1May 2016

Boy oh boy this is tough. You all know Non and Gramps, who they are, how they have lived their lives. We have all been in awe. But life is not nice, old age has come round the corner and it is all looking a bit shakey. After my talk with Gramps last night he got up and asked me to just lay out his things on the bed and then he would be out eventually. He Did everything for himself, even got himself into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Martinellis arrived soon after and he was keen to line up some opportunities with key people  in coming week to "make some decisions". He looked and sounded so decisive. Mike was going to stay with him while Linda and I took Noni on an outing. We opted ambitiously for lunch and were sitting in the waiting area of the newly refurbished Westlake Joes, renamed after the parent restaurant Original Joes, when a call came from Mike to come back to base ASAP for what uncle Mike called a 911, not a medical emergency but more of a personal nature and neither Gramps or Mike were equipped to handle it. I will spare you the details.  Toilet dramas are a daily occurrence for both Noni and Gramps so lots of washing of hands is the order of the day. 

But since I have been here there have been three major event that have required a small team to handle with a very miserable gramps at the centre. So while he had looked and sounded great on the same morning just a few hours before, events like these just knock him back, huge blows to his dignity and his ego, just wants to crawl back in bed and sleep. His mind is willing but his body lets him down. 

But It reinforces the view that they cannot stay in the house on their own because Noni although very willing and not at all put off, cannot handle these events alone. I think even she realises that they have to have a 24 live in person to allow them to stay in the house OR they cannot stay in the house at all. So that is the challenge we are discussing this week. This was the challenge before I came too and it just hangs over everything like a cloud while everyone just deals with what is in front of them. I think everyone will feel better if a decision is made and we can all get on with organising towards the chosen end. But hard to move everyone together. 

Today we did some work in the garden, gave some attention to Nonis beans, watered, weeded and mulched. Both Noni and the beans should be happy, also repotted some of her herbs so she has the ones she uses most regularLy near the back door. The weather was incredibly hot today, so much that all South City folks should be wearing "Climate change-I get it" T-shirts.  n&g house faces west so all windows were in full collecting mode and it was unpleasantly hot. Getting very close to dinner time and Noni was struggling to know what to fix gramps for dinner. Martinellis solved that by going for McDonalds. Gramps said he did not want anything but then asked for a crispy chicken burger and fries but when things arrived traded mike for his chicken nuggets.

Food for me is a major challenge, feel like I have put on about 3 kilos already and walking opportunities have been rare, think I have had 2 walks down the the shops. I can manage brekfast OK as I brought my porridge. But lunch is often salami and bad bread and cheese, sweet snacks and Lay potato chips are ubiquitous and the fridge, although holding some treasures, is chaotic. Bought myself a bag of apples but on my last one today. Last night as 675 was tucking into Maccas Linda sent me up to Greg and Kristas to share their home cooked dinner of halibut rice and veggies. A treat esp with glass of red. 

On Monday we have our next visit from Russian Jane. We should see a home health aid person this week too as Gramps has some serious grooming needs, but no details when. We hope soon, I think that will give him a boost. 

Just for some light relief here are a few of the treasurers Noni had asked if I wanted, some vintage swimming trunks from Russian river days and some head covers for jerry, although at first she thought they were just a pair of very large mittens.