Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Who's doing the checking

J17 and I spent yesterday with my parents.  I had some business to take care of down there and I wanted to take them their tomato seeds as well as pick up some pizzas I had ordered from a fundraiser.  While we were there, Mom and Dad were talking about a speaker that had been at the retirement apartment/community where one of my aunts has moved. This lady was talking about how children can tell if their parents need help and/or are slipping into dementia.  We all had a good laugh.   Several of the things this speaker was telling adult children to watch for are normal occurrences, not only for my parents but at my own house.
What did she warn about?
1.  Multiple packages/cans of the same item.  (Because evidently, in her world, stocking up on something is a sign of dementia.)
2.  Floors that haven't been recently vacuumed. (HAHAHAHA!!)
3.  Lots of items in the fridge with some past their expiration date.... really???

I guess it all depends on who is doing the checking.  Dad assured me that just because they bought two cases of canned vegetables (at $.25/can) that they aren't demented...  I wasn't worried. None of the things on that list would concern me.  I guess it's just a different mindset.

We also dug up a couple of big asparagus crowns to bring home.  And we stopped at Stringtown and the cheese factory on our way back but more about all of that some other time.  I've gotta talk about the weather!

The weather has been totally crazy warm! And it's forecast to continue. We're forecast for temps into the 80's!  In Iowa in March!!! Too crazy!  The tree buds are exploding into green. Things are growing!  And they're predicting this weather pattern to last for at least another week and a half.  But I'm just worried that everything will bud out and they it will freeze again.  It can still get nasty cold in April.  I'll just have to cross my fingers.  But, maybe some peas will go into the garden soon....  because Spring Fever is hitting hard!
We even did our first grilling out of the season this evening.  Mmm... locally made brats...
And finally, I was chatting with Roger this evening.  We were talking gardening and seed starting.  He offered me a seedling of the Trinidad Scorpion pepper...  I declined.  It is reportedly the hottest pepper on the planet (2,000,000+ scoville units- the strength of police grade tear gas) and I really don't have an interest in growing something that I need to wear gloves to touch and that you need to have protective gear to cut.  No thanks. I'd probably hurt myself.

12 comments:

  1. Okay, I guess I have dementia. All three things are happening here! Actually, Tramp 1's Mom has it. Strangely, she is actually more fun to be with now than she ever used to be. But probably not to Tramp 1's Dad who spends all his time with her. They are both 90 and while we live 8 hours from them we watch out for them very closely by managing their checking account and credit cards on the internet. When there is a slip, we know before the other family members that live near them.

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    1. I think I've got dementia too, by this ladies standards. I've got to wonder if she knew her audience at all. That retirement village is mostly made up of retired farmers and farmwives with a few city folks mixed in. But here, even most of those city folks would have had a garden.
      How sweet of you to look after their finances. I work on a geriatric unit in the hospital so I deal with a lot of people with dementia and know it isn't always easy.

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  2. Gosh even if stocking up wasn't demented, I wonder what would have been advised if said parents were muttering something about zombies and/or WTSHTF! LOL, I'm secure in my dementia, how about you? :) Too funny! Forgot to mention I love that header photo of the bread!

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    1. I'm pretty sure in my dementia as well. This lady probably hangs out at stock up sales to 'tag and bag' unsuspecting seniors.

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  3. Looks like there are a lot of demented people out here, myself included. Does it count as demented when I buy a container of steel cut oats and find I have two more unopened ones, hidden in the back of my pantry? Geez. Weather here is warm, too. I have the same fears, as frozen blossoms mean no apples or fruit and another challenge to bees.

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    1. Wait till she gets a load of the 15 lb bag of oatmeal in the freezer- not to mention flour....

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  4. Well, move over and make room for me on the demented bench, will ya? That speaker would probably run for her life if she ever came near my house! lol

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    1. There's plenty of room on the dementia bench. Bring your canned goods with you and we'll have a swap.

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  5. Ha! Count me on the demented list! If I could just teach those damned cats to use the vacuum cleaner....

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    1. LOL! Of course, if you could train the cats they would probably be more reliable than my children who are supposed to vacuum.

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  6. I've had Dementia for years...lol Hummmmmm, maybe I should vaccuum before Kelly puts me in the nursing home...debbie

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    1. LOL!! Maybe I'd better vacuum as well!! I think we're all headed for "The Home"!!

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