Quick update

Thanks for all of the supportive comments! I'm still in Iowa and expect to be for another 10 days. This is the longest I've been here in winter for over 30 years! After bringing Dad back to his apartment from the health center we both quickly decided that being alone in the apartment is no longer an option. We are now, sadly, working on plan to move him back to the health center and empty out the apartment.

Rowan's new sweater almost done. I'll try to remember to post a photo before I send it off to him.

Feeling Like a Boomerang!

I got to be home all of 5 full days before the phone rang telling my dad was having some unexplained bleeding and was too weak to stay alone. Arrangements were made to take him to the nursing home part of the facility so he wouldn't have to go to the hospital and I grabbed a red eye flight out of Vegas back to Iowa.

During my last visit, we had signed my dad up for hospice care based on debility. Many people are unaware that a pattern of decline including weight loss, falls, hospitalizations etc. can qualify someone for this additional help. With the frequent visits and medical monitoring some of those folks actually improve and are discharged.

We have spent 4 days in the nursing facility working through the questions about who was bathing - hospice or facility staff, dealing with their structure and sharing a room with someone who watches television all day. After extensive discussion with the facility social worker and considering the options, Dad came back to his independent apartment yesterday while we figure out a plan to bring in more help.

We are fortunate that Dad has some financial resources to pay for care, which many do not. Still, there are many questions and not as many answers as I would like. I've also discovered there is a huge difference between helping families with these issues as a professional and living them as a caregiver. I try very hard to be patient and use humor when things get tough but I'm not always successful.

Keep us both in your thoughts please.

P.S. I am getting some quality knitting time in :-)

Rowan models

Rowan models his new "jacket", as he calls it. He likes the crayon buttons though they are too big for the button holes. The temps are supposed to drop to 7 overnight so the wool should keep him nice and warm.

Knitting in to the new year

The excitement of Christmas was accompanied by a lot of knitting time while watching Rowan or movies (depending on the time of day).

I finished his sweater and loved the yarn, the color and pattern. I even had enough left to make a matching hat. Unfortunately I shipped everything off today without taking a picture. I've asked my daughter-in-law to take one when it arrives so I can share it with you. If I finish my socks before returning home, I will deem this trip a knitting success.

Thanks for the encouraging words and support for my dad and I. I think it is going to be a difficult year for both of us and I foresee even more travel back and forth. I am cursing his decision not to move closer to us but understand this is his home.

Well, off for a couple of rounds of knitting and an episode of Bones before bed. Night.

Christmas came without ribbons or presents...

Our time in Des Moines is drawing to a close and a wonderful time it has been. Guitar Guy and I arrived first and had several days of playing with our grandson before Nicole and Pat arrived Sunday night. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day I watched in amazement as a perfect, magical Christmas snow drifted down, accumulating to about 4 inches. It was one of those dry, sparkling snowfalls that coats the trees and shrubs with a lacy beauty.

It was an unusual year with no presents until Monday night (except for Rowan who got his Duplo blocks early) but somehow I didn't miss them. Beef stew was simmering in the crockpot and beer bread baking in the oven, filling the house with comforting, savory smells.

Rowan has fallen in love with the little man who came in his Duplo blocks, dubbing him Nosez. We had no idea why as his nose doesn't seem particularly notable but Nosez he is. Many towers have been built and destroyed. Everyone has stepped on a block in bare feet at least once. I think we've had as much fun as Rowan has.

Knitting is proceeding well with Rowan's new sweater 1/2 finished. This is a Cabin Fever top down cardigan pattern using Dream in Color Classy in Romeo Blue. It is going to be warm and beautiful with Rowan's bright blue eyes. Hopefully he will like it.

Thursday I'm off to my dad's house for a week. Should be plenty of knitting time and maybe even some pictures. I know my New Year's will be quiet. How about you - anything exciting planned?

Greetings from the Las Vegas Airport

Hanging out in the Vegas airport, waiting to fly off to visit my family. It's been a long and stress filled month. My father and father-in-law are both struggling with declining health, necessitating many phone calls and difficult decisions. Do they want to do more tests or not? Is is time for assisted living or help at home? How can the family best support them when they live far away. No easy answers. They both frequently remind us that getting old really sucks.

The fun part of the month has been spending time with Nicole and Patrick baking cookies, touring the holiday lights and eating too many good meals. It is such a gift having them in town and we'll enjoy it as long as it lasts.

Since I will be staying in Iowa for an additional week to help my dad, I've packed plenty of yarn so I can get some quality knitting time in. I'm finishing a pair of socks and starting a sweater for Rowan. Should have started a month but you know how that goes. It will be a January sweater instead of a Christmas present.

My best wishes to all of you for a wonderful holiday!

The cookies are calling me

Six months ago I was so proud of my weight loss and now the pounds are creeping back on. It all started with Nicole's graduation party last May when I let myself gorge and I've struggled ever since. Now the Christmas cookies are calling me and the jeans I wore last winter don't fit anymore. It would be so much easier if they weren't so tasty!

Nicole had a day off yesterday so we spent the afternoon watching Christmas videos and baking. She is working a lot this month so not too many days to do holiday activities. We will try to get out and look at lights one night - GPS makes it so much easier. The stockings are hanging over the fireplace and a few decorations are sprinkled about. For the first time in my 55 years, I won't have a Santa stocking this year. Between packing in a carry-on and the cost of filling the darn things, we decided to forego stockings this year.

It is an odd year with my dad not doing as well and Guitar Guy's dad just out of the hospital after a serious infection. Even old Icey cat has been feeling her 21 years and hobbling around less. It reminds us anew how important those visits (for the humans) and ear scratches (for the cat) really are.

And now back to our scheduled Phoenix Suns game - Go Suns!