It is a boring day now.  I have finished two lessons and we went to Tim Horton's for a snack/breakfast at about 2:30pm.  We are back home again.  Mom is somewhat better today than yesterday, but still a little teary for me.  Winter is not going to be fun with her.  Not that she does well at anytime of the year with weather, it's either too hot or too cold.  She paranoid of both.  Right now she has her fall jacket and hat on in the house.  It is not cold in here, but she won't take them off because she thinks she will get cold.  I am not touching that one.  Let her leave it on and then boil with them.  Eventually she will take them off at least in time for bed.

My patience level is at an all time low these past few days.  It is hard dealing with her when I can't do a lot of stuff.  She is difficult to entertain because she can't remember how to do stuff, but wants to do things, we just don't know what.  She is now taking her coat off, finally.  She still has the hat on though.  I think in a while we will go to the bookstore and look around.  Maybe, we will see.

Lily was so cute during her lesson, she is working on keeping her eyebrows up when she sings.  It is a small thing, but makes such a difference in the sound.  She is also working on airflow.  So far she likes all the songs she has song but one.  She didn't like the Kerry Dance at all.  Not one little bit.  But she did finish it so I was happy.

Aggie had her lesson too, she is working on her audition music for MSU.  Her voice is starting to change again, getting stronger and more mature.  She should get in the music minor program no problem, but she can't stop practicing her music or she won't get in.

Pain is medium right now.  The shoulder is unhappy as usual and so is the knee.  I am a bit stiffer than usual because it is getting colder out.  I don't mind the fall weather, it is winter that isn't so good, snow looks real pretty, but it sometimes makes me ache more.

I hope this finds you doing well.

It was sewing day today.  It was hard to get out the door because Mom was freaking out.  I just don't have the patience with her today.  She wanted her red little jacket with the hood, but it is cold out and she would have froze.  So I had her put on her purple jacket with a hat so she would be warm, but no that isn't good enough, she wanted the red one too to put over her purple.  She looks ridicules with that on like that and it doesn't help at all.  She kept waking me up all morning, taking her clothes off and then asking me what she should wear.  I answered and showed her what to wear, then she went and changed.  It was not my morning with her.  I was very tired and was being drove crazy.

I was very glad we went to Muglia's because I could calm down.  She was bored though, but she can't remember enough to do something with sewing.  It is frustrating for her, but I don't know what to do.  I take suggestions!  Anybody??????

The girls are almost finished with their tops, Hannah is the closest to being down.  She has the neck and the sleeves hems to be done and then she is finished.  Lydia and Natalie are about half done.  I am so proud of them.  They all are doing such a good job and very patient with me as this is the first time I have ever taught sewing and of course, I have screwed up some.  But they are wonderful about my mistakes.  I am so grateful for them.  It makes my day to go and help them make some clothes.  They are already thinking about the next outfit they want to make.

I am calmer now than I was this morning, thankfully.  Usually I have very little problem dealing with Mom, but not this morning.  

The pain is medium right now.  This morning was pretty high, so that could be why I had no patience.  My shoulder isn't any better but today it isn't worse so I am glad about that.

Today is my high schools homecoming and it is raining, just like it did 23 years ago.  I remember marching with the band in the rain.  I hope they have fun, we did despite the rain.

I hope you are doing well, even if it is raining where you are!

Katie was here and helped pass out about 150 flyers.  It was very tiring even though I was riding in my scooter.  I hope to hear something from someone this time.  So far the response has been zip, zero, nada.  Not very encouraging.  I could use a nap right about now, but it is almost 5 pm so not a good time for a nap as I plan to go to bed around 8 pm.  Oprah is doing a show on hoarders.  I live with one, that would be Mom.  I can't get her to clean up or organize her stuff.  I thought it would get easier as she loses her memory, but it isn't.  She is so afraid to be left with nothing and homeless and her stuff represents what she didn't have as a child.  They were very poor and she was born in the great depression.  She still has the handkerchief she got for Christmas when she was 15, it was the first Christmas present she had gotten in years.  I figure eventually I will be able to organize but probably not until she is in a nursing home.  As long as the living room is easy to get to and somewhat organize, I don't worry about the rest of the house.  Apparently hoarding is common among seniors who lived through the great depression and World War II.

I have one student tonight, little Roman.

Pain level is a little higher than normal because of the scootering.  Sometimes scootering makes my arm ache a bit more.  Next Tuesday is the doctor appointment.  I managed to make two doctors appointments at the same time next Thursday.  Mom and I both have doctor appointments.  I will be rescheduling hers because her doctor is easier to change than mine.

I hope you have a good day.

Samantha and her grandmother just left after picking up Samantha's homecoming dress.  I had to fix the straps because they were too big and falling down.  They stayed about an hour.  When they arrived I hadn't started the dress yet because I was going to do it in a few minutes, but they arrived earlier than I thought.  Silly me!  It only took about 5 minutes to sew it.  We had a short visit after so that was nice.

I have no students today.  I will have one tomorrow.  Katie is coming to help pass out flyers.  I hope to pass out a lot tomorrow.  Hopefully I will get some response from them.  I have 300 left.

Not much happening for the rest of the day.  We will watch the news and then Touched by an Angel followed by Law & Order Special Victims Unit.  I haven't seen that show in about a year because it used to be on at 10 and we are in bed way earlier than that.  It is a slow day around here.  It is almost dinner time so I better end this now.

I hope your having a good day.

It was slightly boring today until Charlie's lesson.  Frank's Mom had to work late so he couldn't make his lesson today.  I knew about this last week so it was not a surprise.

I left a message for the lady in charge of events at the Women for Women International.  I hope she calls me back tomorrow.  I am excited to receive all the information they are sending me for the benefit I am holding.  I am waiting to hear from Annie to see what day we will be having the benefit.  

I have to finish fixing Samantha's straps on her dress tomorrow.  They will be coming over to pick up the dress in the evening so I will do it in the afternoon.  It won't take long at all.  I will also be taking out the zipper in Aggie's dress so I can replace it on Thursday.  I have to budget my time sewing because of the pain in my hands.  I love sewing though so I do it in small doses.

I finally got to see a couple of pictures of Emily in her homecoming dress all done up.  She looked so beautiful.  It is so hard to believe that she is 16 and a junior in high school.  I still haven't talked Samantha out of wearing black tights and tennis shoes with her blue dress.  She doesn't realize how ridicules she is going to look.

Tonight is NCIS.  I love that show.  I am so glad it is on tonight.  This season has had a great beginning with the team back together again.

We should be getting our passports soon.  The fee has been put through so I know that they are in the process.  I can't wait.  We are going to visit my cousin when we get the passports.  We haven't been to Canada in over a year.  I don't really keep track, I just know it has been a long time.  I actually think I haven't been there in several years.  We were too busy with the store to go so I guess it has been a few years.  

Mom is falling asleep in her chair.  She does this a lot.  It can be quite funny.  She no longer likes to be in a room without me during the day.  She sits in on every lesson now.  I don't think we are going to be visiting the day center because she cries when she can't see me, so I don't think leaving her in a day center would be a good idea anymore.  She got upset in the bathroom at Tim Horton's this morning.  She had to go to the bathroom, so I ordered our usual bagels and muffins.  She didn't come out by the time I was finished getting the order.  I went into the bathroom and she was upset because she couldn't find me.  I guess this means I have to go with her to the bathroom.  I now know what to do.

I haven't heard from Richard lately.  His temporary job should be over by now unless he was hired full time.  I would think he would have let me know, but one never knows.  I am going to email him when I am finished with this post.  I worry about him and his family.  I miss them so much, especially the children, Abigail and William.  I haven't seen them in over a year now.  I hope to see them at Christmas time for a week or so.  Of course, if Richard needs us, we will be right there.

I hope this finds you well.

I had 8 lessons today!  Yup, that's right, 8 lessons.  What an awesome day.  I had the four Muglia children, Grace, Bob, Kayla, and Rachel.  I wish I had 8 everyday.  (We'd be doing much better financially too!)  Everyone did well at their lessons.  Kayla and Rachel are starting to think about what they want to do for competition.  Oooh, that's right, I need to look up all competition info.  Last year they put everything on the web.  I miss the paper info we used to get.  It was so much easier for me to remember about competition stuff then getting it off the web.  Yes, I understand it is cheaper and etc, etc, but with a memory problem like mine, no paper means no remember.  I will print the stuff tonight too.

Because I was so busy today, I didn't have time to think about the pain.  That is why I like busier days.  It doesn't always work, but mostly it does.  I am rather tired now because of so many lessons, but the trade off is worth it.  

So far all my students are interested in performing in the benefit concert for the Women for Women International.  I am excited about that.  

Today is Katie's birthday!  She is 22 officially now.  I have to remember to face book her for her birthday!

I hope this finds you doing well!  Have a great evening!

We went to dinner with Katie to celebrate her 22nd birthday.  It is hard to believe that she is 22 now (well, will be tomorrow!)  I remember when I met her she was 8.  Boy how time flies.  We went to the Olive Garden which is one of our favorite restaurants.  It was a nice time.  She is currently in school in the Emergency Medical Training Program.  She plans to move into the paramedic program then eventually the RN paramedic program.  Katie will be great no matter what she picks.

On Thursday I think Katie and I will be passing out flyers.  It seems to be a good day according to the weatherman.  I will keep a close watch on the weather.  I have 300 more to pass out.  Hopefully on Saturday the Muglia girls can come and pass out some too.  Hopefully by Saturday all 300 will be passed out.  I hope to get some response from these, I haven't gotten any from the first 200 I passed out.  We are going to try a couple of different subs to pass them out in.

I am excited about tomorrow, I have 7 lessons on Monday!  How awesome is that?  I love the first Monday of the month because there are so many lessons.  The Muglia children only have lessons once a month due to finances.  I am thankful they are still taking lessons, even if they are once a month.  They are all doing quite well with the lessons that they do get.  And they practice!  That is the important thing, they do their lesson and then they work on the music for the rest of the month.  Mom enjoys going to their lessons.  Their little brother Patrick (4) thinks Mom comes just to play with him.  It is so adorable.  

I take Mom everywhere with me.  She doesn't like being anywhere I am not.  I don't really mind.  This way I know she is alright.  We haven't visited the day center yet.  I don't think she wants to because she doesn't feel comfortable unless I am around.  Most of the time it is fine, occasionally it is annoying because she is always with me.  When I am annoyed I try to remind myself how frightening it must be to be losing your memory and confidence.  Mom handles it pretty well overall.  Her crying is becoming less and less.  It is her first reaction to a scary situation is to cry, so I try to think ahead whatever we do.

Pain level is medium today so it is bearable.  I did manage to hit my arm that made my shoulder move the wrong way so of course it was extremely painful for a few minutes.  Sometimes I am amazed at my clumsiness.  Mom gets upset when I do this because there isn't anything she can do when she wants to do something.  So for a few minutes I am ready to scream from pain and then it lessens and goes back to regular pain.

I hope this finds you well and having a good day.

We met up with my cousin Hayley in Port Huron.  It was a lot of fun.  I haven't seen her for a bit.  She lives in Ontario about 2 hours away from us.  She ordered some items that can't be shipped to Canada so she had them shipped to my house and we delivered them to her today.  We don't mind at all, I look at it as an opportunity to see her.  Otherwise, I don't see her very often.  She works a lot at a stressful job.  She was very stressed out about her job today.  Her daughter, Justice was working or something like that so she didn't come with her mom.

Mom started off having a bad day but eventually it got better.  She was upset over the rain.  I didn't have her in her rain coat.  The coat is very thin and she would freeze in it.  I told her she would be alright with the jacket she had on and her head scarf, but she wouldn't really believe me.  It is like sometimes I think she thinks I am lying to her and I don't.  I may not tell her all the information because she wouldn't understand it, but I don't lie to her.  This is what is frustrating about dementia.  The paranoid behavior and freaking out easily.  I think I have about a year before her memory will get worse.  I try not to think about that but it sneaks into my brain at times.  Silly brain!

My arm is sore as usual, but pain level wise it is medium.  I got some new tummy medicine (you can only get it from Canada so Hayley brought me some!) so my tummy should be okay.  I see the doctor at the end of the month so I will have a refill of the tummy medicine that I am supposed to take every day.  My tummy is bad right now because I am out and now I can call to pick up a new prescription but I couldn't before because they wanted me to come in earlier and I didn't have the money for a doctor visit.  None of my doctors visits are paid for by my insurance.  When I get medicare part of them will be paid for but that isn't for another year and a half.  So I will keep what I have.  It is okay insurance and definitely better than none, that's for sure.

I hope this finds you having a good day.  Happy fall!

I had to cancel sewing lessons this afternoon because my head hurts and my stomach is not feeling so hot.  I am disappointed about that.  I love sewing days.  The girls are doing so well and it is so much fun.  They are really great girls.  The twins, Hannah and Natalie, are 13 almost 14 and Lydia is 12.  They also play piano.  They really took off this summer once I brought the Harry Potter and Star Wars music.  All of a sudden they were just jamming!  It was great to see and hear.

We are having a low key day due to health issues.  We are watching Golden Girls.  I love this show.  After Golden Girls we will be watching Murder She Wrote.  Just a low key day.  

It is raining out right now.  I wonder if that has something to do with my headache.  It is possible.  Well, I am looking forward to tomorrow, Lily has a lesson and then either Saturday or Sunday I will be meeting up with my cousin, Hayley.  She ordered a few things and they have arrived.  She is very excited about it.  She lives in London, Ontario and sometimes some of the stuff she orders can't be sent to Canada, so she has them sent here.  We don't mind.  It is no problem for us and it helps her out too.  Also, we get to see her more often.  She is very busy and her schedule is crazy at times.  Once we get our passports we will be able to visit her and other family members in Canada.  I look forward to that.

I hope this finds you having a good day despite the rain!  Have a great afternoon!

I know I already posted today, but I have to post again.  I just finished watching Oprah.  She had several amazing and inspiring women and about an organization that helps women around the world.  It is called Women for Women International.  They have a new book out called half the sky.  I hope to read it this weekend.  I will pick it up tomorrow.

Anyways, I will be speaking to my teenage girls about having them perform in a benefit recital.  I can't sponsor a woman right now, it is only $27 a month, but we are barely making it ourselves, but we can do a recital.  I have emailed a former student to see if she would be interested in participating.  When I have more information, I will let you know.

have a great day!

It is definitely a better day than yesterday except that my mind kept me awake most of the night.  You see, somehow I thought I overdrew my bank account because even with the deposit I made there was a shortage of $100.  I noticed this after I went grocery shopping yesterday.  I couldn't figure out where that $100 went.  And naturally, I have two checks ready to go through.  So this kept me up all night.  So this morning I check the account again to see how overdrawn I am and what would bounce.  Well, those two checks?  They went through two days ago that's how the account got shorted $100.  Silly me.  If I had looked further down in my checking account I would have seen that they went through.  So the bottom line is I didn't overdraw my account.  (actually it's Mom's and mine.)

Emily is coming over this afternoon to try her dress on one last time.  I wanted her to come during the week instead of just picking it up on Saturday in case something needs to be adjusted.  We don't need an upset teenager the day of the dance!  She looks so beautiful in it.  I can't believe how much she has grown.  I met her when she was 6, she is now 16.  

Roman is suppose to have his lesson tonight.  He is so cute, he is 4.  They had too miss last week so he should be here tonight.  Little kids are so cute to teach.  He is just starting the concept of playing the same note several times in a row.  Last time he couldn't do it.  I hope to work more on it during this lesson.

I hope this finds you doing well and enjoying fall.