We moved my mom!

I'm back home after moving my mom into her new home, a wonderful progressive care facility where she's in a small group of residents with dementia but who can still handle some degree of independence.

My youngest sister and brother helped with the move, which went way smoother than I had anticipated. Here we are in her new apartment, with her favorite chair. She offered up no resistance the day of the move and didn't complain at all on the two-hour drive from Los Angeles to San Diego County, near my brother.

We had to order a smaller sofa, but we brought the middle pillow from her old couch at home. Every night for years she has turned on her electric candles and the string of colored lights in the evening, so we were sure to bring those down. We'll be hanging pictures above the couch.

Her bedroom has a sunny view of neighborhood backyards, which I think is nice because she can see life and kids playing.

There are light-filled, comfy common areas. She gravitated toward this sitting area.

Her little group eats family style together, and they were very welcoming to her. The first night was bacon-wrapped filet mignon with baked potato, mushrooms in a sauce, and carrot cake, cheesecake and/or ice cream! Or a sandwich if preferred. (The other residents were quick to point out that they don't get filet mignon every night.)

Here she is on a very pleasant patio off the dining room. It has a potting bench where residents can help with gardening, so I hope she'll get involved in that. The staff is wonderful about getting them involved.

There are movies every night, which is something she and my dad did at home before he passed away in April. We asked the staff to escort her to and from the movies so she doesn't get lost. And they keep them busy with brain games for the dementia, physical exercise, PT if they need it. It's working out!!!

After we got back to the house, we ordered pizza and collapsed. No, actually my sister and I were still running on adrenalin so we bustled about cleaning and sorting and tossing. Then we collapsed.

We continued sorting through the hundreds of photos we were finding in drawers, including this one of our family in our Easter finest in 1972. That's me second from left.

My last morning, I took photos of little things around the house that I want to remember. This is one of my dad's caps that's always hanging in the entryway. The photo below is the view walking out the front door as I went to meet my Uber driver to go to LAX and fly home.

Hug your loved ones!

New Mexico road trip!

What's a road trip to New Mexico without Mexican food? South of the Border in Willcox, AZ, was on the way home and was a delicious way to cap off a five-day getaway.

The idea was to escape Tucson's string of 105-110 days by going to a friend's place in the cooler pine mountains of southern New Mexico, but even there it was unseasonably warm. This is the thermometer on my friend's deck outside of Silver City, and it got up to 96.

But the scenery was spectacular and a big change from the desert. Ponderosa pines, junipers and oak predominated. That's the Gila Wilderness on the horizon, where I used to backpack in my 20s.

 

This is a ruin we came across, and deer came right up to the house.

There were some cacti, like this blooming cholla, but no saguaros. The stained glass on my friend's deck gave another splash of bright color.

Here's some color from the day we wandered through Silver City, which is a laid back old hippie town with lots of art galleries and coffee shops. I think the heat had everyone moving in slow motion or staying home with air conditioning.

The Grant County Art Guild has a wonderful gallery on the main street, above. But my favorite stop was the Tranquilbuzz Coffee Shop.

From its entrance ...

... to its ceiling ...

... it definitely gave off calm vibes.

We also stopped at Western New Mexico University's history museum, above, which had a huge collection of prehistoric Mimbres pottery. Their air conditioning was out, so we didn't linger too long.

We stopped at another museum on the way home, the Amerind Museum. Its beautiful sprawling pink Spanish-style building houses a large collection of pots, jewelry and other artifacts of Native people from throughout the Americas. It's also known for its research, education and conservation in this area. No photos were allowed inside, but here are a few photos from the brochure:

The Amerind Museum is in the Dragoon Mountains of southeast Arizona, almost to the New Mexico border. It's noted for its spectacular smooth sculpted granitic rock formations, which appear suddenly as you drive along I-10. Then it was back to Tucson. Great trip!

Have a colorful day

Another textile collage

 

I just made a little collage featuring a photo that I took at Catalina State Park and printed on silk. My camera caught sun beams kissing the desert on a beautiful morning.

I bordered the photo with cross stitches and the outer edge with the herringbone stitch and beads (gotta have a little sparkle). I added a dove feather that I found and then I stapled it around 8x10 stretcher bars.

A friend spotted this saying in a Silver City, NM, coffee shop. I love it! We definitely have to stay hydrated this weekend because temps will be over 100.

Have a colorful day

Be Like Water

I mentioned in my last post about the stress of getting all of us siblings on the same page for moving my mom into memory care. Then this "How to be Water" picture popped up on my computer and I instantly felt calmer. I've been looking at it periodically throughout the days and it really does help!

We have to remind ourselves that it's all about doing what's best for Mom. We've zeroed in on a moving period for the end of June and it will be all hands on deck for a few days. It's just a two-hour drive in good traffic from her house down to the Oceanside facility, but with this being Southern California you never know when that might turn into a four-hour trip.

Have a colorful day

Back home

I got home this week from my latest stretch of caring for my mother in LA. A morning walk revealed some changes in the neighborhood plant situation! This leaning monster is the lady slipper plant in my front courtyard, which burst into bloom when I was gone. The hummingbirds love the little red flowers, which are supposed to resemble slippers (but I don't see it).

And the splashy, flashy Mexican bird of paradise is in bloom!

The beautifully textured green bark of the palo verde tree is like this all year, but I thought I'd show it anyway.

The palo verde beans are thick.

Here I am with my mom, 93, and the sister who relieved me. We're moving forward on getting her settled at a place in Oceanside in a level of care between assisted and full on memory care. It's been really stressful trying to get all four siblings on board, taking turns flying in from around the country to care for Mom, researching facilities, taking care of things that are breaking in the house, and handling estate matters. But I'm sure most of you have been there!

Have a colorful day