General Chat

Hello AnninGlos

I am going to stay with some old friends in Attleborough Norfolk for a few days and i will drive there,. OH is driving over with a excellent condition but older Toyota and my son who lives in Barcalona wil go with him to keep him company.This son will fly back the next day.

After a few days with our friends we will both drive to Amsterdam where OHs eldest son will meet us and in convoy we will drive at his new house and we wil spend the night with him, wife and baby then we give the car, (the one OH has been driving) and we go home in the newer car!!, I think I shall be exhausted. It is driving in Amsterdam thatreally worries me although OH says it is only 40 mins to their home. Um I wonder if we could leave my car somwhere safe,,,,we will be on the ferry from Dover to Holland.

I have been cleaning and sorting today but still have to take break now is that because I am getting older or is it because I have been unwell. I have managed to clean all the cupboards in the kitchen , sorted out everything in the bathroom and airing cupoard, sorted out some clothes and packed on suit case, and been decidinh =g what clothing can go to the recycle bin locally. I cannot believe how many shampoo bottles, toilet rolls, New dish cloths not ever opened, etcetra.

W ell just having a break for a glass of water and two slices of toast and then I need to get my bedroom ready for me to go to bed.

Take care

Good to hear that you are feeling better Bridget, and boy so busy!
My SIL is on various medications and after the last episode her doctor said she should go into frail care where she spent 3 weeks before my brother insisted that she should go to the Rehab Centre where she would get intensive therapy as she was unable to do anything for herself. Yesterday with the aid of the physiotherapist she was able to walk a short distance which was encouraging. She will be returning to the frail care centre at the weekend, where unfortunately, there is no therapy.

Another scorchig hot day for us expected temperature 30 C.

Scrapbooking is very nice , we have a very large Scrapbooking shop in
JBay. I have a friend who does it and she is doing albums for each of her three grandchildren, she has also done one of her family history whichn is really very interesting. However, I think one needs to be creative which I am not!!

Look after yourself.


Val.

Val, can I say that you can do a scrap book without being particularly creative if you see it as an extension of a photo album and just pretty the page up a bit.

What a shame that you SiL will be returning to the care centre with no therapy as that is obviously what has improved her condition.

Bridget, reading all that you have been doing I am not surprised that you had to take a break!!!

Ann, I am thinking of starting small with a couple of pages of a particular event and see how it goes.

Unfortunately my brother cannot look after my SIL on his own, the centre has done wonders for her, he will organise for a physiotherapist but because of the cost that will only be once or twice a week. I suggested that he ask the Matron if the carers couldn't assist her by walking with her a little distance each day, that at least would be a help and who knows she may get strong enough to walk on her own in time .

Gosh, I was so hot and tired when we got back to-day that I actually felt sick, however after sitting in front of the fan and having the air-conditioner on I soon recovered! It is now almost 6p.m. and still jolly hot so I have decided that supper will be fruit salad.


Val.

Val. Thank you for your message, it is so ggod to look on here and see that others are also posting and not just me. Yes i have been very busy but I had a break today and the person who was my deputy and who was a great support came to see me at 11 am , we had coffee, mulled a few things over, and then I took her out for lunch. We went to a place called Battle, which has a splendid History, mooched around and I bought some birthday cards, just to have to hand when I go home, and then I treated us both to lunch. We both chose the same two courses which was strange and we had Pasta wth chicken and then Caramel Custard and it was absolutely delicious.

After that I had to see the letting Agent who tells me that there is a £600 deposit but he wants me to find out if this was from my employer or from me.....i hope it was me!!!

Later this evening i shall do some more packing I tried to buy a well known brand of bags which you can put clothes etc into and then use a vacumm to take the air out but I could not find any. Then I went into the supermarket and low and behold they had some although an own brand. So I have jsut made a mug of coffee and hen I will see if they work!

Val, how sad that the I am so surprised that the centre your sister in law has to go back to does not have the equipment available,
here in the UK Residential Homes, as we call them, have by law to have certain support mecchanismas including Hoists, special chairs, etc. The phsiotherapy in the UK should also be free as part of the Health Service,,,perhaps Brits do not always appreciate what an excellent Health service they have. Spain also has an excellent service BUT the famil of frinds have to help every day with helping the patient wash, dress and tp help with feeding as well, including briging in a ny food that they would like to have. If there are no friends and relatives then the Nuns help and so do Volunteers.

I will add your sister in law to my daily special thoughts, if that is OK with you.

My goodness what was the temperatre that it caused you to be so hot and tired or was it a combination of heat and travel, I love the idea of having fruit salad for supper,

well I have to get going now doing the new Bage packing
So take care everyone,

Bridget

Nudge

Off to a meeting this morning so wont be on here at all. A lovely morning here but there was a very hard frost so I am hoping there wont be any black ice on the country roads.

Another scorcher of a day. I think the heat and the travelling is my problem. I am used to our car which has airconditioning which my brother's does not have, but I guess it could be worse. The temperature yesterday was 30C I think to-day is much hotter.

Glad you enjoyed lunch, the caramel custard sounds divine.

Thanks Bridget that would be so kind of you to include my SIL in your daily special thoughts. Both the physiotherapist and the speech therapist are very pleased with her progress. The frail care have hoist setc. but there is no physiotherapy or occupational therapy which is really a pity as the patients just sit there all day. My brother does have a Medical Aid but that only provides for about 12 physiotherapy sessions and then after that he must pay out of his pocket. The state institutions are even worse.

Bye.


Val.

Val
I wonder if it is worth you aor your brother could mention something which works incredibly well here in the UK. most care homes which cover everything for rehab to end of life care employ someone who will come into the home and pprovide social occassions such as walking around the garden, painting, playing music and do exercises even people confinde to a wheel chair or special chair can join in,. I could send you more details if it would help,
This first started in the late 1960s and now is almost a requirement..it is truly amazing the effect that iit has made to so many people.
The joy of this is that it does not need to be a physio just someone who has time, patience, and can think sideways not just "in the box"

OOps, so sorry i had to answer the Phone and it was son in Wales. He has been down recently and last year not far off christmas he had a very bad time, and to say I was worried is understated. Well now he is feeling much better has decided to move back into his lovely little house in Swansea. It will mean that one of his tenants will leave but it doesn't make sense for him to be paying someone else when hw has his own home.
He sounded like my son again this afternoon and couldn't stop chatting.
Whilst I was talking to him I was looking out of my bedroom window and the scene was wonderful the sun was a complete circle which was bright red and a beautiful blue sky. It didn't last long but I am glad that I saw it

Thanks for the advice Bridget I will pass it on to my brother.

I remember when your son was going through a bad time and am really happy that he is feeling so much better. It is really a worry when our children have problems if they are not happy we are not happy.

I sometimes watch the sunrise in the mornings - a beautiful sight.


Val.

Bliss, a lovely cool day.

I MUST finish sorting out the rooms BUT i will be back this evening

Val
So p;eased to hear that the eather is cooler and herefore you must aslo be feeling better, I like heat but sometimes it can be overpowering, we do not het much higher than 30 at home but we cannot sit outside in such weather we go inside and then turn on the fans OH does not like airconditioning he says it is to dry,
Back to more sorting of what I want to keep and what Ii do not want to keep....
BB

My SIL will be going home on Tuesday and not back to the frail care. My brother will look after her with the help of a carer. She has improved so much, she is speaking quite clearly, initiating conversation and is walking quite well, so she will be much happier at home.

Happy sorting!


Val.

Val, what wonderful news about your SIL, it is so uplifting to hear good news. You mention a carer, is that someone who will live inn or someone whoo will come each day. Has he found someone already, and I expect that he will make sure that he writes to people for references. I have been recruiting people for far to many years but I was still caught out by someone just a few weeks before I went home for Christmas. In the UK we have to have what we call a CRB, meaning Criminal Record Check does that have to be done where you are,

I had some good news today two domestic staff from where I used to work phoned to say would I like them to come tomorrow afternoon to help me...I thought that was very kind, of course they will need to be paid BUT they are very good at what they do,
Well time to pack another bag/case so

good night

Goodmorning Bridget, that's nice of the workers to offer to help you and it will give you time to do your sorting and packing.

Not a registered carer, but the domestic worker they had employed part-time and who helped him before, he will now employ her full-time so she will help with the bathing etc. in the afternoon before going home, he will manage at night as SIL will manage to walk to the bathroom. He will continue the OT as he did before, he has the bags of varying weights and the board with pegs that we made for her when she had the first stroke which will strengthen her hands and then hopefully she will soon be able to feed herself again. He will also take her to physio . So hopefully all will work out. Thanks so much for your input.

I was up at 5 this morning and it was lovely outside.



Val.

Hello Val and good morning, It seems to me that between you you and your brother inllaw have sorted everything very well. At least having the carer all day will enable yoyr BIL to have some time for himself which is also very necessary. The most imprtant thing is to maintain the stimulation of every day events and "persuade" people to do as much forthemselves as possible , but I expect yu all know that already.
It is still dark here but I can hear the birds cherping away but I have not yet opened the curtains to see what sort of day we have.
Last night I stayed up rather late and looked through all the paperwork that I have BAND I was shocked at a) the amount of paper wwork I had
2) How many duplicates I had
3) realised that i MUST put some sort of order to the certs etc I have gathered over the past few years. I know that I could put them all on a disc but there is something, now=ot sure what to call it, about having the real/copy of an event
4) I realsied just hw much otiginal paper work I have from my grandfather, and how lucky I am to have it, Thank goodness it is all in acid free folders so it should not deteriate

Tme for a cup of tea methinks but I will look in again this evening
Have a good day and take care, I shall have my tea and my special time now,

Bridget

Ann I hope that your meeting went well

Back from PE, with all the travelling I don' t get time to do much.
As soon as things have settled down I am going to try my hand at a small scrapbooking project, I think I might do my friends' golden wedding.

Weatherwise it is very windy to-day. Our gardener worked very hard this morning getting rid of a dead honeysuckle bush and dead-heading the hydrangeas.

I also have all my papers in acid-free folders and have them in 7 Arch Lever files all choc-a-bloc!!! I don't really know what else to do with them. I am so sorry that I didn't develop an interest in genealogy when I was young as I think so much information has been lost to me.

Take carte.



Val.

Yes thank you Bridget the meeting went well. A worrying time for charities with all the expected cuts.