The garden is in its death throes, we finally got rain but then it turned off HOT, so things are boiling in the mud and the tomatoes are cooking on the vines. I’ve already declared it a blessing because this way we can get done some of the much needed “fall chores” instead of canning and trying to figure out what to do with all the “late veggies”. We still have a bit of this and that but if this heat cycle holds like it is doing and we continue to get all of this rain that is predicted, I cease to be hopeful for a whole lot more… The fall portion of the garden is looking okay. And if those three rows of greens and the cabbages come off strong we will be happy.
Mid Kid and Hubby butchered 8 more chickens today. I was going to write about that but Mid Kid beat me to it….we are definitely happy with the weight on these birds….Hubby says the fix for the whizz bang is a bigger motor…
Update on Hubby’s Dad. He was a bit grumpy on Saturday, demanding, etc. But yesterday I stayed home with him while the others went to church. It was a pleasant day for us. Then last evening after his afternoon nap, he got up and was very coherent and awake. He and Hubby sat and chatted a bit and overall a very good evening as well.
Today he has been a bit more out of it. He has also been a bit more cross. He never was a man of patience….the dementia does not help him understand that it is noon and the reason his lunch is late or that it is 6:30 and he has not had his supper is because we have all been busy and are all sweated down from being out in the heat. He does accept a banana as a place holder for the coming meal. And he will enjoy the chocolate protein shake as dessert to help make up for the "wagging bag", a phraseology we fondly borrowed from the Hobbits.
Speaking of the old guy's hunger…it amazes me how much he can eat. On average he eats as much or more than the rest of us. And it is not just that he is awake and thinks he needs to eat; if we do not get sufficient calories in him, he will begin to drop weight. I saw this about three weeks ago when realized I needed to increase the amount of food going on his plate. Because he sits or is in the prone position all day, one would think that he would not need the same amount of calories that hard working people consume….
BUT then I realized that he works hard all day. The Lewy Body Parkinsonism causes his muscles to always be working except on the rare occasions when I will rub his arm or legs and he will relax. So in reality as he is sitting in his chair or lying in the bed, his muscles are working. He fidgets a lot too in his sleep…. Only when he is truly resting does his body seem to relax.
And last time I spoke of the father-in-law, I mentioned that he was eating with his eyes closed. I have begun to work on that. I am asking him to open up his eyes, so we will know he is not sleeping. This gentle verbal reminder seems to be helping the situation. I have also drawn up a chair so the person feeding him can sit directly in front of him and be more engaged with him. Not necessarily talking at him but being more aware of him, looking him in the eyes, etc. Speaking to him but not chattering…chatter is not something he can take in very well and it can frustrate him.
Well, that is it for today.