Friday, Dec. 2

Up around 7 a.m. After breakfast, and I was ready for the day, Hubbie and I got busy putting more lights on the tree in the sunroom. Naturally, this could not go smoothly. One of the strands we put on yesterday quit working. So off to the store Hubbie went to get some more.

Next obstacle? The new strand wouldn't plug into an old strand...the plug was too big. This necessitated finding an extension cord. Once the lights were on, we then found that the lighted tree topper star wouldn't stay on the branch, because the clip coil was sprung. Nothing we tried worked to hold the clip together. So we gave up and put tree topper on our shopping list.

Before lunch, Mother commented that on Wednesday, her physical therapist had advised her that that was his last day to work with her, and he wanted to know when he would be paid. Mother told him that she thought Medicare would billed, and the home medical services was responsible for seeing to his payment. She said the therapist said he didn't know anything about that.

I was puzzled and a bit put out by this information, and immediately called the home medical services. The first thing the head nurse asked was if Mother could be confused. I said I didn't think so (she seemed quite lucid to me). So she said she would talk to the therapist.

A little while later, the therapist called and assured me he'd had no such conversation with Mother, and that if he started asking his patients to pay him, he'd soon lose his job. He asked if I still wanted him to come this afternoon for a session. I asked Mother, and she said yes, if the therapist wasn't mad at her.

Again, I went over Mother's story with her, and she began wondering if the incident actually happened, since when she recalled it again, she remembered that in her mind, the rocking chair she always sits in was placed backwards in the room when she had the "conversation" with the therapist. She decided that she must have dreamed the whole thing and just thought it was real.

This caused her to be fearful that she's losing her mind. But I assured her that it's easy to dream something and then upon waking feel for awhile that the dream is real. Her dream state and waking state managed to get blended somehow. It has alerted me, though, that I need to add confusion the the list of Mother's ailments.

I felt sorry for the therapist, who said he'd left his bag of exercise equipment at the last house he visited, in a bordering community. He assure us it wasn't because of anything we'd done, but I wonder.

He seemed just as pleasant as ever today, and eager to help Mother. This afternoon, he decided it was time for her to use her walker to walk across the yard to her house. It was slow going, but Mother made it just fine. Her cat refused to come out while she was there. She sat in the rocker for a few minutes, and then made the return trip to our house.

When the therapist had left, I actually did turn the rocking chair around, so Mother could watch as Hubbie and I hung ornaments on the tree. Mother even helped by putting hangers on ornaments for us. She enjoyed this little activity.

We didn't finish getting the ornaments on the tree before it was time for me to begin supper preparations. Leftovers were the order of the day, so I chopped up a baked potato and onion and sauteed them, and then put turkey casserole and ham and beans in oven dishes.

We were scheduled to go to a tree lighting ceremony, sponsored by Caring Hands Hospice, at on of the branch banks at 4:30, and before we left, I put everything in the oven to heat.

The ceremony was to honor deceased family and friends. Folks could donate $10 and receive a pewter angel Christmas tree ornament. Each ornament included a white paper angel for writing the names of loved ones. These were hung on the Christmas tree.

The event included carols sung beautifully by a trio...two women and a man. Apparently, several in the group have recently lost loved ones, because there was lots of weeping, including a member of the caroling trio.

I obtained an angel on behalf of a sister-in-law, lost a couple of years ago. I'll send this ornament to my brother, who has been in failing health since the loss of his wife.

The event also included a table laden with refreshments. Since it was so close to our supper hour, though, we gathered a few nibbles on a paper plate and brought them home for snacking later.

We were home by 5 p.m. Supper was hot, and we were ready to eat. Shortly afterward, Hubbie and I ran a couple of errands...to a grocery store to pick up more cans of icing for the cookie Christmas house workshop tomorrow, and to the WDCS for lunch supplies for tomorrow and a few more things needed for the workshop. We also bought a new tree topper. I don't like it nearly as well as our old one, but it'll have to do.

Back home, the first thing Mother announced was that the downstairs toilet is stopped up. Hubbie tried everything to unclog it, but nothing worked, so he tried to call a plumber. No luck, of course. Hope we can reach him tomorrow.

Also learned this evening that Great-Granddaughter is ill, so she, her brother, and their mother, my granddaughter, will not be able to come up for the Christmas cookie house workshop. Daughter will still come, though, and bring two other great-grandchildren.

What a day!