Jacksonville Living

Since moving to Jacksonville in April, my mother has been hospitalized four times - heart, heart, pneumonia/heart, and C-Dif (a horrible and potentially deadly hospital borne intestinal infection).  Her 5'6" frame has gone from a slender 127 to 113.  Hugging my mother is like hugging a chicken bone.  She needs meat, but doesn't care for the taste or texture.  Her appetite is minimal at best, and her energy comes in tiny spurts followed by exhaustion.

My two sisters and I met at Village Inn, calendars and opinions and ideas ready to share, to work out a care plan.  I don't work and Kathie and Patty do.  While Patty is on school vacation (she is a teacher), she will go daily to momma and daddy's house to do four or five hours of cooking, laundry, and doctor appointments.  Kathie is the Sunday girl, and once school starts, Patty will take over on Saturdays.  Momma loves the new calendar, knowing who will do what when and the comfort of knowing there will always be someone there to help keep their daily routine constant.

Mark and I have a two-week vacation planned for later this month, a celebration of leaving the job he has done since he was 28 years old, Snap-On Tools, which he closes out his inventory later this week.  It has been a year since we last visited our mountain home together and he feels this break is needed before he begins the daunting task of finding another job.  At almost 57, he is concerned about finding anything.  Once home, I go back to my Monday through Friday daily visits to my parents' home.  It's very pleasant to see Momma and Daddy regularly and I am so very thankful to share the same city now after being away for 26 years.

Jacksonville and Caffiene Withdrawal

My oldest sister Kat and her husband Larry moved into our parents house to help momma with her daily needs. Momma had a severe lung infection that took months of strong medication, but although she has recovered, the combination of her weak heart and that infection really took a toll on momma's strength and she has become pretty housebound. Daddy needs somebody to take care of him too, as he is a typically helpless 79 year old man, spoiled to pieces by momma. So, when Kat and Larry want to go out of town, like this long weekend, to visit family in the Pensacola area of Florida, I come up and take over. Kat and Larry are excited about going out into the Gulf on his son's boat, visiting family and their grandchildren.

Mom and Daddy drink decaf coffee, and this is my second day here, without my caffiene. I didn't realize how addicted I have become, with a pretty intense headache today. I fished a Coke out of the fridge and poured myself a glass, and along with some Tylenol, I hope to feel better quickly. Maybe I'll make an espresso if this coke doesn't work.

Helping Kat

Still in Jacksonville. Mark came in town for the weekend and I'm still here. I have helped Kat with laundry, cleaned out he fridge, freezer and deep freeze. Tomorrow morning we'll clean out the pantry, scrub it down, and put back what we'll keep. Then I'll drive home.

Momma's Birthday

Yep, I'm in Jacksonville again, this time for momma's 78th birthday. She's so funny...I asked what she wants, and she says she doesn't want any gifts. Later when we talked about how many people will be coming, organizing the schedule, momma says she'll open her gifts from this time to that time, then next the cake. I'm going to get her something special today. Her birthday is August 1st.

My sister Kat's birthday was July 26th and I missed her day. The neighbor we grew up across the street from, Margaret Rose, wanted to do something special for Kat's birthday and so yesterday, right after I arrived, we all met at Olive Garden for a birthday lunch. Kat and I both had the most wonderful creamy chicken soup with little dumplings, and of course the salad. Who doesn't love Olive Garden? Her neighbor Jimmy drove Margaret over, and he was such a comedian! It was nice to see Marg for an enjoyable lunch. Happy 56th birthday, Kat. I'm right behind you!!

My other sister Patty popped both yesterday and today, and I know we'll see her tomorrow for birthday party. Of course I got to see daddy every day. I brought some Moose Poop that I made (recipe below), and he took the little tupperware container to his recliner and nibbled on it for quite a while. It's' nice to see all the fam.

Moose Poop:
1) Prepare a big paper grocery bag with a small bag of powdered sugar and 3 Tblsp cinamon. Shake it up to prime the sides with a little dust. Set aside.
2)Put a quarter stick of butter, a cup of peanut butter (doesn't matter if it's crunchy or not) and with a bag of milk chocolate chips in a huge bowl and microwave to melt. Add a Tablespoon of vanilla extract and stir up.
3)Pour in a box of Crispix cereal, a couple of handfuls of peanut M&M's, a couple of handfuls of pecans or raw almonds, or do like me and add both, and whatever else you think would be good. I tossed in a big handful of tiny marshmallows.
4) Dump sticky mixture into paper sack and fold down the top well. I use a stapler, because I've had escapees before. Shake shake shake to coat each chocolate covered Crispix..
5)Lay a wide sheet of tinfoil down, lay two long sheets of waxed paper on that, overlapping. Then pour the Moose Poop out to dry out a bit.
6) After a couple of hours, move the sweet treat into a large tupperware with tight fitting lid. Expect it to be opened often.