One Year Anniversary

Wow. I have been here in Geneva for a whole year. Where does the time go? Well, let's look and see, shall we? What happens in a year? A lot and nothing, it seems.

A year ago Thursday, I was living in North Carolina, when it suddenly became clear to me that I needed to be looking after my mom in Geneva, NY. My reasons for doing so were partly selfishly motivated, partly altruistically motivated.

I had no work in the area, the woman I was seeing chose to break off our relationship, I had an altercation with a friend and I just couldn't see anything keeping me in the area. Except for my house. More on the house later, perhaps. (Nope, not this post...)

Mom had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's back in January of 2011. But things had not been optimal for a while before that. I had had to take her car away in November of 2010. Some basics were being neglected and she had told me some things that made my heart ache. On top of that, I cannot stand the idea of my mom in a nursing home (at least not until her brain goes completely and she needs 24 hour care and can't handle basic tasks or remember basic things - like where she is or who she is or who I am). I figure at that point, the woman I have known and loved for 52 years will be basically gone and only a shell will be remaining.

So, I tossed a lot of stuff in the car and drove up here.

During the year that has passed, mom and I have done several roadtrips together, both short and long. Two trips to NC. Two trips to Maine. And various day trips around NYS - including a trip to the State Fair. We have done some work on the house and yard - not as much as I would have hoped, but anything is better than nothing. Mom is taking her medicine regularly, showers on occasion, eats fairly regularly and seems to be generally healthy and happy.

Over the year we have done some doctor's visits, some physical therapy and ruled out her needing hearing aids just now. Yay! We have done some cultural activities - going to plays, going to the opera, going to festivals (like the Garlic Festival), to a Renaissane Faire  and the circus. Mostly, I have done what I can to lessen mom's stress level and be as supportive of her as I possibly can be and to help her exercise her brain.

I have tried to carve out some sort of life for myself up here. My original thought was to go back to school and become a Chiropractor or perhaps a Chinese Herbal Medicine Practitioner - neither panned out. The big stopping factor was the need to do a year of human dissection. Not my idea of a good time, sadly. I am sure I would have gotten over it and gotten into it, but it daunted me enough to stop going forward. I was accepted to the school, though!

Next, I worked on and finished a decent version of Diary of a Plate Addict - a fun book, filled with pictures and words and stuff. Hmm, doesn't sound very appealing. If you like a chain of places called The Flying Saucer or if you like me a real lot, you must buy a copy of this book. From me. For an exorbitant cost. I have only sold 69 copies so far and still have a couple hundred lying around the house. So, do us all a favor, buy a copy. Now.

Following that project, I was a bit at a loss as to what to focus my personal energies on next. Lots of projects, nothing leaping out. So I decided to take some classes. After a bit of research, I ended up taking a Spanish Class at Hobart and William Smith. I think I eventually passed. I did enjoy the class (despite it being at 9 in the morning) and learned a good bit. Enough to make me very comfortable saying hello and goodbye in Spanish. Most of the time. After Christmas, adrift mentally once again, I decided to take a different plunge and teach myself how to write applications for iOS. I have three or four game ideas and a meditation clock idea (though lots of meditation apps are already out there) that I would like to see come to fruition eventually.

I have not done a lot of remunerative work. I did work for an Opera and earned a little money there. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed working in the theatre. Sigh. And I also earned a teeny bit of money helping someone move. I had been planning on doing it for free, but she insisted on giving me money - and who was I to refuse?

Romantically, well, it has been a pretty lame year. I did sort of date one person for a few months, but that ended with a whisper over the holidays. (She said she would contact me after the holidays and never did...) I have also had a bunch of inappropriate crushes and that is about it. Double sigh.

Read books, watched movies, went out to the movies, did a lot of Daily Challenge stuff, played xBox and generally had a very pleasant year!

And that is what has happened in a year. There is probably more, come to think of it...

What will next year bring? Wait and see is really the only answer. Thank you all of my loyal readers! Your eyes are appreciated!

Circus Day!

I mean that literally! A large part of the day revolved around the Circus. First off, getting up pretty early - though that was in part to meet with mom's handyman to go over what we were looking at having done. I am guessing about $500 worth of work - a lot of painting - like the last wall in the kitchen, some railings in the attic, a hole in the roof or two - that sort of thing. When it will get done is anyone's guess.

Next it was off to watch the circus tent go up. Working for the circus is hard work! Everyone has at least three jobs if not more. And even the elephants helped. By the way, pictures from circus day will go up on Facebook. Yippee! I hung out there for a while, came back and made tuna salad for lunch. It was not exemplary, but was functional.

(I love my little desk, by the way)

Then it was nap time. I was exhausted for some reason. Oh, right, lack of sleep. And a lot of walking and standing about. At some point, I decided that instead of having more leftover quiche for dinner, we would go out to Eddie O'Brien's for half price appetizers. What a huge deal that is! We had Onion Rings, Shrimp platter and Chicken wings - all for $10!

Morgan was there and we got our "Photos with Facebook Friends" picture accomplished. (Note the alliteration...) She is so great. I couldn't remember some names and she quietly prompted me with them. Go her! I will miss her when she goes to PA. :(

Then to the circus. We got there in plenty of time and snagged front row seats! Yippee! The show was good - certainly entertaining. A very traditional American circus. Very happy to have gone. Yippee!

I get so excited for no real reasons. Yesterday I met a woman who I immediately got a crush on. Inappropriate of course. And Plenty of Fish told me that a woman was interested in meeting me. So I wrote her, as I thought I would be interested in knowing more about her. And now I will wait impatiently for a day or so before moving on with my life! Sometimes I think I am better off not being in a relationship. Ok, not that I am better off, but that the other person (whoever she may be) is probably better off without me in their life. I have kind of forgotten what it is like to be in a relationship. :(

We have more to look forward to this week - laundry today - Into the Woods at some point, meet the opera director and there is something else, but it is escaping me just this second...

Photos from July 19, 2011:


The William Smith Green littered with kids from the Hobart Lacrosse Camp!


Morgan and me - with mom looking on in the background - picture taken by Maria!


Our repast!


Heffalumps on parade!

Tired This Day

A Handyman promised to swing by to check out what we wanted to have done around the house, so I woke up really early. For me, at least. He came, we chatted and wandered around the property and then it was time to head downtown to watch the circus tent get raised. But that is all for tomorrow. This blog is about yesterday. Yippee for yesterday!

It was the big mental doctor appointment. We got there in time and only had to wait a couple of minutes. I had not met Dr. Rifai before - nice guy - but he needs to stop winking at me. We chatted for about ten minutes - mom was asked some basic questions - what day of the week, what day of the month, what month, what year. He also asked her to recall the three words he asked her at her last visit. Orange, Paper, Penny. I doubt I will remember them in six months. (Mom's next appointment.) At the end, he suggested going up to a higher dose of Aricept - to 23mg. Turns out that that dosage is not available in a generic and the insurance company might not cover it. We will find out tomorrow. If it isn't covered, we will stick with the 10mg that she is on now. He said that he didn't find any deterioration in her mental state and maybe a slight improvement. Hurrah!

After that, not a lot happened. I mailed some documents to Karl and chatted with Brittney at Eddie O'Brien's before coming home to make dinner. Leftover quiche! Which we will eat again tonight as well! Yippee! I like leftovers, as long as there aren't too many of them and they go away fairly rapidly.

I went out to the Beef and Brew and chatted with Matt the bartender for a while. He liked the idea of Diary of a Plate Addict. Heck, maybe he will buy a copy! If I sold ten in Geneva, that would be awesome! There is a woman at a printing house who has said she will make me up a couple of o-ring bound copies of the book for samples - and maybe I can take orders for them. That would be cool.

Pictures from July 18, 2011:


Cool downtown Geneva, NY building.


Cool clouds!

Errands Day Take Whatever

Errands day for me.

After making lunch, I headed out into the world to see what I could accomplish. First stop, camera shop to pick up the DVD of my VHS of my 8mm and super 8mm movies. I must admit to the movies being really boring. Especially after the sound died on the camera. Sigh. But still, historically quite interesting. Maybe I was just really, really tired when watching it. Nope, boring. I couldn't even make it through the movie I made for a senior project back in high school. I would really like to find the people in the movie and give them copies. Where in the world is Abigail Saltonstall? Hmm?

Another reason I went to the Camera Store was to see if they could convert some 16mm film to video - turns out that their machine is broken and they probably aren't going to get it repaired. Oh well. I will look for another option. Why this is necessary is because while neatening the red room's closet just a bit, I came across a can of film. Mom thinks that it is film of her and her brother as kids. That would be awesome to see for many reasons! I will keep updating as we go along.

Next stop - the library. Someone mentioned the Sharpe books to me and I was thinking to get some from the library. They had nary a one that I could find on a cursory examination. I need to get comfortable with the OWWL system - and soon, so that I can do things from home - renew and put holds on books and such.

Next the bank - where I deposited my insurance check - water heater died and leaked a good bit. Ted fixed the leaking and replaced the water heater. Paul came in and did the work to make it all pretty again. Yippee! But they have to be paid...

I stopped in briefly to say hi to Morgan, who, it turns out, is on vacation. The lovely Brittney (Ok, I forgot to ask her how she spells her name) was tending bar. I was surprised to find that she has never been to a circus! Eeek! That is just unAmerican! :) A teeny circus is coming next week and I am going for sure! I love circuses. All shapes and sizes. Have done since I was a little tyke (I think that's redundant). Mom thinks that my love for circuses is inherited from my father. Anything is possible!

So, errands day was successful.

But wait, there's more! :) Kim and Russell stopped here on their way to Canada from Cooperstown, NY. That was great! One of the things I do miss about not being in NC is seeing my friends and great people, like Kim and Russell! Russell asked if I knew everyone in Geneva, which gave me the idea to meet everyone in Geneva. Anything is possible...Anyway, we went to Nonna's Trattoria for a yummy Italian dinner. I had something that I can't pronounce. Mom had scallops - she loves her scallops. Russell had something that looked like Ravioli but had a different name and Kim had some delicious looking lasagna! I met Nonna herself!! And started another even more inappropriate crush.

Some crushes are just so far out there, that I need to let them go. It is possible. Speaking of which, crush 2,712 still hasn't responded. And Franco is still dead. :)

Pictures from July 11, 2011:


Three different types of media - DVD, VHS tape and 16mm film!


Mom, Kim, Russell and me. With our food!


Nonna!