Grandma

We're back!
We had a lovely white Christmas in Illinois, but this was our real reason for the trip, to visit my 92 year old grandmother.



She has recently been moved into a "managed care facility" due to several falls, after which she couldn't get up without assistance, and a condition called Sundowners, which causes her quite a bit of confusion about what is real and what is not.

When she moved into the nursing home, she told my dad that she wanted to see her granddaughters, so my sister, her husband, and little girl came from Seattle to see her over Thanksgiving, and we made the trip over Christmas. It was very good to see her, although it was also sad to see how confused she was about who everyone else was except my mother and me. She kept thinking Blaze was a girl and that Ula was her mother. For some reason, she thought that I already had 2 grandchildren.

I don't usually like nursing homes. I find them depressing. This one was a very nice surprise, though. It was beautiful, the staff was very attentive and friendly, and there were activities for the residents.



There is even a dog.



Grandma's only complaint is the food. She is very used to her own cooking ( and home canning) and is disappointed that her room has a refrigerator, but no stove.





At home, she always worked in the garden, and refused to stop even when it was no longer safe for her to do so (one of her falls happened in the garden). The nursing home has told her that in the Spring, they have a place where she can plant some tomato plants.