Monday 23 July 2018

Monday

Good morning, everyone.  It's been a quiet weekend spent with my mum, dad and my middle brother, John.  As you may have realised, I do spend quite a lot of time there right now to give Dad a break from caring for Mum who has galloping Alzheimer's.   As he has his own health issues, a break from time to time can do the world of good and it is really nice to be able to help a bit.

It was jolly good to see John too.  As children, we didn't get on all that well but, with maturity comes more tolerance and understanding.  And he likes my cooking!

I went through their freezer with Dad (at his request) and am now the proud owner of a couple of bags of last year's blackberries.  I looked it up and redcurrant and blackberry jelly is definitely a thing with the redcurrants making up for the lack of pectin from the blackberries.  I think that this time, as it's a gift, I shall make proper jelly, then push the fruity remains through my mouli and use it for making yogurt ice cream or similar.  After all, waste not, want not!

I'm home today with no session at school this afternoon or for the next six weeks and no tuition to plan for,  I do have a session tomorrow, very early, but I have everything prepared for that so today should be pretty relaxed and easy going.  As the weather has made the weekend rather tiring, I look forward to resting and taking life easy - apart from catching up with the washing, ironing and allotment, of course.  Oh, and planning tomorrow.

Tomorrow?  Well, I am hoping to do my first church visit tomorrow, weather permitting, to a pair of local, related churches that I mentioned a few posts ago.  I've found more info online (how did we manage before the Internet?) and will make sure the camera is all charged up and ready to go.
However, if it is just too darn hot, I will stay at home and shelve it for another day.   I won't be a mad dog or an Englishman about this!

Have a good day and stay in the shade.


8 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear about your Mums problems it must be very difficult for your Dad and a good job you are around to give him some relief. It is hard dealing with these things as you get older and things you could do so easily when you were young suddenly become a chore.

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  2. . . . or downright impossible. Thanks, Diane, it is very difficult now. A big worry all round. :-)
    xx

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  3. So sorry to hear this, a lot of strength is needed and hope the family is also getting support from the authorities.

    The jelly sounds delicious!

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  4. Fortunately, they are able to fund appropriate support which is good. Thanks, Annabeth.

    I hope it will be lovely. For now it's all in the freezer but I may have a go this afternoon.
    xxx

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  5. I am so sorry to hear your mother has Alzheimer's, Joy, and your father is her carer. I've no doubt seeing you and your brother did him the power of good.
    I don't have any siblings and I always think it's sad when siblings don't always 'get on'. Mind you, I can't say I ever felt lonely as people seem to think only children are lonely. I had a lovely childhood and lots of friends, and being an only child taught me self-reliance, too.
    I hear that Health England (or whatever it styles itself) has issued an Amber warning regarding the hot weather. My goodness, we'd not have known it was hot unless they'd told us, would we? Seriously, much of what to do is common sense, but since when was sense common to all? Drink plenty of water (provided there is still some coming out of our taps), wear fewer restrictive clothes, keep out of the sun, close the curtains to keep the heat out at the hottest time of the day, and wear a hat and sun block if you do have to go out. Easy, really.
    Margaret P

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  6. Sorry to here about your mum it is a dreadful thing to have but good for your dad that he has your support.
    We had to skip visiting an Open Garden on Sunday as there was no shade and it was exceptionally hot in Thirsk - too hot for me and mum.
    Enjoy the churches.

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  7. I had decided that your parents were needing extra support because of the increased number of your visits. You must be a godsend to your dad though I’m sure it's a very painful and worrying experience for you both watching your mum's difficulties.
    I hated seeing my parents struggling to support each other. I lived within walking distance though even that was not really enough.
    Dad eventually came to live with us but hated losing his independence.
    As you say it's an extremely worrying time, the worst bit being unable to reverse the situation and have your mum back.
    I'm so glad that you have so many activities and interests to put your energies into for the rest of the week and that maybe you and your brother will draw nearer to each other with this common concern.
    Sue

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  8. Thanks, Margaret, Viv and Sue for such kind and lovely comments.

    It was such a baking hot day and today (Tuesday) is supposed to be hotter so I think I am going to be sensible and postpone any gallivanting until the temperature moderates!

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