I can't believe the day has gotten away from me. Yes, I did sleep in until noon, but then we got ready and Mom ready for Tim Horton's. Right when we got there, the phone rang and it was Lori, the physical therapist. I quickly put Mom back into the car and went through drive through for our lunch. I got us soup and sandwich combos, but naturally, Mom ate 1 /4 of her sandwich and was full and none of her soup. I will be saving the soup for later when she is hungry. She has finished 1 ensure so far and is finishing another one now. I am very happy about that.

The best thing that happened today??? I talked to my Laura, who I haven't talked to in 24 years about so many things, but also about the important website she is going to design for me! We talked about so many things, it was really cool. I messaged her this week asking if she designs websites and how much would it cost. She sent me back a message that said Yes! and gave me the costs. It isn't going to cost too much, so we can afford to do this. I am really excited about this because the web is now how most people look at things so that works for me! I did google last night to see what websites for lessons are out there, I emailed a couple to see if I can be added for lessons so we shall see what happens about that. I am excited about fall because it is the beginning of a new season and summer hasn't been too bad now, it was in the beginning with Mom so sick, but now it is okay. It is supposed to be hot later this week. I think Mom and I will stick close to the house and stay inside after our usual morning/afternoon trek. Mom hasn't taken a nap today, she seems rather awake for this time of day without a nap. I may put her in the living room in a bit to rest.

We just got back from Walmart. We needed to pick up a few things, like Lia's baby shower present. We got the cutest little outfit for the little one. She has named her Esther Ruth. Her mom, Maia, is coming to our house so she can catch a ride with us to her house. She comes over every weekend to visit her boyfriend. It is rather interesting that he lives a couple of miles from me. Isn't that amazing? Out of all the places in Michigan she could have met someone, she met someone who lives near her cousin (me). Such a small world we live in! I also got Mom some snacks for me to carry with me in case she needs them. I got both string cheese and granola bars, the chewy type. She started to cry when we were checking out, I know she was tired but she was hungry too so when we got into the car I gave her a chewy granola bar and she ate it and stopped crying. It is amazing! That is twice today that she cried for no reason and I gave her food and she stopped. I also picked up 2 boxes of tissues, one for her to play with and one for us to use. She hasn't played with it yet, maybe she won't. One can only hope.

I have discovered also that sometimes when we go to bed she is too tired to take her medicine and has a rough time doing it. It took 15 minutes for her to take 4 pills, I gave up on the 5th. Tonight, at 8 pm, I will give her her medicine for the evening. She doesn't take any sleeping medicine so it doesn't matter that if she takes it right before bed or not. Since we go to bed sometime between 9 and 10, I think her taking medicine at 8 is okay. It will just be hard for me to remember. I will though, it will be easier for her to take it because she will be more awake.

It has been a good day today. We are watching Walker, Texas Ranger, season 7 disc 4, episode 1. We will watch a couple more episodes and then we will head for bed. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow at the shower.

My bloggerette Society picture is now on my blog. Thanks to Connie! for helping me! I couldn't have done it without you! I am now waiting for the sitemeter.com people to email me my log in and password so I can have one of those on my blog too. I would like the Christmas countdown too, but we shall see. I love how people's blogs all look different with all sorts of pictures and things like that. I am just learning to do this stuff and it will take a while to do. The one tool Connie uses the most is not on my operating system and is not available on a G4 mac. Too bad, I could have used it a lot for things. Anyways, I got the Bloggerette Society up and that makes me happy! I am so glad about that.

The physical therapist didn't come today. I haven't heard from her so hopefully she will be coming tomorrow. Mom is in the living room sleeping. Poor thing is exhausted today. I wonder what time she woke up? Probably early knowing her and she woke up with her legs almost off the bed which causes her to get a back ache. It looked like she was trying to sit up but didn't get that far. Her head was completely off her pillow which is never good for the little lady. She needs to stay on her bed properly while she waits for me to wake up. When we went into the living room she said her back was sore and she had shooting pains up her back. I gave her a pain pill but I will keep an eye on her. I don't know what is up with this, hopefully it is a one time deal with this. She doesn't need any new pain.

Well, check out the picture! It looks so cute!

It is a good day so far. We are waiting for the physical therapist to arrive. She hasn't called to say she is coming yet and as far as I know, she is supposed to come today. Mom is awake right not, so now would be good! Mom is alert today better than usual so I am happy on that.

We don't have too much planned for the day. I need to copy some CDs for teaching and email a couple of friends about lessons, but other than that, not much. I am going to have a new website for lessons. My friend, Laura, (from high school no less!) builds them and she is going to build mine. I just have to decide what to put in it and that is that. I am so excited about it, it won't cost a whole lot to host, under $50 for a year, which I have enough to pay, and the domain name and then her costs. I think I only need a couple of pages, I don't see needing more than 2, I want a simple site. I will look at this later today and decide what I want. I haven't really seen any sites like this, so I am going in blind. I am going to research on the web to see if other teachers have done this. I really want to be up to date on advertising techniques. I tried the newspaper and it didn't work too well, so now I will try both for fall. I only need a few more (about 10) students and I will be tapped out. With that money and disability, we will be doing alright. Of course, I still want to be with Richard and family but who knows if that will ever pan out. Right now he has so much to deal with. I just want to be closer to him and the family because I miss him and his family so much and I think they are missing out on Mom. Eventually, Mom will not be able to communicate or have fun and now she can so you got to take the opportunity to be with her now, not later. But with this economy, and he looking for a job, it just isn't practical for him. He has to take care of the family and I do understand that, really I do. I just can't help missing him and wishing we were closer to him.

Mom is trying to play with the mouse again. She does this all the time. It is kind of both funny and annoying at the same time. I think she thinks she needs to move it to its place and doesn't realize it is already there.

I did get a very brief email from Richard yesterday. He only sends brief ones, extremely brief but at least I got the answer I needed from him.

Mom was about to put my purse (backpack) on the floor. I rescued it in time. I hate my purse or backpack on the floor. It is just a cloth one so it is small but fits what I need in it. I can carry Mom's ensure and all my stuff in one bag. Mom has a new backpack for her now too. I plan to use it this weekend, although, now I am kind of thinking it may be too big and I want a smaller one for her. We will be going to Toys R Us this weekend to look at the ones they have. Kathy said they have the cloth ones up and they have princess ones. I may get her that one for when we aren't going out very long and then she will have one for the car and one to carry. That may be the way to go.

I am not sure what we are doing tomorrow, we may go and see Ramona and Beezus, that looks so cute and I loved those stories so much when I was a child. We'll see how it goes. I am not taking her to see Eclipse,although I really want to see that movie a lot. Wendy's daughter said it is a bit scary and she thinks that it would scare Mom too much so we aren't going to see it together. I may get a sitter and go by myself, or maybe I will wait until it comes out on DVD. It isn't that bad if I have to wait. They come out pretty fast now, not like a few years ago. I am, however, really looking forward to the new Harry Potter movie. If I have to get a sitter, I will, but I AM going to see that one in the movie theatre. I just love Harry Potter! Mom has enjoyed the other movies but they, too, are getting darker and I don't know how she will deal with that now that sometimes she thinks what is happening on the TV is real. She does alright, still, with NCIS, but that will end sometime soon too, I have a feeling about that. We watch some cute shows that she likes a lot, like the Say Yes to the Dress on TLC and the DC cupcakes on TLC. We watched HGTV last night and she enjoyed the real estate shows we were watching. So she can watch some TV and enjoy it still. I don't know for how long though but I am glad it is happening. I don't know what we will do for entertainment when she can't watch anything anymore. Maybe I will move her chair so she can't watch it. Who knows? We will deal with that when it happens.

Anyways, it is rather nice outside again today. Not to hot, not to cold. Unfortunately, I have a really bad headache again, second day in a row, and it is not the weather's fault. Stress and drama is. I have started a new rule. I will not be friends on face book with new students or their parents. It isn't worth it. I am not unfriending any of the students I am friends with right now, but I will not be adding any more. I think this is for the best. If they need to get a hold of me, email or phone will work so it isn't like they can't get a hold of me at all, I just don't do drama. I need to have calm in my life because drama causes extra pain and headaches and upsetness in general, so no more drama.

I hope you are having a good day.

I almost forgot about my blood test this morning. Fortunately, I remembered in time to get there without being too late. I was only 5 minutes past the appointment time. I hate blood tests, but I have to get them all the time because of my blood disorder. Stupid blood disorder. I got the results, they are really quick, I get them in the afternoon when I get tested in the morning. I have to increase a day by 2.5 so now I have 4 days at 7.5 and 3 days at 5. It changes all the time which is why I have to be tested so much. If I don't take the medicine I will end up with another blood clot and I don't want to go there. I didn't enjoy it the first time, don't think I would like it again.

It has been a quiet day other than the blood test. Mom's physical therapist, Lori, didn't come yesterday so she came today. Mom was really tired so she ended up leaving early because Mom just couldn't do the exercises. She is coming again tomorrow but earlier in the day. That is good because between 2 and 4 is Mom's nap time and she is exhausted right now. She tires so easily now. I have to go and get a 3 pound weight so that when Lori is done next week I can continue the exercises with Mom so she won't lose her muscle that she gained. We just can't have that. I need Mom nice and strong, well, as strong as she can get. She even climbed up the two front steps to inside the house on her own today. I was surprised. I told her to wait a minute while I took stuff in, and in she came all by her little self. Rather shocking, truth be told. I was like, wow, you can do that. She was like, yeah, of course I can. Now we all know that normally she needs help because she has balance issues but not today. We won't be trying it out on anything else today, that is for sure. And when we come home again, she will get help unless she pushes me away, which she doesn't do.

So far, we have had an okay type day. In a few minutes, Zachary will be here for his lesson and then we are heading to my friend's house for knitting. I am letting Mom nap as long as possible because we will be leaving about 3:30. It will be a short session with Heather B-T, but still fun and we will have a good time. I wonder if they have heard from Calli yet, she is at camp, hopefully having a great time. I will hear all about it in 2 weeks, because next week the entire B-T family will be camping up north. That will be fun for them.

We don't have anymore vacation plans for the summer. I plan a nice and quiet August with lessons, knitting, sewing, and watching TV. We will be going to my uncle's again in a few weeks. Andrew is planning to be there. I hope with Angie, his really really nice girlfriend. I really liked her. I think Mom and I will plan a short jaunt to go and visit Andrew one day next month. Kathy will be here for one weekend at the end of the month so that is something I am really looking forward too. It shouldn't be so hot next month. Richard will be coming sometime in the future. Yes, I still wish we lived near him so I could see them more often, but we don't always get what we want. I do have plans for us when he is here for a visit. I don't think the entire family is coming. The last time the entire family was here was summer 2007 and that was 3 years ago when they lived in North Carolina. I do miss them living there as I didn't appreciate how close that was until they moved to Seattle. Now I appreciate it. Too little, too late, as the saying goes.

I do plan on working on more writing in August. I think with it being (supposedly) cooler, my head may not hurt so bad and maybe I can concentrate better and be able to work on a new story. I don't have any ideas in mind yet, but that is because I haven't even started. I have the time to write and I would like to have something solid started so that by Christmas I have a good handle on the story. I also am going to go to the storage unit and get some of our stuff in order. I need help with that so I plan to ask Katie or Aggie to help. Both are really nice and I think, if they have the time, they will do it. They are the generous type like that. Katie is also going to organize my music and put it away by the end of summer. I have some new stuff because Heather' mom, Pat, had a client who was a teacher and she gave Pat some of the music and Pat passed it along to me. Wasn't that really sweet of her? I just need to catalogue it and then it can get put away too. I have 3 filing cabinets filled with music for my students. 1 is for voice, and the other two for clarinet and piano. The clarinet music only fills 1 drawer while the rest is for piano. It makes it nice for choices for my students. I can't believe I am going to have to think of Christmas music soon. We start Christmas music October 1 every year. That way it gives all the students time to practice for the concert. Our concerts are so short now, compared to what they were. It sure does make a difference having 10 students instead of 50. I miss those days, but then, if I had that many students I wouldn't be able to take care of Mom like I do. I would need a sitter for her during the afternoon and evening hours. This way, she just sits through the lessons and listens quietly. Well, mostly quietly. She was rather talkative at first during Charlie's lesson Tuesday, but then she fell asleep and was quiet. I am hoping she sleeps through Zachary's lesson. She needs the rest before we leave for Heather B-T's. house.

Well, it is so beautiful out today, not too hot, not too humid. A perfect summer day. A gift from God. I just love life on days like this, despite the problems and illnesses we all face. Life is just good on a day like today. I hope yours is too!

The nurse discharged Mom today from home health care. The sore is gone and healed. Because she had a sore I have to put cream on that spot every day so that she doesn't get another one. I don't ever want her to get one of those again. They are just awful. I am glad hers didn't hurt her, because in stage 3 or 4 they do hurt, bad. She is rather restless today and I don't know why. She keeps playing with the receipts I need to shred. She just put one in her pocket. I don't know why she fiddles with stuff like that but she does. She doesn't really play with the toys I bought her. I am disappointed in that. I had hoped that the toys would capture her attention and give her something to play with. She likes to play with the Kleenex box and the Kleenexes. I had to throw away about 1/3 of the Kleenexes because she played with them and they were a mess. I was kind of mad about that because we went through a brand new box in a week and now we don't have any. I will be getting more but I am not putting them on the table for her to reach. I have to move everything away from her so she doesn't play with them. She also likes to play with my mouse and mouse pad, especially when I am on the computer. That actually annoys me because she pulls on the cords and then pulls on the computer and sometimes even pulls on the screen. I am afraid she may break my screen someday. The other computer may be put up soon but there won't be Internet because it won't reach downstairs. I just thought of that. Ugh, oh well, still have the little laptop which I love.

It is going to be a quieter type day here. I have to print off some stuff for the store paperwork that still needs to be done. I have to file the 2007 and 2008 sales and use tax return and I have to send the August 2008 sales and use tax return too. It is on the other computer and I don't think about doing it. I have needed to do it for 2 years now and I haven't. No, the State of Michigan doesn't forget these type things unfortunately. I also have to send some paperwork into the social security from the store. I have that paperwork handy so I am going to do that today too. It will be a semi productive day as far as paperwork is concerned. I also have to call in my payment of the sales and use tax that I still owe from the store. I really hate dealing with the store stuff, I mean I lost it 2 years ago, can't I just be done with it? I will be soon enough except for the payments, that will take a long time to pay because I don't have a lot of income to pay it off. I hope the paperwork I owe will be finished this weekend though so that part is finished.

Mom still has physical therapy left to do today. Lori should be here shortly. Her timing varies from day to day depending on her schedule. Mom has this week and next week left and then she is done with physical therapy. I plan to keep working with Mom on the exercises after she is officially finished with physical therapy. This way, she will keep getting stronger and not weaken after the end of physical therapy.

It is hot and muggy out because it is supposed to storm out later this afternoon. We aren't going anywhere so I am not concerned about the storms. We will be hiding inside from them. We are supposed to get some pretty severe storms too. Mom has been okay about storms. I keep the drapes closed so she doesn't see the bad weather and I don't have her in the living room during the bad storms. We stay here in the dining room during them.

I hope this finds you doing well.

It has been a rather slow day here. Mom woke really early, about 8 am. I know this because Mother Nature was calling and I peeked in on her and she was awake. I scooted by and went back to bed. I got up a few hours later and checked in on her and she was still awake and ready to start her day. So we got up, got ready, and went to our usual. We ran into Rosemary and her husband, Irv, there. We had a nice time visiting them. After that we had to go to Walmart to get a few things, like prescriptions, ensure, and a new back pack for Mom. I want her to have one so when we go out I can carry her disposable undies and wipes in it as well as ensures. She now has a princess back pack. It's pink and has all the princesses on it. I think it is really cool. I was going to get her a cloth one, but this one you can put bottles in the bottle carrier on each side of it, so that was why it won.

I have had a kind of bad weekend except for when I was at my uncle's. I had to unfriend someone because one of my good friends unfriended me because I was friends with this person on face book. Now, last week was the first time I have seen this person in 2 years, and I had no idea that I shouldn't be friends with this person as it puts my good friends child in danger due to a stalker. Not only was this young person friends with my other friend's stalker, she enabled him to find my friend's child. I had absolutely no idea. It took me several days to figure out how to unfriend someone, but I have now done it. I appreciate that they let me know after one of my posts but it took several days to fix this issue. It is now fixed. That person is now deleted and the child is now safe on my face book. I hope they refriend me. It makes it rather easy to get in touch when needed. I don't understand why someone would help someone stalk another person, but that is just wrong. Simply wrong. Another person should NEVER help another person stalk someone, even if they are all teenagers. I talked to one of the good friend's and let them know I took care of the problem and apologized and said again I had no idea. I will talk to his wife, hopefully, later tonight or this week or he will let her know. What a close call that was. It could have been a disaster but it wasn't.

I had only Charlie's lesson today. He is doing well and is almost done with his solo he is working on. Zach will have his lesson tomorrow as he had no car to drive to his lesson so he will come tomorrow.

It is really nice out today, not too hot or humid unlike what it is going to be like tomorrow. Tomorrow will be hot and humid, yuck, that is all I can say. Although I am thankful that I don't live where one my friend's live. She lives near the desert in California. They are getting over 100's for temperatures! I hope she is staying cool.

I hope this finds you doing well.

It was a great day, 5 lessons!!! Yup! 5 of them. It would have been 7 but 2 students are absent due to camps. One is a mini band camp and the other is at the Bear Lake camp. First up was the Muglia house. Natalie, Hannah, and Lydia all had their piano lessons first thing in the afternoon. We got up early to be there on time and we were still about 5 or so minutes late! Ugh! Someday, I will get there on time again. I hate being late for anything. Mom did pretty well, she asked to see me a couple of times during the first lesson, Natalie's. I was not happy but what could I do? Between Natalie and Lydia's lessons I moved Mom into their living room where she fell asleep and no more problem! It was a great solution to that issue. After the 3 lessons we headed back home to be there in time for Aggie's lesson. I had to call Aggie on the way to let her know we may be late and we were, about 5 minutes. Then Aggie and I looked for some of the music she needed and it turns out I don't have it. That is a drag. I will look to see what book it is in, because I swear I thought I had the book. I will be checking into it. Bob arrived for his lesson at the end of Aggie's. She is almost finished with her Broadway pieces, she has a bad habit of singing through rests so she has a few she must fix to be done with the songs. Bob has picked 2 new classical pieces to work on, Mozart's Sonata and a Bach Two Part Invention. They are really nice songs and I think he will enjoy learning them. I love the songs he chose. He also took my advice to go on YouTube to watch some pianists play those particular pieces. Frank is the one who told me about it. He chose his competition pieces by what he liked to hear.

Mom is playing with the table cloth again. She does this often. I bought her the fiddling toys, but she doesn't really use them, she fiddles with Kleenex, empty boxes, and table cloths instead. Oh yeah, she also plays with my computer mouse and mouse pad. It is very strange and sometimes annoying. I don't know how to change her focus to fiddling with something else. I have tried a few other things that just haven't worked.

It is pretty nice out today not too humid but the humidity is coming back tomorrow, I think. Yuck, I really hate the humidity. We will also have some storms again. I can't wait for summer to be over and fall to be here. For some crazy reason, my left arm, where it has never hurt, is now hurting. Where it usually hurts, it doesn't, but the back part of the arm does. Strange, I know. My head isn't too bad today, just the normal ache. I wonder what it is like not to have a headache. I really don't remember, I have had a headache for about 6 years now. I can't remember what it is like not to have pain somewhere in my head. Of course, I have had pain somewhere in my body for so long I don't remember a pain free body either. Such is the course of a life with fibromyalgia.

Not too much happening for the rest of the week. I have 2 lessons tomorrow and then 1 more on Saturday, Mom has the visiting nurse visit and 2 visits from the physical therapist, but other than that, we have nothing planned. I do need to go and get my blood medicine tomorrow as well as some more ensure plus for Mom. We don't need any new groceries because we have enough in the freezer and Michelle loaded us up with food for the week. I separated the mashed potatoes into 6 different smaller containers. We finished the turkey tonight so tomorrow we will have the pulled pork. I will be freezing some of that too because it is a big container. I froze the oriental chicken and rice also. Next time I go shopping I am planning to get some cabbage and bacon. Michelle makes a really cool dish with that so I am going to try it. She said it doesn't take too long so standing may not be a problem. I will attempt it next month. Mom eats better when I make fresh food (I know, big shock!) Although, she does eat the frozen cooked chicken well and likes it a lot. That is what she gets a lot because she needs the protein for her sore.

Mom's pressure sore is getting smaller. She is doing really well with eating and drinking a lot of protein. She has really benefited with change of diet. She is much stronger than she was a couple months ago. She does still have some trouble at night with the stairs, but that depends on how tired she is. If she is very tired, then she has a bit of trouble. I asked her if it hurts to go up and she has said no every time I ask, so I am not worried about that anymore. This morning she woke up before me (nothing unusual in that) and got a bit upset because she couldn't see anyone. When our money comes in this week we are going to get some monitors so I can put one in her room and one in mine. We can also use them when she is in the living room and I am working or busy in another room. This way, I can be in another room from Mom and still hear her if she needs me.

Well, storms and humidity are on the way. I hope you are staying cool and dry in this weather. I hope you are having a good day and enjoying yourself!

We spent the day at my uncle's. It was a lot of fun. Even my little brother, Andrew was there. Tillie wasn't. We finally got a hold of her at about 6 pm and she was sick which is why she wasn't there and didn't call to tell us. She slept the entire day away. We didn't stop by her house to drop off her magazines and mail. She said she was really sick so we stayed away. Andrew and my cousin, Jayson, went swimming in the afternoon before dinner in the pool. Mom and I stayed inside. I don't do swimming very often and I didn't feel like it today. Besides, I am not even sure my bathing suit fits me. I highly doubt it. I do have 2 of them, but I haven't worn them in a couple of years and I think I have gained a bit of weight since I last wore them. Since I don't swim much, it isn't an issue.

Mom looked really cook in her turquoise hoodie. It is one of the ones my uncle got her for her birthday. She has about 8 hoodies now, all but 1 are for spring/summer wear. I will have to get her a few for winter as she only has the 1. Although she does have 2 fleece jackets she wears in the winter.

We are going back to my uncle's in a few weeks. I like seeing him and his family on a regular basis. It is a lot of fun and I know Mom really enjoys herself too even if she can't remember after a few days. When we left, Mom has a bit of a hard time coming down the two steps into Uncle John's garage so Andrew just picked up Mom and carried her down. It didn't frighten her at all, no tears like I was afraid would happen, absolutely none. She took it all in stride and then he helped her walk to the car and she got in by herself. She has been able to do that again for a few weeks now. I don't have to help her in or out of my car, she has difficulty with other people's cars, but not mine. She is used to mine.

I have 5 lessons tomorrow. I am so excited about that. We do have to get up earlier than usual as the first lesson is at 11:30, but that is alright. I haven't seen the Muglia girls in almost over a month so I am really happy to be seeing them. We both have been on vacation, then there was VBS, then a wedding in their family and then with Mom's physical Therapy interrupting sewing lessons, it has just been one thing after another, so yeah! I get my girls tomorrow! I also have Bob and Aggie's lessons tomorrow too which I am excited about. I just love teaching. It is really the best job in the world. Calli is at camp and Frank is at band camp so they are a no go for lessons. I am really hoping Calli is having a ball at camp. It will be another 2 weeks before I see her though because next week right after she comes home from camp her family will be going on vacation! Camping! Really rustic camping, the type where you build your own laterines! Yup, you build your own bathrooms. A little too rustic for me, but I do love camping and miss it. There is no way I could take Mom camping right now that is for sure but in the future I may have an opportunity to go camping.

Well, the little Mom and I are getting very tired so I think it is off to bed for us! I hope your day was good and that you have a good week!

Today was book club day! I haven't finished the book yet. I didn't want to read it so far away from book club because of my bad memory, yet I wanted to read it in enough time. Well, time got away from me and I got the book last weekend from Kathy. Alicia, Kathy's daughter, delivered it and another book to my car for me. How sweet was that? I thought it was awesome she wanted to give me the books to read. Maggie and I had a great time anyways. She said she had a feeling we wouldn't be talking to much about the book, but since I haven't seen her in 2 months, that was just fine. We had such a good time catching up on what has been going on in the last 2 months with us. She has been on vacation and I have been nursing Mom to health. She was really happy with how Mom looked today. Which is good because when Maggie last saw Mom it was about 2 days before she went into the hospital with the infection and dehydration. So it nice to know Mom looks healthy again. Mom took a nap while Maggie and I chatted. It was a great couple of hours. I just love book club days, even if we don't talk much about the book all the time. We have such stimulating conversations together. Not that Mom and I don't talk all the time, it is just nice to have someone else to talk to too. That could be why I enjoy Thursday knitting so much. I enjoy visiting with the kids but I also really enjoy talking to Heather B-T. There is something to be said about adult stimulating conversations at time and how needed they are. Mom just isn't really capable anymore and that saddens me. We used to be able to talk about everything and anything and sometimes nothing. Not anymore, she is too far gone. I know that underneath this illness is the same woman I have always known, but right now she is covered up by Alzheimer's. When we get to Heaven someday, I will be able to talk to her again and I look forward to that, but not for a long time, I hope.

Mom took a tumble this afternoon. I was on face book and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mom fall off her chair. I was able to catch her from hitting her head on the floor, but she still tumbled. I was able to get her off the floor. I moved her from underneath the table to out of the table so I could pick her up and move her. It all happened so quickly that I couldn't even catch my breath. She is okay, she landed lightly because I sort of caught her and she didn't bump anything, I think. Her head was nowhere near the floor or the shelving units. If she loses her balance again I will take her in to be checked for an infection as losing your balance could be a symptom of an urinary tract infection and we certainly don't need another infection. Not at all. I just got her in a good place health wise, and I aim to keep her there.

We are watching Walker, Texas Ranger season 7 disc 2. Mom and I enjoy watching these old shows. We also have JAG, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, and TJ Hooker. I have enough to be entertained for a couple of months. We only watch DVDs on Saturday and Sunday (when we are home).

I have a bad headache now, all on the left side of my face and head. It is very hot and humid out today. It has rained a bit, but we haven't gotten the storms that have been predicted, although with the heat and humidity this high, I wouldn't be surprised that we get them. My hands aren't too bad right now, although my left arm is sorer than usual.

I hope you are having a good day and are enjoying yourself. We are, despite the heat and humidity. I had fun with book club and I like watching TV with Mom.

Much better pain day today than yesterday despite the heat and humidity. My head a bit more sore than usual, but I expected that because of the humidity. Mom is a bit more upset today than yesterday and I am not sure why. I am sure the weather affects her in some ways too.

We had brunch with some of our friends today, the Beauchamp family. It was so much fun. It is hard to believe it has been two years since I have actually seen them (outside of the time I ran into Roberta in the hospital emergency room). It was great to visit with them. Mom did pretty well, she cried a bit, but, like I said, she is a bit more teary eyed today than usual. Not super bad, just a little. We are waiting for her physical therapist to arrive. I don't know what time she will come as she calls when she is on her way. It really is a bit difficult to plan things, but since we don't have too many plans it is okay most of the time. I just don't like how it does interfere with sewing on Friday. We are temporarily going to change the day because of this reason. Wednesdays physical therapy isn't a problem because we don't usually have anything right now on Wednesdays, but Fridays is a problem. This will only last a few more weeks though, so I am not worried or upset over it.

It is starting to storm out right now. I can hear the thunder. It makes me think of Kathy, as she loves storms. I don't mind them except when I am outside or driving or trying to sleep, then I mind them. It is supposed to be humid and stormy for the next two days. Fortunately, we don't have to go out too much in the next two days. Sunday we are heading over to my uncle's, but nowhere until then.

I think I am going to have Mom and I head into the living room right now for a rest time. She sometimes sleeps, sometimes not, but she should be sitting somewhere comfy for her. I, of course, as usual, am tired and ready for a nap.

I hope this finds you doing well and having a great day no matter what the weather is for you.

Today is not such a great pain day for me. My hands are rather numb at times and my head aches. I, however, am not canceling knitting, but I won't be knitting much. I am hoping by then the pain pill kicks in and it is better. We shall see. Mom is doing alright today. She was sitting up when I got up this morning. (Yes, it was this morning as it was only 11:45 am when I got up and that counts as morning) Lately, she has been still lying down when I go into her room to get her, but not today. So I count that as a good day for her. She is looking a bit better (color wise) and is perky again today. That seems to be her norm for now. I am thankful for that. Right now she is trying to get the crumbs off the table without putting them on the floor. It is interesting to watch.

Aggie was supposed to have her lesson today but she had to cancel and reschedule to Monday. I was disappointed because I wanted to see her, but Monday will work too. I have to get a new book for her, I want to get the volume 4 of the Broadway book for us. I think she would like some of the songs in it. I can't get it until next week when our money comes in. I have been doing much better with spreading our money out over a month now. Since both of our money comes in around the same time it was hard to learn. I think I have it down pat now or at this point I seem to. I am caught up on most of the bills and in August I will be heading down to the lawyer's office to pay the bankruptcy filling fee and the other fee, then all I have to do is copy the mounds of bills for the lawyer and they will fill and by fall, it will all be over! I can't wait. 2 years of dealing with this and it will be over for me. Then, on to Mom's bankruptcy. Oh yes, when I lost the store I didn't just manage to bankrupt me, I bankrupt Mom too. We were both doing everything we could to save the music store and it didn't help. If the economy hadn't of tanked, we would still have the store, but it did and we don't. I am not so depressed about it now as I was, because Mom did seem to get worse this last year and I don't know how I would have handled running a store, teaching lessons, and taking care of Mom. At least now I can devote most of my energy to taking care of Mom. The thing I miss the most, besides the students and their families, is our vacations!!!! Yes, we went to Disney World 5 times in the last 5 years. It was great. I belonged to the Vacation Club and it was wonderful. Of course, I had to give that up too and now it is okay because Mom couldn't do a Disney trip, I think it would confuse her so much she'd be miserable. But looking back, they were fun trips!

I am not sure what Richard plans to do when he comes to visit. I have a few plans for us. I would like to do more than just sit around so I have planned some small activities for us. I don't know when he will be able to come as plane tickets are really expensive right now and he is still not working full time. I think we should go to the Henry Ford Museum. Mom and I love that place. Richard can push Mom in the wheelchair and I will ride in my scooter. If it is good weather we can also go to the zoo. I think that it would be fun and I am not sure if the family is coming with him. Probably not as he is still not working. I checked flights a few days ago to see if Mom and I could afford to go and see him when my back disability comes in, and wow, were they ever expensive. Tickets from Detroit to Seattle are about $800 - $900 round trip, not to mention baggage fees and taxes and stuff like that. So, well, I don't know when we will be able to go and see Richard on our budget. Plus there is the worry that Mom may not be able to handle a 6 hour flight. She hasn't been on a plane in 2 years. She did well then, but she was not in Stage 6 Alzheimer's then either so that will probably make a difference. I do want to see the kids before they are totally grown up though. I mean they are 9 & 11 now. Who knows what the future will bring, we shall see what is going on with Richard and family. For all we know, he may have to move again (a strong possibility to get a job) and it could be in driving distance like they used to be. That would be good in my book. I do hope he gets a job rather soon as I know it must be very difficult for him to take care of a family without a job. I remember when Mom was out of a job when we were small and how stressed out she was.

I think next year I will have the lawn people come and spray for weeds. I didn't do it this year because I didn't think we could really afford it. Well, we should have because the weeds need to be cut more often than the grass itself and with the extra grass cuttings, we could have had the lawn sprayed. Plus, our lawn looks horrible right now with the weeds everywhere. They had to be at least a foot tall in some places. It was awful. Fortunately, I called Addison and he came and took care of the lawn. But still, I think next year we are getting the lawn sprayed for weeds. The lawn people also have senior rates and Mom is a senior!!

Well, it is supposed to rain today which is alright by me as long as Mom and I are inside. I don't like to drive in the rain with Mom in the car because it makes her nervous. Not that she isn't nervous a lot, but let's not make her worse on the nervousness. She is nervous a lot of the time now because she can't remember stuff. She no longer can remember what we do at night to get ready or in the morning to get ready. It is really sad. She flips at night a bit when I move her legs and her body to the middle of the bed. This is so her legs won't hang down by morning and cause her back to hurt. I have a routine that we do but she doesn't remember it anymore. Sometimes she even asks me who I am or where her daughter is. This happens first thing in the morning or last thing at night, so it only happens when she is tired. At least most of the time she knows who I am.

I hope you are having a good day and that the weather is good for you.

Mom is in a not eating much mode again today. Yesterday and today she just isn't hungry. I don't get it since I don't have that problem, but she doesn't want to finish her chicken breast and her ensure. By the time we are ready for bed the ensure will be finished, but it isn't the 3 of them she has had the other day. I doubt I will get 2 of them down her tonight, but I will try. We have switched ensures again to the Ensure plus because there is more protein in it and more calories so I am hoping it is more filling for her. She only ate her donut for brunch and only 1/2 of the milk she usually drinks. Not to good for the little lady, but what can you do? Not much about it. She does drink a sip of ensure when I ask usually. I am not that hungry today either so it could just be because it is so hot out today. I don't know how hot, it is just very humid.

Lori the physical therapist was here today. Mom did pretty well with her exercises. After that we both took a nap. I am still so tired from the vacation, I don't know why it takes so long to recover, but it does, just the way it is. Sherri, the nurse, arrived right after our nap, so how is that for great timing? Mom's pressure sore is doing alright. It isn't getting worse and it is a bit better. I put a lot of cream on it every day all day long. It is the only way to heal it, that and a lot of protein, lots and lots of protein. I forgot to get her vitamin C stuff too. I hope the pills aren't that big because she has problems taking big pills. I would get her orange juice, but she doesn't drink it all before it goes bad and I end up throwing it away. I tried the little cartons and for a while that worked, but I haven't tried them again since I had to throw all 6 of them out.

Mom is very talkative tonight. On one hand I am rather glad because it means she is a bit better, on the other hand, I am trying to write and she keeps interrupting me! I just can't win on that. She sometimes talks during lessons now, she never did that before. I am hoping it was a one time deal. She always thinks that other people are here now too. I remind her that there is only me and her here and she will ask where they are again in a few minutes. It isn't too bad, she could be hallucinating worse things like spiders and stuff like that.

I have one lesson tonight, it is a make up one for Monday. Frank was coming home from competition so he couldn't make his scheduled time. I knew this last week so it was not a surprise. We rescheduled for tonight. I haven't heard anything from him so I don't know how he did at competition. AGM is a harder competition than MMA in some ways. These kids practice these same songs all year long for this competition and I don't work that way. I don't think you learn as much when you do that. We do work on competition music, I just don't think competition is the end all like some teachers do. I have never operated that way. If you want to do competition, fine, if you don't, that's fine too. I know of teachers that have dropped kids because they didn't want to compete. I loved competing when I was younger, but I loved learning as many songs as possible too. My teacher didn't spend all year on 3 or 4 songs for me to learn. Yes, I have students, like Bob and Frank, who's music is so difficult they do spend months on 1 song, but it isn't for competition all the time. We focus on learning to be a good musician and everything that entails. If you like the stuff you are doing and choose to compete, you have a better chance of doing better and winning than just focusing on winning, at least that is my experience. Yes, I do like my students to win, who doesn't? But I try to teach them to focus on the music and worry about winning after they have performed. Calli will be competing this year, and probably Acer too since there is a category for 5 year olds, or 6 as that is how old he will be in December (January 1 is the cut off date for competition). We are only going to do one competition next year. I don't want to do 2, it is too much to worry about and the kids go from 1 set of competition music to the next. We also have 2 to 3 recitals a year. I don't think we are going to do a summer concert this year. It is already mid July and I don't have one planned. The next recital will be Christmas. I have to call and make arrangements for the rental of the hall. I hope to have a few more students in the fall. We shall see. Lessons are just not at the top of parents lists right now with the bad economy. I am hoping to put some ads in the newspaper in the fall and hopefully I will get some new students from them.

Pain is a bit high today in the hands, rather annoying if you ask me. My head isn't too bad which is a surprise considering the humidity level. I think we may be getting a storm or two tonight, it smells like it. As long as we are in the house, I don't mind.

I hope this finds you doing well today and enjoying your summer. I can't wait until fall!!!!!!!

I had my 2 lessons today, Charlie and Zachary. Both are doing pretty well. Zachary got a new piece today and is almost finished with 2 pieces. He sight reads so well that he sometimes slides on practicing, not often, but sometimes. Charlie plays the tenor sax so his lessons are different than the voice lessons. He plays out of a exercise book and is almost finished with the one he is in. I will be ordering the next book for him this week. I am rather excited about that because he is doing so well right now. Mom was very cute during the lesson. We had paused after one of Charlie's exercises and Mom said, "get to work". Isn't that cute? Just shows a bit of how well she is doing. She can follow the lessons much better now and seems to be enjoying the music better now.

I am reading the book club book today. I just started it. Usually, I am finished by now, but because we didn't have book club in June, I wanted to wait to read the book so I wouldn't forget the book, which can easily happen to me. I have been known to have to read the book twice to remember it. Sometimes the fog overpowers me and my memory.

It has been a quiet day. I am still recovering from the busy weekend. After our usual, we came home and I worked on the computer for a bit before heading into the living room to relax. Well, as soon as I sat down and got my blanket (love my Mickey Mouse throw blanket!), I fell asleep. I remember looking at the time and it was 1:30 pm. I woke up 1 time at 2:30 and quickly went back to sleep. The next thing I knew it was 4:00 pm and Zachary had arrived for his lesson. I heard the door open and Zachary walking in. I was awake by the time he had his music set up and the piano bench in position for me and the CD player on with the first CD ready. I expect it will be a couple more days before I am fully recovered from the vacation. That is the downside of going on vacation, even small 3 day ones, the recovery time. Mom usually sleeps between 2 and 4 anyways so it isn't a problem for me to go to sleep too.

Mom has been sort of playing with her new toys. She likes playing with the tissues and the tissue box more. I have to reload the tissues back into the box in the mornings in case someone needs one. At least she is entertained by all this tissue box stuff so I don't really mind. I have accepted that the fiddling toys are not as fascinating to her as the tissue box. I will get more tissues if necessary. They aren't that expensive and I can buy the cheap ones for her too.

It has been a bit cooler today and not as much humidity, so I was a happy camper for that today. I saw the news tonight and more hot and humid days are ahead of us. This isn't too surprising since we are in the month of July, but I don't really have to like it. We fall and spring girls are just aching for our months to arrive where we can breath and do better. But it still can be worse so I try to focus on that, it could be much worse. I have friends who are having over 100 degrees where they are living and that would be worse.

I hope this finds you doing well and enjoying your night.

Relaxing day today. We went to our usual around noon then we headed to Walmart to get our medicines that needed to be picked up. I forgot to get the blue berries and strawberries that I wanted to get. Oh well, I will do that tomorrow. I also need to get cool whip and golden cake mix so I can make my treat for Mom and I. I am also going to make some for our family this weekend when we go to my uncle's. I can't wait to show my family my favorite type of dessert. I am rather excited to make it for everyone. Mom really likes it a lot. I hope everyone does.

After our short trip to Walmart, we headed home for nap time. I try to be home between 2 and 4 everyday (except Thursday when I am home between 1 and almost 3) for Mom (and sometimes me!!!) to have a rest. She doesn't always sleep but often she does. I need her to rest so she is ready for the rest of the day. She wakes up way earlier than I do so she gets tired in the afternoon. Today, we both slept from about 1:30 to 3:00 pm when my student arrived. Bob finished one of his pieces today so it was time for a new one. He has several choices to choose from. A couple of books I just handed him to take home and look at them. A few pieces we tried and so far he is considering a Sonata by Mozart. It is a famous one that many people recognize right away. I am not really picky which one he picks because I like everything I gave him to choose from.

Mom's friend, Jose, came by right as Bob was starting his lesson. I expected him and Mom to go into the dining room to chat, but he sat down and listen to Bob's lesson. He is also a musician and loves to hear my students play. Bob did really well on his song that he finished today and his sight reading is quite good now. After Bob left, Jose, Mom, and I talked about lots of different things. Then I showed Jose some stuff on the computer. He has a new one and wanted to try some things out. We had a good afternoon.

Mom ate most of her dinner and has already finished 1 3/4 of her ensures. She is doing really well drinking her ensures right now. Her sore is getting better and I think we may have prevented another one on the other side of the one she has now. It hasn't broken the skin yet and is now a bit softer than it was so I am hopeful about the near miss.

It has been rather nice out today, not too hot or humid. It does now look like it is going to rain. Fortunately, we are inside so we won't get wet. I am a bit more sore than usual today. I had to take an extra pain pill this afternoon because of it. My head is at least the normal pain and not too much. I hope this finds you doing well.

What a weekend! We left around 12 noon Friday to go to Kalamazoo. We arrived around 3:00 pm and headed straight to Kathy's house to see the little people. Matthew is still slightly (and I mean every so slightly) shorter than me. At 12, he is growing up so fast it is unbelievable. And Jacob? When did he grow so big? I can't believe the girls are going to be 4 years old next month. They are all growing so fast that it is not fair. We visited together for about an hour or so on Friday until Kathy had to make dinner and go to work. We went to the hotel right after that to check in and get some dinner. We had made reservations on hotels.com for our hotel. On the website it said the hotel had an indoor pool and a restaurant. Unfortunately, the website was wrong, the restaurant was in the hotel across the parking lot. Now, for most people, a walk across the parking lot is a piece of cake, well for me, it was a long walk. Not so bad on the way there, but very bad on the way back. We had a quiet dinner, we were the only two in the restaurant. They were very nice because I asked for them to grill Mom a piece of chicken and mash a potato for her. They did! It wasn't on the menu and it was really nice of them to make that for her. She didn't eat much of it, but I appreciated it anyways. I had fish and chips. They were pretty good, not as good as the little cafe up the street from us, but good nonetheless. After that, Mom and I went back to the hotel room and watched a bit of TV before bed. We watched a new show for us, "Say Yes to the Dress" on TLC, it was really interesting to watch brides pick their wedding dresses. Both Mom and I really enjoyed it.

On Saturday we got up early and had breakfast. Kathy and family and Laurie and family weren't expected until about 11:00 am so after breakfast I took a wee nap so that I would be fresh for the day. Kathy and family arrived first and then we went to the pool for the swimming. Laurie was running late so she came straight to the pool. I was very excited to see her as it has been 24 years (yes, years) since I have seen her. She brought her son to go swimming. All the kids and Kathy's husband, Tony, were in the pool. Mom took a little sleep while Kathy, Laurie, and I were all chatting happily away. We really enjoyed talking to each other as we had 24 years to catch up. After a bit, the kids and Tony got out of the pool and we all left. Mom and I headed to BK for lunch (not my first choice, but the restaurant was closed). Mom ate pretty well, I mean she finished all her milk and 1/2 of her cheeseburger. I didn't expect her to finish it all as she never really does, but she finished as much as she could. I finished my lunch, as usual, as I don't have the lack of appetite problem. Then we went to pick up Kathy to go to Barnes and Noble, on of both of ours favorite place. Nothing like a short visit to a book store. I only got 1 book and a new planner. It is a weekly planner which also has a place in the back for phone numbers and addresses. The one I currently have doesn't have that spot and I need it for my students' numbers and addresses. Rather important for me. I will start to use it this week. It is really pretty too. It has purple flowers on it. I bought a book that looks like it will be interesting for book club next month, unless someone else has suggestions. (I have 1 week to read the book club book for Saturday!)

After the book store we went back to Kathy's and hung out and talked and played with the kids before dinner. Kathy made Mom and I dinner and Mom ate the whole thing! It was really good, ravioli's. I gave Mom 4 to eat and she ate them all. I was really impressed with her. Then we went back to the hotel for more swimming. This time we didn't have the pool to ourselves, but that was okay. Tony and the kids still had a good time. Kathy and I chatted away as we watched the kids swim. Alicia and Samantha seemed to really like swimming. They are taking swimming lessons every week. They seem to enjoy it. Alicia was really swimming around like there was no tomorrow. Samantha seemed to enjoy swimming with Tony more than anything. Both were really cute and adorable. Matthew and Jacob swam and played together. I really enjoyed watching all the kids swimming. After about 1 1/2 hours, it was time to get out of the pool and for the Heyart family to go home. Mom and I were planning on spending time with Kathy and family on Sunday morning and early afternoon, but several big thunderstorms were predicted that afternoon so we cancelled those plans and planned to leave in the morning to come home. I didn't want to drive in storms with Mom in the car. She gets really nervous with bad weather and I didn't want to have to deal with that. I haven't driven with Mom in bad weather for about 2 years and she is so nervous now as it is, that I just haven't had the need to. I don't take her anywhere in a car in bad weather if I can help it.

We got home about 1 pm. I took a bit of a nap until my cousin, Maia, came over to drop off some stuff for storage. She and Mark stopped by in the afternoon for a few minutes. She just moved into a new house and Mark has some stuff he is giving her for her new house so she is storing it in our garage for a few weeks. Not a problem for us, we don't use the garage for much except for storage these days. Yes, someday it would be nice for my little car to be in the garage for the winter, but hey, if it doesn't happen, oh well, the little car will be just fine.

Mom is doing much better these days, she is perked more and even teasing now. She hasn't shown her sense of humor in about 8 months. It is truly wonderful. Her color is better and she has more energy now. This new high protein diet is really improving her a lot. I am quite happy with what is happening to her. Physical therapy seems to be helping her too. Her sore is getting better. We are putting cream on it all the time to keep it dry, but the protein is helping it heal. Overall, it is very good. I even had to ask her to be quiet so I could sleep when I wanted to take my nap! She was so chatty! It was the so good, but I was so tired and needed to get some sleep.

Overall, it was a great mini vacation. We really needed to get away. I am so glad we were able to go.

I can't wait to see Kathy and family and Laurie and family!!! i will see Kathy and family today and tomorrow and probably Sunday!!! I will see Laurie and family tomorrow!!! I am so excited!!!!! Can you tell by the exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!

So far it is a good day, not much pain. I woke early which is unusual for me, but it isn't bad!!!

It is now storming out. From hot and humid to a storm, such a typical Michigan July afternoon. I don't mind the storms when I am inside and not trying to sleep. It isn't too bad where we are, but south of us in Detroit is pretty bad. We are supposed to be getting more after this one. They should be over by the time we go to bed which I think will be early since I am tired and we are getting up early tomorrow.

I forgot to get the book club book again today. I will have to do that before next week. I wonder if we should change the date of book club because Aggie will be absent. It will only be Maggie and I. Hm, I am not sure. I think I will call Maggie and ask her opinion.

We had a good day today. We started off the day with an early phone call from the big brother, Richard. I received a business letter about the store yesterday that needs to go to our lawyer and I wanted him to know all about it. I don't what made him think I would be awake at that time. I am not a morning person. Anyways, he is working this week and he had time to call so he had to call then. I didn't really mind, I was sorta awake. Mother nature and all that. Mom was awake too. I, of course, went back to bed for an hour after I put Mom back on her bed. She just sat there for the hour that I slept or tried to sleep. We had to get up a bit early today because I had a doctor's appointment at 11am. It was with the tummy doctor, just a routine check up on my medication. I take reglan which can have some severe side effects. I have been lucky as i don't have any and never have. I hope to never have any. After that we went to Tim Horton's and saw our friend, Rosemary. Rosemary lives down the street from us. She has been our friend for years. We enjoy meeting up with her at Tim Horton's. She has some material for the Muglia girls that I will be passing to them in a couple of weeks when I see them again. I can't wait to see them, it has been several weeks.

When we got home for Tim Horton's, I put Mom in the living room for a bit of a nap. Aggie had her lesson and then we were off to the Bowman Thomlinson's house for knitting. I was able to do a few rows of knitting before the old hands starting aching. In this hot weather, my hands ache so fast. They are aching now. We had a good time as usual. Her children, Callie and Acer, were resting when we arrived. They woke up shortly after we had been there a bit. Heather is working on a baby blanket and it is so pretty. I am working on a scarf for Mom and it could be a really long time before Mom gets it from me. The red yarn matches Mom's red winter coat.

I am rather tired now. I have been up since about 8:30 which is the earliest I have been up in a long time. Mom is playing with her food and drink tonight. I have her fiddling toys right in front of you, but she is playing with the fork. I think we are heading to bed early. Heather is coming over early tomorrow to help me put the scooter in the trunk. Callie is coming with her. Acer and Granny Pat are going to the school playground to play for a while. How fun for the little guy. He is 5 and is learning to swim. Callie goes to camp next week and she is learning how to tread water. She can do it for 2 minutes now which is what she needs to do in order to go to the deep end. I can't wait to hear how camp is for her. I won't see her for 3 weeks after tomorrow. She is going to have a great time.

I have to stop now, my hands are burning now, so good night! Have a great evening!

Mom's new toys came today. They are smaller than I thought. She has been playing with them since I opened the box, those and some tissue. It is kind of amusing. Now she has 2 of them in her pockets and the others on the table. It is too cute for words.

On another front, the Paxton clan is now at war with the tiny red ants. Yup, I am. They come up between the back of the sink and the wall. Not a pretty sight. They only show up on hot days. Now, that really sucks because we will be gone for a few days soon and it is supposed to be really hot those few days. Hmm, what to do. Well I have a few suggestions I am going to try both from friends. I have sprayed some raid and I have ant traps on each side of the kitchen sink at the back and under the sink. Fortunately, I don't think Mom would try to eat them or anything. She doesn't go near the sink without me. I will also try the splenda and the baking soda/confectioner's sugar mix too. Anything to get rid of these annoying pests. I was dismayed when I saw them this morning. Ugh, was my first thought, and there were a lot of the tiny suckers. What was there, is now gone and I hope no more show up. I don't need to come home and have to fumigate the house, that would really suck. Taken over by tiny red ants. Makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. I hope to have a good handle on this now. Anymore suggestions? Just let me know. I will try them all if necessary.

The left arm is a bit sore today. Not really sure why except it is hot out today and humid and I tend to ache more during that weather. My head isn't too bad yet, but I have a feeling it will get worse as the day goes on.

I want to go to the used bookstore today. I need something new to read. I also have some laundry I have to do so I can pack when we are ready to go. I plan to do some reading while we are gone. I am bringing books for Mom to read too. She loves reading and I have some great children's books for her. I will bring her fiddling toys with us too. I also am hoping I remember to pack the camera. I have been a bit forgetful (even with a list) on these type details the last few times we went on vacation. Not a good thing if one wants to take pictures. Speaking of pictures, I will be doing that next week of the painted violins. I hope to have a few of them posted for the give away. There are about 20 or so of them.

I hope you are having a good day and that it isn't too hot for you either. Stay cool!!!!!!!!

It has been a quiet day for us. Only 1 lesson, Charlie's. He will be 16 on Friday. It is so hard to believe he will be that old. He is a junior in high school now. It just blows my mind that these students have grown up so much. I mean, Lily is now 12, Charlie is 16 (almost!), and the twins, Hannah and Natalie are 14. When did I blink? I feel like time is flying by at a super fast rate. I know I sleep through a lot of it. I can't help it. I am so tired all the time. Sometimes I feel like I miss so much out of life because I am so tired. I wish it wasn't so, but there isn't nothing I could do.

I ran into an old teacher of mine today at Tim Horton's. I ran into my band teacher, Mrs. Oset. To us, she was Miss P because she wasn't married until after I graduated. She came over to say hi and tell me she thought I was a good caregiver of Mom. What a shock that was. I was pleased though. It is nice that people say nice things to me like that. It makes me feel really good about the work I do with Mom.

Mom has been pretty easy to deal with since she came home about a month ago. She cries easily, but other than that, she doesn't do anything that is too annoying. We all have our annoying stuff that is for sure but she is pretty easy to deal with. She even lets me help her sit down now. Before she would flip because she couldn't see the seat or chair, now I can put her in it now problem. Thank goodness for small improvements. She has been eating, well, drinking her ensure pretty well. She drinks anywhere from 2 to 3 each day plus she eats a chicken breast. Her sore is improving so much that it should be gone soon.

I am very achy today and exhausted, even though it is only about 7 pm, I think I need to head for bed now. We are getting up early tomorrow because of physical therapy anyhow so we are going rather shortly.

I hope you are having a good day!!!

Wow, what a busy day!!! First the phone began to ring about 8:45 am. Now, as most of you know, I am not a morning person and to be awake at, well, 8:45 am, is generally not happening. However, I answered it in case it was important. It was important. The company that is going to do Mom's bath as soon as her Medicaid comes in, was on the phone. Her name is Crystal and she is going to help get this moving so Mom can get the chore help we need. Good thing I answered the phone. I didn't sleep much at all last night so I was sort of awake, not really, but enough to hear the phone and answer nicely. I, of course, went back to bed after that. The phone rang again at about 11:15 am, it was my friend, Donna. She wanted to know if I could take her granddaughter, Sam, to pick up her Prom dress she had being held at a local store. I didn't see a problem, so I said yes. So I got up and got both Mom and I ready and headed out to pick up Sam. As we drove it started to pour, I mean, a big downpour. When we got to the store I dropped Sam off at the door and went and parked while she ran in to get her dress. I was not getting Mom out of the car in that downpour. I didn't want to get soaked either. So a little bit later I saw her waiting at the door and went and got her. After that we went to our usual, Tim Horton's for brunch. It was fun. I also managed to drop Samantha back off at her house and be back at our house in time for Bob's lesson. He brought pictures of his vacation, they looked like they had a good time. Callie and Frank had their lessons too. Callie won't have one for the next 3 weeks because she will be at camp and then her family's vacation. She seems to be really looking forward to the camp. 2 weeks sounds like a blast and then a family vacation on top of that? Just sounds very cool. Frank has competition this week, he isn't quite ready. I am a bit worried about that. Usually at this point he is done polishing up his pieces and ready to play. However, not this time. He says he will be practicing a lot between now and Friday when he plays his first piece. I hope he does well. When he is ready, he is awesome, really really great.

Outside of the 2 downpours, the weather has been a bit humid and muggy and hot. It is supposed to stay that way for a while, unfortunately. More possible rain tomorrow and Thursday, and more hot and muggy weather for the week. Yuck. Hope this passes soon.

Two regular links to check out!!!

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/fma/fibromyalgiaaware_2009winter_v2

www.heathmattersshow.com

I seem to spend more time on the weekends sleeping than I do anything else. By the time the weekend comes around, I am exhausted and ready for a sleepathon. Yesterday was a great day, long, but a great day so I knew that today I would spend most of the time sleeping. We got up about noon, not that that is unusual. We often get up between 11 to 12 everyday depending on the physical therapy, nurse visit, or teaching schedule. We went to Tim Horton's for lunch. Mom wasn't very hungry so she didn't eat very much. This is not always surprising when it happens. Then we came home, I read for a bit while Mom was in the living room. I checked Face book and then went in the living room with her. I sat down and a few minutes later, out like a light. I slept for about 2 1/2 hours. Not the longest one I have taken in the last few weeks, but definitely a long one. Mom was awake when I woke up, just sitting quietly in her seat on the couch. I sit in the comfy chair and she sits in the couch. I need to have the arms on both sides of me for balance and comfort.

Mom ate a good dinner, she had a chicken breast that she is still working on. I left it on the table for her because she only ate 1/2, in case she wanted more. So far she has eaten a bit more of it. She so far, has drank 2 ensures in a row, so I know she was hungry even if she didn't want any food. She has started on her 3rd ensure now.

Not much happening today, as I slept most of it away. Mom is doing pretty well today. We were going to do our hair but, oops, I slept instead. We will do it tomorrow after lessons. This coming weekend is competition so I hope Frank is ready. Tomorrow is his last lesson before competition. I hope he does well, when he is on, he is very on. He is a very gifted performer.

Mom is playing with the table cloth again. Fortunately, I have the ensure bottle closed with the cap so there is no mess this time. I can't wait until the fiddle toys arrived. They should arrive this week and I hope she likes them. She can fiddle with them all she wants and no mess will be made.

It is really nice out today. We didn't get the rain that I know of, but nearby did. Not to hot, not to humid, in other words, a nice day. It is supposed to get hot again later this week. Ugh. I am glad we are staying in a hotel with an inside pool. I am not looking forward to a hot, humid day.

We had a really good day today. Really good. We were at my Uncle's house with his family. Tillie and her great grandson, Warren, were there. It was so cute to watch Jayson and Warren play together. Sometimes they would play together and other times they would play side by side or separately. No matter how, it was nice to see two very young people get along. Jayson has the cutest way of calling Mom Aunt Vivi. It was adorable. He called her that at the end of the day. Michelle sent us home with great left overs again. I just love her cooking. I think when we go back in a couple of weeks I am going to bring a treat. No, I am not going to make it, I will go to a bakery and get something summery for us to eat.

Mom did really well on the trip there and back. She does very well on the car trips so I am no longer worried about the trip to Kalamazoo next week. I am very excited about that trip. I hope to see some friends and have some nice chatting and watching the kids time. I anticipate spending a lot of time by the pool that weekend, at least Saturday day and Sunday morning and early afternoon. It should be a blast.

The bad thing about this afternoon is that I didn't bring extra disposables for Mom, bad move on my part. Tomorrow we are going to get her a cute back pack to put her disposables, fresh pants, and a fresh top in it to carry whenever we go away for the day. I will put it in my car for her. I should have known that eventually this would happen and of course, it had to happen when we weren't home. I didn't think about going to the store to get her some since it is such a small town, the selection wouldn't have been very good. I will be prepared from now on. Poor Mom, once again I failed her. A small fail, but a fail. I won't do this again that is for sure.

I hope your day was as good as ours was. It was really really good!

It is so much cooler today! Thank goodness for that! It is about 80 degrees outside with low humidity. Thank goodness for small favors. We are waiting for Mom's physical therapist to arrive. We will go to the usual after for lunch. Tomorrow we are going to my uncle's! Apparently, Tillie will be there too so that will be fun. I have to remember to bring the mail to her. Maia will pick up her mail on Monday when she is here to clean. We are watching "Who's the Boss". I haven't seen this in years. We are just hanging out today. I might go and get a Christmas craft out ready to do. I have to get started since I have a lot I want to do. I also need to take pictures of my violins and violas for the swap and to sell. I do have things I want to do, I just end up either putting them off or I don't feel well and they don't get done. My head is almost back to its normal pain today. It is still really sore from all the beautiful (yeah, right) weather and humidity. I can't really concentrate today so I just want to get out the crafts, not start them. I don't like to redo stuff because I messed up. I have some sewing this week I want to do too. I have to finish Natalie's skirt and Sarah's skirt. They are almost done and won't take much to finish. I am hoping that on Sunday I will be feeling much better, tomorrow too. Nothing is worse than visiting with family and having a bad headache, not a recommended thing to do, so it better be much better.

I hope your day is going well.

It is really hot and humid out again today. Although, the humidity isn't as bad as anticipated. It has been worse. Mom and I are hiding inside mostly today. I did have to go out to get her some ensure with high protein since we were out, but other than that we are staying in. Mainly we are staying in because I have a really bad headache. It started yesterday, went down to normal, then popped up again this morning. Ugh, I really hate this weather. I am a spring and fall girl. Those are my favorite seasons. Summer and Winter are not good for me, too much pain at times, and too hot or too cold at other times. Mom is doing pretty well today despite the heat. She did alright when we went to the store. She held my hand as I scooted along as usual. We ended up with a few more things than what was on my list. We had to get a new colander for the kitchen as ours has disappeared along with the two strainers for pots. I have no idea where they went and they don't make them anymore, so that just sucks badly. They were tools I used all the time, so easy to strain vegetables, noodles, and stuff like that and now they are gone. I have been looking for them for about a month now and can't find them anywhere. I really need them so I had to buy a strainer type thing that will sort of do the job, not as good as my other tools, but they will kind of work. I bought the biggest one they had so it will help.

Mom just lost my place in my book. Fortunately, I found it again. I forgot how she plays with them. I usually memorize the page number because she pulls out the bookmark all the time. She just fiddles with stuff and I don't know how to keep her hands busy with something productive because she can't concentrate on much anymore. She can't knit, I tried that. She really can't sew anymore or cross stitch, tried those too. It is difficult to find ways to keep her hands busy. Sometimes it bothers me, other times it doesn't. Since she can't really help it, I have been working on it not bothering me. She also plays with the table cloth a lot and the Kleenex box. Those things don't bother me unless she is ripping the Kleenex box, then that bothers me because I need the box in one piece not several. I have tried to get her to fold washcloths and put them in a basket but that doesn't work with her so I gave up and just let her fiddle with stuff. I keep magazines on the table just for that purpose now. I put them in a small pile in the middle of the table so she can fiddle all she wants now.

It is going to rain today, supposedly. I certainly hope so, that will hopefully cut down on the heat. Tomorrow is supposed to be really nice out. Only 82 degrees with low humidity and low heat index. Saturday we are going to my Uncle's and it is supposed to be nice out then too. He is going on vacation on Sunday for a week. That should be a lot of fun. We are going on vacation in a few too, can't wait for that!

I was planning on going into the family room and dig out some Christmas crafts the other night. I haven't done it yet. I need to get started because I want to hand make all the Christmas presents next year. I love making ornaments. They are so much fun. I want to make a set for my niece and nephew and Mom. Mom loves homemade presents best. Or at least she used too, don't know if she still does because she doesn't know anymore. I got some really cute kits last summer to make and I haven't finished them yet. Yes, I need to get my butt moving on them.

This week I also plan to take pictures of the painted violins and viola. In August I am going to have a give away of one of them. I have about 20 left that I painted when we had the music store. They do work and everything. Fresh strings and well, at the time they were done, they were in tune, although I highly doubt they are in tune now. Anyways, this fall my plan is to sell the rest of them so that they are out of my family room and into (hopefully) some nice persons' home that will enjoy them. They can be played or just for decoration. I plan to send one to my friend in Ohio, but I keep forgetting to have her measure her daughter's arm so I can send the right size, if I have it. There is one in particular my other friend's son likes to play. It is so cute to watch him, although I don't get a big chance because it keeps him busy while I am having a lesson with his sister. Both are very musically inclined children, extremely talented. Not that I am biased or anything, they really are. I have had the opportunity to work with many talented children over the years, and they are really gifted. The young gentleman will start lessons this fall too, so that will be even more fun for us here in this household. Mom really likes listening to the students during their lessons. She always had. I am glad she still finds some things enjoyable. Just because a person has Alzheimer's or Vascular Dementia (her official diagnose) doesn't mean they don't like or dislike things. And music is one thing she has always enjoyed.

I hope you are having a good day, despite the bad headache, it hasn't been too bad except I had to cancel knitting today. My head is just too bad for that. :( I hope the weather improves where you are too as so much of us are having major heat waves. It looks like it is about to storm outside for us right now. Have a great afternoon!

It is extremely hot for Michigan today. With the heat index it is over 100 degrees. I know that the east coast is getting nailed too. I have kept Mom in the house today, think I will keep her possibly tomorrow too, we aren't even going to our usual as it is just too hot and she could get dehydrated so quickly. The nurse said to really watch Mom. When Lori, the physical therapist, was here, she checked Mom's blood pressure and it was lower than normal, she said because she needs more liquids. Well, I have been giving them all day to the little lady. She has had 2 ensures already and I have more waiting for her. Gotta keep her hydrated!!! I have also made sure that I am drinking enough too.

We haven't done a whole lot today, Bob had his lesson. He just got back from a cruise and Venice, Italy. I can't wait to see the pictures next week. He said he and Maggie, his wife, had a great time! I am so glad. I really wanted them to have a good time. Maggie is a good friend of mine. She is in our book club too. I have to get the book club book, I haven't done that yet. I was going to do that tonight, but I will wait until Friday for that. Too hot to take the little Mom out right now.

I finished the Anne of Green Gables series again. I am now working on the Emily trilogy. I just love all of LM Montgomery books. She was such a great writer. I just love those books.

I am aching more today than usual due to the weather. I expected it though, so I am as prepared as much as I can. I took a wee nap after Bob's lesson for about an hour. I am rather tired to because of the heat. I felt so bad for Lori because she had to go into the heat. Mom is doing pretty well since she has been inside all day. She doesn't seem to mind that we didn't go for our usual this morning and doesn't mind we will miss tomorrow's too. I do need to get her some ensure with high protein, but I can't do that until Friday because of the weather. Fortunately, we have the regular stuff, but the high protein is really helping her sore. It is healing very nicely. I am pleased with its progress.

I hope this finds you doing well and hope you are staying cool!!!

It is really hot out today. Not as humid as yesterday, but just as hot. Tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter. Yuck. I don't do well in this weather. We may be skipping our usual tomorrow, depending on how early it gets hot. Mom simply melts in this type weather too. It is difficult for her, either the weather is too hot or too cold for her. I keep her in hoodies for the most time and don't take her outside too much in this weather. She doesn't understand why she is hot or cold most of the time.

The baby birds are almost ready to fly!!! Yup! The three little baby birds are popping their heads out of the nest above our light on the front porch. They are so cute. Mom has even been able to lift her head up enough to see them. I can't wait to see them fly, as long as they don't fly inside the house.

Mom had a manicure and a pedicure today. I didn't get her any polish on her nails because she never really has and I didn't think she could hold her hands steady enough for them to polish them. She had a bit of trouble with the pedicure. At first the water was too hot, then she didn't want to keep her feet in it, but eventually she calmed down enough to get her feet done. Her hands were better for her. I plan to do this monthly because I just can't cut her nails, she jumps too much for me to try. I have tried and it has just not worked.

She is doing well with this increased protein stuff. She has been drinking about 2 ensures with high protein everyday. She eats at least 1 chicken breast for dinner. I don't worry about the vegetables too much because she drinks the ensures. I just need her to keep up the good work with the protein. Her sore looks so much better. It is finally healing. She is doing better with standing up every so often to get the pressure off of her bottom. I am happy with how she is doing these days. She is calm and doesn't cry as much as she used too. She did have a bit of a cry before her pedicure started but the technician kept calm and soothed her. He was really nice to her and didn't get upset when she cried a bit. Naturally, in the middle of the manicure, she had to use the restroom. Perfect timing as usual.

I am aching a bit more than usual because of the humidity and heat. I just ache so much in this weather. I am definitely a spring and fall girl, unless it is raining, then I am not. I hate that weather plays such a part in pain. It is 91 degrees right now, with not a lot of humidity, but tomorrow is supposed to be more humid and more heat. I don't ache as much as I did yesterday, but I anticipate more pain tomorrow. The weatherman says tomorrow will be high humidity tomorrow. Thursday will be bad too, then Friday! Relief! It cools off just in time for us to go to my Uncle's on Saturday. Speaking of which, need to switch a lesson to an earlier time and reschedule the next weeks since we will be out of town. I am looking forward to our little jaunt to Kalamazoo. It shall be fun. I think Mom will really enjoy it. We are also hoping to see our friend, Laurie while we are there. I think it will be a blast. I am going to also see if April will want to come and visit with us. Maybe Alesia too.

I hope you are having a great day!!!!!!!!!! Despite the pain, it has been a fun day. I did take a brief (only 1 1/2 hours) nap this afternoon when we got back from the mani and pedi's.

It is very hot today. Thank goodness for air conditioning! I get heat sickness very easy. If I am out for as little as 5 minutes directly under the sun without a hat, I can be sick for days. It is an annoying problem. However, I have learned how to deal with it. My biggest concern now is making sure Mom is not in the heat very long and that she is hydrated. So far she is cooperating. We both were wiped out again today, don't really know why as we didn't go out in the heat very long, just in and out of the car to Tim Horton's. We get priority parking as I have a handicap sticker so it isn't like we are parked far away from the door. I slept for 3 hours this afternoon, this was after I got up at noon. I am a lot more sore than usual because of the heat and humidity. It is very humid out today. Ugh, for me. I don't really like summer very much. I never really have as when you get sick from the sun and heat, how can you enjoy it? Fortunately, I don't have the sweating problem my older brother has. He sweats very easy and that has to be hard for him as he loves the outdoors and sun. I am still unsure of when he is coming to visit.

I made reservations for a hotel in Kalamazoo to see Kathy and kids. I can't wait. We are staying at a hotel that has a pool inside. There were other hotels near by that have pools too, but they were outside and with the heat problem I have, not a good idea. Also, if it is poor weather the kids can't swim, this way, no matter what they can swim. I hope to remember to bring my camera so I can take pictures of the Kathy's family. I just love her kids, they are so adorable and great, even the toddlers! Okay, I probably have as much patience at times as Kathy as I deal with similar problems. Alzheimer's and toddlers often behave the same. Mom's understanding level at times is about at a 3 year old. As long as I keep that in mind, I do fine, when I forget, oh my, I start yelling. I haven't really yelled in a while since she came home. Even though it was awful when she was gone, it did help a bit to recharge my batteries. I am much calmer and less easy to anger now that she is home so maybe some good came out of her being in a home. Other than that, I can't think of any good that came from her being there.

I have a couple of lessons tomorrow, but other than that, we will be hiding inside this week. I may even buy extra stuff at Tim Horton's this week if the heat index gets higher. I don't want either one of us to get heat sickness. It really is awful and to add it to the extra pain, ugh, is all I can say.

I hope you are staying cool as the heat wave continues!

Two regular links to check out!!!

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/fma/fibromyalgiaaware_2009winter_v2

www.heathmattersshow.com

It's Independence Day! July the 4th! 4th of July! How ever you want to post it! It is an awesome day in our history. I sure was lucky that out of all the countries in the world my parents moved too, it was here. I was born in Canada, but that was actually an accident. We lived in Michigan, but they were visiting my Grandparents when I was born and since Mom was Canadian and Dad was British, the immigration papers didn't include the all important choose at 18 which citizenship I wanted. We found that out later when I was about 8 or 9. Boy was Mom ticked at that! Although, I think our family is living the American Dream because we come from another country to this one for a better life, and it has been overall. My niece and nephew are the first Americans in the family, just as my children would have been if I could have had any. That was my dream, that our children be the first Americans. Although, I definitely feel American, having been raised here all my life. Both my older brother and I haven't become official citizens because we wanted our children to be the first Americans, like the forefathers. Kind of weird, I know, but what can I say? We are living the Dream, our way. My parents worked very hard to come to this country and the only complaint my brothers and I had was, couldn't they have picked a warmer state???? Michigan gets really cold in the winter!!! He he he! Seriously, I am proud to live in such a great country. It really is the best country in the world and I love it so much. I am so thankful for all the men and women who serve in the armed forces and protect and give us our freedoms. We have such great people who are serving, both past and present. It really shows what people are willing to sacrifice to give strangers they don't know a better life! I am thankful everyday that I live here in the United States of America, not just on Flag Day or the 4th of July, but everyday. Thanks to all who give us our freedoms!

Outside of it being a great day just because what day it is, my head is a bit worse than usual and my tummy isn't much better. I think it is just going to be a lazy day because I don't really feel well enough to go to a movie. Mom is doing alright today, not as much hallucinating as yesterday, although it is now normal for her to see 2 small boys and 1 small girl. That would be Richard, Andrew, and I as small children. She doesn't see them all the time, just some times. I have to tell her they went home and then she says okay and doesn't seem to see them anymore. Just all apart of Stage 6 Alzheimer's. I hope this stage lasts for a very long time, because Stage 7 is the end and she will have no way to communicate and will be bedridden. We have enough trouble with her pressure sore now, I can't even think about what will happen then. Though I do know, she will be here with me. There is room in her room for a hospital bed and we will have help coming in to see her daily, so I know she will be taken good care of.

Have a happy 4th! Be safe and enjoy the time with family and friends!

I almost forgot something really cool happened yesterday. My uncle's girlfriend, Michelle, brought us 3 to 4 days of homemade dinners! Yup! She drove 1 1/2 hours to our house and brought us dinner. How cool is that? Rather cool if you ask me. We are going over again next Saturday, which I am rather excited about. Mom enjoys the visits so much. I don't know if Andrew will be there or not. I think Tillie is planning to bring her great grandson, Warren there. She is babysitting him that day because his grandparents are going to an adult only BBQ. How unfair for the little guy, but what can he do about? Not much. I would like to have a family BBQ this year, but I just don't see how we can afford that. I looked into plane fares to Richard's, but it is almost $1000 for us to go. No specials right now, so no plane ride for us. i don't think Mom could handle the 5 hour trip either, and the way home was split in 2 so that would be even worse.

Anyways, wasn't that just too cool of Michelle to do that? She is a really good cook. She is going to give me a couple of easy recipes that I can do and not have to stand for a long time.