View From My Window

We see graffiti on railway equipment/cars all of the time, but it’s not often we see what appears to be a professionally painted car like this one. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Googled the name and found photos of other cars that had this same name on them. Stranger and stranger.

Image taken from the web at http://tinyurl.com/c5r92ts

My husband seems to be tolerating the Aricept well, but the dosage is half of what he’s going to be using so we will reserve judgment until he’s on the full dosage.

Nothing else to share for now. Be safe, be happy, and please tell those you love that you love them.

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View From My Window

This collage was my interpretation of what Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) does to the brain. I created it back in 2000, when I was helping to care for an elderly woman who happened to have Alzheimer’s Disease. By a fluke of nature, her mother had died from Alzheimer’s, and eventually, her brother developed it.  Apparently AD ran in her family genetics. I didn’t know it could do that until I met her.

Actually, I worked for this very nice lady, long before I became a part-time caregiver to her. I would come to her home and help her with a book she was writing. Sadly, the book never did get finished because AD took over her brain to the point where she couldn’t perform the simplest of daily living tasks, much less sit at a computer and write. She died several years later, and her housekeeper/caregiver, P.C., returned to her home back east. I had become friends with PC’s two granddaughters when they came to California to visit their grandmother. The eldest granddaughter was killed in an automobile accident several years later, and I’m still in contact with the remaining granddaughter. P.C. and I became very good friends through our caregiving task, and sadly (and unbelievably) P.C. developed Alzheimer’s and passed a few years after she returned home.

What starts out as small incidents of confusion, lost objects, missing words, speech difficulties, gradually turns into a recognizable physical condition — dementia. After a time, tests are run and a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease is announced. Finally, IT has a name. It’s not unexpected by this time, because by now the symptoms can’t be misconstrued as anything but a serious, mind-altering and crippling disease. All too soon, the balance of ‘everything’s o.k.’ to ‘something’s not right’ becomes out of whack and there’s more moments of ‘something’s not right’ to the number of moments when everything seems normal and the idea that there could be anything wrong with your loved one’s mind seems to be inconceivable.

Suddenly, your world has changed and you’re in the middle of the whirlwind of AD and caregiving. Any plans you may have had for traveling or taking on large projects are automatically set aside because your life is different now. It will continue to be different for years to come. No roadmap available for this journey, although there is a lot more knowledge and assistance these days than in years past. You’re not alone now, and that’s good, because you’re going to need all the support you can get.

I’m dancing all around the issue here — my husband has dementia — most likely, it’s Alzheimer’s Disease or Alzheimer’s related dementia. I’m on a different road in life these days, and I only have a general idea of what lays ahead. Whatever happens, I know that I am not alone. I do have a strong faith in God and in the Universe of Life.

Be safe, be well (please) and take a moment to enjoy your life. Be sure to say I Love You to your loved ones. It’s the one positive constant in life and can give us comfort in trying times.

View From My Window

I received a note this morning from WordPress, telling me it was 7 years ago today that I started my WordPress blog. Time surely flies. It’s been nice having a place to come to when I feel the urge to write and to share the trivia of my life.

The latest bit of trivia is that Robert has somehow lost his cell phone. The battery has gone dead now, so calls made to it go straight to voice mail. But since I have kept our previous cell phones, it was simply a matter of calling TracFone and asking to reactivate one of the phones and to transfer the service from the missing phone to the older phone (which is actually newer than the one that has gone missing.) The sim card had expired so I’m waiting on a replacement to arrive in the mail. When it arrives, I’ll call TracFone and get the service transferred. No charge for any of the service, which is nice. The real bonus is that this ‘new’ phone has triple minutes attached to it, so every time there is an addition of minutes or data or service days, the amount is tripled, free of charge! Nice! I lost my triple minute bonus when I changed my TracFone phone to our younger son’s old Apple I-phone. I still haven’t mastered using it and am so very tempted to go back to my TracFone phone, but I’ll persevere. Eventually, I’ll learn enough of it to actually make it usable to me. LOL

Our weather has changed (again!) and we’re starting to have some warmer days. Now if it would only stay that way for a while! LOL

Not much else going on so will close with blessings to all. Be safe, take care of yourself and tell those you love that you love them!

View From My Window

 

Strange sunrise this morning. The clouds were hanging low and the sun was breaking through to the east. We had a forecast for more rain and we did get some light sprinkles this afternoon, but nothing like the downpour we got last week.

Before I forget, I want to thank all those who have served in our military. Without your sacrifices our world wouldn’t be what it is today; a nation of proud and free people. Bless and keep you and yours, and may we all remember those who gave their lives so we could continue to live free.

We got a shipment yesterday from Nikon. I had shipped Robert’s camera off to be repaired a week before we went to Ogden, UT to see UP4104 and UP844. So very glad we went. What a trip… But I digress. When I opened the box from Nikon, all I could see was black, wrapped in bubble wrap. My first thought was that they’d shipped the wrong camera. Then I picked up the packing slip and saw the words, “Replaced Product.” Reading further, I saw they had discovered some parts were no longer available so his camera couldn’t be repaired. So the decision was made to replace the camera. I had wanted to avoid a situation where Robert would have to learn a new camera all over again, but this one isn’t too far away from what he had. I printed out the Quick Start Manual and he’s been reading it for the past couple of days and playing with the camera. It was definitely cheaper than purchasing a brand new camera for $400+ and having another learning curve to boot. It’ll be o.k. If he has problems with the camera, I can help him.

I actually got a bit of sewing done this morning. We had appointments for the past couple of days so I was too tired at the end of the day to do anything but read and watch t.v. I don’t have any true deadlines right now, which is very nice. Sewing for pleasure is always a good thing.

Nothing else going on so will close this with blessings to all. Be safe, take good care of yourself (you’re one of a kind and very special) and be aware of all the good things you have in life.

View From My Window

Monday, May 20, 2019 — Our weather has reverted back to winter. A winter-level storm hit Tehachapi this past weekend, unloading 1.82″ of rain. To say it was wet and cold is an understatement. Last night I brought back out the winter weight bed comforter and the lighter-weight quilts got folded up and put aside for now. When I got up at 6:15 a.m. today, the thermostat on the furnace read 61 deg. DH had set it for 62 degrees, which is a couple of degrees colder than we usually set it for.

The other day I opened up the desk drawer next to my computer and spotted signs that we had a new (uninvited and surely unwanted) resident–a field mouse! I  believe it came  in while we were away on our trip to Utah. More evidence was found in a kitchen tool drawer. Out came everything–disinfect the drawer and everything that was IN the drawer. Package office things in plastic zipper bags after completely cleaning out the drawer. Where’s Ruby when you need her??? I ask you!

Well, Ruby did manage to make it over twice today–the first time was just for a leg rub and a “Hello, I’ve missed you.” type of visit. Out came the treats and cat food. She gobbled a bit and then because I was busy cooking breakfast for the hubster, she decided she didn’t want to wait around for my attention so she headed for the office door. I let her out and said thanks for the visit. About an hour later, she came back and did a thorough inspection of my corner cupboard in the office. She sniffed, scratched, and laid down in her ‘I’m waiting’ mode that we see outdoors when she’s watching the hummingbird feeder. Eventually, she gave up and came out, jumping up on the spare office chair and making herself comfortable.

I’ve set up our one poison bait center in the cubby where the trash and recyclables cans sit, and put a couple of the old-fashioned wood spring-loaded traps in places where I’ve seen the “Ev-EE-dence” (spoken in the manner of Jackie Gleason in “The Bandit”) of the little critter’s presence. I need to go back and buy some of those glue traps–those things work! Paired up with the wood traps (filled with just a bit of peanut butter), I’ll get the little pest eventually.

Well, not much else going on here. I’ve been cutting fabric for my next quilt and will pick up sewing again tomorrow. For tonight, I wish you well. Be at peace, be grateful and be content, for you are where you should be in this life. Be sure to tell those you love that you love them and ask them to take care… each of us has an important role to play in this life.

View From My Window

May 9, 2019, in Ogden, Utah. It was the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Our family (older son, his girlfriend, Robert and I in one car, and the younger son, his wife, our niece and her husband in a second car) drove over 700 miles to be there for this momentous occasion. Three days of celebrating, riding trains and just taking in the sights.

We got back home Monday evening. The eldest son did all the driving, for which I am very grateful. There were some high points and some low points, as all trips have, but here’s some photos of the high points!

This was the stage and the fenced in ‘corral’ area where handicapped people could wait for the steam locomotives to appear. Wheelchairs were allowed, but chairs weren’t allowed. Also, at first they allowed people to come in and take pictures but then if they weren’t disabled, they had to leave. One couple stayed with me and when they were announcing that non-handicapped people had to leave the corral area, they asked if they could be my ‘assistants’. I told them sure, for as long as I could tolerate standing there waiting for the ceremony.  We got there at 7:30 a.m., expecting the ceremony to start at 9:30 a.m.  After a bit, we learned that contrary to everything we’d been told/read, the ceremony wouldn’t start until 10:30 a.m. I stood there at the railing for as long as I could before the pain caused me to give up and make my way over to the bleachers where my daughter-in-law, niece and older son’s girlfriend were sitting. We still had quite a wait.

UP 844 was already in place, but UP 4014 was off stage and out of sight to the left.

At one point, the engineer for 844 got off and walked over to talk to some people a couple of feet away from me. I pulled out our cards and motioned him over. I told him about the 24/7 live train cams here in Tehachapi and he smiled and said he’d check them out as he tucked the cards in his wallet.

Needless to say, it was hard to get a photo of the “Big Boy” as it is fondly called, without people in the picture, but we managed to get this one of it as it was leaving the yard.  A once in a lifetime opportunity that won’t happen again for another 50 years.

Other than trains, we saw lots of snow-capped mountains, and toured an automobile museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be safe, take care of yourself, and be grateful for each and every moment of your life. Be sure to tell those you love that you love them.

View From My Window

May 4, 2019 — Here’s a cute questionnaire for you to play with. I pulled it from my niece’s Facebook page:

Think about your SENIOR year in High School. The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be!

 

1962

 

1. Did you know your current love/spouse? No

2. Make of car? No car

3. What kind of job? No Job

4. Where did you live? San Diego, CA

5. Were you popular? No

6. Were you in choir? No

7. Ever get suspended from school? No

8. If you could go back, would you? No

9. Still talk to the person that you went to prom with? No

10. Did you skip school? No

11. Go to all the football games? No

12. What was your favorite class? Shorthand

13. Do you still have your year book? Yes

14. Did you follow the career path you chose? Yes

15. Did you have a class ring? No

16. Still see/talk with some BFFs? One

17. Who was your favorite teacher? Mr. Bacon

18. What was your favorite style? Skirt and blouse

19. Favorite shoes? Tennies

20. Favorite thing to eat? Peanut Butter Chews

21. Favorite band? Four Seasons

22. High school haircut? Short

23. What kind of perfume? Didn’t wear perfume

24. How old when you graduated? 18

 

Copy then paste your answers.

On to other topics, I finished a quilt for the Tehachapi Depot Railroad Museum’s Gift Shop. Angi Nelson Wiggins  created the top, and the very special quilting was done by Carolyn Seagraves Wright, another Loose Threads — Tehachapi quilt group member. Carolyn did an all over steam locomotive pattern and it turned out great! I added the backing, batting, binding and a label. It will be delivered tomorrow, 05/05/19.

Be safe, take care of yourself, and be sure to tell those you love that you love them.