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What are you up to today? This week?


heidiiiii

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20 hours ago, Keifer said:

I just want to say I think you have been very brave through this whole process.  Obviously I only get insight into how you’re feeling and handling everything through your posts here but the thought of picking up everything and moving to another country would scare the sh#t out of me.  

Aw thank you! Deloitte has been a huge help so on the Denmark side it’s been smooth sailing. They are handling all of the paperwork, house search, moving costs, etc. When we get here, they’ll help us get our various bank and health accounts set up in addition to helping me get registered for Danish classes. It’s been a huge weight off our shoulders knowing they’re helping us. We also have friends here who have gone with us to various stores this week so we can scope out the costs of daily life. The more knowledge we have, the less scary it is.

Stuff stateside is far more stressful. We’re selling our house in addition to splitting up all of our possessions. We’re getting rid of 1/3, storing 1/3 and taking 1/3 with us. It definitely makes you realize how much you DON’T need on a daily basis. Thankfully, we have made some very good investment choices that are helping us shoulder the financial burden of basically starting over. When we leave the US we will have 0 debt (no mortgage, all CCs paid off, no car payments) and we will have cast off virtually everything we dont need. That part of it is definitely making it all worth it. We will be starting off completely fresh in the middle of our lives. Very few people are given this opportunity and we are very aware of how fortunate we are. As scary as it all is, it’s truly a gift for all of us.

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12 hours ago, blueirishmoon said:

Oh trust me. I don't fall often, maybe every 8 years or so, but when I do, it's epic! And it's never the same way twice...Thanks for all the commiserations. First thing on the to-do list is to get some kind of non-slip mat before I use that shower again. Meanwhile, I'll use the tiny stall shower in the guest room. Sigh. Hate that dinky setup.

I'm glad you are okay. ( I usually fall in public......pride hurts so much.) People make fun of those 'Help I've fallen, and I can't get up commercials', but falling alone is worse.

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@blueirishmoon Oh dear! That fall sounds horrible. Im so glad you’re ok. Josh slipped and fell in the shower not long ago. I cant remember where we were but I heard it happen and when he came out he said “Watch out for the tub. It’s a death trap!” Maybe a bit dramatic but he certainly could have been hurt! Definitely get one of those non slip mats.

 

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I only have a few little bruises, so I count myself lucky. Working through the stiffness today by moving more. Went to my library to pickup some books but forgot they closed for the Easter holiday early. Sigh. Must swing by again on Monday. Taking a break for a few days on the rose rug. I'm almost half done with the background, so I feel good about it.

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After our last ride we noticed threads showing on my tricycle tires (they were the original tires that came on it, nearly 15 years ago), so we took it to a local bike shop to order new tires, tubes and a tune-up and today it was ready.  The shop is in Foley, and their bike trail is barely over a half-mile; so after I rode it enough to determine it's good as new we came home and rode around the neighborhood.

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Falling in the tub is my big fear. IF we get this new house it will be eliminated.   Previous owners took the tub out if the master bath and installed a wheelchair accessible shower.  Not ready for the chair, but the big shower is great.  I'm guessing I'm the only prospective buyer that didn't have an issue with no tub. Plenty of grab bars too.

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I have an unexpected house guest for the weekend. One of my late husband's cousins called on Wednesday to tell me he is coming to Atlanta (from Chicago) with his daughter, her husband, and their 6-year-old son. The young couple are meeting up with friends. Pops lives with them and came along. He says he asked to come along to visit old friends (me) but I have a feeling that with his early onset Alzheimer's, they could not leave him alone at home and would have brought him anyway. He called on Friday to tell me where they were staying and reported that his daughter had rented a condo that has only 2 bedrooms for their family and the friends. I offered to come get him and let him stay here for the weekend. I do not envy anyone who lives full time with an Alzheimer's patient. I finally made a large sign that says BATHROOM and taped it to the bathroom door. Have explained at least 8 times that we are going to my sister's for dinner Easter Sunday, yet he frequently asks if I have any relatives in the area. I can be patient for another two days. I keep thinking of the break his daughter is getting so she can enjoy the weekend with her friends. 

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1 hour ago, KathieB said:

I have an unexpected house guest for the weekend... Have explained at least 8 times that we are going to my sister's for dinner Easter Sunday, yet he frequently asks if I have any relatives in the area. I can be patient for another two days. I keep thinking of the break his daughter is getting so she can enjoy the weekend with his friends. 

 

You are a saint KathieB, I could only muster that kind of patience for a REALLY close relative i.e. hubby or child!

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Attended my last board meeting as club president this morning. We have two year term limits so my time is up. I’m going to miss it because it kept my mind focused on our activities, meetings and the show. 

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Give him something to do. eg take all the socks out of a drawer and let him fold and pair them, or give him some simple laundry to fold. You an do this several times a day as he won't remember doing it. Play dominoes or cards with him, it doesn't matter if he understands or not.Let him rearrange books on a bookcase, you take them off and ask him to put them back Find a few distraction phrases. which will work. eg if he repeatedly does something or especially if he gets agitated, ask him if he wants a cup ot tea, or better still, and this never failed for me, ask him "could you help me please" and invent a job you were struggling with.  If he is safe with a knife let him make a salad.Do it with him.Ask him to tell you about some time in his life way back, he will maybe remember that and if he does he will chat a lot about it. All these things worked with my husband and it made a whole heap of difference. Ask him to write a shopping list for you, give him a pad and pencil and make it a long list. I used to do this when I was baking and my hands were covered in pastry. I would call out what I wanted and John would write it down.That was a great one actually. Good luck, it is not easy but with a few bits like the above it can be a bit easier.

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42 minutes ago, Thimble Hall said:

Give him something to do.

Thanks for the suggestions, but he's forgetful, not mentally deficient. We went to Kohl's as he wanted to buy a new shirt. He found one he liked and handled the entire transaction with me just standing by. We went into the grocery store, he disappeared, came back to the cart with a box of ice cream sandwiches and a gleam in his eye. Told me how he loved ice cream sandwiches as a kid. No need to ask him about his life --- he has interesting stories to tell and no reluctance to share them. He even [sometimes] thinks to ask of he's already told this one to me. If I say yes, he still tells it, but embellishes -- story 2.0 (or 3.0, or ....) :D 

He has called his daughter a half dozen times to sort out when he is to return to their condo. Each time he laboriously writes down what she tells him and then has her verify what he wrote. She and I sorted it out yesterday; I'm taking him back Monday morning' they fly back to Chicago on Tuesday. I can hear him on the phone with her even as I type this, asking to reconfirm the plans yet again. He's currently anxious to know what time she will be there so he can meet her there. He doesn't realize she is sleeping there and will be there whenever we arrive. She apparently told him that Kathie has the information, but denied knowing who Kathie is. He finally agreed that he knows me. She's the one who must have the patience of a saint.

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I realize what you meant, it all sounded so very familiar, my husband had Alzheimer's which you mentionedin your post , In the beginning John  was mostly just forgetful, he would repeat things and was constantly checking which is why I found jobs for him to do and it worked very well. He would do things over and over again and if he got anxious he was distracted rom the anxiety from the little things I asked him to do. He got anxious when things changed  which is very common.

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Sounds like everyone has been busy as usual!  I have been doing lambing and maple syrup making.  I had 3 lambs born one morning during chores, One ewe is older and had a huge black ewe lamb, she has some nerve damage that occured during the delivery, so I have to help her up several times a day, she is slowly improving, the lamb is doing great.  The other ewe I have been watching because it looked like only one side of her udder was bagging out, she had twins, both white one ewe and one ram, I ran up to a neighbors and got a couple of yogurt containers of colostrum he keeps frozen all the time, and fed the twins, about 4 oz each several times that day, and yesterday.  Last night I checked the mom and it looks like she has milk, but I am reserving judgment on the amount.  The twins seem happy and fat so maybe I just checked after they devoured all the milk.  

I usually make 5-6 gallons of syrup each year, it makes good gifts!  I use lines and 5 gallon buckets, so half new and half old.  Lugging the 5 gallon buckets on snowshoes is good exercise!  The first day I got a lot but it has been slower the last 3 days because it didn't get down below freezing at night.  Last night was marginal on the freezing it was just 32, but today had a brisk wind and clouds, it is better when the sun is shining.  I visited my neighbors Tuesday and helped put wood in the big evaporator they have and watched the final boil down, it kept foaming even though she added butter several times.  She has a really bad burn on her hand, 2nd degree, from hot sap.  her husband was blowing out a clogged line and she was holding the bucket.  She is lucky she didn't get it in the face.  Their lines run right into the evaporator.  I just do mine on a small deep 2'x2' stainless steel pan.

Been back to sanding on the fairy house, takes a long time to get such hard wood sanded the way I want!

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1 hour ago, Goldenrodfarm said:

Sounds like everyone has been busy as usual!  I have been doing lambing and maple syrup making.  I had 3 lambs born one morning during chores, One ewe is older and had a huge black ewe lamb, she has some nerve damage that occured during the delivery, so I have to help her up several times a day, she is slowly improving, the lamb is doing great.  The other ewe I have been watching because it looked like only one side of her udder was bagging out, she had twins, both white one ewe and one ram, I ran up to a neighbors and got a couple of yogurt containers of colostrum he keeps frozen all the time, and fed the twins, about 4 oz each several times that day, and yesterday.  Last night I checked the mom and it looks like she has milk, but I am reserving judgment on the amount.  The twins seem happy and fat so maybe I just checked after they devoured all the milk.  

I usually make 5-6 gallons of syrup each year, it makes good gifts!  I use lines and 5 gallon buckets, so half new and half old.  Lugging the 5 gallon buckets on snowshoes is good exercise!  The first day I got a lot but it has been slower the last 3 days because it didn't get down below freezing at night.  Last night was marginal on the freezing it was just 32, but today had a brisk wind and clouds, it is better when the sun is shining.  I visited my neighbors Tuesday and helped put wood in the big evaporator they have and watched the final boil down, it kept foaming even though she added butter several times.  She has a really bad burn on her hand, 2nd degree, from hot sap.  her husband was blowing out a clogged line and she was holding the bucket.  She is lucky she didn't get it in the face.  Their lines run right into the evaporator.  I just do mine on a small deep 2'x2' stainless steel pan.

Been back to sanding on the fairy house, takes a long time to get such hard wood sanded the way I want!

I give you soooo much credit for living on a farm and experiencing everything you go through. Such a different life from what I have. I feel so lazy when I read about your daily chores and such. Ever thought about holding a summer camp and having us city/suburban  folks work a bit?

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Well hubby and I had our cuppa in bed this morning and discussed our plans for the day.  I've started making three dolls (the first was too manly and the third is polymer clay over a plastic 3D printed BJD doll) so I planned to finish at least one of those, and maybe to wallpaper (which I've already printed) the inside of the wagon.  All that was put on hold however when we received a text from our daughter who was with her brother and 5000 others at an Easter camp two hours away.  She was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (which I also have) a month ago and also started working full time a month ago (and kept her part time job so she's been working 6 day weeks).  Apparently she hadn't been sleeping well, was in huge pain and had run out of the pain relief she took with her.  So we had to do the four hour round trip to bring her home.  We've got friends coming over for a BBQ tonight so I have to prepare dinner soon and get my head into gear for socialising!  Ah well...another day off tomorrow!!

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14 hours ago, Goldenrodfarm said:

Sounds like everyone has been busy as usual!  I have been doing lambing and maple syrup making...

Been back to sanding on the fairy house, takes a long time to get such hard wood sanded the way I want!

1

Barb, I know it's a lot of hard work on a farm but the way you tell it, it sounds idyllic! You should write a blog!

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23 minutes ago, WestPaces said:

You should write a blog!

 

15 minutes ago, Mid-life madness said:

@WestPaceshas a great idea about the blog.

LOL ... With everything going on, when, exactly, do you think she'd have time to do a blog? I love to hear what's happening on the farm and am delighted that Barb shares it with us.

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3 minutes ago, KathieB said:

 

LOL ... With everything going on, when, exactly, do you think she'd have time to do a blog? I love to hear what's happening on the farm and am delighted that Barb shares it with us.

I know! I thought the same thing, but hey, I can dream.....I really would like to see the baby animals

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I got an early parol from Rehab two weeks ago, only to have an emergency trip to central Alabama last week. I called my mom only to find she was in the middle of a heart attack.  Two nights in the hospital and two stents later she was back home.  In fact, we got to her house a few minutes before she did.  It was a relief to see her feeling better so soon.

I wish I could have taken a detour in Atlanta to see Kathie and a few other Greenleafers, but the 7+ hour trip each way was all my leg could take.

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4 hours ago, pdlnpeabody said:

I wish I could have taken a detour in Atlanta to see Kathie and a few other Greenleafers,

That would have been great! Another time. :) Glad you mom bounced back so quickly, and congratulations on aging out of rehab ahead of schedule, but don't go all macho on us and put more stress and strain on the broken bits than they can handle. 

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Glad to hear you're doing well Jeremy!

And Barb, it's always fascinating to hear your stories. I went and looked up how to make maple syrup last night, because I had no idea. 

Spring Break Day 1:

Did "get us through most of the week" grocery shopping.

Pressure washed to driveway and sidewalk (husband started it Saturday, so it was just a few hours).

Painted from porch and steps (again, husband started, then I finished while he put away pressure washer and sprayed the yard for weeds).

Whew! Can I be done for the week??

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Tracy, I'm exhausted just reading yours & Barb's posts!  Because of Easter our jazz festival will be this coming weekend, so we all sort of talked our jazz jam band into the regular first Monday jam, to rest up before next weekend's craziness.  The hubs & I & our pickup truck are the ones who move all the merchandise out of storage to the site (and back again) every year, and it's always lots of fun to see who shows up to help (or not).

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