.

posted by Melli at 10:59 PM | 15 comment(s)

It's All About Me!

Found this meme over at Connie's Little Red Hearts From God ... she HOPED I would play along - and so I am... because I would just hate to disappoint her.

The deal here is:

1. Go to http://www.photobucket.com/
2. Type in your answer to the question in the “search” box
3. Use only the first page
4. Insert the picture into your Blog.

Soooooo... here we go!

1. What is your current relationship stat?








2. What is your current mood?





3. What is your favorite band/singer?











4. What is your favorite Movie?









5. Where do you live?








6. Where do you work?








7. What do you look like?






8. What do you drive?




9. What is your favorite TV show?






10. Describe yourself?











11. What are you doing today?





12. What did you do last night?

















13. What is your name?
(boy, was I amazed to see THIS!!!)









So, of course you know that I'm NOT tagging anyone... but like Connie, I do HOPE you'll play along! Let me know if ya do!

Labels: meme's

posted by Melli at 3:40 PM | 9 comment(s)

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt... High

Labels: Photo Hunt

posted by Melli at 1:01 AM | 30 comment(s)

Friday Fill-Ins ... and... Nothin'....

posted by Melli at 1:01 AM | 16 comment(s)

Thursday 13 ... Aye Yi Yi Yi Yiiiiiiii......

1. Imagination. "Some people" say I have an incredible imagination! I sort of tend to agree because many times if you don't know what's going on in my head, you don't "get" what's going on outside of my head! :)

2. Industrious. "Some people" also say I'm industrious. I tend to NOT agree with this one on account of I am lazy... and lazy and industrious are sort of opposed to each other. However... I do know how "some people" got this idea... because if I am challenged to do something that I have a great deal of interest in doing, then "some people" could be mislead into "believing" that I am something I am not!

3. Intense! YES! I am definitely an intense personality. I bet none of you could guess that though!

4. Impossible. "Some people" say I am impossible to live with! But "other people" say that I am possible to live with - only impossible to "get along with". Personally I think they are all impossible to get along with and I am very easy to both get along with AND live with! :)

5. In-Law. Yep... I am an in-law! A daughter-in-law (which may yet cause me to be an out-law), a mother-in-law, a sister-in-law ... and I guess that's it!

6. Irish. I AM Irish! It's not JUST my red hair! I come from a long line of Kearns and Carroll's! I'm definitely Irish! And I like Irish coffee too!

7. IMPULSIVE??? Who? Me?????? Okay... maybe every now and then! *crosses fingers behind back*

8. Impatient. I bet you couldn't guess this one either. Yes... I am probably the mOst impatient person I know! And even though I prayed, and asked God to grant me some patience when he gave me that in-law to take care of, SO FAR it hasn't stuck! Occassionally I master it for ohhhhhhhh I think I might be up to a whopping 15 seconds in a row by now -- but that's about it!!! Great... now I'll probably get more practice... *sigh*

9. ICE. Yes... ICE. Ice cream... Ice Storms... Ice tea... Icing... I liiiiiiiike ICE!!! Yup!

10. Inny. My belly button is an inny! I wouldn't have it any other way! And I'm very VERY protective of it. NO ONE (and I mean "NO ONE") is allowed to touch it ... except me!

11. IKEA. Yes, I DO like to shop at IKEA! I wish I didn't have to drive sooooooooo darn FAR to get to one!!! It's not fair! But... it's probably for my own good! Everytime I have gone in that store to get "something I need" I end up coming out with $200 worth of additional things I DON'T need! Very dangerous, that store!

12. Inquisitive. I never really think of myself as BEing inquisitive anymore... because really truly and honestly I am not neeeeeearly as inquisitive now as I was when I was much younger! My questions have settled waaaaaaay down! Maybe because I got a lot of answers and so I don't need to wonder so much anymore... I dunno! But... I'm adding it to the list because apparently a certain Pastor that I know and love, who keeps a running list of unanswerable questions that he's going to ask God when he gets to Heaven, says I have about doubled the length of his list in one short year. Hmmmmmm.

13. INSANE! Of course! Insanity Prevails!!! And I'm in charge of ALL the lunatics... so I must be insane!

Labels: TT

posted by Melli at 1:01 AM | 25 comment(s)

Wordless Wednesday

Labels: WW

posted by Melli at 9:29 AM | 9 comment(s)

Easter Memories... a day late.

Yesterday Sandy & Daisy both posted pictures and thoughts on Easter's past. I just had to jump on the band wagon today! So after searching high and low I finally came up with an incredibly BAD photo of darling ME at 3 years old. No... I wasn't that tall -- my mother just bought my dress 3 sizes to small to show off my adorable legs!!! Actually... she probably made the dress - but I don't know that for sure! But I DO remember that Easter was always about dressing up... frilly dresses, lacy socks, white gloves, fancy bonnets and patent leather shoes! Sometimes white... sometimes black. I'm thinking Easter must have been pretty early in 1960 too - because my shoes were black that year! Probably left-over from Christmas! It appears I also had a little black patent leather handbag - and the sash was more than likely black velvet!

Our Easter's always began with Church! We did see our baskets before we left for church -- but the egg hunt was AFTER church! And... living in Washington, D.C. ... I do remember a time or two getting to go down to the White House on Easter Monday for the Easter Egg ROLL! Yes! Back then I don't think they even DID an egg HUNT -- maybe they did... but what I remember is the Egg ROLL! We would take some our REAL hard cooked and dyed Easter eggs with us - and we would ROLL them across the lawn at the White House -- playing different games. The gist of it though, was to try to get your egg all the way across the fastest - but without breaking it!!! It was great fun! I don't remember if there were prizes or not... there might have been - but maybe I never won! I don't know. I just knew it was FUN! Now-a-days they use plastic eggs and I guess no one's break! It's all changed -- now they have SO many people that show up for the event that they have to assign time slots and do it in shifts. But when I was a kid, it was just a ONE time deal! If you weren't there on time, ya missed it!

posted by Melli at 10:46 AM | 8 comment(s)

Words Spoken In Truth?

.... Or... How I Spent My Easter Monday.

Me: Lord... I can't DO this! Why did they choose ME?

God: You CAN do this Melli. They chose you because they have confidence that you would do a good job.

Me: But Lord! I don't know her well enough! I don't know what to say! How can I choose the right qualities?

God: Melli, you write poetry. You knOw words. You know how to put them together and make it work!

Me: But Lord, this is IMPORTANT! It's a Birthday Prayer!!! I need YOUR help! I need your guidance! I need you to stay WITH me and HELP me get this right!!!

God: *sigh* Well... I had World Peace on my agenda for today....

Me: Lord! You know world peace is hiiiiiiiiighly over-rated! And besides... if you grant it, you'll practically be out of a job!

God: *shaking his head* Melli... with YOU around, I will never even be BORED, much less out of a job!


My sincerest apologies to all who were praying for world peace today. God meant to get to it, but I think I stressed him out! (not to mention myself!) I will be around to visit once I regain my composure! In the meantime... here's a glimpse of Luz in her most adorable little Easter dress that her "other" grandma bought her!

posted by Melli at 10:00 PM | 8 comment(s)

Easter Sunday!

posted by Melli at 1:01 AM | 13 comment(s)

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt

posted by Melli at 8:41 AM | 29 comment(s)

Friday Fill-Ins..... and.... Friday Feast #184

1. A Blogger meeting is so exciting!

2. Strawberry fields are fun to sit and EAT in! (forever!)

3. Peanutbutter & Jelly Pizza sounds like it would taste delicious!

4. Why does a deep tissue massage make me feel so good?!

5. Niagara Falls is something I've always wanted to see.

6. It's sad when the ice cream part falls off the cone part.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to church, tomorrow my plans include cooking for Sunday, and Sunday, I want to RELAX and enjoy the family -- after church!!!

posted by Melli at 1:01 AM | 27 comment(s)

Thursday 13... Hear! Hear!

1. HONEY. Nope... not the kind ya eat - although I like that too! But ever since Hubby and I "became and item" many many MANY moons ago, the only name we have ever called each other is "Honey"... so I am Honey... and HE is too!

2. And since MY Honey drives a HARLEY... some people would say I'M a Harley Honey... but being that I do NOT wear black leather OR sport even one tattoo, I suspect I do not qualify! And the fact that HE has no tattoos may disqualify HIM as well! :)

3. HATS! If you know me at all, you know I am alllllllllllllll about hats! I'm wearing RED for Easter this year!

4. Handbags! I don't have enough of these... but I would LIKE to! If you're going to do HATS you should do HANDBAGS as well!

5. Hilfiger. I'm not a brand name lady... but I like what I LIKE! And my latest handbag just HAPPENS to be a Tommy. It's blue & white and soooooooo cute and will go perfectly with my Easter outfit... I think!

6. Hector. My son-in-law. And Papa to Luz! He's a very very responsible young man and is working sO hard to be a good provider for his family! I have a lot of love - and a great deal of RESPECT for him!

7. Horseradish. I LOVE it! Especially on roast beef sandwiches!

8. HAPPY! Generally speaking I am a very happy person. It takes quite a bit to take the wind out of my sails!

9. Hugs! I like to give 'em and I like to get 'em!

10. Humor. I love to laugh and try to look at life from the lighter side! Some people think this makes me a little "flighty"... but I just don't think we should take ourselves too seriously!

11. Hiccups! (hiccoughs) I have probably gone at least 10 YEARS without having a case of hiccups... and then all of a sudden in the past month I've had them 5 or 6 times! And not only that - but it seems there is a rash of hiccups going around! Krysti has had them several times, Luz has had them, and Amanda has had them too! Weird... really really weird!

12. Honest. I try really really HARD to be honest all the time. Sometimes you just have to clamp your mouth shut and say NOTHING to hold to it though.... and sometimes people push to hard and before you know it you've DONE it! "Oh ... yea... your new haircut is really ... cute." Sometimes I try saying "Well... do YOU like it? Then what difference does it make what I think of it???" But that rarely works! I DO try though!

13. Hang-ups! Boy, don't we all have a few of these? I have way too many of them - and I really want them to just GO AWAY!

posted by Melli at 10:04 AM | 8 comment(s)

I Saw God Today ...

Mom and I were just driving home from our "outting" today... when this song came on the radio. I absolutely LOVE it! When it was over, the DJ announced "... and that was George Straight with his new song, I Saw God Today. If you'd like to see him in concert, he'll be at blah blah blah, on blah blah blah.... now, I'm talkin' about George Straight."

I looked at Mom and said, maaaaaaan, I LOVE George Straight ... but I'd much rather see GOD in concert!!! I wonder how much THOSE tickets would cost!? Would THAT be a concert or WHAT???

For anyone intersted -- you can hear the song below!

posted by Melli at 2:31 PM | 6 comment(s)

Fun ~ n ~ Games!

posted by Melli at 11:13 PM | 10 comment(s)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

posted by Melli at 8:48 AM | 9 comment(s)

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt ... I Spy!

posted by Melli at 1:01 AM | 36 comment(s)

Friday Feast # 183 ... and Friday Fill-Ins - #2 for me!

Appetizer
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how much do you like your own handwriting?
WoW! In the days of computerized everything, I hardly ever SEE my own handwriting anymore... I used to like it quite a bit though! I'd say maybe an 8! Maybe I should start journaling by hand again... hmmmm... lost art....

Soup
Do you prefer baths or showers?
On a daily basis, I prefer showers because they are quick and I feel "cleaner"... but if I am tired and want to "relax" - then I prefer a ... HOT TUB!

Salad
What was the last bad movie you watched?
They are pretty much ALL bad and that is why I don't watch ANY of them!

Main Course
Name something you are addicted to and describe how it affects your life.
I think my only really true addiction right now is blogging - an I'm pretty sure it affects me the same as anyone. Keeps me from housework, but adds new friendships and a new perspective to life as I live it in the real world. ie... Ooo! Can I BLOG this?

Dessert
Which instrument is your favorite to listen to?
Really truly, I love the guitar. Accoustical. BUT... I have the awesomest drummer living under my roof -- and when he practices... OH YEA! I LOVE it! For sure!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Friday Fill-Ins

1. Contact may cause Hugs.
2. The parties hereto do mutually agree Insanity Prevails!.
3. Disney parks R mearly OK.
4. Some Sleep sounds really good right about now!
5. I positively love Jesus.
6. Baby Girl always makes me smile :-)
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner with the Bible Babes!, tomorrow my plans include nothing special and Sunday, I want to sing, sing,sing!

posted by Melli at 3:52 AM | 14 comment(s)

Thursday Thirteen.... Gallimaufry

posted by Melli at 1:01 AM | 12 comment(s)

Wordless Wednesday... What is it?

posted by Melli at 9:06 PM | 10 comment(s)

Ten On Tuesday ... and ... the flower thing

I was over at Hootin' Anni's this evening and found that Ten On Tuesday was finally a list I could handle -- so I decided to play!

TEN ON TUESDAY

Name 10 things you're looking forward to in the Spring.

1. SUMMER CLOTHES!!! (shorts, tank tops, flip flops!)
2. Not too cold, not too hot, just perfect weather!
3. Being able to play outside with Luz!
4. Grass! (as opposed to mud...)
5. Spring showers & Thunderstorms
6. Easter Eggs ... and well... okay... EASTER!
7. Open windows
8. Sidewalk chalk ... okay... sidewalk art!
9. Watering the lawn -- yea... I like that job!
10. Blooms & Blossoms! COLOR in the world!

. . . . . . . and then, I finally took the little flower test... I think I first saw it on Carolyn's blog, and it was also on Anni's today! I chose the daisies - although honestly, I thought I was choosing zinnias - which are usually a bit larger than daisies -- but daisies are good! This is what it said about me:

What These Daisies Say About You

You have a spirt of pure optimism. Your view of the world is eternally cheerful. You are bold and vibrant. Incredibly striking, you always stand out in a crowd. You are adaptable and flexible. You can thrive in almost any situation.

What Do The Flowers You Pick Say About You?

Yea.... I'm not sure about that "striking" part! But I do often stand out in a crowd. Usually has more to do with my behavior than my looks though! LOL!

posted by Melli at 1:01 AM | 14 comment(s)

The GOOD Stuff!!! The Really Good Stuff!

I know! I know! I know!!! Melli, where ya been all weekend??? I been... busy! I know I ignored you... I'm sorry! SOMEtimes real life just has to come FIRST! Period! But this has been GOOD! The UPS man came on Friday! (the Dryer Guy was supposed to come again -- but he's coming tomorrow instead! I don't really want to discuss that situation!) But the UPS man DID come! And he brought me a delivery from Amazon DOT com! (Jane, he did bring me Missy Tippens book - but I haven't had time to open it yet -- soon though... soon!) He brought me TWO books that have been VERY important in my life! One is called Keeping Busy... A Handbook of Activities for Persons with Dementia, by James R. Dowling, which is very good -- but aimed at persons working in a "group" environment. Nonetheless - it still gave me some excellent ideas that have just panned out beautifully!!! This book is 161 pages before the appendix and bibliography. I opened it Friday evening and had it completed in about 2.5 hours! Along with a Walmart shopping list!!! Saturday morning Mom & I got up, got the morning stuff done, went and had lunch and headed to Walmart! I purchased 40 dish clothes (five 8-packs for $2 each), about 25 pairs of socks for a buck a pop - in all different sizes, shapes, colors and patterns! (unfortunately all we wear at my house is plain white - not really good for "matching"). I also bought several lengths of rope or cord in various colors and dimensions. And then a bunch of "rings" in multitudinous colors. All of these things will be used for sorting, folding, UNknotting, stringing, etc! We've already discovered that Mom LOVES folding dish clothes!!! I do let her fold my towels too sometimes -- but she doesn't fold them uniformly and so stacking them is a bit of a problem... the clothes are great!!! (I have no intention of USING any of them -- I just want them AlWAYS ready to be folded at a moments notice! Same with the socks!) I also had her sorting pony beads for me yesterday -- kept her busy long enough for me to get a shower AND shave my legs!!! Whooooo hoooo! Oh! And I also bought a bunch of various magazines -- for use in playing games! Dennis and I played one with her this afternoon where I just made up a random list of 12 items. We each chose a magazine and looked through to see how many of the items we could find. The person who found the MOST won a cookie! Well... not really because I won and I didn't want a cookie. But if MOM had won, she would have got a cookie - and been VERY happy! LOL! Good grief - I've probably bored you ALL out of your minds by now -- but you just gotta understand HOW exciting this IS to me! My good friend Lazy Daisy had told me that ya gotta play games with 'em -- memory games and stuff -- but I looked all over the internet and really could not find ANY specific ideas on types of games that are appropriate. This book REALLY helped!!!

The other book is called The 36 Hour Day, by Nancy L. Mace & Peter V. Rabins. THIS book should be in the home of every single person who has a relative with Alzheimer's or ANY OTHER type of Dementia! This book is pure GOLD!!! It addresses every issue you can possibly think of regarding dementia and caring for a person with it! And it's written in such a way that it really opens your heart to what your poor little forgetful person is going through! I'm only maybe a third of the way through this one -- it's 352 pages long -- but already I would recommend it to anyone who deals even remotely with a person with dementia. I can see that this book will share space with my Bible, right beside my bed!

Sooooo.... I know I didn't do a Sunday Seven this week --- but these two books have given me WAY more than 7 things to be thankful for!!! And I thank God for giving the authors the ability to put these books into words! WHAT a blessing!

posted by Melli at 10:26 PM | 11 comment(s)

I'm Clueless...

Mom: So, is that the kitchen in there?

posted by Melli at 11:39 AM | 16 comment(s)

Friday Feast # 182 ... and Friday Fill-Ins...

Appetizer
If you could be any current celebrity for one whole week, who would you want to be?
Pft! ALL of the current celebrities wish they were ME!!! I don't want to be THEM, that's for sure!

Soup
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you enjoy talking on the phone?
Zero. Well, okay... ONE. I do occasionally like to call and set up a lunch date... but please don't keep me on the phone yammerin' about this and that... SAVE it and tell me over LUNCH! (see? I really prefer "visiting" in person) But most of the time my phone is used for calling doctors, repairmen, or my children -- who also do not like to talk on the phone!!! LOL! It's a quick question, quick answer - bye!

Salad
Name a charitable organization to which you have donated (or would like to).
Oooooooooh... I have given to so many! The very FIRST time I donated was to the Jerry Lewis Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy. Amanda was only 3 weeks old and had gotten meningitis (which was DEADLY back then!) and was in the hospital on IVs. I was watching the telethon while I comforted my baby - and I was sO thankful that she was ALIVE and perfect. I didn't have two pennies to rub together - but I was giving Jerry Lewis everything I had! Since then I've supported March of Dimes, United Way, Birthright, American Cancer Society... so many. But my FAVORITE way of helping is when I see someone in need - to just help them out, in any way I can, right there on the spot. SOMEtimes what's needed is not always money! As for who would I LIKE to give to? I would desperately like to "adopt" a child from another country to help out... to take one life and make sure it is given opportunities that it would not otherwise have... Of course... I've always wanted to take in foster kids too --- but you have to have a Hubby with like goals to do things like THAT!!! Soooooo... I work with what I've got, and give what I can!

Main Course
What is a food you like so much you could eat it every single day for a month?
I have a few foods I like that much! One is breakfast cereal! I'm SURE I could live on it if I had to! Another is eggs ... so versatile. And then there is pizza. Any one of the 3 would do me quite happily to eat every single day!!!

Dessert
Have you or anyone in your family had the flu this year?
*knock wood* ... nope! Don't plan to either!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

I found this Friday happening over at Mar's today! I've never seen it before and it looked fun, so I'll play along! Thanks Mar!



1. Ahhhh, it's so nice to have a few quiet hours to myself!
2. One of my favorite things on my desk or bureau is my perfume.
3. Japanese Cherry Blossom's in bloom make Washington DC a GORGEOUS place to be!
4. Snuggled up on the couch is my favorite place to sit and read.
5. Coffee and cake is delicious!
6. I love to watch my children in movies.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hearing about Diego LIVE!, tomorrow my plans include doing something INDOORS because it's going to rain and Sunday, I want to Go to church!

posted by Melli at 11:59 PM | 18 comment(s)

Thursday 13 ... Fun Fun Fun....

posted by Melli at 12:01 AM | 18 comment(s)

BANG! BANG! BANG!!! (that's my head hitting the wall!)

Sooooooooo... Mom and I went to look into Adult Day Care today...

Well, wait! Let me start at the beginning. Mom had her most recent memory/cognizance test on Monday. It was about an hour long and by the time the tester was done with the testee I felt like she had gotten a pretty good idea of where Mom stands. So when she told me I should make an appointment with (lo and behold) a friend of mine from Curves, who would be able to help me out with Adult Day Care and other things, I jumped for JOY! I knew Marcia was a REALLY intelligent sort and was thrilled that I would finally be put in touch with someone who really KNEW something! (Marcia and I have actually never talked about what she DOES for a living...) So Dr. Tammi dialed Marcia, and I left a message on Marcia's service saying that I'd like to talk to her about Mom. Now... Dr. Tammi didn't actually TELL me what Marcia does either. I guess I made such a WHOOP about KNOWING Marcia, that she assumed I also knew what Marcia does! Well... it turns out that Marcia does psychological counseling in the geriatric field. But she can't really work "with" dimentia patients - for obvious reasons. (who CAN?) Nothing "sticks". But she gave me a LOT of numbers to call, and names of people to contact -- and among them were the two ADC centers in my county! Sooooooooo today I called one of them! (and now I return you to the beginning of my story...)

Sooooooooo... on the PHONE this guy sounded like this program was really good! They offer several different options for attendance, and if I needed (or wanted) the bus could come and get Mom and drop her off and they have all kinds of programs and games and NO TELEVISION watching - that's not allowed! They do HAVE a tv but only for an occassional MOVIE day here and there. They serve a hot lunch daily and if I wanted to come, NOW would be a very good time. They were eating, but that's okay. NOW was good. Soooooo... I was fixin' to take Mom out for some lunch, so I told him we would stop in.

Well... I had a feeling when I pulled up outside and the county Head Start program has the upstairs level of the building... and the downstairs level had NO windows that I could SEE... and the place was kind of run down... but I went in. It was gross. That's the nicest thing I have to say about the place. In the first place... I had told the guy on the phone that Mom has Alzheimer's and that she would need help with the games because she can't remember things - but that she is fully capable of taking care of her toilet needs and feeding herself and I asked if they ever go bowling because he said they take "trips" sometimes and mentioned that Mom really LIKES to bowl -- and he said No BECAUSE the bowling alley doesn't open until 11:00 and that would interfere into lunch time. He did NOT say NO BECAUSE all of our other participants are severely handicapped or even more mentally deficient than alzheimers. (at least at this point for Mom) I had TOLD him I was looking for a place where Mom could "socialize" with other elderly people. Okay - I concede... a few of them were elderly. But MOST of them were like 20 - 30 year old severely autistic or other wise not really very good at "communicating" ... I mean - I would have trouble -- so MOM would have quadruple trouble! So, right from the start it was obvious that these were NOT going to be suitable "playmates" for Mom. As a matter of fact -- Mom is NOT NICE about handicapped or disabled people... and she's always been somewhat racist - but it's getting worse with the dementia... I can just HEAR some of the things she might SAY to some of these people! It wouldn't be good for ANY of them!

But on top of all that, the place was filthy! And it was dreary. And it was disgusting. No windows. Drab paint. (dirty drab paint) Every stick of furniture in the place was garage sale LEFTOVERS. The shelves were unkempt. NOTHING was orderly... and even the people who worked there were ... messy. There's a nurse on duty everyday -- because it is a "medical ADC" -- well... I didn't see anyone that looked like a nurse -- nor did I see anywhere clean enough to keep nursing supplies! (perhaps it was behind closed doors somewhere...) But honestly, it was hard to tell the care GIVERS from the care needers!

I couldn't get out of there fast enough! Honestly... I mean - my house is not immaculate -- once upon a time it was - but not in several many years. But I told Dennis, I wouldn't send a MANGEY dog to that place! And it's not CHEAP. It's probably not as expensive as some... I wish I could FIND one ... but virtually all of the people that were there today were paying $75 for the day. If Mom went -- because she does NOT need help with feeding or hygiene needs, she would only pay $45. But then... there is NO WAY my Mother-in-law will EVER step foot in that building again!!! But for those that go there everyday - that's $375 a week!

Sooooooo... I told the guy that I just didn't think this was what I was looking for for Mom... and he mentioned Calvert Pines Senior Center. (which we DID visit today also - but I knew what they were) I told him that I think the county needs something a little "in-between" the two -- someplace where NOT so severely handicaps can be dropped off for the day or for just a few hours, that would be just sort of more like a little social club. The man looked at me straight faced and said "Well - that's what we've got happening HERE!" And on THAT note, I started wondering if I was actually talking to one of the patients!!! (not seriously...)

I asked him what he knew about the OTHER ADC -- which I knew took up space on the basement level of the county Health Department. Honestly, I didn't call the one at the Health Department - because I've been to the Health Department and I know that the whole building is barely a step above the place I was visiting. WHY is this? The Health Department is where the low-income families in the county can go to get their kids innoculated for free. It's also where low income families can find such services as Mental Health Care, and a host of other things. So, I wonder... is it because it is MOSTLY only poor families who use the Health Department that they don't bother to keep it nice? And WHY is it that places like that are always LIKE THAT??? Do low-income families have less need for or interest in cleanliness??? Or for cheerful? Is that the same thing going on with this Adult Day Care? There is no high-income alternative for ADC -- it's not like there are lots of choices - like doctors! At any rate... he assured me that HIS facility is 10 years NEWER than the one at the Health Department -- and he helped start both of them, so he feels the new one is the better one because they learned from some of the mistakes made at the old one. OY! No... I won't even bother! I'm just even MORE frustrated than ever. But we know that getting help IN HOME will be our option! Gee... I can't WAIT to start THAT interview process. Maybe I should just PAY one of MY kids to babysit from time to time.... hmmmm...

posted by Melli at 6:21 PM | 9 comment(s)

Wordless Wednesday ... and a new friend....

posted by Melli at 9:11 AM | 11 comment(s)