Thursday #4 / 1-28-10

Starting with breakfast as usual. I asked her what she felt like, she said "I don't know, eggs, I always like eggs!"

Coffee for two please!

Yep, feeding Queeny! She asked me if I like bacon and if I know how to cook it. This led to what was probably really going on in her mind and nicely confiding in me to tell me that usually everyone burns it and she doesn't like it, so instead she lets Queeny eat it. So I took the tip and didn't cook it for longer than I thought! But she still gave a piece to Queeny.

Next, we practiced the written driving sample tests online. It was all multiple choice. For those of you who don't know, she had her license taken away by a doctor after she had her stroke. This is an extremely sensitive issue to her, understandably. Driving is almost like her last straw of any kind of feeling of being independent. Her car in the garage even had to be un-wired so she would not take it out. I'm not clear on all the details, but I think the doctor had told her depending on how much she improved over the next year from the stroke, her license may or may not be given back--And she wants it back! All this to say, now her license is expired and if she is ever going to get it back, she has to start from the beginning now and take all the tests. While in reality it may be visible to some of us that she may not be capable of ever driving again, there is no harm in her studying, feeling like she is taking something on that she wants, and/or realizing for herself that she cannot remember or make sense of driving rules anymore and,perhaps, blaming others less for this . Thus, we are beginning to study together...

Check out those blingn' bedazzled reading glasses:

I started making studying notes for her on all the questions she has trouble with:

The animals napping while we study:

Oh and here is Tinkerbell with her Christmas gift from cousin Emily:

Grandma showed me Tinkerbell's favorite toy in the stocking:



"um, not interested Martha.."

"Here, here, Tinkerbell.."


"She loves it.."

There we go, we got a paw up..a little magician's wand paw:


"ok, Martha, let me have it.."



Then grandma said, "ok, i'll just rest the toy on her now and let her play with it."

"oh brother"

Thursday # 3 / 1-21-10

Alright! I'm two entries behind! And it's been on my mind to do it, so, I'm cozying up with my tea and getting started! I've got to try and blog immediately after I am with grandma so, not only will I not have built up Thursdays to write about, but I don't want to forget all the noteworthy little things she says that are fresh in my mind right after! I started school last week, my Aunt Sharon visited, and I've got a cold now! Oh, and as you know, it was my birthday, so the old age is slowing me down! hah! ya, right! Thanks everyone for all the dear birthday wishes too!
Anyway, we'll start with the third Thursday that was two weeks ago. It was this Thursday that I got behind on the blog because I actually traded to take care of her for night, not the morning like I usually do, when I still have the rest of the day to blog . I was in Long Beach the day before and as some of you may know, the weather that week in Southern California, Los Angeles County especially, was WET! And I am not complaining! It was super exciting! It seems like all our rain for the year usually always comes all at once, crammed into a few days! And you know we need it! Cars were under water in some parts of Long Beach and a few friends of mine had to be moved into different apartments in their complex's due to flooding! I did not feel super safe about driving Wednesday to Murrieta, especially in the dark. So, I switched with Katy to be sure grandma had someone with her.
Next to Wilson High School in Long Beach:

Some buildings on my school campus (CSULB) were closed:

OK..so, here's the goods:
It was my first time making her dinner and I wasn't sure exactly what she had in her fridge, plus, I was hungry myself so, I picked up a few things to make a pretty yummy, healthy dinner I would normally make for me.
She was very excited and intrigued by everything I brought. If I know anything about the things she normally eats, I would dare to say her diet does not consist of very many fresh vegetables or meals made from scratch. I may be wrong, but that's the feeling I get from looking in her freezer (and if she eats the way others do in my family-(mom)-then she eats microwave, pre-made everything and "I can't believe it's not butter" spray).
It was her idea to take the photos of us prepping the meal:





Our starter salads while we wait for everything else to finish cooking!:


Getting ready to chow down! But have to do the traditional photo shots of the table lay out first!:


Where's that smile grandma? haha! She is always straight face in the first picture til' I tell her "cheese! or "picture!"


Yep, Queeny the dog is creepn' on our dinner! She knows that little plate is hers that's why! Grandma always grabs a little plate every meal, sets it next to her plate, and finely chops some of whatever the meat is from her meal for Queeny! Grandma does not even cut her own food! She was eating the asparagus like finger food! Now, I loved that she did that, but this woman bought me hardback books on manners and etiquette for Christmas when I was little! haha! I guess she has gotten wiser with the years! Life's too short to spend cutting your food or caring what people think; eat how you need to! :)

"mmm..eat your chicken Queeny!"


Grandma's favorite drink: This Mango Juice! She encourages me to drink some too whenever I pour her a glass..and it is tasty:

And out of my label looking curiosity, I found out this isn't actually juice! It's 15% juice?! And they get away with calling it juice? More like Orange Cool-aid is actually Martha's favorite drink:

Ope, and a surprise visit from my mom after she got off work! Here she is nibbling on our leftovers:

Look at these pretty women:

And watching t.v. for a minute of course on her way to the bedroom:


And before I left she put on the Christmas tree lights for me. I told her it was pretty and she said "you think so? you like it?" and she smiled and left it on:

Thursday #2 / 1-14-10

This Thursday was to be special! My birthday is tomorrow, so I thought grandma would feel privileged to know that our day together would be the first "celebration" for it. Just her and I together for a treat to breakfast and a toast with iced lattes (her choice) for my 25 years alive!
I called her 20 minutes before I was supposed to be at her house so she could feel ready to go out, put her shoes on, spray her hair, make sure she had her glasses, etc.
Here she is locking up, we went through all the keys to find the right one:

Now here she is getting in the Supra. She said "oh, it's nice to ride in my car! I use to love driving this car!":

I rolled open the sunroof for us. It was super sunny today. She said the sun looked so nice how it lit up the inside of the car.
She asked me, "now do you know how to close that thing?"
I said "yes" and showed her.
She said she was just making sure cause the first time she ever opened it she remembers it started raining and she couldn't figure out how to close it and everyone was looking at her like she was a "crazy fool."

I helped her put her seatbelt on and then we were on our way. I pulled over shortly after, however, cause i realized she hadn't shut her door all the way and i could hear that air sound. She laughed and said "oh..my, i almost could have flown away!"
We actually drove all around Temecula before we had reached the place we ended up eating at! I haven't lived here in so long I didn't realize how much had changed. I was going to take her to the Coco's and when we pulled up it was a Ruby's now. So, then I thought, ok, well, i know another place she likes, Richy's Diner! But once we got there, it was now a Bob's Big Boy! hah! I asked her if she would want to try their breakfast and she said it wasn't that great. So, after all that we found a Farmerboys, a guaranteed favorite of hers for breakfast where my mom use to take her a lot.
Here she is taking off her coat:

Waiting for our food & drinks:

Her first attempt to take my picture with my iphone:

ope, second times a charm grandma!:

Now, she was super excited about these iced lattes! She said her and my mom got them all the time together. I watched her have trouble sticking her straw thru:

But no problem, get rid of that lid! She is determined to drink that thing!:

Here is both of us together! (gosh, my neck is long! for some reason i thought i had to lean so far in the picture! hah):

Later when we got home, we relaxed and mostly looked at pictures. She had to let Queeny the dog out first though.
She was looking outside a while and said "wow, look at that.. the blow." She couldn't find the word "wind."


Thanks to emails from my Aunt Sharon (Martha's daughter) and my cousin Emily, both who live out of state, we had a good amount of recent family pictures to look at that grandma had not seen.

She sat there looking at them and pointed, telling me things she knew about each person.

In the photo below on the computer, my sister is drinking a latte, saying they are the best ever in Seattle! Grandma read that and laughed! She said "I don't think so! She must not have ever tasted OUR iced Lattes!"

But honestly, she was so distracted by the advertisements on the internet next to the pictures we were looking at on facebook. She kept reading the Ads aloud and asking me about them. Here she is pointing at one of them below, saying to me, "you want to be a nurse?! They're offering $500 to simply apply to their program! They have a shortage it says!" Some of the ads had pictures of people and she would point to them and ask who they were. I would have to keep telling her "that's an ad, we don't know them" or "that's not Ali's kitchen, that's an ad to remodel kitchens."

Then here she is learning to scroll on my mac. She was laughing the whole time. The arrow just would not go where she wanted it to!

AND LASTLY FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE...we took funny photos together on my computer! SHE LOVED IT! And it was the hardest i've heard her laugh in a long time!:








trying to figure out the "paradise" background:


ok, sipping our Latte's at the beach:



After all that fun, I vacuumed the living room, pet the cat, and that was that for my 2nd Thursday with grandma! She was a little sentimental when i left and I think I finally got it sunk into her that I would be there every Thursday morning. She had thought I was just visiting and was expecting one of the other girls to come check on her still. But NOPE!
It's me grandma! Every Thursday from now on! Better be prepared!