CEDARHILL

Blowing Bubbles

 .....                                                                                    

Making bubbles. We were going to have a contest with this, but none of could figure out what the contest would DO or BE. So just waved wands in the air, and ran around in circles. THAT seemed to be just fine with the kids.

Hmmm..maybe it's only the adults that insist on things being made into competitions.

I

Cinema Under the Stars #2

We hosted another outdoor "Cinema Under the Stars" last Saturday and had a pretty good crowd, by Globe-standards. People asked me if I was still going to do it this week with Mother's passing......But of course! as mother would say. The Lyons club brought drinks, and Hog Haven served up bar-b-cue and John and I put together a "bubble blowing table" which was a big hit with the kids....OK...and a few adults.  Tracy, turns out , is a master at blowing big bubbles with just her hand. And she's great with kids. So she taught them how to  do big bubbles...and John handed out prizes. I think this is  a "keeper" event with each movie.       Once again the sun went down and the temp dropped to a perfect 75deg. No wind.

Mother's Fall

I haven't blogged for awhile since Mother had her accident on Friday. It's one of those things you know is likely to happen "one-of-these days" but I was really unprepared for it when it happened.

I was in Phoenix at a computer class at the time, and Rick called me within 30 minutes of the fire dept arriving to transport mother to the hospital. found out they were airlifting her to Scottsdale Healthcare, so i just met her there. She was in good spirits and despite being overall confused about the entire episode (she kept trying to get OUT of bed and go home) kept her good manners with everyone - thanking the staff for the very good food and all the attention.

When the doc came in after surgery - which was done within 24 hours (a far cry from our last experience in which Mother waited 9 days to be fit into a surgery slot)... Dr King came in and asked if anything hurt. No, she said. "Did she have any complaints?"

"Yes," she said, after awhile...."My brain is not working." Which says to me that her brain is actually working - to a degree.

I spent 3 days off and on at the hospital because with dementia, it's important that someone is there reminding the patient...that they ARE a patient. Fortunately, I was able to work with my computer and keep somewhat on DEADLINE, since my next issue of the GlobeMiamiTimes goes to press at the end of the week.

Got home Sat nite, after being gone for 2 days and IKE, the cat, spread himself across my lap to let me know he had missed me. Ahhhhh.

Tracy and Guy had been at the house taking care of Helen A. and the house in general. It is nice to walk back into a warm house, that is clean, well taken care of and welcoming.

Mother will be coming back to Globe tonight and will be at Copper Mountain Inn (nursing home.) I signed all the papers and did a walk through with Valerie. There was laughter in the halls and the staff seemed to have a warm relationship with residents...so I feel assured she will be in good hands. And close to home to get a visit from Guy, Tracy, Helen A...and others. And when she is doing better...to escape for an afternoon at CedarHill and a cigarette on the patio.

Hugs,

L

ThePaperWork is piling up!

Just snapped this up in my loft. With the paper on deadline, there is an abundance of files. Ike stays up late with me when I work. So he feels justified in a nap during the day. As do I when I can find the time.

~L

Mother's New Perm

I took mother for a new perm at The Body Shoppe. With an "e". It is a collection of  local women who have been doing hair for their favorites...for years. And occassionally a new one...like Mother. Adrienne (on the left) did my hair a few  weeks ago. I was probably one of her older clients at the time. So, when Debbie (center) who is known for doing "older ladies" wasn't available, I made an appt with Adrienne to do Mothers perm. She was game, but admitted, once we were into the perm process, that she hadn't "done one for awhile." So Debbie and Kate stepped in to help. It was a Globe Moment.

I sat in the wings for the 2.5 hours it took to  complete the process and had  two women come up to me to say how wonderful my mother was....and  hug me for taking care of her. One of them had taken care of her mother for four years with alzheimers. But in fact, everyone in that shop was keeping their eye out for mother.

So, although it took much longer than I had anticipated, it was an experience I will tuck into my memory as one worth holding on to.     It was a Steel Magnolias moment.

Cinema Hometown

Ever since the Pioneer Hotel burned down July '05 and took out the Globe Theater with it, this town has been missing a hometown theater. Lots of discussion and talk later...we still don't have one. So that's when Linda O and I talked about just doing what we did at CedarHill.

Paint a Wall, get a projector, bring some lawn chairs...and show a movie. And so we did. Last night.

Got alot of help from others. DJS contributed a free port-apotty. The Lyons Club set up a drink stand. George and his son who own a Bar-B-Que place, not only brought pulled pork and brisquet sandwiches, but George also painted our 15'  Screen on the side of the Bernstein Building. And Linda got the college to loan us their hi-dollar projection unit  (we used Donna's at the house)...and I brought my not so hi-dollar computer speakers from home.

And the last big "give me" was a friends mother who came up with the original SANDLOT dvd, when I had forgotten to get it earlier and the day of the movie...it was checked out. So I was at Hog Haven - the bar-b-que joint getting food and talking about my dilemma when one of the cooks piped up and said.... I think my mom has that movie. Sure enough she did!  SAVED! (cause any afficianado will tell you that the sequels were not near as good as the original).

Linda O and I didn't want to promote it much since we weren't sure of of all the details...but still - about 30 people showed up with kids and lawn chairs and blankets and.

Brandon & Leslie...parents of three little girls, regretted not bringing their FOURTH girl.... a mastiff (like the dog in Sandlot). Next time maybe he will.  They loved it and thanked us for putting on an event where the kids could hang out. Leslie thinks we should do PRINCESS BRIDE next time. One of my favorites...

I'm sure we'll have a bigger crowd next time. People who drove by on the street stopped to look and ask questions.. Couldn't believe we were showing a movie in the middle of the Old Pioneer building. It was a great nite! Perfect weather. No wind.   (This is Linda and husband, Rich, getting a pulled pork sandwich, while we waited for the sun to go down and get dark enough to show the pic......

All this FUN...and right across from the house. Since Guy left to go to Payson for mothers day, we had Rick Uhl sitting with the ladies and he was a prince, so watch The Lawrence Welk Show with mother till 8:30. 

Earlier that day was the annual fund raiser for the battered women and children's shelter here in Globe and Sarah was not only a hostess (meaning you 'set' your table with a theme and bring dessert, and  stock your table with warm bodies), but she also put on a fashion show of her clothing....with  all of us friends as models. Everything Sarah does is classy, and this year her table had that international flair, down to vintage name holders from India, and silk embroidered bags with a porcelain necklace for each of us....and a personal note of thanks for attending the event at each place setting.

The fashion show was fun. We each got to go down earlier in the week and pick out two outfits we wanted to wear . ANYTHING.  Dana even modeled a pair of her fabulous floral printed pajamas, and sarah just desribed the outfits as we walked around the tables. "Bit a Bing, Bit a Bang" as Sarah said. Keep it simple. It was. And everyone enjoyed themselves. Plus raised a few thousand. It was a FULL DAY around here!

The Ladies High Tea

I had never been to a High Tea before, but could hardly turn down the  invitation to experience such a  social affair - and for a good cause (the Center for the Arts). Our two hostesses treated us  to an elegant afternoon of tea - poured from silver pots- and homemade scones, rich whipped cream butter,finger sandwiches and lemon bars and petit fours. We then retired to the back patio for alittle wine and conversation.
The only thing I regret is
n ot wearing gloves and a hat. One should take every opportunity to don such things.There are far to few reasons to do so these days and I let this one get away from me.
 
I can see why High Tea is a pleasure. The British were on to something there! Nothing too heavy.
Not the food. Not the conversation. Not the demands on ones' time.

And so it was that in a busy, hectic life... 20 women found time to Chill, Contribute, and Converse. Nice.

   

The Night that Was

Nite before last night was one of those nights.  Mother was up and down all night long. She was convinced she was supposed to be anywhere but here. And I don't know what happens with the brain , but it seems to loose the good sense it once had that says a body needs sleep. Luckily, Guy had volunteered to spot me a nite and so HE was the one up and down with Mother.
The body finally took over from the brain about mid morning and mother got some much needed sleep. Not so with Guy who worked all day.
Last night was my night again...and it was relatively quiet. This experience reminds me of parenting where your hearing  gets attuned to  the noises your children make. And you develop the ability to determine - mostly- which are "good noises" and which are "bad noises."
Like - complete quiet all of a sudden is bad. Loud booms are bad.  Running water is generally OK (except the other day when the toilet overflowed  on the main floor and flooded the downstairs ceiling).(Mother explained she was  cleaning up things in the living room and had put a few things 'down the sink.' )The bumping noise as the wheelchair goes from the living room to the kitchen, helps to identify just where someone is, as does the bumping sound into walls and doors. Its acts as a sonar radar of sorts. Mother is always surprised by how much we DO know about her comings and goings. And we are occassionally surprised by how little we know sometimes. Like the time she went out the window to get to the front porch. Her independent nature is still in charge even though her brain is not always making those connections. Guy and I just try to keep up.

 

A Fine Morning

It has been awhile since I posted pics of mother or me, so I had Guy snap a few this morning.  Mother is finally letting her hair go white (which I find more beautiful than the blonde she kept insisting on)....and i finally gave up letting my hair gray naturally and dyed it auburn again.
Mother was wondering around this morning ...early...and after perusing the entire house and grounds decided it was a "nice place"...Wasn't sure she believed me when I told her it was our place...but for the moment she was satisfied with the state of things.

The weather here is getting warm enough to have breakfast on the back patio, but with temps in the high 90's in Phoenix, it won't be long before it's too hot. 

Tough Enough to Wear Pink

The theme this year for the Gila County Rodeo Parade was "tough enough to wear pink."
So the Budweiser Truck, along with horses, cowboys and cowgirls all dressed in pink. It was an atypical theme for a Rodeo Parade,
but it seems it is a theme which has a familiar ring among many in this community.

OK...so not everybody was wearing PINK. There was Alice in one of her signature hats. She logs about ten miles a day in her rounds of Globe. Since giving up driving several years ago, she walks everywhere; to Safeway, the bank, everyw here! Up and down these hills. She is probably in better shape at age 85+ than I am at 51! She says she'd be crippled up just like everyone else her age who just sits around. Her healthcare plan is to walk.
And then there was Ed Bacon who rode the  wagon in the parade. Again, if you're a Bacon you don't have to do anything but show up. Like most "events" in Globe, the joy is in watching your neighbors.