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Monday, August 12, 2019

Wow, That Was a Week

1. Grilled scallops, green beans, tossed salad, rolls or keto roll
2. Spaghetti sauce with beef over noodles or zoodles, tossed salad, garlic bread or garlic keto rolls
3.Squash casserole, sliced tomatoes, cucumber spears, coleslaw, corn bread (or not)
4. TheHub has a dinner meeting. I think I might fast that day
5. Grilled pimento cheese sandwiches (Hurrah for the new waffle "bread") coleslaw
6. Hamburger patty, rice or cauli rice, green beans, sliced tomatoes
7. Huge chopped salad, rolls or keto roll

Monday: I have no idea what happened on Monday, except for going to a local farmers market. I had planned to load up on delicious foods, but very few of their items looked very good. I wonder if the early birds only get the leftover veggies from Saturday. I left with a bag of peas, some squash and some tomatoes. Even the cucumbers looked old and wrinkled. I made a mental note to go to a larger farmers market next time.
Squash casserole, coleslaw, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, cornbread (or not)

Tuesday: TheHub did have a business dinner and I had planned to fast all day, but about 7:30 I was getting hungry and decided to eat. I just pulled a hodgepodge of leftovers out of the fridge
Gathering of remnants 

Wednesday: Other than routine laundry, household things and swimming a lot more than I have been, it was a pretty uneventful day! Hooray. All that swimming made me want to eat a pretty healthy dinner
Chopped salad topped with frozen pulled pork

Thursday: Mom had to have a little oral surgery and I am her official taker to all things health and dental related. After waiting for an eternity (OK it just seemed like an eternity, but 5 hours sitting with Mom who either can't or won't do what you tell her to do per Dr.'s orders t does seem like an eternity) Anyhow, I got home later and had nothing made for dinner. I was planning on having the grilled pimento cheese sandwich one night over the weekend, but desperate times and all that!
Grilled pimento cheese sandwiches (thank you new waffle fake keto bread) , pickle slices, coleslaw

Friday: Mom had an eye procedure done butt early in the morning and it leaves her unable to function for about 8-10 hours later. I had her caregiver arrive about 45 minutes after we returned, then when she left  my sister took over until about 5. I went down to take the last shift was finally able to leave her alone at about 7. Normally she is fine by about 4, but she was having a rougher time than normal this month and I had not planned on having to be there later. Consequently I had nothing started for dinner. We decided a local meat and 3 was calling us.
Out to eat veggie plate

Saturday: This was a wild ride of a day. Mom thought she was in the hospital all day, but thought the hospital had copied her home so she would feel comfortable there. My sister and I took turns staying with Mom. She would be fine, fall asleep and we would leave only to get a panic filled phone call when she woke. Fortunately I live 2 minutes from her house.  I did run home and cook and eat while she slept, before going back to spend the night with her, but it meant a terribly quick dinner had to be prepared.
Grilled chicken with an orange ginger glaze, tossed salad

Sunday: I woke (after sleeping very little at Mom's since I got up to check on her about every hour) swapped duty with my sister, went home and got ready for church. We had just walked in the door afterward when got a call from my sister that Mom was doing much better, knew where she was and had come to her senses again, so she left and Mom took a nap. When she woke she was in a full blown psychotic state and was positive we had moved her to a facility while she was sleeping. I ran down there and stayed with her until she went back to sleep. Ran home and threw a load of clothes in the washer, did a couple of other chores then waited for the inevitable phone call. It came and as much as I tried to assure her she was at her house, it did not register with her.  Son2 and DIL2 went to her house and she complained to them about me lying and trying to convince her the place she was in was her house. After they left I went to her house, made her get in my car under the ruse that my sister was upset we had not met her new dog. We went to Sis's house, met Riley, the dog, filled up my car with gas, and I drove Mom down streets that were familiar to her. We talked about people she had known who lived in various houses and when we got to her house she knew exactly where she was. It was like the car trip had pushed a reset button in her little noggin. Except__she did want to know who had moved her furniture from the facility so quickly. I lied and told her Son2 and DIL2 were magical and could do things easily. She was satisfied and glad to be back in her real house instead of the doppelgänger house she had been in before we left.  I stayed with her for about and hour afterward just to make sure she was functional and able to be left by herself.(For the record, she woke Monday morning clear headed and even remembered her confusions from the previous 3 days) I needed something really fast for dinner and did not give a fat rat's fanny what it was. I had ground chuck in the fridge so that was that.
Grilled hamburgers, lettuce, cheese, pickles, tomatoes, onions. And not another thing!

I am beginning this week with a little trepidation. Mom's neurologist died suddenly a couple of weeks ago, so I have spent the morning looking for someone new. We really need to get her seen pretty quickly but the nearest appointment I can find (after calling several) is early November?!? WTH!

And now on to meal planning, which may or may not happen. I do have a caretaker for Mom today and am using this time to cook a few things to have just in case all hell breaks loose again.

1. Spaghetti with meat sauce ( sauce done and in the fridge), tossed salad, garlic bread (or none)
2. Ham and cheese frittata (Ham cubed, cheese grated. broccoli steamed and chopped), coleslaw (made)
3. Keto version of chicken divan (chicken cooked and cubed), tomato onion and cucumber salad
4. Veggie dinner, most likely squash, okra, peas, cornbread and coleslaw
5. Grilled chicken, grilled onions and peppers, caulitato salad, sliced tomatoes
6. Sandwich supper (chicken salad is a strong possibility)
7. Keto chicken tetrazzini, asparagus, tossed salad, rolls or keto rolls

Also, if any of you are looking for a truly delicious low carb orange ginger glaze, I found this at Walmart. I think it was about 3.80 a bottle. It declares it is a marinade but I say otherwise. I put some boneless skinless chicken thighs on the grill, cooked them until time to turn them, then  flipped them then brushed some of the marinade on the cooked side. Waited until the chicken was almost through cooking, turned it again and brushed it on that side. I let it cook about a minute and a half (just enough for the marinade to "set" on the chicken) flipped it again and waited another minute and a half. I guess I used about 2 tablespoons of the sauce in total and it was some seriously delicious chicken. I am not affiliated with either the product or Walmart, it is just something I used and really did like. So did TheHub!

30 comments:

  1. oh, yes, what a week!Too bad your mom had to have both procedures done within 2 days. It doesn't sound like your mom will be able to live on her own much longer.

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    1. We had to have her eyes done. Her doctor is out for a medical leave and the doc who is seeing his patients has only one day a month to do it. The oral surgery could have waited but she was hell bent on having it done then.

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  2. i had wondered about the Sunday market and would we get Saturdays market leftovers, or fresh picked Saturday. It seems we had fresh stuff to choose from-it all looked really good. Now, I can't let any go to waste. I love non-BBQ stuff for a change of pace on the grill. As I love Orange chicken, that would really be a treat.

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  3. Oh my goodness, if your mom thinking they had transformed her hospital room into a look-alike room from her home would be funny if it wasn't so sad. My dad had dementia and I remember him confidently telling one day to invest in 3-legged chickens because that was the way of the future. Sad isn't it.

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    1. It is sad and Mom was very distraught until I "checked her out of the hospital" and stopped by my sisters on the way home. She knows where she is right now, but just asked me if I got all her clothes from the hospital.

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  4. I have to go see online it Walmart has that marinade here. I love the orange ginger combo. Soooo good with stir fry.

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  5. WHAT a week. I do hope this one is much, much better. I am super impressed you managed any cooking (and cleaning).
    Sigh on the neurologist front. It took me six months almost to the day to get an appointment to see a new one.

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    1. It has been an interesting week. The thing with Mom was literally like someone turned on the switch to a journey into the twilight zone. When I saw her just a bit ago she wanted to know if we were sure all her belongings were moved from "that place" to her house because she was looking for a picture and can't find it. (It is a picture I never recall seeing and she has lived in the same place for 50 years) Who knows where it is or if it even ever existed

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  6. Oh goodness, you certainly had several difficult days. I hope your mom continues to see her confusion for what it was. Unfortunately I suspect you'll have more days like this. My grandpa used to think he had been up all night working, usually sawing or hauling wood. It made for interesting conversation.

    I like the marinade idea - I've seen it on the shelf at Walmart and will have to try it!

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    1. I am pretty sure we are in for more days similar to those. I think our next step is to get overnight care and then we can decide on 24 hour care vs a memory care facility.

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  7. (((HUGS))) Anne. My mother used to accuse me of having people come in and change the rooms of the house around! She used to walk around the every evening (she had Sundowner syndrome), and complain about the house being switched around, ask me why I allowed it to be done, and tell me off for it! NOTHING had been changed around, not even the furniture, but, she was convinced that things had been turned around. I miss my mother, but I don't miss those days!

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    1. If you are like me you have detached from the person she became. A lot of Mom's core personality is still around, but some of the new behaviors are not the same Mom. I love her and accept my role to make sure she is taken care of. She does not want to leave her house but we are having to weigh options about what to do for her. My house has the master bedroom on the main level with all the others upstairs and I also have a suite in the basement. She can't maneuver stairs and I am not going to ask TheHub to give up our room. We do have a dressing room off the laundry room on the main level. It could be made into a small bedroom and it does have a half bath attached to it. We also could get 24 hour home care, or place her in a memory care facility. I wish Dad were still here so I could bounce various ideas off of him

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  8. When my grandmother lived with us, she accused me of stealing her things. I was just a child and traumatized. It was good you went along with her on moving her out of the hospital. A tutoring student was studying to be a nurse as she worked as a CNA and they were taught never to agree with their flights of fancy. She said one woman asked her, "Mama, are you going to take me to the park today?" She agreed to take her. The student said that any 90-yr-old white woman who thought that her black CNA was her mother did not need her to try and set her straight.

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  9. I got an appointment with a neurologist up here in three weeks. I have been considering not going and finding one in Birmingham. Now, I wonder. Oh, if you have a doctor refer her, she can get a sooner appointment. Once I figured that out, I always have a doctor refer me.

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    1. Yes I am calling her cardiologist this morning. He is her doc but he is a friend of ours too.

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  10. While your mother definitely has neurological things going on have you considered a gerontologist for your mother. They really understand what your mother is going through and can manage things well. In my small town, we didn't have many options for my mother, but her GP was very good with elderly patients and helped us understand and manage the difficulties she was having. He did this for both my parents who both had dementia. Good luck. I feel your pain.

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    1. I had not thought of a gerontologist. That is a great suggestion. Thanks!

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  11. What a week! I hope your mom recovers quickly. She is lucky to have you.

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    1. Fortunately she knows where she is right now. She has had some cognitive issues for a while but this lasted bout was a doozy.

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  12. Any kind of anesthesia can rally do wonky things to the elderly. I feel so bad for you. Hugs. I would like to come over for scallops please.

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    1. Mom started her deep dive prior to going to the oral surgeon. She was convinced she was in the hospital before I picked her up to go. Then things settled down before they got nuts again.
      I would like scallops too, unfortunately they were not on sale so it was a no go. Next time they hit my price point I am going to buy 10 pounds and freeze them in 2 person serving bags.

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  13. Tough times with your Mom. We were told that anesthesia can sometimes progress/exacerbate dementia type symptoms - that happened after my Mother in law fell and broke her hip. Hopefully things stay better - it is so hard when our parents age.

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    1. It is hard and the choices to help them get harder and harder.

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  14. I hope things get better for you mom. What a week!

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  15. That was a tough week. You have your hands full -- I feel for you.

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    1. I think this might be our new normal. I just hope my sister and I can/will make the best decisions for Mom's care.

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