Wednesday, May 10, 2006

72 "that's a nice place you have here"

My cousin finally finished remodeling the kitchen to his grandmother's house and Will and I went over there on Saturday afternoon to work on the yard and watch the Kentucky Derby. (The race took about a minute but it took a good 10 minutes for them to list the winners. Haven't these people ever watched a car race? Those stats are updated every few seconds!) The kitchen looks beautiful. I was skeptical because they weren't going to combine the kitchen and dining room into 1 big room like I would have done and many people advised them to. But the people who did the design know their stuff. The edges of the counters are cropped instead of being at right angles to make it seem less cramped. The stove was moved to a different wall which helps the traffic flow. Everything's black--appliances, floor, counter (black granite). Very classy.
I called my mom and invited her and dad over to see the house. I figured she would say no and at first she did. Dennis was walking by and he yelled "Is that Ann? Tell her to come over." My mom is his godmother. But now that I think about it, I'm not sure my dad is his godfather. That's funny. I'll have to ask.
My mom said maybe but about 45 minutes later her and my father walked up the driveway. Of course we were having a "blue" conversation--something about porno movies, I don't remember, it was off topic and of course that's when they walk up!
My dad was very confused. He knew he was at Aunt Bert's house and he knows Aunt Bert is dead. But he thought Will and I were moving in. He kept complimenting us on what a nice job we'd done and what a nice place we'd have and when were we moving? I kept saying, "No, it's DENNIS'S house, he lives here with Amy. That's Amy. They're getting married in July." But he couldn't wrap his head around it.
My mom loved the kitchen and complimented Dennis profusely. She's always been nice to him. Well, her and I have always been nice to him, unlike his own parents. She even mentioned later that she wanted to buy them some kind of housewarming gift. A wedding gift would be nice too--now she has an excuse not to go since it's in Las Vegas and my dad doesn't fly and can't be left alone.
Sunday my dad asked Will for help with a picture he wants framed. It's a painting he did a long time ago. "When did you paint it, Dad?" "I don't know. 1918 I think." "Dad, you weren't born in 1918. Do you mean in 1958 when you were 18?" "I guess." His MOTHER wasn't even born in 1918--she was only 19 when she had him in 1940. Apparently he wants the picture professionally framed, but it's ripped and old. I said we'd take a look at it.
Monday I went shopping with my friend Joyce and picked up 7 puzzles for $14--4 birds and 3 fantasy, 500-1000 pieces each. So yesterday I stopped by and dropped off the puzzles and looked at the painting. It's a nice scene of a dock with a boat and a boathouse. I've seen it before. It does have a huge rip in it--which can be taped, but there's also a big hole where at some point it was stuck on a thumbtack and there's not much that can be done with that. But I have the measurements and I'll see if I can find a poster frame for it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi - I am a close friend of a lady
that is 72 and had a father who had dementia, and she has CFS (chronic fatigue) and is forgetful, but her son says she has been 99% the same (tired in the afternoons, bad sleeping patterns, and very forgetful) for over 25 years. Nevertheless, she is worried about Alzheimers, so I found this amazing article about a Johns Hopkins research project that studied 5000 60-80 year olds and for 5 years and found those that took C, E, and Ibuprofen every day had a major difference, and in some cases seemed to avoid getting Alzheimers when they were top candidates. Many of those studied did get it (who did not follow that pattern). There are anti-inflamitory properties that all three indicate... Ever hear of this? Here's the weblink I have on it:
http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=11789992§ion=news&src=rss/uk/healthNews

Interestingly, it seems to have disappeared from many US-based servers within 30 days after the research was published... Not to be a conspiracy freak, but it's odd that a Johns Hopkins research breakthrough would disappear from the web (in America) so quick. I wonder if it has anything to do with drug companies' interest in selling drugs (I am not anit-drug company) when this research is for over the counter vitamins and Ibuprofen??? Take care -Don
Write me if you have any ideas about this at: Doncfp@adelphia.net