"I don't wanna do your dirty work no more ..."

Another warm and muggy day in November. I demand Fall.

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I'm in the middle of doing 2 loads of Grandma F's laundry. Yesterday was her laundry day, and I set the hamper out by the door as usual. Today when I got there, the basket was just inside the door. I assumed it was clean and ready to be put away until I opened the plastic bag. It was still dirty. Grandma said "they" just put it back in her room because "they" don't have time to wash clothes, since "they" are so busy washing all those tablecloths and cloth napkins. I'm figuring she either got confused and pulled it into her room as she returned from a meal, or she did it on purpose. She was complaining that the detergent they used had stretched out a pair of her new panties, so maybe she just wanted me to do it. Hellifiknow ... all I know is, I'm doing this week's laundry.

Things discussed during the Care Plan meeting:
*Grooming: The nurse is planning to talk with Grandma F, and to do so sternly if necessary, about her hair and nails. Her hair is not being washed, and it's because Grandma is refusing during her shower time. She is wearing the same clothes for days at a time, and the nurse added to the Care Plan that she should receive prompts from the aide to wear something different every day. Also, to discourage Grandma F from cutting her own hair, she suggested we tell Grandma that's it's against the rules for her to have scissors of any kind in her room.
*Breakfast: Again today, Grandma asked me to see if they could bring her a cup of hot water and a doughnut every morning. The nurse said the fee was $2 per meal, per day for a tray to be delivered. (If a resident is ill, they can have a tray delivered for up to 3 days at no extra charge.) Anyway, the nurse warned of the possibility of Grandma F wanting ALL meals in her room if we started doing breakfast. And we don't want that. She suggested getting a small (2 cup) hot water dispenser for her room, so she could make tea in the mornings. It's allowable only if it has an automatic shut-off, but I shopped online today, and found one. I'm still not sure it would be safe for her ... she spills things quite easily, and of course, she can't see very well. Gonna think on this one for a while. She is going to tell Grandma about the availabilty of fresh fruit in the dining room every morning, and that she can walk up there to get what she wants for her room every day. I buy her 9 to 10 bananas every Thursday, and by Monday night they are GONE.
*Dementia: The nurse suggested we visit the doctor to talk specifically about her mental issues, possibly getting an order for a psych evaluation. She said her dementia may have progressed to the point that she could benefit from the Alzheimer's drug Aracept (sp?).

This morning, during our visit, Grandma F told me, once again, the entire story (start to finish ... it took about 15 minutes) of the All Powerful ID Card. She said someone had come into her room to take a "survey", and she refused to say anything to them. Because that card meant she didn't have to.

She also told me about the "Killer Flag". For Veteran's Day, the home had hung a flag from the doorway of the dining room. She said everybody was so worried that the flag was going to fall on them. They were all relieved when the maintenance people took it down today. She said she tried to tell Jimmy all about it when he was there, and he argued with her, trying to tell her that a fabric flag couldn't hurt you even if it did fall on you. She said he was so hard-headed, she couldn't make him understand the danger. I told her that he got that hard head from her.

Oh, my nerves.

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Just for the record ... that yard man next door was still on a mower at 6:30 PM yesterday. That's 6 hours, y'all. I figure he's getting paid by the hour.

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Leaving today, I noticed a hard hat from one of Jimmy's jobs had fallen to the ground ... and I noticed it just as the garage door was closing on it. The door stopped, and then wouldn't close again, because a wheel popped off the track. Still waiting on the repair guy. Hopefully this will cost less than replacing the $spring$.

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I'm almost done watching the last season of "The Sopranos" on DVD. (I think I'm the only person in America who never watched the series when it was on HBO.) Now I'm wondering how I'll manage without my weekly dose of Tony. Hurry up Season 6, will ya?