooring with padded vinyl planks, and repairing the six-way controls in the driver's seat. Then we'll use her for a while longer, while I let WLToo try and convince me we need a brand new motorhome. They'll do the work mid-June and be done by July.
That means we'll be able to take her to visit Tall and Short Friends as they workcamp at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Wisconsin. WLToo finally admitted his Parkinson's makes driving either a motorhome or a pickup with travel trailer very difficult, but he still wants to RV, so he seems to accept now that I can do all the driving.
Tall and Short Friend also put in an offer on a property just on the other side of our northern neighbor, which was accepted. But they have to be in Wisconsin before closing, so WLToo has power of attorney to close for them. Then, when I'm back home this summer (I'm planning on it, one way or another), I'm responsible for furnishing it as a short term rental. The local thrift store will soon see me a lot. T&SF intend to continue living in their FW in our driveway for at least another six years, before giving up the RV life and moving into the house. Now, if we can just convince our other Army buddy to move to this area...
It's been a very long day, so I'll sign off and try to do a better job of maintaining this thread.
Later, y'all.
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KLO
Southern OK
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Thanks for the update, starting to wonder if something bad had happened to you or family member! Good to have you back, really look forward to your post!
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magnusfide
On the Road Again and Again and Again...
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KLO wrote:Thanks for the update, starting to wonder if something bad had happened to you or family member! Good to have you back, really look forward to your post!
Double ditto.![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/cool.gif "cool")
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Dashonthedash
PA
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Wanderlost wrote:
It's been a very long day, so I'll sign off and try to do a better job of maintaining this thread.
That's OK, we like to hear from you, but we sure understand that there are more important priorities to life, and you have a very busy one. Our best wishes to you, your friends and family, and thank you for keeping us all entertained with your stories.
Gary Shapiro
Shadow - 7-year-old Greyhound (aka Shadow Ninja)
Hannah - 4-year-old GSD rescue (aka the Canine Tornado)
Max, Dash (GSDs), Willow, Dot, Allan, Lily (Greyhounds), and Molly(GSD Mix), at the Bridge and in my heart forever
2011 G'town 280DS Class A
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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We visited a retirement community about an hour's drive from my house, and about 15 minutes from Sister. Mom seems to like it, enough that we'll visit again this Tuesday, and Sister will meet us there. It's affordable, albiet more expensive than she wanted to pay, and will easily hold the pieces of furniture she deems essential.
As soon as we get back to her place, I'll start consolidating all the family photos into moving boxes, which can then be stacked in a corner of the apartment's second bedroom, which will be her office and genealogy records storage. She'll be able to go through them at her leisure, providing identifications, dates and locations for me to add when I scan them into her computer, then upload to several genealogy sites. She intends to offer the physical photo to whichever family member wants it.
While I'm tracking down all the photos, she'll be responsible for clearing out her wardrobe of all the stuff she hasn't worn in more than two years, so she doesn't overfill the apartment closets. I suggested she send all her heavy winter clothes to my brother in Kansas, as that's the only place she'd need them. Would also cut down on the luggage when she goes up there. Sister thought it would be fun to just ship them, without warning Brother (yes, we have a very weird familial sense of humor).
She's overwhelmed by the idea of moving 500+ miles away into a big city, after living nearly all her life in the country. So we'll try to make it less stressful by reminding her that she doesn't have to do it alone or to make all the decisions at once. Sister suggested we find a councilor, to help her through the grief she's going to experience as such massive change occurs. From personal experience with MIL, I already know some of the things she's going to say as she lashes out at us from grief and fear of change, so it will be occasionally painful but I also know she won't mean it.
The apartment should be ready in a month, and then things will get very exciting... As we experienced with MIL, moving Mom into her new apartment and never taking her back to the old home will help her adjust to the new digs/life, and leave us to get the estate sale/auction set up, then the house sale. All she'll need to do is sign applicable papers and accept the monies.
I expect to be taking a lot of photos, so she can have them to remember all the stuff she can't fit into the new digs.
Meanwhile, on my own homestead, we have a couple more fawns hiding somewhere. WLToo says photos were taken, but I haven't seen them yet. The barn swallows appear to be nesting again. And we have one or two mockingbirds who delight in going through their entire repertoires at 0300. Sigh.
Well, Spotacus is making it clear that it's bedtime. Later, y'all.
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magnusfide
On the Road Again and Again and Again...
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Big changes for your mom. Hope it goes smoothly. Suggestion - For her photos and documents, get those clear plastic storage bins. Apartment style living can mean unexpected water coming under a wall or from the ceiling because of disasters with plumbing from hers or her neighbors. Cardboard ruins and molds. Plastic is a safeguard and clear lets her see inside without having to open them.
Plumbing "happens". BTDT got the t-shirt and hat.
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