Thursday, October 31, 2013

October 31, 2013

     Happy Halloween and good morning. Today is going to be a good day. My sister M is coming to look after Mom and I get to get out of the house and go out with my cousin. She has somewhere she wants to take me, I think it is an old 5 and dime, not sure but I am so excited to get out of this house and do something. And the good company with her is much needed. I am so grateful to have a friend/family like her.
     Yesterday I noticed that my wheat seeds that I planted the other day has sprouted. That is so exciting to me. Now as long as I don't kill it and it makes it to harvest next year.
     Mom's new sleeping pill appears to have worked last night. She is still sleeping and she slept through the night. That may be why I am in such a good mood this morning, I actually slept last night.
     I need to go get ready for the day. Have a good day.

                                                            April Whitehair









Wednesday, October 30, 2013

October 30, 2013

     Good morning. Mom had a her follow up doctor appointment yesterday. We finally was able to see her regular doctor, we haven't seen her since before Mom's fall and fracture. It was so good to see a doctor who actually knew Mom and me and the progression of Mom Alzheimer's. She, Mom's doctor, had been out of the office for over a month, not sure why. She is such a good doctor, she actually listens which means so much to me. My main concern was Mom not sleeping. When Mom doesn't sleep neither do I. New sleeping med prescribed with an increasing dose. Started last night with the smallest dose and it didn't work but I am hopeful that as the nights go by and the doses increase it will work. Also a follow up on Mom's UTI, she still has it so new antibiotics ordered.
     Not much else going on around here. It was nice to get out of the house yesterday. I may try to get us out of the house even if it is just to drive around town occasionally. Just the change of scenery was a nice change, better than being stuck in this house all the time for the both of us.
     Have a good day.

                                                                  April Whitehair

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

October 29, 2013

     Bad day yesterday and it looks like it isn't gone to be much better today. I think I am gone to loose my mind. All Mom does is ask the same questions over and over. I have tried everything I can think of to get her to stop, answering, yelling, crying, and ignoring, nothing helps.
     Very short post today. I am going to go make the best of the day that I can.
                      
                                                                 April Whitehair

Monday, October 28, 2013

October 28, 2013

     Good morning. Mom is up and driving me crazy! Questions, questions, repeat, repeat... I so wish I could go back to bed. My husband left for his week away at work, now I am here alone with Mom. I pray for patience, kindness, understanding, compassion, and love. All of which I seem to be short in supply this morning.
     My uncle that I told you about the other day has passed. No more pain and suffering for him. Mom took it hard. She didn't remember that he had been sick or going to visit with him a couple times in the last several months. She cried for about a half hour, now I don't think she remembers that he passed. I am not going to remind her, that would in my mind be just cruel, until we go to this memorial.
     I realized while watching the shows on you tube that I should have plant the wheat seeds in September or at least 2 weeks before the first frost. So I have decided to experiment and start them in the house and transplant them here in a couple weeks if they start. We shall see if that works.
     My husband bought us a new heating stove and put it in yesterday and so far it is working great. I still think the old stove would make someone a good stove, someone with better gas lines than us. I am hoping some one that needs it will stop by and buy it.
     I need to go and get this day started. Have a good day.

                                                      April Whitehair

Saturday, October 26, 2013

October 26, 2013

     Good morning. Last night was a good night here, my husband carved the pumpkin he grew in the garden. The pumpkin is rather large and it has the thickest walls I have every seen. The three of us set around the kitchen table and laughed and talked. Mom seemed to be having a particularly good time she kept saying things like, "I am so glad you two are here." and "I love you guys." She made fun of my husband and laughed and talked more than I have seen her do in a while. The jack-o-lantern turned out good. I think the pumpkin should have matured on the vine a little longer, its not uniformly orange, but the frost made that decision. So I set and picked out all the seeds and with the pumpkin being so large the seeds were huge and a lot of them. This was the first time as an adult that I ever roasted pumpkin seeds and for some reason they didn't turn out like I thought they should. My husband didn't like them at all, I think it was the first time he had ever tried them so I wish they would have tasted better. But I think with the pumpkin being slightly immature the seeds were not as mature as should have been either. 
      So as I said the other day the living room heating stove has not been working right. Though it is working ok right now, I still don't trust it. My husband has went to the store to buy us a new one, hopefully it will work and take care of any of my concerns. I still think the old stove works just not with the amount of pressure that is in the gas line. So if anyone needs a heating stove I will have one to sell, I am not responsible for any accidents that happen if you use it. We just bought it last fall, it is still fairly new and has not been used much.
     I have to go get this day started. Have a good day.

                                                             April Whitehair

Friday, October 25, 2013

October 25, 2013

     Good morning. Well we got a hard frost last night, hard enough to take down the pumpkin vines. Not sure how the birdhouse gourds fared, I will go check them out later today.
     My husband comes home today! I miss him so much. Only two more weeks left of him working out of town then he is home for good. But before he gets home today I need to get this house cleaned up. But Mom doesn't help this goal at all. She is currently in the bathroom pulling things out of dresser drawers and dumping her jewelry boxes. She doesn't listen when I ask her to stop and she gets angry and yells, so I have decided, at least for now, I would just let her do what ever she wants and clean up the mess later.
     I have found some very interesting shows on you tube. I have been watching shows about experiments where they send people to live like they were in the 1800's. Learning the farming and cooking aspects of their life is very interesting to me. Also interesting was watching the children ages from 4 to 16. They came into this experiment not wanting to do it and missing the video games and computers and phones and friends and came away completely changed, matured people. Once they returned home they were so bored with the norm. This may be some of the reason why teen pregnancy and teen drug use is so rampant, put a shovel in their hands and cows to milk and they wont be bored enough to try and find things to do...
     I have lots to get done in a short time. Have a good day.

                                                          April Whitehair

Thursday, October 24, 2013

October 24, 2013

     Good morning. Mom slept great last night. Me on the other hand woke up extremely early with a headache, went back to sleep then woke up to a cramp in my calf but with the headache gone. Hopefully this isn't how my day will go. Mom may have slept well but she wouldn't spit out her gum when she went to bed and woke up with it all over her. I have definitely learned a lesson, no more gum for Mom, ever! 
     We got some bad news yesterday evening about one of Mom's brothers. He has been battling cancer for a while and now he has gotten to the point where he has maybe a couple days left. There is so many thoughts and feelings around this. Mom, with her Alzheimer's, isn't able to deal with the news. I have chose not to tell her, whether this is the right decision or not I am not completely sure. Her reaction to this news would be deep sadness, understandably, she would either focus on this repeatedly to the point of distress or completely forget that I told her and I would have to explain it to her again later. Either way it will not change the inevitable. Now in regards to my sisters and me this is a particular difficult situation, of course no where near as difficult as it would be to his sons, but we do know from experience what they are going through. We watched our Dad die slowly and painfully from cancer ten years ago. Though each of us would like to go spend time with him during his final days we are mentally and emotionally so not wanting to bring up those memories. It is a very hard thing for loved ones to watch a strong, super hero type man suffer so. Though it my be selfish, our avoidance of directly dealing with the issue at hand is purely out of self-preservation. Our thoughts, prayers, and tears go out to our Uncle and all the family. Thank you so much to those who are standing by him during his greatest time of need. We love you all. I must add here a sort of a disclaimer that I have not spoke to any of my sisters about what I have wrote in this post, for all I know they may have decided to go see him last night and none of what I said pertains to any of them except for me. I may have projected my own thoughts and emotions on to them. Though I must say that there was about a thirty minute discussion between my sister A and myself last night where we were going to go visit him, I actually got dressed to go, but both decided against it. Purely speaking for myself, I didn't want to go because I feel these last days should be reserved for his immediate family and those who have been at his side every day when he needed them the most. He should not be treated as if he is on display for the curious to see his suffering.
     With all that said I must go. Mom is needing me.

                                                               April Whitehair 

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

October 23, 2013

     Good morning. Wow Mom is very off this morning. She won't get dressed, she is very argumentative, broke Dad's picture frame, wants to call her Mom and Dad, and is just all around crabby. Also she says I am not her daughter and to not call her Mom anymore. I really try to be kind and patient but sometimes she just hits a nerve and I have to walk away and come back in a better frame of mind.
     My sister M came down yesterday and gave me a much needed break. My mission was to find blue jean skirts for this winter. The consignment shop that I was going to go to was no longer in business, at least not where I thought it was. I found a long blue jean skirt at Good Will, it is a little tight but I bought it anyway. I will use it as encouragement to loose weight. I went to Kmart and Walmart and looked but neither place had one. Actually Walmart had a short blue jean skirt, why are they selling short skirts in the fall? At least I got to get out of the house for a while and that is all I really wanted to do.
     I need to go see what I can do for Mom. Have a good day.

                                                April Whitehair

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

October 22, 2013

     Good morning. I am so sleepy this morning. Mom is already up and driving me crazy. I so hope that my sister M shows up today so I can get out. Not to sure what I am going to do, I might go look for some blue jean skirts for winter. I seem to be having trouble finding them anywhere.
     It is a rainy yucky day. It has been so cold that we have to keep the fire lit for Mom. She is always so cold. The heating stove in the living room doesn't work correctly so I am to afraid to use it. The gas pipe under the house needs changed, I think. That may be a project I get my husband to do when he is home from working out of town.
     I haven't been able to get back on the hill to cut down more trees. I am unable to do it while I am home alone with Mom. Hopefully this weekend when my husband is home I will be able to get up there and get something done.
     The pumpkins and gourds fared well with the light frost the other night. I looked it up and the pumpkins will be ok and the gourds, well some people just leave them out all winter to cure. But I really don't think mine were done growing so they probably won't make it. I will try to grow them again next year but plant them much sooner.
     I need to go. Have a good day.

                                          April Whitehair

Monday, October 21, 2013

October 21, 2013

     Good morning. Well it is Monday and my husband has left again to go out of town for work. He has been gone for three weeks and has three more weeks to go. Today he will have to be pepper sprayed, actually I think it is called something else, for training for his job. He is so not looking forward to having that done but I believe he went through something similar when he was in the Navy. I will be worried about him all day and hope he survives.
     Yesterday my sister A came down and spent time with Mom so I could go to church. I hadn't been to church since Mom broke her hip almost two months ago. It was so nice to get to fellowship and hear a good sermon. I love going to church. It puts me in a better frame of mind and kind of lets me put my life in context. Though my church may be small the love felt is great.
     So it frosted last night. I am not sure how that will effect the pumpkins and gourds still on the vine. When it warms up some I will go out and check on them. I need to do some research on what to do with the gourds. I hope the frost did not hurt them.
     I have so much cleaning to do. I don't do much house work when my husband is home on the weekends. Plus I try not to do much on Sundays, only the things I absolutely have to do to provide care for Mom. With all the dishes and laundry stacked up waiting on me I will have a busy day.
     Have a good day.

                                                                 April Whitehair

Saturday, October 19, 2013

October 19, 2013

     Good morning. Some how I am awake before everyone else in the house this morning even though I was woke up several times by Mom last night. I really need to talk to her doctor about getting her a sleeping pill. I honestly wouldn't mind her waking me up if she needed something but when she wakes me up to say "I want to go home." or "When are they going to be here?" it drives me crazy.
     My husband came home yesterday. I love having him here with us. I love being able to go to him with my thoughts, concerns, and issues. He is good to talk to. Some how he knows the difference between, "Man, she is driving me crazy!" and "Man, she is driving me crazy!" Looks the same but he can tell when I mean I need two minutes, you go deal with her, or I just want to vent.
     Mom's UTI is getting better, at least she is showing signs of getting better. I am so glad because they had said it this antibiotic didn't work she would need IV antibiotics. Which would mean spending time in the hospital and we definitely didn't want that.
     Even though it is getting to be late October I do still have a few things going on in the garden. My husband has a very nice sized pumpkin and a couple small ones still growing on the vine. And my bird house gourd plants are still producing baby gourds. There are two gourds that are nice sized ones. I just hope the frost will hold off till the get a little bigger. Next year I will have to plant these much earlier than I did this year.
     I need to go. Everyone is starting to wake up and I will be expected to do something other than look at this screen. Have a good day.

                                                             April Whitehair

Friday, October 18, 2013

October 18, 2013

     Good morning. Mom went to her doctor yesterday and yes she has a UTI. A pretty bad one at that. I hate that I did not know it till it got so bad. But like the doctor told me that it would be difficult to know if Mom didn't and wasn't able to tell me she was having difficulty or pain. She is on antibiotics and hopefully she will get better soon. She has only had three doses of antibiotic and I can already see an improvement.
     My sister H stopped by yesterday evening to visit and check in on us. It is so nice to have someone stop by. I got her to taste test my dip that I made the day before, that I told you about yesterday. She tried a little cold and said it was good. I hope she wasn't just being nice. But I sent her home with some to warm up eat later.     
     My husband comes home today. I am so happy to get to see him. But I really need to get this house clean before he gets here. So I need to get busy. Have a good day.

                                                           April Whitehair

Thursday, October 17, 2013

October 17, 2013

     Good morning. So I think Mom may have a bladder infection or something. I called and was able to get her an appointment to see one of the doctors in her doctor's office for this morning. Her bath aid should be here any minute to give her a shower and get her ready to go. Mornings are never fun here but having to wake up early and get ready to leave the house is even worse.
     Yesterday I experimented and made a new dip. It has taco seasoned shredded chicken, black beans, corn, rotel, a couple different cheeses and onion. It is very yummy. Even Mom liked it and she doesn't like anything. Of course I made some without the rotel so Mom's wouldn't be hot. I think I may have just came up with something good to take to potlucks. But I need a few more taste testers to make sure it is good enough.
     Well I need to go get the day started. Have a good day.
                                                           
                                                         April Whitehair

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

October 16, 2013

     Good morning. My sister A was here when we woke up this morning. I think she may have been setting on the front porch waiting for us to wake up. Boy she walked in to a mess. Mom had been up and created a real mess in her room this morning. She has learned to take her night gown off so the alarm doesn't go off and wake me up. After the clean up it was nice to sit down and hang out with my sister for a while.
     Yesterday my sister M came down so I could get out of the house. I actually got my hair cut, only a couple inches but it looks and feels better. I got some grocery shopping done. I have been working on building my emergency food supply. I had to put up new shelves to hold the extra cans plus I will have some room for more jars if I ever get to do more canning.
     I bought some more tulip bulbs to plant this weekend. I love tulips they are my favorite flowers. Now I just have to figure out where exactly I want to plant them. The other year I planted some then when they bloomed in the spring I realized that I didn't like where some of them were so I marked the ones I wanted to move this fall with popsicle sticks. Well my husband went through and weeded and chopped down my markers. So now I don't know where exactly those bulbs are to move them. I will try again next year. So when I plant now I would like to make sure that they are where I will want them for a long time.
     I need to go. Have a good day.

                                                      April Whitehair

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

October 15, 2013

     Good morning. I sure am running behind today. All morning long it has been just one thing after another. But I have a few minutes now. Mom is working with her physical therapist right now. She is doing so much better with her walking. We don't use the walker as much anymore. Around the house she does well just holding on to the furniture, the walker is confusing to her and sometimes she gets it caught on things and almost falls because of it. The therapist said it was ok for us not to use the walker around the house. But we will still use it when we are out. Her last physical therapy visit is on Thursday. So he must think she is walking well enough to not need physical therapy anymore.
     My ankle is getting better. It only hurts when I move it a certain way. But it did hurt a lot last night probably because I was on it all day yesterday. I am hoping to buy a pair of boots with good tread to wear when I am on the hill cutting trees. I hate having to stop and rest my ankle for a few days, I would love to be up there cutting trees and being in nature.
     Not much else is going on. My husband is still out of town for work, we miss him so much. My sister H stopped by yesterday evening to check in on us. I am so grateful to have her around. My other sister M will be stopping down after she gets off work so I can go to the store. I am so grateful to have her around also. Once Mom gets to walking better I should be able to have her tag along with me when I go out but right now walking around a grocery store would be to much for her. But when that time comes I still hope my sisters will come and let me get out of the house by myself every now and again.
     I need to get some laundry done and some other things caught up on. Have a good day.

                                                                April Whitehair

Monday, October 14, 2013

October 14, 2013

     Good morning. The other day I told you that I had got a chainsaw, this weekend I have been working on cutting down trees on the hill behind the house. It is going very slowly. The trees are very small and there are a lot of them. My husband came out to help when I got to a tree that was a little to tall, I was scared that it would hit the house. I am learning more with every cut. While cutting yesterday I slipped in the mud and twisted my ankle. It hurt so bad. For a minute I thought it was broke. I got back to the house and my husband had to take care of me. When I twisted my ankle, I banged my ankle bone on something and cut it, so he had to clean the cut with peroxide. I cried, I am such a baby sometimes. I think it is funny that I can climb a hill and cut down trees with a chainsaw and think I am big and bad but I cry over peroxide being poured on a cut. He made me lay down on the couch with an ice pack on my ankle and he gave me ibuprofen. So he spent most of the day taking care of Mom and me. This morning it is feeling better, a little stiff and slightly swollen.
     So I think I have decided not to get chickens in the spring. I thought about the cost verses the profit and I can't justify the cost. We are only a family of three, we don't use all that many eggs. We do eat a lot of chicken though. But I don't think I would be able to kill a chicken I raised from a baby. I mean I could if we were starving but we are not starving. So now to think about what I should do with the old chicken coop building that I was going to fix up. I have some ideas but I will think about them for a while before I let you know what crazy thing I plan to do next.
     My husband has just left again for his week away for work. Four more weeks to go. I miss him so much when he is gone. I never think I can make it another week without him but somehow I get through.
     Mom is up and making no sense at all. I need to go figure out what she wants. Have a good day.

                                                              April Whitehair   

Saturday, October 12, 2013

October 12, 2013

     Good morning. I am awake and have already been to the store. Yes I broke the no shopping this weekend to support the trucker strike thing. But sometimes there are things that I have to have for Mom's care. Though I didn't see many people out and about this morning it may have been because it is early Saturday morning not the trucker strike thing.
     So I got something cool yesterday, something I have been wanting for a while. I am so excited. What did I get? Yep, a chainsaw! It is a small, battery powered, bright green chain saw. I have already cut down a couple small trees on the hill behind my house. Oh course it doesn't cut as fast as a big gas powered one but it does what I want it to and it is light enough for me to carry. I was walking around yesterday saying, "I have a chainsaw. I'm super cool."  Mom heard me and said, "Your something but I wouldn't say cool." Lovely, she is such a nice Mom. My dream of having a fruit orchard on the hill behind the house is now one step closer. Hopefully I can get a chance to get outside today and cut some trees.
     My husband came home yesterday from working out of town. It is so nice to have my biggest supporter home with me again. Only four more weeks of him working out of town. I didn't think I could make it through even one day without him helping me let alone six weeks, but I guess I am stronger than I thought.
     I need to get off here and get some chores done. Have a good day.

                                                       April Whitehair

Friday, October 11, 2013

October 11, 2013

     Good morning. Yes I am running late this morning. Everything seems to be working against me this morning. But I did get some phone calls made this morning that needed to be made. I am such a procrastinator.
     I got more seeds in the mail yesterday. The seeds I got was Arugula, Spinach, Turnips, and Collards. I think I have decided that a lot of these seeds that I am getting from this club I will be only planting a few seeds from each pack and plant them in containers. Documenting on each to keep for future reference and saving the extra seeds. There is a friend of my husband who is interested in joining the seed club so I gave him the info so he could use my reference number. If anyone uses my reference number when signing up for the club I get my membership extended for a year for free. I so hope someone will sign up. If you would like the info on the club you can comment and ask and I will give you all the details.
     My sisters H and A stopped by yesterday evening. We all had a good time. Mom enjoys company so much. We all set around, talked, and laughed. As my sister A says it better to laugh than cry.   
     I need to go. Mom is being very off this morning. Have a good day.

                                                    April Whitehair

Thursday, October 10, 2013

October 10, 2013

     Good morning. During yesterday's experiment to see if Mom would enjoy coloring my sister H showed up to see if I needed to go to the grocery store because of the upcoming trucker strike. She told me that our local grocery store was almost out of bread. I should have been ok without going to the store but I thought I could get a couple things and it would give me a reason to get out of the house. To tell the truth I don't know how much bread was on the shelves, I didn't even look. I thought about alternatives to bread that would last longer than just a loaf of bread sitting on the counter. So I bought corn bread mix, frozen bread dough, and frozen biscuits. These things will last longer and I can use them anytime, even after the trucker strike.
     So my sister H got to be with Mom during the coloring experiment. She said Mom did cry some during coloring. Mainly because the purple crayon did not work right. They were cheap dollar store crayons. But when I left she was coloring and when I returned she was still coloring so I guess it kind of worked but I just wish it wouldn't have made her cry.
     My husband gets to come home tomorrow. I miss him so much. Four more weeks of this. I can't wait to get back to our normal routine. I don't do well with change. Plus I would love to have him here to help me with Mom.
     Have a good day.

                                                         April Whitehair

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

October 9, 2013

     Good morning. My brother-in-law came down yesterday evening and fixed my washer, I am super happy to have a working washer again. I told Mom if he didn't come down I was going to have to go to the creek and beat our clothes off a rock. She found that very funny. Now I have to do laundry and that is no fun.
     My sister M came down yesterday to spend time with my Mom and let me get out of the house for a while. She took Mom to visit with Mom's brother who has cancer. They said he is doing ok, not great but ok. This makes Mom very sad, she talked about it all evening.  He is such a good guy. Cancer sucks!
     So Mom keeps asking to help me with what ever I am doing, be it laundry or dishes or mopping the floor. There isn't much she can do and it makes her sad that she can't help. As for dishes she hates to put her hands in water so she can't help much there, and with the walker she can't carry dishes. Laundry she can't fold, she gets confused on how to fold a wash rag and cries. And mopping the floor is out of the question, woman with broken hip, walker and unsteady to begin with on a wet floor is not gone to happen. So I have been trying to think of some things she could do with me. The day before yesterday we sorted my seed collection and sorted the different types of sunflower seeds that accidentally got mixed up together. It was difficult for her but we managed to get it done. I think she just liked looking at the different pictures on the seed envelopes. Yesterday while I was out I bought us a puzzle to work on. An easy one, only 300 pieces, most are 1000 pieces, and the pieces are the big ones not tiny little ones. I sorted out all the edge pieces and tried to get her to help me put it together. She can't do it. I would even give her two pieces that went together and asked if she could try and put them together and she couldn't. It made her cry. So no more puzzles for us. Tonight we will try coloring, but I think that may be to hard for her as well. I remember her at Bible school and how she had a hard time coloring, she would get upset if she colored outside of the lines. I am at a loss of what to do with her. Do you have any suggestion on what we could do to give her some kind of entertainment, some since of worth?
     Well I must go get this day started. Have a good day.

                                                           April Whitehair

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

October 8, 2013

     Good morning. Wow, I am sleepy this morning. It is very cold, my thermometer on the front porch shows 36 degrees. The news yesterday said the low for last night would be 44 so I knew that it would be much colder down here in the hollow.
     Mom is up already. She was very confused yesterday evening. I was having difficulty handling her. My brother-in-law and sister M talked to her over the phone and got her to calm down. I am so grateful for family that hears my cries for help and actually call and check on me. Even just talking to someone on the phone helps a lot. Helps me vent, helps me regain my mental stability. Thank you sister M and her husband and sister H, I don't know what I would do without you guys.
     One of the reasons I was having such a hard time last night was my washer decided to break while I had the couch cover in it. I had to keep jiggling the door switch to get it to run, then it would stop again, then jiggle some more. I would hate to think that I will have to buy a new washer just because a switch doesn't work. Maybe I can find someone who can fix it.
      My sister M is coming down today so I can get out and take a break. I am not sure what I will do I may just run away and hid for a few hours. I need to go get the day started and see if I can get the washer going. Have a good day.

                                                             April Whitehair

Monday, October 7, 2013

October 7, 2013

     Good morning. My husband has just left for his week away again for work. I always miss him so much when he is gone but I was able to make it through last week so I am hoping that I will be able to get by without him again this week.
     Saturday was the Salem Apple Butter Festival parade. I was able to go and take Mom. I think she had a good time though she complained about everything. Some of her friends and family stopped and talked to her. I am very thankful to the family and friends that we have. They were so helpful with her. Whether it was pushing her wheelchair through the festival or helping us find a parking spot or keeping an eye on her so I could go get us something to drink or talking and entertaining her or buying her an umbrella to keep the sun off her, it all was greatly appreciated. Caring for a loved one is not a individual job it takes a community.
     I am a member of a group on face book where people share non-gmo seeds and information. I so far have received Marigold seeds from a woman in Texas. I think that is so cool. I know I can get Marigold seed around here but getting seeds for free and from another state is pretty cool. I am hoping to get some other seeds. Sadly I don't have any seeds to share except for some sun flower seeds which no one seems interested in. Maybe next year I will have lots of seeds to share.
     I need to get off here and get the day started. I have so much laundry built up from the weekend I don't ever think I will be done with it. Have a good day.

                                                              April Whitehair

Saturday, October 5, 2013

October 5, 2013

    Good morning. My husband came home yesterday, I am so happy he is here. I missed him so much. He is sore from all the exercise he had to do for training but he woke up this morning and ran a mile. I am so proud of him. It is great to have my supporter here with me to help me with Mom. I will miss him when he goes back on Monday.
     I told you yesterday about the blog I found that shows you how to do the calculations for how much you should plant to feed your family for a year. My husband helped me with the math last night, which was very interesting to say the least. A lot of laughs, even Mom came in to watch us 'argue' about the way to do it. She found it very funny. After figuring it out I decided that I would just plant what I wanted and see how that goes. The results that we came up with was crazy, like we would need to plant 300 corn. There is no way I am going to plant 300 corn, 16 maybe definitely not 300.
     I am thinking about buying a chainsaw. Well to be honest a battery powered chainsaw. I don't think I could use a regular gas powered one, they are very heavy. Why do I want a chainsaw? We have a useless hill behind the house that does nothing but grow junk trees. I would like to cut down those trees and plant fruit and nut trees. I think that would be better use of that land that now is not being used for anything. I had thought of getting goats and putting them on that hill but I think I could get better use of it with trees. We shall see if I actually do it. I have been looking into the price of battery powered chainsaws and the customer reviews, I think I found one that I might get. It will only cut 7inch diameter trees at the most which is ok for me because most of the trees on that hill are around that size or smaller. There are a couple that are bigger than that but I don't want to cut them, I don't want to drop them on the house. I am not skilled cutting trees but I am hoping to add to my skills list. My poor husband just shakes his head at me and my big ideas.
     I need to go. Have a good day.

                                                             April Whitehair  

Friday, October 4, 2013

October 4, 2013

     Good morning. Yesterday was a blah day. Nothing to write about. I still miss my husband, he should be home sometime today. Mom is still kicking and appears to be sleeping in this morning. She wanted to stay up late last night watching tv.
     I found yesterday a blog where you can calculate how much of each vegetable and fruit you would need to plant to feed your family for a year. I was very happy to find this info because I had been thinking for a while about how much I would need to plant next spring. Now I have all the info I will need to do it. Except for one problem, I am very, very bad at math. I mean very bad. I am ok with basic math but this is more like algebra.  I tried to figure it out and walked away and came back and tried again and I still can't figure it out. I will try again and hopefully I can grasp it. I may need my husband to help me. It will be very helpful when planning my garden next year.
     I so need a root cellar. I have been looking up info on different ways to create a small one. It may be a project for next summer. That is if I have any space left to put one after planting everything that I want to.
     Mom is up wanting attention. I must go get this day started. Have a good day.

                                                          April Whitehair 

Thursday, October 3, 2013

October 3, 2013

     Good morning. I made it one more day without my husband being home. He should be home some time tomorrow, I can't wait. I am planning on making a good dinner for his first night home. Though by what he has told me I think he may have been eating better than me all week.
     I think I have been doing a lot better with Mom than I thought I would have while my husband is away. Last evening when Mom got into her crying, wanting her mom and dad who died 30 years ago, not listening to anything I said, and just being all around difficult, like she does every evening. My sister stopped up at just the right time. I seen her coming through the door and said, "She is yours." I was able to walk away and take a break and calm down. Mom calmed down very quickly by the distraction. It seems like the only thing that works, someone else coming in and changing the atmosphere in the room. Mom was just fine the rest of the evening. I was calmer the rest of the evening as well.
     I have decided to identify my sisters but not use their names on this blog. I have always just said my sister, well I have three sisters and how will I know in the future which one I was talking about? So from now on I have sister M, H, and A. Love you girls, I hope this is ok.
     So my sister H, the one that came up last night, had good news that I would like to share. She won two first place ribbons for her apple pies in the Apple Butter Festival apple pie contest. Congratulations! For years Mom, sister H, and I would all enter the contest and it was fun to see who between us would beat the other. I think we all took turns winning first place. All in good fun and bragging rights. Mom had been unable to enter for a few years due to her dementia and I missed the date to enter last year and this year I just plain old didn't want to do it, I could say I didn't have the time but I could have made time. But just to pick on my sister I must say that if I would have entered I would have beat you. LOL.  She brought up a piece of pie for Mom and I to try last night and it was very good.
     Yesterday morning was Mom's follow up surgeon appointment. Everything is healing well. I was able to see the x-rays from before the surgery and yesterday. Rod and pin, not much else to say that it looked like. She wont have to go see him again for a year.
     Have a good day.

                                                            April Whitehair

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

October 2, 2013

     Good morning. I am awake early this morning. Mom has a follow up appointment with her surgeon this morning. Way earlier than I would like the appointment to be. I have to be ready and have Mom ready and out of the house by 7:30am. It is going to be a long day. We were up often last night, so not much sleep to go on.
     Today is the third day that my husband has been away for work. I miss him so much. I don't however miss the constant football that was always on tv when he was here. I actually get to watch something else which is a nice change.
     Short post today. Busy morning. Must go get things started. Have a good day.

                                                        April Whitehair

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

October 1, 2013

     Good morning. Wow, it's October already. Where did September go? I do love the fall season though. It is just over way to quickly then the snow comes.
     My husband left for work, out of town, yesterday morning. I miss him so much already. Though I did not think I could do it without him I did manage to survive. My sister stopped by yesterday evening during the time Mom is usually the worst. We all had a good time visiting. I think I see what some of Mom's problem is. She is bored. But when someone, anyone visits she has entertainment and that puts her in a better mood overall. I can only do so much when it comes to entertainment. I have things to do around the house and that keeps me from being right next to her all day. Plus I am not new to her anymore. I am just plain old no fun.
     I am going to go. I need to get the day started. Have a good day.

                                                                    April Whitehair