Sunday

It's a quiet Sunday, everyone napped or watched movies today...Granny napped while Gabby had Home Teachers...which I thought was interesting. She usually likes the attention of men. I have just been feeling sorry for myself today....do you ever have days like that ...when no matter what you do, you just can't find happiness except in fleeting moments....like I love to talk to Lyle, and when he spends time with me it makes me happy....anyway, that is today...need people to serve so I don't have time to get myself all wrapped up inside myself.

Bunnies and more

I know what you would love to see...if I ever get over there and take pictures...we have 90 bunnies...they are so adorable. Lyle has always wanted to have rabbits, he did it for a while when Deidra was about 2..so it's been just a few years... :)

We use our closet at night as a "nursery" for the "kits" (baby bunnies) because it has been so darn cold at night. We have lost a few bunnies to the weather, so it's a learning process.

Before you read the scary part...if anyone is interested in baby bunnies for Easter...I think we will have a few :) We have white ones, black ones, brown ones...and some mixed.

Well, this is the scary part, they are meat rabbits so I don't visit them often, it makes it hard to handle :} Rabbit meat is lower in fat and higher in protein that the normal meats we use, like chicken, turkey, pork and beef. And rabbit doesn't gross Lyle out like poultry does, so that is why we are now serving rabbit in place of chicken. You just have to adjust, and pretend it's chicken. That's the only way I can handle serving or eating it.

We also are raising our very own laying chickens, so we get between 16 and 21 eggs every day....we have a ton of eggs. Tanya (Lyle's sister), our neighbor, gets four dozen every few days and we still have at least 8 dozen in the fridge all the time :) So we won't starve that's for sure.

We are supposed to plant a garden this year also....but we might not make it...Lyle has been busily taking care of things around here. He is remodeling the first home we lived in here in Harper's acres... and Amron (our son) and Brooke (his wife) will be moving into it. That will free up our house so we have a home to go to when we need a break from Home Plate. It's good for everyone, including residents, to get away from "home" on occasion.

Granny (93 years young) is doing great lately, she isn't even drifting in and out of other times right now. Her blood sugar has stayed very stable on the low end of normal now for over a week. It helps her dementia to have her diabetes under control. Something we learned through a resident we took care of till Mark's home was finished. Like every thing in life, we learn things a little at a time, line upon line....it's a good feeling to help someone live a healthier life, especially at the end of their lives. You know that you have done everything possible to make the transition from this life to the next as comfortable and easy on them as you are capable.

We still are looking for residents...so keep us in mind...I really need someone to care for :) ...

Empty again

Well, the family left....so it's really quiet here. Been keeping myself busy cleaning up after the storm...lol! Well, yesterday i took it pretty easy...so today I am repenting and getting the deep cleaning done that is necessary to have a fresh clean home...well some of it. :)

Granny has been doing really well, her blood sugar is very good. She does have a dog now that she wants us to water, (no, there is not a dog) Lyle told her it was in her imagination and she just smiled. She is such a sweetie, so easy to get along with.

Gabby is back from New York, she had an amazing whirlwind trip, she did and saw as much as she could fit in. She even saw Phantom....she wants to go back, she said she misses snow...you can tell she is not an Arizona girl.

We are checking into a networking group so we can get more contacts and hopefully get some people into our home. Sophie went and delivered fliers to senior citizen centers around the east valley. We have placed some in at least one Dr's office...so far no calls..
Will is working on a website for us...hoping that will bring some customers to us.
Any of you whiz's at communication have any ideas..please share.

Did I ever mention why we are called Home Plate....well, Lyle's Dad has played baseball and softball since he was a small child. He even played in the service. He still plays on a championship senior team right now. He loves the game. So his children (Tanya) came up with the name and we all loved it and that is why we are called Home Plate...and we even have a small section of our common room dedicated to him.

We are trying to get the Home decorated...when we get something finished..I will take pictures and share...

Well, that about catches us up....Have a great Day!

The house is FULL!!!!

So the house is full, but not with residents... The family is here, we have Gabby, Lyle's niece (mine too) in room 1, we are in 2, Dave (my brother) and April (his wife) are in 3, My father in 4, 5 is empty, Granny is in 6, and Dave's girls (my nieces) are in 7, and his boys (my nephews) in 8....so we do have a very Full and LOUD house too! Nothing echo's like an empty house, because although there are people everywhere...there still isn't furniture in all the rooms ...so ECHO......ing is the motto for today :) oh, yea, Gabby is the only one staying for awhile...the rest are leaving on Monday....so.....even though

It's great to have it full of people it would be better if we can just get residents in those rooms- our lives would be much happier. There is something very fulfilling about serving people, even though we "get paid" , I feel like you can still serve them, by going the extra mile to make sure they are healthy, and happy and feel at home. I don't know if I shared this, but when we first started working in this business, we were told, never love the people, never get emotionally attached to them. WRONG!!
It is so much easier to give them the care they need and deserve when you love them..

Anyway, my followers and friends...keep us in mind if you hear about anyone looking for a place...(no pressure)...but we would appreciate it if you kept us as a little side note in the back of your head.

Now a little side note from me... :)
I forgot to mention everyone was here to celebrate my father's 82nd Birthday....He looks great and had his full faculties...he does have some hearing and sight loss, but through the miracle of modern medicine they are fixing the sight loss....if not completely partially, he was already seeing better at our house.

Granny has been sleeping much better....hurray, almost normal...but she is talking more in her sleep...I woke up this morning to "Hey, I am talking to you" ... let me explain, she has a nursery monitor in her room so we can listen for her during the night...make sure she is okay, make sure we can be there asap if she need help...and to hear her talking to the people I can't see. :)

talking about the family

Since Granny is our top resident right now, she gets top billing :)
She had a rough night a couple of nights ago, she kept wanting to talk to her sisters on the phone, she mentioned 4 of them during the night, and then the last one yesterday. She was worried about her husband getting coffee, she has had 3 and they have all passed away. She is not unusual in this behavior.
She sees and does things from her memories. I don't really understand it because I am not really schooled in dementia and Alzheimer's. But I do get that somehow her brain has her seeing things and hearing things that are not actually here but somewhere deep inside her subconsciousness. It's pretty amazing when you think about it. It is also fascinating to watch. Like the other day, she was playing peek - a - boo with a small child. It was so cute, of course, there was not a child here. She followed that child with her eyes as it scampered around the table and she smiled with such a sweet expression, that I have no doubt that she was seeing what she claimed to see.
I have heard two theories about this type of situation..one is that you play along with the fantasy, the other is you bring them back to reality. If anyone is reading this do you know or have any idea what I should be doing? or know of something I can read to get information about what I should be doing... thanks ahead of time. :)
I wish I was an amazing writer and I could have you enthralled in the story....but alas I am not... :)
Hope you are having a good day

Valentine's Breakfast Sunday Night

We celebrated Valentine's day on the 13th with the Harper Family by having Breakfast Sunday night. We had waffles and strawberries and whip cream or buttermilk syrup or both with sausage links or bacon. Granny had a good size waffle and bacon and sausage, and seemed to thrive on all the family and especially the children. She enjoyed playing "Who do you love" bingo with the family. She won a package of princess chocolates and ate them all before bed....good thing it was only one serving :)
You would think she would have been tired from all that partying, but she stayed up till 9 oclock anyway, and then she was off to bed. She woke up around 1 am and walked around the house, then up again at 4 and 6....at four she rang her bell and when I went in to check on her, she said, "Did I wake you up?" , with the sweetest smile ever....do you think she knows what she is doing...I wonder sometimes...LOL...

Sleep

I have learned something interesting...did you know you can go to bed one night...sleep through the night...through the day...and through the night again and wake up saying that was the best nights sleep, I feel good....and find yourself with no clothes on to boot....yup...it can happen. So folks, I guess the secret is to take your clothes off sometime during the night and wake up naked and wha la you have the best sleep ever.....I think I might try it, especially missing a day and not even knowing it....

Let's get started....well kind of :)

Today I am starting a Blog about my life in the Assisted living home....
We have been working in the business since May 2010. It has been very interesting and I have found I actually enjoy working with the elderly. I was surprised by this because when I was in my teens my great grandmother was living in a little nursing home in Mesa, and although it was sweet, I absolutely hated going there. The mortality thing I guess, as a teen you never want to think it is possible you will get "OLD". Good thing we grow up... :) eventually, considering I had to reach 55 to discover that age is relevant and I am really a lot younger that I think. LOL!!!
So far we have worked with some wonderful, sometimes challenging people. I have learned that you can give them your heart, and survive when they have to leave . I will cherish these memories for the rest of my life. I consider our residents as my friends and try to treat them with dignity, respect and love. I try to put myself in the shoes of the family who makes that difficult choice to put their loved one in an assisted living home.
We have a home that we didn't build ourselves, but are slowly making it ours. You know how it is, if you get to choose what goes in your home,etc .. you would do it one way and someone else will do it another. Same with the assisted living business, you learn as you go what works for you.
We had 8 residents when we first started but we were keeping them until the Assisted Living business that was in this location built their new home and got it started. All together we have helped care for 10 different and wonderful people. Each having their individual personalities and special needs. We have learned to care for those with diabetes and meet their nutritional needs. We have learned how to work with someone who can't see well, and some who couldn't walk. We have learned how to recognize the beginnings of several different kinds of afflictions that the elderly deal with, and how to make our residents as comfortable and healthy as possible. We have learned how to keep their laundry smelling nice. We have learned the importance of staying on top of cleanliness in home and body. I am very grateful for these experiences and look forward to the many more things I will learn from serving our residents and their families.
We are now working on getting residents into our home, we are running a "Grand Opening" special. We have Lyle's Grandmother living here with us so we stay in touch with how to care for our residents when we get them.
Dementia is hard sometimes for families to deal with because their loved one change so much. They sometimes have completely different personalities than the ones they had earlier in their lives. That is one reason it is good to have homes like ours available to put our grandparents, and parents in. We understand that it is difficult to suddenly have to care for the people who cared for you growing up. Incontinence care and bathing your parents is something that is hard for a lot of people to deal with. You are not alone in your struggle, and that is why a good Assisted living home is a good choice. I am hoping that you will enjoy reading about our lives here at "Home Plate" and when that time comes you will consider putting your loved one in our home. :) Suzie Harper