We've been binge-watching The Crown.(besides cleaning closets, etc.)
Are you reading anything good? Getting ready for the Spring garden?
How will you manage seeing family and Thanksgiving?

I make one trip a week for groceries and horse supplies, but mostly I stay home and do the things I normally do like horse chores and work in the garden when I can. TG is not going to be a family affair this year, just staying home and having dinner. Will most likely have a phone connection this year.

Tom, how many horses do you have?

Yesterday was my first outing, leaving the property, in many months - since March. I had a doctor's appointment. Chris goes out once or twice a week for supplies. Driving out, I noticed that the creek is almost totally dry. 35 years on our land, and this has never happened before, while we've been here.

20 horses Jan.

That is bad news about the creek running low Jan . I was hoping that the installation of the large water tanks on properties near the creek would solve that problem.

In Melbourne we are still in coronavirus lockdown. It is spring here and I spend most of my time in the garden. In winter I spent some time researching my ancestry.

20 horses must keep you very busy, Tom. Do you have stables and do you ride? I always like seeing the photos of your gardens and horses.

Robin, our arrangement with Trout Unlimited and the Nature Conservancy was that we can fill the large tank they provided during the rainy season from the creek, roughly November to June, if there is rain, but that
no water can be taken from the creek during the driest months - June to November. There are a number of parcels on the ranch that get their water from the creek year round, however. We did have rain last winter, but precious little since then. There is water left in our tank, fortunately, but we conserve wherever we can. I take fewer showers these days! We'll probably be downsizing our winter vegetable garden plans.
Like you, Robin, my daughter and I have spent many hours researching our family history. It's exciting, isn't it.

I gave been very busy for the past several weeks getting ready for my mother's arrival on Mon.the 26th.
I have cleaned out the closets etc.in the room she will be staying in, got rid of about 5 pieces of my furniture to make room for hers,cleaned out the garage to make room for her car.I also spent 6 straight hours on staining over 100 wood spindles on my deck and bottom boards.My son did the flooring and top .
It will need a second coat.
Trying to get all the nuts and bolts of the move has been a nightmare.Medical records,banks ,realtor,mover.With my mother having some memory issues already,all the stress and anxiety has really made things worse.
It is hard to do things long distance.I can't fly because of Covid.She is trying to get things together with limited help.
3 of my 4 kids will arrive Sun. and day of move to help and get the house cleared out and cleaned to put her house on the market.I have made room for a lot of her furniture.She has a lot of nice expensive pieces that look like the day they were bought.Hopefully, that makes her feel less sad.At almost 94 and having lived in Monroe ,La. for 77 of those years,this move is extremely difficult and emotional.
I haven't been able to get any thing done outside.The iris bed needs weeding,but the positive is all grass/weeds will die back soon.I may mow today.Leaves are slowly beginning to fall.
Hopefully,my mother's move will go well.I am exhausted already.It will be a new adventure for us both.We have both lived alone for a long time.There will be her memory issues to deal with as well.I will update when she gets settled in.

Derylin, this is some good information when dealing with someone with memory loss.
https://www.nextavenue.org/10-...

Thanks,Tom.
I will look at the information you suggested.
I have some knowledge of dealing with people with memory loss.My father had Alzheimer's for 12 years before he died in 2002.My mother cared for him ,and kept him at home where he died.
Of course at the time I was working and in another state, so I did not see him but several times a year.That is different from living with someone and dealing with their memory issues.

Derilyn, you're working so hard! Moving is always a trial. So many choices to make. Keep it, sell it, give it away, or chuck it ?? My sympathies. But, on the positive side, this is the last chapter of her life, and you will help to write it.
Is she interested in gardening?

It is tough & true memory comes & goes. I am having those problems with my husband & of course he is in a familiar place. Photos of her former home my help & furniture placed in the same way as her old room as far as possible may help.

Thanks Jan, thanks Lucy.
Jan, I like what you said about this being the last chapter of my Mother's life ,and I will help write it.
No,my Mother has never had an interest in gardening or working out doors.She enjoys the beauty but not the labor.Her main interest these days is reading.She also likes to keep an immaculate house(that will be fun :)),though she does not like to cook.
I think my initial interest in gardening came from her brother's interest in gardening when I was in elementary school.He had a wonderful collection of daylilies ,among other flowers and plants.
I have always enjoyed the outdoors much better than indoor activities.

Derylin, maybe your mom will develop some interest in your garden. My mother could see how much growing things added to my pleasure in life. Her Victory Garden was a disaster in WW2! Music was such a major part of her life. She played piano very well, and knew a million songs! I still have the lyrics and music of the 30's and 40's
rolling around in my brain. I used to sit on the piano bench with her and sing my head off!
Loss of cognition is my own fear, and I have sympathy for anyone caring for a loved one experiencing that.
"An immaculate house" - I'd have a problem with that too!

As I'm getting ready to go out to do some gardening (mostly just to supervise hubs !) my daughter, a nurse-practitioner, just called to go over the blood panel I had done this week. She pointed out that most elders are deficient in Vit. B12 and D, and explained the dynamics of lack of B12 and folate in the blood platelets (they get larger) and this situation is thought to possibly lead to dementia. Fact or not, because I don't eat much meat, I'll be taking a B12 supplement! I was slightly out of the normal range for B12. I already take D. It's already thought by some that Vitamin D
MAY be helpful in resisting the worst outcomes of Covid-19.
Just thought some here might find this to be of interest.

Thanks for the information on vitamins on Jan .

~ Tom 20 horses! I wish I had "A" horse. I used to have one I named Copper. He didn't have a good life to begin with. Abused (starved) by his past owners. He got way better after I adopted him, and then tragedy struck, died of a bladder infection. Copper was a good horse.

~ Derylin, I suffer with terrible anxiety. I can't imagine what it would be like if I was in the situations you're in right now. At least you keep trying and never giving up hope. I do hope that things go well for you and your mom

With the weather finally keeping me inside, I went back doing more research. Found out that there is an iris that nicknamed "Roast-Beef-Plant". Strange how a unique looking flower can have such a characteristic (scent) that smells like food. Wondering if the flower's fragrance can keep squirrels out of my flower beds? Although the smell off meat can also attract unwanted bugs.

Baking/art are two other options I'll be doing to keep myself occupied this winter. I have a couple paint projects that I'm hoping to finish and hang them in my home. My upstairs hallway needs some life. I already ordered a rug to decorate the hall's wood floor. Once my paintings are done, my upstairs hallway will most likely be 100% complete. I'm thinking about putting a tall/skinny corner table up there for a house plant. Then it'll be 100% complete.

Derylin, I hope the move goes well and neither you nor your mom get too stressed about it.

Ian, I hope you'll share some photos of your artwork! It'd be nice if you could share the baking, too, but that doesn't work too well online!

Yes, Derylin, I'm hoping things will go more smoothly than you're anticipating. My dad had Alzheimer's. My mom was his caregiver until he died about 10 years later. Toward the end she did hire some caregivers to come in and help because he was a very big, tall man and she was a tiny little woman. Moving him became a problem, but she did have a Hoyer lift that worked very well for moving him to bed, or to his favorite chair.

my husband has moderate alsheimers & it is tough. He reads the newspaper, but I am not sure how much he retains. Would a 'talking book' to have along with her favorite books help? Is your library open at the moment? Ours is by appointment. Perhaps it could help.

Derilyn, was your mom ever a movie-goer? I wonder if movies from the 30's and 40's, when she was a young woman, would be something she'd enjoy. You'll be making the meals for her? I found that my mother liked some of the boxed soups that Imagine has.They're organic, and she really liked the Red Pepper/ Tomato soup. (Amazon carries it). Soup and salad was a frequent (and easy) lunch. Of course, she may have other preferences.

Good suggestions Lucy.