The Mountain Thymes

We belong to a CSA through Candy Mountain Farms.  Each Tuesday we pick up our vegetables and sometimes apples and honey or polenta or fresh ground cornmeal.  We never know what will be in the canvas sack and each Tuesday is like a birthday.  I still have the polenta in the cupboard but made a wonderful cornmeal bread the same day I found the cornmeal in my bag.  We had it with our homemade chicken soup.  The free-range chicken came from Walnut Grove Farm in Hayesville, which we drive by on our way to the nursing home to see Cliff's mother.  This week's bag was as  heavy as a body bag. I don't know how to cook the big green thing.  I also know I won't be cutting it.  I've got some recipe researching to do.  We've accumulated about thirty pounds of potatoes and with our garden potatoes should have enough to store for the winter.  Last week we found collard greens in our bag.  Had never seen collard greens before and had never ...

We played tourist Sunday and wandered the Blue Ridge Parkway going oooh aaaah like the leaf peepers we make fun of each fall.   With all the stress we've felt lately, this was just what we needed.  Weather was delightful and we just followed the curves up and down the mountains.  It's a good thing neither of us are bothered by hairpin turns and narrow S-shaped roads winding for hours. 

Alzheimer and dementia rob human beings of their memory, judgment, and their dignity and test the strength and patience of the family and the caregivers.  Some days the visit allows us a smile but some visits, like today's, leave you aching deep down within your gut.  Today his mother got out of bed, wheeled herself down one corridor, turned around and put herself back to bed.  When Cliff tried to hug her, she turned her back to him.  Even though his head knows it's the disease, his heart feels the sharp pain of rejection. Last night we knew we needed to get out of the house and have some fun, laugh, and talk with friends.  My favorite rescue organization, Logan's Run, held a Bavarian dinner and silent auction fundraiser in their parking lot.  The evening was breezy and brisk and the temperature dropped quickly as the sun slid down behind the buildings.   Purchasing the dinner which was brats on a rolls, sauerkraut, German potato salad, and ...

When my mother-in-law was released from the Massachusetts rehab facility last Saturday morning,  she and Diane headed straight for Logan airport in Boston.  Dot was thrilled to be on her way.  Her dementia caused some doubt and paranoia about what was really going to happen to her.  When she spotted us in Atlanta and knew she really was going to be with her son and not dumped somewhere, she brightened up.  She came willingly to NC knowing that after establishing her residency here, her new home would be the nursing home close to us where we could take her for day trips and visit often.  The release from rehab, the long day of flying, and all the new surroundings just increased her anxiety and the dementia took over.  Rehab orders stated that she required 24-hour care and was not to be left alone at all.  On Sunday morning, the roller coaster ride plummeted.  We all figured she was worn out and would react a little better Monday morning af...

Last Wednesday the RA caused my left knee to swell and ache so much that my already interrupted night's sleep worsened.  (I'm sure Shawn understands this.) Within a few days both knees were swollen and I couldn't bend them giving me a zombie gait.  It's entertaining to watch me descend stairs.  From our porch steps to the garage I cautiously walk down the gentle slope as not to end up rolling down through the woods and into the creek.  Last week Cliff had an appointment at the Murphy Medical Nursing Facility about his mother's placement and it took me so long to hobble to the door, I could feel the buzzards circling the parking lot.  Once we were inside, one of the ambulatory patients challenged me to a race down the hall.  If I didn't keep moving, an attendant might escort me to a room.  I like aging gracefully and becoming more assertive in my wants and needs.  Monday I called my rheumatologist and told her I was tired of sitting around a...