Olivia seems to enjoy the kitty walk. This afternoon she stayed in it for about half an hour (supervised by me and Mom of course). She loves to eat grass and watch the birds fly by. Lily enjoys having Olivia out of her hair for a while.

Mom's diarrhea is back, thanks to the augmentin. I called her doctor today and she said that she would really like to keep Mom on it since she feels that the urinalysis results, because of the high white blood cell count, point to an infection rather than contamination from the surrounding skin. She suggested buying Activia yogurt and something called Lactotex (sp?). So tomorrow we will go pick up some more Activia yogurt. Luckily Mom likes it. Her appetite also seems to be back, anyway she will now eat several small meals a day without too much of a fuss. She still cries at night and doesn't want to sleep alone.

I had a phone interview today for a job that is closer to home. It sounds interesting. Shall see if I get a call back.

Weather has been beautiful here. Clear, blue skies sunny and 80s.

My friend Linda sent me this:

U grad composes tribute song

Two days after the I-35W bridge collapsed, U grad Phil Thompson made a trip to the Mississippi River for a view of the scene. That evening, the acclaimed pianist composed "Final Ride Home," a compelling tribute to the victims of the tragedy, their families,and volunteers. Phil Thompson's I-35W Bridge Collapse Tribute

It's a hauntingly beautiful song and the video is poignant. If you purchase the song on iTunes, the proceeds go to the Red Cross Bridge fund for victims.

Mom was sleeping when I arrived home a little after 5 tonight. I had ordered a Kitty Walk tunnel for Olivia so that she can enjoy some time outside. At first she was hesitant about it but after a while she started to relax and enjoy it. I had Mom come out on the patio so she could see her kitty in the new toy. Mom's face lit up when she saw her. She really does love that little cat and for that I am grateful to Miss Olivia. She dotes on Mom and is a great comfort to her. Our neighbors Jae, Katherine and George came over to see it. Turns out Katherine is a cat lover and she found Olivia quite enchanting (but who wouldn't?). Lily observed the proceedings from the safety of the house.

My good friend Allen sent me a link to an article in the Duluth News Tribune about a home invasion that occurred blocks from our houses (we grew up in the same neighborhood and I and my sister used to babysit for Allen and his younger brother). It was very scary. A mother and her children were tied up and robbed at gunpoint. The house was on 1st street between 34th and 35th avenues east.

I found this on the Science Daily newsfeed. Sounds interesting to me. Brain Implants Relieve Alzheimer's Damage This makes me hope for something that will one day not only reverse but also cure the disease. I only wish it would occur soon enough to help Mom.

Mom's UTI has not cleared up so the doctor is prescribing Augmentin for 3 times/day for 10 days. If it still doesn't clear up then we need to make an appointment with a urologist. I hope it clears up. Am debating about whether to start up the home health care aide. Allyson thinks Mom will resist it after having witnessed Mom's reaction to the mere suggestion. She thinks a better idea is to call a woman who works as a companion. She might be right. It's sure nice to be able to use Allyson as a sounding board and for advice. It makes me feel less alone in this.

UPDATE: I talked to Mom's case manager/RN at Homewatch and she said that clean catch urine specs are hard to get no matter how careful you are with the elderly. She basically said that Mom might not have a UTI, it might just be contamination from the area. Hmmm.

Tonight we took Olivia to get her 'manicure'. They trimmed her claws and put on the plastic caps called Soft Claws. This helps to stop her from clawing up our rugs and Grandma Ilse's chair. We got home, got out of the car and Mom had an accident. It was like she wasn't even wearing her Depends (she was, but they were soaked). She was humiliated to say the least. Got her in the house and cleaned her up and she was happy as a clam again.

Overnight we had more heavy rain and high winds. My umbrella blew over as did some other things on the patio. However, this time we did not lose power. 50,000 others did though. Last night I found a fascinating entry in Wikipedia about the I-35 bridge collapse. It even has the surveillance video which showed the actual collapse as it happened.

Mom has asked me a few times what happened to her car. I remind her that we traded it for our new car and she says 'oh yes, that's right'. She is still very with it, comparatively. Almost like her old self. Almost. She still cries for Dad a lot. Especially when she sees a couple together either on TV or in real life. And she expresses her jealousy that her sister still has a husband. My mom's sister married my dad's brother.

Yesterday, after much research and hesitation, and gentle prodding from both Mom and Allyson, we finally traded in my car and Mom's car and bought a new car. It's a new VW Passat and it's great. I was hesitant to trade in my Jetta, I loved it, but now the temptation to drive for Mom is gone hopefully. Plus, the new Passat has a push button key so she may not be able to figure out how to start the new car.

Yesterday when we were out cruising in the new car, we drove by my old townhome and Mom said, there's your old house, let's drive by it. The trees have gotten huge in 12 years. The person who bought my house had a trailer parked in the driveway, I feel sorry for my old neighbor. There were lot's of houses for sale too. Must be a sign of the times.

We picked up some Mongolian Chicken from LeeAnn Chin's. Mom tried it and ate several pieces. I was surprised. Her appetite has been better since we treated her UTI. I have also put her on a multivitamin. Why do they have to make multivitamins so big? They are hard to swallow.

Mom has been working the knots out of my back for me. She's a really good masseuse. Plus it makes her feel like she is contributing (which she is).

Mom has this weird habit of turning the glass over when she has finished drinking something. This just started recently. For a while she would use a spoon whenever she ate something, even if a fork was the better utensil choice. Every once in a while she will chew her meds or put them in the water glass so I have to be vigilant to make sure that she puts them in her mouth and swallows them with water. Boy this ALZ is weird!

My fibromyalgia flare up continues. I don't know what caused it. I took my muscle relaxant last night and slept well, but I'm still in pain today and quite a bit groggy.

This is an interesting article on diagnosing neurological conditions like Alzheimer's from the Minneapolis paper. Brain test could help make earlier diagnoses

Tonight I went to our townhome association meeting. After an hour I had to leave to get home to Mom. I don't like leaving her for very long since I am away all day. She was fine. She has almost finished one of her coloring books, one of the big, thick ones. She loves coloring, it seems to be very therapeutic for her. I learned that two of our neighbors are in the healthcare professionals. June is an EMT and Cindy is a nurse. One other neighbor asked where Mom was and how Mom liked her new raised platform on the patio. She said it looks like it makes life easier for Mom. Then she asked if Mom had had a stroke. I explained that it was Alzheimers and she said she had a friend who was retired from the police force who now worked as a companion for seniors. She would give me her card. It would be nice to have someone like that IF and that's a big if, Mom would accept that.

Had a flare up today and was really achy. Took a nap at lunch and that seemed to help. It's hard to sit and concentrate when I ache like that.

We did not get delayed by the President, YAY! In fact we made it home a few minutes early. What a relief. There were state troopers and local police all over the freeway at the entrance ramps gearing up for closing the highway.

Mom's neuro and I decided she should not resume taking the Aricept. She is also finished with the Cipro so now I need to get another specimen from her for testing (eww). She remembers that she had a haircut but she cannot remember the actual event. Very strange. I mentioned some of these weird things to the neuro and she said that sometimes Aricept makes patients more confused.

My niece is doing better on day 2 of college. Whew.