TOUCHES OF FALL

 According to the calender, Autumn is upon us.

The mornings and evenings are cool but we are still 

experiencing extremely hot weather.

Whenever I think of Fall, I think of sweater weather,

we are not there yet.

 That's not to say I can't get in the mood with a few

little touches of Fall around the house.

For some reason I have latched on to

blackbirds/crows, I found these little cutouts on Amazon and

couldn't resist.

 This little throw pillow came from etsy.

 I needle felted this acorn garland using acorn tops

I found from the woods. The wreath, I made a couple of

years ago.

Another little fun pillow.

 Now this is my newest piece of artwork.

For you that know me, know I'm crazy for 

whimsical art. 

 It replaces a still life of 

flowers and bowl...pretty enough, but not my style.

 Updated the welcome sign I made this Summer.

Halloween is just around the corner.

I've been contemplating my blog lately and

wondering what's next for it.

Where my Dad is cranky, stubborn, and 

falling apart, he does not have dementia, hence my title

is no longer relevant. 

What to do, what to do

any thoughts?

SUMMER'S END LANE CAKE WRAP UP

It's time to put the

 Lane Cake/Davidson Bake Off 

to bed!

Lane Cake

from HELL

Cake

Lane Cake...

NOT

Cake

Lane Cake

Short Cut

Cake

Lane Cake

Pretty, but that's about

All Cake.

WARNING: Do not try these cakes at home.

THE ART OF MOM

A quick post to show you my latest acquisition.

A good friend of my Mom's passed me a little money 

under the table and told me to buy something

as a tribute to my Mom.

I thought about a plant or tree but that didn't seem quite right.

Mom was not a big flower person and if I planted a tree

but moved away in a few years it would be lost to me. 

On a whim, last month while browsing etsy

I decided to get a whimsical piece of art to honor her.

I sent them this photo and told them to scrap the bib

and make the meal a big bowl of ice cream

(her favorite food in the world).

When I opened it last week

I wasn't sure I liked it.

I bought a frame, hung it and

lived with it for a couple of days.

I think I like it and glad I did it.

LET THERE BE CAKE

Yes, it's that time of year again. 

 The annual

 Davidson Family

Cake Bake Off.

This year my sister in law, Pat picked the cake, a deep south

tradition, The Lane Cake.

Lane Cake was new to me so I went to Google.

When I read it was mentioned in Harper Lee's

"To Kill A Mockingbird",

well, that's all I needed to be

 ALL IN.

"To Kill A Mockingbird" is one of my

favorite books and defiantly my favorite movie.

"Miss Maudie Atkinson baked a Lane cake so loaded 

with shiny it made me tight"

Scout Finch.

There are many versions the

 Alabama State Cake,

I went with a traditional version.

When I printed off my recipe and found it was

four pages long,

I knew I was in trouble.

My recipe states this cake gets better the longer

it's stored in the frig, hence the shiny.

I used bourbon.

Day one was about baking the cakes.

Mine called for three layers.

It is a sponge cake and called for eight egg whites.

Day two made the filling.  

Eight egg yokes, sugar, raisins, nuts, flavoring, coconut,

and of course the spirits,

only a half cup.

Quite tasty, but even with just half a cup...

pretty strong.

Now into the refrigerator to do its thing

for at least two days and up to two weeks.

After that the frosting.

Day four...I couldn't wait any longer.

Today I made the boiled frosting, something

I've never done before.

I've also never used a candy thermometer

in fact I had to borrow this one from Susan.

This cake has been fun to make, I've had to step up 

and learn some new skills.

I'm not so sure about this boiled frosting...not sure how it 

should look or what the correct thickness is but

it is what it is.

And here she is!

The Lane Cake

You can find this recipe here

https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/lane-cake-history-recipe/#wprm-recipe-container-44660

Father's Day is this Sunday and that's when I'll cut this beauty.

I'll let you know what everyone thinks.

SAYING GOODBYE

 Deloris Irene Davidson

June 12, 1929-May 6, 2019

Today she would have been 90

but her little body said no, 

89 is a very good number.

We had a very simple ceremony

at Valhalla Memory Garden.

The plan was to have only a grave site, 

but the weather wasn't agreeable

and so we held it in the chapel.

 The last two weeks were the roughest

with visits in and out of the emergency and hospital.

Finally when pneumonia set in...

she had had enough.

Over the last month Dad, Cooper and I 

have been trying to figure out what our new

routine will be now that Mom

is not at the center of it.

 Mom left behind some notes of her wishes.

Who she wanted to get certain personal items 

that she cherished.  She had a collection of

 crystal candy dishes she wanted people to have.

She wanted her best friend Wanda to have her

jewelry box and most of the contents.

My Mom loved clothes and she loved buying them.

When I first move here three years ago she had them

in three large closets.  I got rid of many of them then to 

make room for my own and for just peace of mind.

Over the last year she only wore pajamas unless she was

going to the doctors, but still she had tons.

I ended up giving Goodwill about twelve or so bags full.

My next task will be figuring out what to do

with her bedroom.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM

I LOVE YOU

ENDGAME

March and April have been tough months for Mom.

Several bad days and a couple of very bad days

came at the beginning of March. I thought she was doing better, then she had a fall trying to get out of bed on her own.  She started getting weaker and needed more help with things she could usually help with...getting out of bed, transferring from her chair to the toilet, etc.  Then I notice her left leg was beginning to swell up.

I couldn't just run her in to the doctor because she was now unable to go up and down our few steps to the car.  I ordered a portable ramp from the Wal-Mart online store and when it came we got her in a few days later.  Doctor Edwards sent us to the hospital for an ultrasound and Mom had developed a blood clot. He prescribed a blood thinner and sent us home.  This was on the fifth of April.

Four days later 911 had to be called because she was so out of it.  She was admitted to the hospital for a UTI and observation for two days. Came home with a 10 day supply of antibiotics and some home health help. The antibiotics gave her diarrhea from day one and continues to this day.

When the antibiotics ended ten days later, Mom took another fall the Saturday before Easter, this one giving her a head injury.  I thought it best to call 911 again because of the blood thinners.

Treated with one stitch and released.

While recovering from the UTI and under home health care she started developing a rash on her bad leg. It started concerning the nurse and on the twenty third, that's three days later from the last emergency visit, back we go at the urging of home health.  This time I was able to drive her because her strength had improved.

Diagnosis, a deep skin bacteria infection called Cellulitis and more antibiotics prescribed...the diarrhea continues.

Next day, she seemed better, following day not so good and then the next day was very bad.  She was having a hard time breathing so I called home health.  When the nurse arrived she called 911,  she thought Mom had aspirated and it sounded like it could be pneumonia.  She was on the money.  The hospital kept Mom for four nights all the time her improvement going up and then down.

Now she is in a skilled care facility and we have began talks of hospice. The antibiotics she is receiving are not helping and she is struggling to breath.  Comfort care drugs have been started and she will officially be in hospice around May tenth.

You probably didn't care to read all this but it helps to write it down.

 Lots of anxiety and stress are swirling around me right now,

 I just want her to have some peace.

We're in the endgame now. 

A SIMPLE CELEBRATION

 Yesterday we celebrated Dad's 93rd birthday.

It was a very low key affair...

a good meal and spending time together.

Dad spent much of the day on a project.

Our front door got stuck and had to come down

for a repair.

Dad is happiest when he has something 

to tinker with or repair, so I was happy when the 

job presented itself.

It takes him a bit longer to figure out and complete a task,

but he always gets the job done.

It took Dad, my visiting sis Susan, and myself to get the

door back on its hinges. We worked together as a team and made it happen.  Sue was not only up for Dad's birthday

but to help me get Mom to the doctors. She's had a bad month

and I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to manage her

on my own.  She can't walk or go up and down stairs right now

so I purchased a portable ramp from Walmart which made the job so much easier.

My main concern was some swelling in one of her legs

and knew I needed to get her in asap, not to mention she has

become harder and harder to get up and down in the bed

and on the toilet.

 Turns out she has blood clots in her leg. 

 Doctor Edwards decided to treat 

Mom at home with medication

 instead of putting her in the hospital.

The nurse made it very clear if Mom

 couldn't or wouldn't 

take her pills she would have to be admitted.

The weather couldn't have been lovelier yesterday

for Dad's birthday, in fact our first hummingbird of the season

made it's appearance to said hi.

Well that's the news for now

thanks for stopping by.