Costco goodies

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We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. - Australian Aboriginal proverb

Bazootiehead-in-training

29 March 2022, 07:59 PM

Mary Anna

Those look tasty! How do you cook them?

29 March 2022, 08:48 PM

RealPlayer

Looks like a winner!

29 March 2022, 09:59 PM

wtg

MA, I use the rehydrated mushrooms in lots of things. Mushroom barley soup, tossed into some sauteed cabbage, or in a gravy. They tend to have a more "mushroomy" flavor than fresh and I often add them to sauteed button or cremini mushrooms. The rehydrating liquid has good mushroom flavor, too, and can be used in soup or gravy.

30 March 2022, 02:31 AM

AdagioM

I was happy to see those mushrooms last month; it had been years since the previous batch. I bought some for me, and some for my kids. Yum.

Kirkland prosecco has gone from $6.99 to $7.99 per bottle.

30 March 2022, 02:26 PM

jodi

I am stress eating Kirkland chocolate covered raisins. I’m at my moms while her husband is away for two weeks (my brother was her last week). Mom has dementia. Different kind than my my dad (who was uncontrollably angry before he died), but just as distressing. And exhaustingly sad. Sometimes I can pull her out of the bad parts (such confusion and tears and “word salad”) with the photos on my iPad, this morning I managed to get her laughing with some old Monty python videos. But wow. This end of life stuff is pretty tragic.

30 March 2022, 02:44 PM

wtg

I always tried to find some small ray of sunshine peeking through the clouds.

It is *really* hard, but you're giving your mom such a huge gift. You are keeping her warm, fed, and safe. That by itself is something that many people don't get at the end of their lives.

Offering her a favorite food or sharing a laugh....the victories may not seem very big but for people with dementia their world is very small, so the little things can be very meaningful.

Hang in there.

P.S. And Kirkland cashews are a great alternative if you get tired of the chocolate covered raisins.

30 March 2022, 02:56 PM

jodi

It’s such a roller coaster. There are a lot of moments where she happily does the stuff she has done for ever (sort of remote control things - laundry, dishes, (though she can’t cook anymore and she’s not safe around the gas stove). Have to keep the counters clear of extra clutter and make sure everything is in the right place, nothing new - or it causes a lot of confusion. Pretty big memory issues both short term and long term. It’s interesting - been comparing it to playing the piano (I’ve been playing a lot of piano here, it soothes her) - like having muscle memory of a piece you once memorized, but don’t play anymore - if you don’t think too hard about it - the notes come out perfectly - but if you start really looking at the music, it gets all jumbled up. that’s what happens to her with everyday stuff, words included.

30 March 2022, 03:24 PM

wtg

Yes, routine and familiarity are paramount.

My mom used to like to watch old movies that she'd already seen dozens of times before. I think she could handle them because she already knew the plot and probably a lot of the dialogue, so she wasn't trying to figure anything out. And music...Andre Rieu concerts on DVD were a big favorite. I used to put "The Homecoming - Live in Maastricht" on the big TV in the common area in her memory unit and all of the residents seem to love it. Something about Rieu's style and the music he plays that reached them.

The facility where she lived the last three years also participated in a program called Songs by Heart, which brought professionally trained singers in to work with people in the memory care units. They were pretty amazing.

A friend's mom was anxious and seemed to be calmed by having a lifelike doll baby around to hold. I gave my mom a small stuffed cat (one of the mid-sized Ty Beanie Babies) and set it on the table next to her chair. She would occasionally reach for it and hold it. A teddy bear might be another alternative.

It can be hit or miss, and sometimes things that used to work didn't anymore. Or might work in 10 or 15 minutes.

I'll say one thing...you really learn to be present in the moment to match wherever they are. That can be magical.

30 March 2022, 04:52 PM

jodi

There are multiple stuffed animals in the basement (that my brother has given her)! She really likes the music. Currently waiting for my son to come over to play some more piano. Hoping to go for a short walk (she’s amazing fast with a cane).

30 March 2022, 05:04 PM

pianojuggler

Hang in there, Jodi.

30 March 2022, 05:09 PM

pianojuggler

The four pound boxes of tomatoes on the vine are up to $8. The three-packs of English cukes are $6. I don't pay a lot of attention to other prices anymore. I buy what we will eat.

I rarely buy any groceries anywhere other than Costco unless it's something like sour cream that we cannot finish before it goes fuzzy. Yeah, some things are cheaper elsewhere, but if I can do everything in one stop, I do it in one stop.

30 March 2022, 08:03 PM

wtg

I remembered a book I read a while back that I found helpful, it’s the Best Friends Approch to dementia care.

The authors have a website and I looked there today. I didn't watch the Oscars so I missed this exchange between Gaga and Liza Minnelli.

https://bestfriendsapproach.co...d-supporting-elders/

The Best Friends book is available on Amazon.

30 March 2022, 08:06 PM

jodi

That’s a good article you linked to, wtg. Somebody posted about the scene with Lady Gaga and Liza Minnelli on facebook - as in “please remember this interaction, not the slap”.

30 March 2022, 08:07 PM

wtg

Here it is.

https://abc13.com/lady-gaga-li...oscars-and/11687523/