SENIOR CARE

      Most of the time I listen to a CBC program from 8:30 to 10:00 AM. It covers topics of current interest or if it's not of current interest, they will make it current interest. 

     A while ago they had a series on care for seniors. They had experts from various fields and covered the usual topics of health, housing and quality of life.

    They set it up so that listeners could keep on commenting through emails. People write in and it's surprising how many different options there are. There are may family controlled and organized accommodations for lodging and care. Everybody has their own story.

    It's interesting to listen to those stories and realize there are many options. 

    The big problem is that many elderly do not have options. Some have very limited finances. Some have health issues that limit their options. Some people don't want any of the options and want to live independently. Sometimes independence is not an option. So we have some people who are unhappy with the options.

    It's a challenge for society to care for the elderly. In the fifties my grandfather lived in our home for his last 5 years. In some ways it was good and then there were problems. My Mom had an extra load to look after him. I think he always felt that he was a guest who required special treatment. I'm sure he would have been happier living on his own but that was not an option.

    So often I listen to this information and all of a sudden I say "That's me they're talking about." As long as we're healthy we can sail along and remain independent. But there will come a time when independence is not an option.

   All we can do is make some realistic plans. We have looked at senior accommodation. After that we don't know what we're doing. 

    

JUST ANOTHER COMPLAINT

       Well, my last post wasn't really a complaint. Just a little whining!

       Today I would like to register a formal complaint to those who hate seniors. 

       I consider myself to be very fortunate as a senior, in that I have very good health. That doesn't mean that I don't have some senior issues.

       In the last year I have noticed some vision problems.

       Yes, if you see an old guy on his hands and knees, trying to look at a price tag, that will be me! Yes, the price tag is just above my toes. I can back up to the other side of the aisle to get a better angle but that doesn't help. 

       Now you have to read price tags very carefully. So  sale price is large and in color. It's a super good price. But you have to see that to get the super price you have to buy two. Who wants two containers of Beef in a mug?

       The next problem is the price tag on the top shelf. The price tags automatically angle upward. So unless you're seven feet tall, all you see its the bottom of the price tag. While I'm at this one I feel sorry for shorter people who cannot reach anything on the top shelf. I have had to step on the bottom shelf to reach something on the top shelf. 

        After that, much of the information on the price tag is in very small printing. Shall I embarrass the Micro Manager and not only kneel on the floor but bring out my magnifying glass? 

      So while our grocery stores may have some things for the convenience of shoppers , they have some glaring challenges for people. 

     Now on the other hand, grocery stores have things slanted to their advantage. They don't want you to see that you have to buy two to get the low price. If you buy one they make a dump truck more money because the one price is much higher. 

     So there should be much more consideration given to seniors when it comes to making things easier. 

     What improvements would you like to see?

WE ALL FALL DOWN

  Ring around the rosie 

A pocket full of posie

Husha husha 

We all fall down

    I played this little ditty with my own kids and many others. The boys loved it and were very creative in making a fall, rolling around on the floor and having great fun. 

     Well, I fell yesterday and I wasn't playing ring around the rosie. And it wasn't fun.

     My fall was inelegant and totally uncontrolled. I did a real face plant. I more or less fell like a tree . I did not bend. My face  hit the floor first (face plant) . My glasses went flying and I grazed my check. Other than that I'm fine.

     Yes the micro manager found my glasses . I forgot I was wearing glasses. The Micro Manager didn't show up for a while. She thought I'd dropped my weights. When she came by I was sitting on the tub with a cold face cloth on my eye and cheek. Then she wondered what happened.

    Now before you get going, my place is pretty safe as far as preventing senior falls is concerned. I realize falls are very hazardous to seniors. That's why I quit cycling, skating and cross country skiing last year. I always said even if I fell on the floor I would hurt myself let alone flying off my bike.

   Why are seniors so vulnerable? I always say that my head is on the ground before my brain knows that I'm falling. Add to that a whole lot of other senior disabilities.

    So I was fortunate and had no injury. I think I sort of got light headed for a few seconds , tripped over my feet and fell. 

    Now in looking up the ring around the rosie rhyme I learned something. The nursery rhyme refers to the great plague. Apparently there was a very prominent ring around the eyes when people had the disease. Fall down refers to people as they die. 

INELEGANT

       Well, I really didn't know there was such a word as inelegant, but I was the perfect example last night.   I was awfully inelegant.

       I was out at a meeting and came home shortly after nine.  Of course, at that time it was very dark.  I have a security light on the front of my house so parking  was fine. I walked to the back and found that the kitchen light that's usually on was off. It was pitch black. First of all you know that old guys like me don't see too well...especially in the dark. Secondly our balance isn't the greatest anymore.

       I got up the walk and the three steps to the back door and then my problem started. I was in the top step and balance became an issue .I didn't have much room to maneuver. So the way to get my balance was to step backward. That meant I was gong down stairs backwards. I'm not too good at going down stairs backwards at the best of times. 



     I made it down the three steps but when I hit the sidewalk my speed had picked up. Now I don't walk backwards very well so I tripped going backwards. I lurched against the brick wall of the house and sort of bounced. I hit the sidewalk on my butt and did a bit of a roll. fortunately I didn't hit my head. It was all in slow motion. I wonder why I couldn't have recovered at some point. My cap went flying. My meeting papers went on their own little flight. My pen disappeared. I did hang onto my keys. I had to unlock the door.

     I remember saying one very bad word and then I did what I always do when I fall...get up quickly before anybody sees me.

     Needless to say , the whole thing was very awkward and yes inelegant...totally lacking in grace. 

    I got in the house and turned on the lights and went back out to retrieve my belongings.

    I ripped my jacket sleeve and have a bruise on my left big butt. Other than being a little stiff I survived.

    It really makes one think seriously about falls when you're a senior.

MEDICAL TESTS

      Medical tests seem to be constantly changing. The tests themselves can change. The type of measurement changes. The stats for normal and so on change. The times the tests are needed changes.

     Al is scheduled for an annual check up. Tests are done before the check up. Al noticed that there was not a cholesterol test on the requisition form. He decided to check with his physician to see if he forgot to order cholesterol testing. Al was informed that for seniors the cholesterol test is done once every three years. They have found that senior's cholesterol levels change very little unless they gain lots of weight or develop diabetes. 

    Cholesterol scales have changed over the years. The list of foods containing high cholesterol has been changing. At one time eggs were a no no. Acceptable cholesterol levels have been changing. 

    Now what's going to happen to all the people who have been taking anti cholesterol medication?  Why were they taking it? 

    I think research has been discovering that cholesterol and foods high in cholesterol are not as crucial as once thought. 

    One test that I didn't like was the stool test for occult blood. The test has changed to be much simpler and easier. Again they do the  less occult blood tests  unless the   patient has  certain conditions.

    As a senior, I take very few concoctions. I wish they would further cut medications for seniors.

THE BACKWARDS PILL

      I called my spunky 89 year old friend the other night and she was a little down. I wrote about Dorothy and how a Least weasel got in her house and how she finally got it out of the house.

     Right now Dorothy is facing some challenging problems. These are problems that come with aging. Her husband has been in care for three years with dementia. That's a big challenge by itself.

     Dorothy has decided to move into a senior's residence rather than continue living in her duplex. She will be in the same complex as her husband but he is in the closed section for dementia people.

     However, Dorothy wants to list her house on May 1 and has to clean it out. That's a challenge for most of us. Some people have stuff and then there's Dorothy. They had 4000 books! There are many very beautiful books.Her husband was a prof and Dorothy and environmentalist. Nothing was thrown away. Dorothy still has her ballet dance books.(half a shelf) Another full shelf contains her husband's journals.

     So I was called over to take some of her books. I was polite and took 8 books. The only thing I could do was suggest places she might take the books. 

     Her sense of humor...there's a new thrift shop that's opened up a block from her house.

     So downsizing and getting rid of personal effects is sad. Things that have all your memories are being disposed of. The final date is less than three weeks away. 

    So when I phoned Dorothy , I think she was a little overwhelmed by the situation. 

   Her comment was, "They're not making a backup pill yet so I'll just have to keep going." I like that term but I wouldn't take a back up pill.

   Most of us will have to go through this step in our lives. It's not pleasant but should and has to be done. So although I'd like some books and would like to help dorothy get rid of some books, I'm in the same boat as Dorothy. I have to get rid of stuff.
   

Getting Old Has Some Funny Parts

     Most of the time we hear complaints about getting old. "Getting old ain't for sissies." I can't do this anymore or I can't do that anymore. This doesn't work. That doesn't work. My ears don't work very much anymore!

     Now some of the complaints about aging are very real and serious. Strokes, heart attacks, cancer. The medical establishment seems to have a bucket of pills to throw at us for every ailment. It's debatable how much good the medication actually does.

      Some people worry about their health. We can't help it. Some people worry about their end.

     Seniors tend to associate with seniors so much of the news isn't good. My 87 year old friend had a bike accident this summer and broke his right femur. He's doing okay and is ready to come back birding with me.

     However from time to time I experience things that just crack me up. This morning I was putting my underwear on when I noticed I still had the pajamas on!!! I wish I could have seen the look in my face. I had a little chuckle. I sometimes look for 10 when I'm doing a Sudoku. I have a silver car. My friend caught me trying to unlock her silver car. Did she razz me about it! That one really catches your attention.

    Now some people really worry that they are losing it when small things like this  happens. You're only losing it when you have the underwear in your hand and don't know what to do with it. We have some mental lapses when we age. I have trouble remembering things in a conversation. I cannot remember a book title or author at the time of the discussion. These things, although frustrating , are not serious.

      Now I have one medication that's really worth it. I have senior epilepsy. What's that you say? Google it. You'll be surprised.  I had spells of not making new memories. It's common to many seniors  and many times they land in the nursing home or worse. If diagnosed properly , you live a healthy normal life. 

    This week was my annual medical check up. I like my physician. He does a thorough check and explains what he's doing as he goes a long. At the end he gives a summary. So I'm in great condition right now. I also visited my optometrist this week. Yes , I have  few issues but they are not serious.

     So I try to keep aging in perspective. I have to keep in mind what territory I'm in.  Seniors are fragile. things can change very quickly even though we look after ourselves well. 

     I hope all the senior bloggers are doing well in mind and body.

I'm Losin It OR I've Lost It!

    At lunch time the other day. I was doing the sudoku puzzle, listening to the noon radio show, drinking my coffee, discussing what groceries were needed and writing the grocery list. 

    Now it was discovered in my grocery list that I had spelled milk "mik" and chunky "junky". How could I do this when I had just done a post on spelling? I guess the spell check was not there to remind me.

     So my multitasking skills were not up to the usual standard. Maybe I'm losing it?

     I have noticed lately that some senior people get very anxious when they make a few errors , can't think of something or forget something easy. The stress level goes up and they immediately feel that they are descending into senior chaos.

     Don't be so fast. It is common for seniors to make momentary lapses. Stress makes it har

der for people to function.

    I have a better excuse. In 2008 I had an incident where I did not make any new memories for two hours. An investigation was made and no cause could be found for my global amnesia. 

    Two years later it happened again. One more test was given. It showed that I was having seizures. I doubted this very much. I'd had kids in school every year with seizures and what was happening to me was not a seizure, so I thought. I went home right after this diagnosis and checked on the internet. It took less then 30 seconds to find out that what I had was senior epilepsy. Much research has been done on this topic and many times senior moments are due to small seizures.

     I was put on medication and haven't had a problem since.

    So don't beat yourself up when you have momentary lapses. If it's a big lapse, then it's a major problem

    Keep on multitasking.

Be Cautious When Communicating With Seniors

       Communication with seniors can become great comedy. Slips can be made and the communication takes great leaps of logic to confusing ends.

      Things can easily get twisted in senior communication. Seniors don't hear well so they may hear things that are very different from what was spoken. Seniors can be thinking of something else and relate what was said to a completely different topic.

      Yesterday was my turn to provide some comedy in the communication field. I had advertised my canoe on Kijiji. Someone phoned and asked if she could see the canoe and wanted to know what time she could come. We agreed on 2 PM. I asked her what her name was. The first time she said her name , I didn't get it. The next time I got Maxine out of it. I repeated Maxine,' and said, "Okay, Maxine at 2 PM."

     I went outside in the afternoon. Shortly before 2 PM my wife answered the phone and someone was explaining they couldn't make the 2 PM appointment , but could she come at 3 PM. Again , my wife asked for a name and got Kathleen. And said, Okay Kathleen, we'll see you at 3 PM."

     After these two occurrences I'm not sure who the person was who actually phoned. They never showed up. Probably both of us were wrong. Why didn't "Maxine " or "Kathleen" correct us?

     I go with my wife to some of her medical appointments. Physicians will ask her a question and she goes on about something else. Finally, I say, "Answer the question". Doctors have good reasons for asking a question. Logic is going on in their heads as they want to relate the answer to the previous question and decide what to ask next. Some physicians will go on from a non answer. I wish they would rephrase the question and insist on an answer. "A final answer!"

      Now I admit that I provide my share of senior miscommunication. I admit that I don't hear well. I also admit that I don't listen very well. I can get into trouble in a hurry. Sometimes I come home and suddenly think, "Did I ever mess up that conversation." 

      However, life goes on. somehow we get through things and make sense and meaning of the conversation.

Another Senior's Residence I'll Pass

        My micro manager loves anything that's free. She had a free ticket to go for lunch at a senior's residence in town and spend the afternoon with a friend who is a resident in the facility. This is a facility where residents rent a little suite. They can make their own meals or eat in a dining room. 

       Now I've written about senior's residences before. This one was better than the last one but certainly had a major glitch.

       Lunch was to be served at 12:30 but it didn't get started until 1:00 and didn't finish until 2:00. Now if you've got nothing to do and you're not hungry, I guess this would be okay. I'm sure some people may have an appointment booked before the lunch was complete and they would have to miss part of the lunch or all of it. Probably some people for health reasons should eat at a regular time.
  
      Now I would fault a late lunch on principle. Residents pay good money for their lunch and to have it on time. End of argument. So what happens when the terms of the contract are not met? In this case nothing I guess. 
      
   Now the facility had an excuse for the late lunch. This was a holiday week end and a number of staff had conveniently called in that they were not coming to work! Well okay, it's not against the law to be sick. Now some workers may have been abusing the system. The bigger issue is why didn't the facility have arrangements made so that when they were caught short staffed they could find staff for an emergency? All they could do was get administration staff to come to their aid and it was far from adequate. 

    Now many of our senior facilities are like this one. You rent a space, get meals and enjoy a few social activities and get transportation around town. Most people move into such a facility when they really need it.

    I think I'll pass on this type of residence unless I have no other options. I would rather stay in my own home with some assistance.

Weird Medical Arrangements

     I like the little walk in medical clinic that I go to. I can request the doctor  I want to see. Sometimes the wait is long but they give you a time and you can go away and do something else. I've found a really good young doc who's with it and shows an interest in patients in general.

    Now it's time for my annual medical check up. The system they have for making an appointment is just plain wacky. Appointments are made on the first of the month for the next month. Bookings can be made by phone or walk in. There aren't very many spaces for yearly medical check ups.

   Now the door to this clinic opens at 8:30 AM. They open their phone lines at 9:00 AM. So if you phone you might find that all the appointment spaces have been taken. So people line up outside the clinic to be able to book their appointments at 8:30 AM.

   So there I was this morning at 8:00 AM waiting half an hour to get in the clinic. I was second in line. It was minus 15 C(plus 3 F). By 8:30 AM there were about 30 people waiting. There was lots of good chatter.

    So once the doors were open it took 30 seconds to book my appointment and I was back out on the street in two minutes.

   Before I left, my wife was criticizing the procedure I had to go through to get an appointment. 
She said, "Just think how difficult this must be for old people!" Well, whether she knows it or not, this old person waited in the cold and did very well thank you very much. On the other hand I'm happy not to be classified as an old person.

    So tell me now, does anybody else have to jump through weird hoops to get an appointment for a yearly check up?

One Place Don't Want to go to

    Now I can't think of very many places that I wouldn't want to go to. I'm sure some people have places they'd like to send me. I probably wouldn't like those places.

     This is about senior care. Most of us will end up at some level of senior care before we take our leave. Since I visit people, I have been in a few senior care facilities. The two facilities my Dad lived in were a community of staff and residents. They did the best they could for Dad.

    I found a senior care facility recently in which I would  not want to become a resident.

     A few posts ago I told you about Mitch finding a long term recuperation bed. I visited him 5 or 6 times while he was recuperating. I made up my mind that it was a very poor facility for seniors.

    The place is a privately owned and run facility. It's huge with about 50-60 suites and  various rooms. So they have people who rent a small suite and are completely independent. There are people who rent a small suite and take meals in the dining room. There are other people who need some care with dressing, washing or medication.

    I saw an exercise room but didn't see any other amenities because I didn't look. Nobody was in the exercise room. There was a lounge for snacks and coffee. People sat around there by themselves but didn't seem to be enjoying a coffee.There was a small library with books, magazines, games and newspaper. Mitch was the only one I saw use the library. Mitch can read three newspapers a day.

    People seemed to be roaming around by themselves and completely unoccupied. These people were not ill or suffering dementia. There was no community. These people were completely lost and alone. I thought what a wretched place to live. They house and feed the people but not much more.

    There were three people around a front desk who were superficially very, very pleasant. But that doesn't transfer to the occupants.

    So I decided that this was I place I would never like to become a resident.

Alzheimer's: The Big "A" Word

     A few days ago I read a blog about keeping warm in the winter. I made the comment that "selective amnesia " helps me keep warm. The blogger is quick with a comeback and said, "Don't forget your coat."  I got a good chuckle from the reply. Then I stopped and thought that there was a very serious side to to the comment. People do forget their coat and go outside. Some of them are caught but unfortunately some are not found and perish. These are people with dementia. 

    Now before I go any further, I am not an expert on dementia. I follow two blogs which cover Alzheimer's from time to time and they are excellent.

    Today there was a column in our local paper in Alshiemer's so it really got me thinking. I am 73 years old and at an age when dementia is all to common. Seniors my age worry about dementia. We have seen relatives and friends deal with dementia and it's not a pretty sight. It's a challenge  for caregivers and is certainly difficult for the sufferer.

     The gist of the column today was that there's no cure or prevention for dementia, but there may be things we could do to possibly delay the onset of dementia or make it's progress less critical. Naturally I looked at the seven suggestions and considered how I stack up. Have I been living the right life?

    The first suggestion was to have been cognitively  active. Will my reading and  doing puzzles be any good for me? How about "free cell?

   Next, I've never been a person with high stress level . I was a middle school teacher and I did not let stress get to me.  I learned to deal with stress .

 I do stay connected with people. I volunteer and I like to visit.

   I don't have high blood pressure , diabetes obesity or high cholesterol. These things make it difficult to adapt to new situations.

    I am very active. Today I cross country skied for half an hour. After I finish this post I will go for a half hour walk.

    The one I have a problem with is concussion or repeated blows to the head. I've never had a concussion that I know of but I bang my head on things regularly. 

   So out of the six strategies I pass on five. The sixth I have problems with.

    Will this be enough to help me delay Alzheimer's? Will I be one of those people who get Alzheimer's?

    So we worry about dementia. It's common with about 750000 people in Canada with Alzheimer's. We can only hope that we do not get Alzheimer's. 

Sometimes I Don't Want to go to function

      There are certain things that I would rather not go to. They may be excellent events but I'm not interested in them and I don't need or want to attend the function. 

     One such incident happened yesterday. One of the local malls puts on a free senior's appreciation lunch . I didn't want to go to the  free lunch!

     Well, why wouldn't I like a free lunch and why did I go anyway?

     My manager is big on free stuff. If poison was free she'd be the first in line. So yesterday she wanted to be at the mall to line up for the free lunch. Now here's the catch. My manager doesn't drive. The transit service isn't the best here. We have buses every twenty minutes but which twenty minutes? Since we don't use the bus how do you get across the city on  a bus? It was really cold yesterday so old Red felt sorry and offered to take the manager to the mall. Since it's across town it didn't make much sense to drop her off and come back again.

     I had told the manager that I would drop her off but I wouldn't stand in line or eat anything. Well, I know that one doesn't work because my manager will be a softy and pick up two plates of stuff. I will thank her and eat the stuff.

     So what's the big deal? I happen to be somewhat wary of free stuff. It's usually junk! Now I know the people at the mall went to a great expense and effort. I appreciate that.  I don't like triangly sandwiches that have mayonnaise and margarine on them. I don't like Styrofoam plates and plastic forks. I don't like crowds and in particular lineups. At 10:30 there were about 200 people lined up for the 11:30 start. There was entertainment and I wasn't too keen on the performances.This was definitely not my type of event.

    Now seniors also get a free pictures with Santa. I'm a little past getting pictures with Santa...been there done that. But guess who had to get her picture taken with Santa?

     Now I am a senior. Being with 400 other seniors should be  a bonus. I didn't know anybody and it was not one of those functions were you had an opportunity to mix. Being alone in a crowd isn't my idea of fun.

    Now I admit that there are times when I don't want to go somewhere that I can invent some pretty lame excuses. For this function I would rather have been any place else.

    Now I know some people will say, "You're nuts. That sounds like a perfectly good event to go to." Other people may not be so kind as to just say , "You're nuts!" Other things could be said that are worse than nuts.

    So there I am ...whining again! I feel better now.



    

A Senior Ripoff

      Yesterday while I was having breakfast, I discovered a ripoff the affects mainly seniors.

      I had two boxes of the same cereal on the table as one was just about empty so I had  a full one so I could have the usual cereal serving. I happened to notice that the weight of the old box was 1.45 kg. (Sorry, I don't know what this is in the English system.)   The weight on the new box was 1.24 kg. So the new box weighed 210 gm less or .21 kg less. So this is almost 15% less. And you guessed it the price was the same for both boxes. 

     Today when I did my shopping the price on the 1.24 kg box was $7.49. That's almost a twenty percent percent increase from $5.99.  Now that's a real big kick in the pants. How low can some big food companies go so that they can squeeze out more money from little old age pensioners ?

    So why is this mostly for seniors? Well, many young people don't eat breakfast. Raisin bran is consumed mostly by seniors as it keeps them in great condition. Would kids eat raisin bran? I think not. So this company hits hard on seniors.

    So therefore I have made the accusation that seniors are being ripped off. 

    Now I could include pictures of the boxes of cereal to provide evidence of this scam but I would have to take off the name of a very big cereal company or I may be liable for slander just because I inform seniors 
that they are being ripped off.

     I think I'm going to have to find some hot cereal that is far less expensive than the cold cereal. That'll teach them for ripping me off.

And Ice Skating Started Yesterday

      I never miss posting about ice skating. I have posted many times and also referred to ice skating in other blogs.

Off to the rink for another year.

      So yesterday our season started and will go to the last Tuesday in April. We skate for an hour and then off for coffee. Both the skating and coffee are fun social times. I know that I am with very supportive people who care very much about each other. People who have stopped skating are still remembered and supported. We have a Christmas reception where all former skaters are invited back for coffee and goodies.

    This year our skating group has a major first. One of our skaters turned ninety this summer so yesterday's skate was the first time Howard had skated at age ninety. Howard is still a strong steady skater and when he turns on the jets I can't keep up to him. Howard also likes to couple skate as he likes to skate with the music. Howard has had a passion for skating all his life and is the major promoter of senior skating in our town. So here's to Howard and many more years of smooth skating.

Cruising down the ice.

      I have gotten to know many of the skaters extremely well. We share experiences from family, career, good time and bad times. We find we have much in common.

     And of course, when you know people so well there is always a good amount of joshing back and forth and some of it can be pretty tricky.

    So I enjoy the exercise from skating and the association with really neat people. Both of these help to keep a senior in good physical and mental health.I wish you could come and join me for a skate.

Did You Ever Fall into Your Compost Bin?

    Well, I unfortunately fell into my compost bin a few days ago.
    
    Now before you can say, "What an idiot!" I can explain. Before you say, "Well, he'd make good compost!"  I have a reason. So I've covered all the bases for the "smart mouths."


    I was preparing a fence for painting the other day. The compost bin is close to the fence so there was not much room to maneuver. I was backing up and some rotten wood under my foot squashed and the next thing I knew I was falling backwards and very lucky for me I landed squarely in the compost. Now at first I thought , "Good , nobody saw me!" Then I thought , "How am I going to get out of this place?"  My feet were hanging over the side of the bin. I was in the bin. How was I going to get my feet under me? Well, I did get out in a few seconds.


    Now for the explaining. In a previous post I told how that I had been diagnosed with seizures. These are not the seizures with uncontrollable shaking. For seniors some of the being confused and not responding correctly  is due to seizures. There is a part of your brain where the activity is more rapid than normal. Now these seizures aren't a problem for me but the neurologist insisted I go on medication and I'm not going to argue with her. She says whether I have a driver's license or not. The biggest problem is the medication. They give the same medication for seizures as they do for schizophrenics and bipolar disorder. It doesn't make you feel very good. I have problems with balance on the stuff and that's why a fall. It also slows down your reaction time . So by the time you get your feet in gear to prevent falling into the compost bin, you're in the bin!


     However, I will take the medication if it prevents me from becoming confused or worse. I also know that I can't just stop taking it. There is a protocol for going off the medication.


    So there's my explanation. There's my reason. I also smelled like compost for the rest of the day. So my advice? Try really hard to stay out of the compost bin.

Cycling Season Starts

       Skating season finished last Tuesday. so what comes next? Cycling! Actually for me cycling started about a month ago. April can be an excellent month for cycling or terrible. This year was so so. I got in about 80 km of cycling.


      As I've described in a previous post, I do at least 1000 km of cycling per summer. Our city has an extensive system of bike trails. All my cycling is done on the bike trails.


     I cycle by myself. I find it easier to concentrate on the trail and travel at my own pace. You can travel in your own little world. However, if there's any reason to stop and visit, I won't miss it. Tonight I stopped to see if I could find the frogs at the side of the trail. 

    Along with the thrill of cycling comes the headache of flat tires. I haven't had a flat for six years so this is my year. I had a flat a few nights ago and walked 5 km home! I think the only solution is to buy a new tire and tube. Safety is an issue. As you see I wear a helmet and have worn one for twenty one years. It's also important to keep the bike in repair . I hit speeds of 55 kmh (downhill that is)and you don't want something to happen at that speed or any other speed. I have a fair number of road rash scars.

Red, the mechanic , in action.

Do you think I'll make it?

     So I'm off to set my goal of at least 1000km for this summer. 

Ice Skating Finished for the Season.

       Last Tuesday was our last skate of the season. We started skating on the first Tuesday of September and finished on the first Tuesday in May. It was a most enjoyable season.

Ready to go.

      In our city we have senior skating twice a week at one of the local arenas. Seniors are anybody 50 plus. We skate for an hour and then it's time for coffee and a good visit. The skating groups are very supportive of one another. We have a picnic in June  which gets the group together once in the summer.  


     We have from 10 - 20 skaters of various ages and abilities. Our oldest skater is 89. 

Still a strong sporty skater at 89.

      So I will get busy with looking after my yard and garden to keep me fit and out of mischief.


      

An Elderly Son and His Father.

     Yesterday I was talking to my son on Skype. I noticed he  was wearing glasses so I asked him why. He told me they were for reading and then added,"I'm old like you!"


      This reminded me of a couple of incidents with my Dad.


      When I was close to 64 I sent my Dad a birthday card for his 91 st birthday. I had told him in the card that in two more birthdays I would be 65. Dad didn't have much site left due to Macular degeneration. He asked my step mom to read the card again. He thought for a bit and then said, "Red's an old man!" My step mom found this hilarious and so did I. There is something extremely incongruous when your father calls you an old man. 


      Two years before Dad passed away he made another comment that was significant. Dad was a farmer all his life. He looked at the world with farmer's eyes. All judgments were from his farm life. I became a teacher and of course you know that Dad's opinion was that I worked from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM and the money wasn't bad. Furthermore, I had weekends off, two weeks off at Christmas and two months off in the summer. He thought this was pretty soft. He really wanted me to teach near the farm so that I could help him out on the farm with all my spare time. At age 94 he said to me,"Well, you did all right after all!" This comment amazed me. I thought my career was successful and that I was fortunate to have savings and a good pension. I realized that all these years he had looked at me with concern. In his mind if I didn't own 3000 acres of farmland and a few humongous tractors I was not well off.


     Dad died in 2008. How fast the wheel  turns. I am elderly and my son has reached middle age. Slowly the relationship changes.