Jeepers

Very nice Cat! I have this website set to open here on the forums so I forget about the front page or any other parts. Good to reread from time to time.

Glad to hear from you and that things are going...well...smoothly in that situation. Taking care of someone with dementia is so difficult even in the best of circumstances; especially when it's someone you love. As Nancy Reagan said, "It's the longest goodbye." Or something to that effect. It's always good to get away from time to time. Hubby will survive and may even appreciate the new you when you get home. Have a relaxing time, get some work done and breathe.

Thanks for the bump up Turtle. I've been thinking of C4C lately too.

In the 'topic' area it says, "Mare's collection of money-" I was hoping there was a new sort of tree we could plant. Maybe money could grow on trees after all. Didn't happen for me.

Good Grief! How did I miss this one. Off to copy, paste, print and organize. Thanks for the --------------->

C4C, Sorry, I must have missed your first post. You sure have gone through h*ll with the ongoing battle with your parents. It is difficult in the best of circumstances but when one is slipping in and out of dementia it can be an impossible situation. Are they being lucid and stubborn or is it dementia rearing its ugly head. It can be different from one moment to the next. As for the storage unit, you said a lot of it is papers. Could they handle sorting through one box at a time. Maybe they wouldn't get so overwhelmed. At least until after June. Can your mother see to help go through the papers? My first thought about the visitors was to write them a letter explaining your parents situation and mental health issues. I lived over there for a year and 'saving face' is very important. I would tell them how excited everyone is to see them and how welcome they are but since your parents have moved and because of age issues they are unable to have long visits. But, you will be more than happy to help them make reservations nearby as not to confuse them (parents). Be apologetic and also welcoming. Ask them if there is anything you can do to assist them.

We learned to speak Chinese via the military. The key was to totally immerse yourself in it. Husband went to classes all day and had to bring reel to reel tapes home to study (no cassettes back then!) At home I listened to the tapes with him and quized him every night. I learned by accident. He was fluent and by the time we were transfered to China, I could hold my own by myself while shopping and getting around. Over the years of not using it, we are losing the ability to understand it. He doesn't speak or understand much Chinese anymore. I can speak enough but am slow to understand all but the basics. If we were attacked by China I could make my wants and needs known...as long as they speak Mandarin very s-l-o-w-l-y, using hand signals. If you are going to learn/teach a language you must use it or you will lose it. As Hazel said, being around native speakers helps so much too.

Sending more good thoughts Christy's way.

I remember my first cable too! Who knew something so pretty was as simple as using a third needle!

Hi Dark and WELCOME! We have many folks here in various degrees of limited capacity. All of us when you really think about it. If you have any questions just jump right in. Someone usually has an answer of some sort or can point you in the right direction.

I've never heard of valley fever. I had to Google it. Hope they get a vaccine soon. About all we have here in the midwest is heart worm and the usual rabies and kennel cough. Hope Buddy is having a good day today.

Hope you enjoy your classes! Cat, you are so lucky to have your grandmothers quilt frames. Quilting is just like anything else; to be good at just takes practice and jumping in there and doing it. I love to quilt and see the results but I'll be the first to admit that I'm not that good at it. Good enough for me though. Around here, if you want to sell anything quilted, it has to be hand quilted. Some of the larger relief charity auctions won't even accept machine quilted items. Hand quilting is concidered an art. So...I guess that makes me an 'arteest' (not even close)

Poor little fella. It sounds like this one wasn't as bad as the last one. Easy for me to say. Hope if he has any more, they keep getting less and less strong. Sounds like the key is catching him early and keeping him calm and cooled down. Flowers for Buddy and hugs for momma .

For me, learning to knit was harder than learning to quilt. It's less expensive than quilting. It's usually just buying yarn and needles. Also a pattern and maybe stitch holders etc. The hardest part is learning to read the pattern instructions and keeping count of which row you are knitting. Quilting, for me, is just a matter of sewing a straight line to put the pieces together. The actual quilting part was getting the hang of 'rocking' the needle back and forth on top of the quilt instead of punching the needle down through the top and back up from the bottom. Not pretty. The more you do the quilting the smaller your stitches will get. The hardest part of quilting for me is color combinations. Some of the prettiest quilts are just pieces of fabric sewn together using a straight line. It's the color combinations that really make them pop. Applique is harder for me. Quilting can be more expensive. Good fabric is expensive and you will need the batting and the backing. Also, a rotary cutter and mat and needles and thimble. And, quilting thread is different from regular sewing thread. Walmart material and thread is good for beginners and especially for baby quilts etc. I've also used sheets for the backing. If I was selling or gifting, I'd get the good 100% cotton highter count material. Anyway... If it were me, I think I'd take the quilting class because there is more to learn such as stitches, color combinations and using a rotary cutter. Knitting is basically learning to do the knit stitch and the purl stitch. I learned how to quilt, knit and crochet from books but now with Youtube, you don't really need to take classes although they can be fun. Really both are just a matter of practice, practice and practice.

I'm so sorry you and your family are going through this! I remember when the hospital told my cousin not to come back because she was terminal and there was nothing more they could do for her. She had kidney disease. It was a shock to be told that but in the long run, hospice was much better for her at home especially when it came to pain management. I feel like you, as much as I love and miss her...I wouldn't wish her back here. It's still hard though.

I think she means this one: http://www.amazon.com/Bystander-ebook/dp/B00756PYRG/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1333233488&sr=1-3

Hee-hee, I thought the same thing. So does this mean I can stop looking for a pattern for a septic tank cozy?

Thanks for the update Mother! Sending prayers and good thoughts her way.

Anyone heard from Christy lately? I miss reading her posts, laughing at her humor and hearing a European perspective. Hope she and her DS are doing well. I'm a worrier. Jeepers waiting up all night until Christy comes home---------->

Hi Horsehollow WELCOME!

I dry frozen veggies all the time. I just spread the frozen veggies on the tray and turn the machine on. I do use wax paper on the trays to keep them from falling through the slits, especially the corn. Mine is just the round dehydrator...I can't think of the name of it right now to save me. When they are real dry and cool, I put them in a cannning jar and seal them with my food saver attachment. I don't use oxygen absorbers with the food saver. The food saver bags would save more room than the jars but I had some 1/2 gallon jars that I didn't have any other use for. Plus they are pretty... Trudy, I've never tried the Asian mix. I would think you would have to watch them very carefully since the veggies have a different thickness. I'm sure they would dry at different rates. I've only done one kind of veggie at a time.

Windmorn, when it first came out it wasn't on Kindle yet. It took a couple of months. I couldn't wait though and I'm glad I went ahead and bought it too.

Poor little fella. That would have scared the stuffin' out of me! Hope he never gets another one.