Landscapes: Blackberries lined the tracks in Northern California all the way up the coast. One man kept repeating that they were very sweet. Photo: M&G, 2007.
There we were at the nursing home. We found a delightful Duck wearing two hats. Alice, the mom who had the stroke and moves around in her powered wheel chair, was finishing the last couple of pages in a book. Rik, another stroke victim, was already gathered at table five. The two of us jammed our way onto the one empty side and joined them. With smiles.
A football game was playing on the giant screen TV at deafeningly loud sound levels. The floor was freshly polished by the new cleaning company. The new ceiling nicely enclosed the early asbestos popcorn. Only one daughter was there in the dining room to help feed her mother. Out in the home, G noticed that only three other guests had visitors during this noon Thanksgiving meal. Most importantly, some of the guests remembered, or cared, that it was Thanksgiving.
We chatted a while over a cup of decaf, and dinner appeared. Turkey, the traditional green bean casserole, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, roll, butter, juice or Kool Aid in my case, milk……and a very good pumpkin pie. Actually, it all was very good. I was a wee bit swamped by my gravy, but who cared. Even Duck ate his plate clean. He even ate the green beans. Amazing.
After tucking him in for his nap, we came home to play for a while on our computers, to read and nap in the sunshine too. Dinner was too much pie….delicious tho. The only thing we noticed at our house over dinner was that we were flat out chilly. Cold. 55 degrees is just a fraction nippy for a modern inner city condo.
We have no heat.
We stubbornly refuse to use the radiant heating. Most of the units here have their radiant heating turned off at the circuit breakers as even the trickle of electricity it uses brings the bill way up. At the end of this last spring, our quartz heater caught on fire. Poof……I clearly remember leaping to unplug it and carrying it out to the deck at light speed. Yes, we have a oil filled heater. Yes, too, we have one of those round things with a coil….both heat a small room very well. We have two big rooms.
So we get to go shopping. This is a very exciting prospect on “Black Friday.” I’ll let you know if we live.
Duck: When we got there he was wearing two hats and didn’t know it. Very glad to see us tho. He was a delightful companion until we got him back to his room when he faded away to nothing at light speed.
Me: Only gained five pounds since the cruise. Amazing.
G: Had a great day. Will today too. He’s just as funny as he can be he is so relaxed.
Dinner: Linguini and pumpkin pie for dinner after the nursing home feed.
"Sweet potatoes with marshmallows", is there really such a thing?! Oh my gosh... how can that possibly work?
ReplyDeleteWhat is lovely is to think of your dear Duck greeting you happily and finishing off his dinner with an appetite. My dearest and most loved uncle moved into a senior citizen home recently and is presently weighing somewhere under 100 pounds. What I wouldn't give for him to eat well again.