Looking ahead

As I expected, the 2 days of mom doing better, thinking-wise, was just short-lived. She called me after dinner last night, from her cell phone. I answer and she says "hi, this is (first and last name) - who am I speaking with?" I said it's me, mom. She said oh, good. I wasn't sure if I was dialing the right number I found on this piece of paper in my desk. As I figured out not too long ago, she doesn't seem to know how to access our numbers in her contacts screen anymore, so she's been dialing the numbers. I'm guessing she does the same when she does use her landline, even though there are 2 buttons labeled. She asked if I had her brother's phone number (that's twice lately she's referred to him as "my brother" and not his name) I again reminded her about the landline phone on her desk, with the buttons labeled my name and uncles and said then you don't need to find our phone numbers. At least this time she saw the phone on her desk and knew what it was. A couple minutes after we hung up my phone rang once with her caller id (cell phone). I figured she accidentally hit the send button.  But, after she did that 2 more times over the next half hour or so, I called her to make sure she wasn't really trying to get a hold of me again. She said sorry, she's not sure how she keeps dialing it. I said well just don't press any buttons, haha! 

I looked on her landline call log. There is some number with the same area code as uncles she keeps dialing over the last several days/week (and I think I've seen it showing other times I've looked), but there is no "time duration" so it appears she's not reaching anyone. I'm guessing she thinks she is trying to dial him or me. I have no idea where she got this ph# from and will have to search her desk to see if she has this number written down somewhere and get rid of it. Maybe it's an old landline # uncle used to have, but that would have been quite awhile ago. Ok, so I tried calling this # my mom keeps dialing and it's not a good number and just the message "we're sorry, you call did not go through, please try again". So, yep she does! haha. At least it's not someone's # that has to keep answering every few minutes and keep telling her she has the wrong #!

Articles and things come through my google newsfeed. Often times it's something related to dementia/memory type articles. I have seen a couple of articles (one was quite a few years ago) that say studies show that the higher educated you are the less chance of dementia/Alzheimer's. A more recent article states a similar finding, but that it just delays getting the disease, but that is better than the alternative, right?

Another new article I just read said that the % of people getting dementia is on the decline. I cannot now remember the exact figures, but they said it was significant, so that was encouraging news, too. I had told dd while she was here at Christmas that hopefully by the time I would get it, if I do, there will be much more significant medical advances in treating it. Ok, I found the article - it says that incidences have declined 13%, each decade, over the last 30 years. That is encouraging news.

I guess I can gleam on a bit to the findings of these 2 articles. I am more educated than my mom (she finished high school) and hopefully this awful disease is declining in the number of people who are getting it. I also hope that by continuing to work for quite a few more years, I am keeping my brain active and hopefully warding off/delaying the disease. My mom stopped working when I was in high school. That's not to say I am for sure going to get it. My grandma didn't have it, but my grandpa did. So far my mom's brother is ok (age 78) but that is about the age his dad/my grandpa started getting it. I don't know on my biological father's side who might have gotten it.  Both my grandparents died before they were 70 and my bio dad was early 70's. They died of other issues, before getting older, to see if they might have gotten dementia.

In other news, my last chicken who still never got all her feathers grown back, is finally getting them back. I've felt so bad for her once it's gotten so cold. Their is a wall heater in their nesting part of the coop, but I don't think it does a whole lot when it's below zero outside. The other 3 all got their feathers back and all fluffy and fat looking a couple months ago. Egg production is still in the toilet, but oh well.

We had snow most of the afternoon and evening yesterday, so dh will probably have to do some plowing today. One of his parts for the quad came yesterday. The other needed part to repair it is still somewhere between Denver and here. He did spend all day yesterday and got his shop re-organized. Getting a bunch of pallets moved from the back wall, he was also able to finally finish putting that last base board trim piece on along the base where the concrete floor meets the sheetrock.

Yesterday morning the handle/flushing mechanism part on the toilet out in the shop broke. Not a good way to start his day, LOL. He said after his mechanic friend and the guy he had with him were here and they were putting dh's transmission back in the truck (and they used his shop bathroom) he said it hasn't been flushing right since. So, during my lunch break I went with him to town as I wanted to get a few things at the grocery store. Of course, he should have brought the part with him to know exactly which one to get as they had several different kinds for different toilets. Of course he listened to the guy, rather than going with which one he thought looked the same, and it wasn't the right part. But, rather than take it back (and another 20 mile drive in the snow), he just made it work and then ordered the exact correct part online.

And speaking of getting some groceries at the town store. A jar of Best Foods mayo is now $6.69! Good grief. I remember the years when you could get mayo on sale for .99. The dozen and a half of brown eggs was like $5 or $6. My girls better get busy soon.