Thursday, March 14, 2013

Good News Thursday

Judy L. has asked for good news blogs to be linked to her blog here.  I have been posting such sad news on my blog lately this is a good time to change and post some happy news.

Since September of 2012 we have been dealing with loosing both of my parents and if you have gone through this you know the mourning actually starts long before the death.  It begins when you notice changes that are not good.  You make hard decisions as you try to adhere to their wishes and still please everyone else.  Sometimes this means stepping on toes of those in charge of healthcare, but when you have the the Durable Power of Attorney and know the written wishes of someone I feel it is important to follow those wishes. We are still dealing with bills, cancelling things and changing names on stuff.

I had lived with my retired parents since I moved to KY in 1984.  The house is three level with three bathrooms and two kitchens up to a possible 5 bedrooms and two living room/den. Naturally with just three of us living here I had a sitting room, sewing room, bedroom and bath of my own.  I could of had a kitchen also, but we decided it was not need for me to cook only for myself.

Almost 11 years ago I married my dear husband Bill.  When we told my parents we were getting married my parents asked us to live with them.  At the time I was thinking they wanted us to be able to save up some money, but soon learned that unknown to all of us we would each soon have some health issues.  These started with me, then my Dad, my husband while the whole time my Mom was working on dementia which went unnoticed until it was too late.

Now for the good news of this blog.  I am now the owner of my parents house.  This actually happened about 3 years ago, but that is another long story.  Mom and Dad both had to go to nursing home. We knew neither would ever come home again, so we began the long slow process of sorting through things first in the garage.  Almost everything my Dad used for gardening, mowing, general household upkeep had major problems.  The lawn tractor was given to our neighbor as payment for helping us.  It took him almost two years to figure out how to tractor started and stay started.  Bill and I do not know how to fix mechanical things.  We found saws, drills, sanders etc. that did not work, including some items I bought when I owned my first house.  Needless to say we had a lot of sorting to do.  Our neighbor knew how to prepare things for recycling to get the most money out of them.  He also knew people who may need an item that just needed a little repair.  Since by this time both parents were in the nursing home money was needed.  My Dad never disposed of anything, broke or not.  We are now on our second time of going through everything.

Some of the interesting things we found were home made items.  My Dad turned bowls and candle holders and made other items.  My Mom did all kinds of crochet, embroidery, rug hooking and many other crafts.

Since my Mom had dementia every book may have something in it that means something to me, including pictures I have never seen, recipes that have been lost for years and sometimes patterns of  items that are incomplete.  Since my Mom taught me how to crochet and embroider our stitches are similar and I am going to try to finish what she started.  The most surprising items of my Mom's crafts was some quilt blocks.  I taught her how to piece and do some applique. She continued to try new items that I didn't know she did on her own.  Other then the things found in books it appears my Mom organized her crafts.  Much is in the back of a closet in plastic boxes, bags other boxes etc.  I will go through those items last, after I have all my sewing located in one spot.

So even though I sometimes sit and cry looking at a picture, picking up something either my Mom or Dad made, a note that was important to one or the other that I may not understand. The important thing I feel it is a healing for me plus it is allowing us to change the house from my parents house to Bill and my house.  We just changed a few things on the level of the house my parents lived.  The two main things was removal of the carpet that should have been changed years ago and putting down laminate.  Second was recovering the counter tops in the kitchen 
with Rust-oleum Counter Top Transformation. You can also see the floor.  The old counter top under that black flicked with grey and white was a light imitation butcher block 1970's top.  What a change it made in the kitchen for about $250.00 and a little work.

So to shorten this blog, we transformed the house with a lot of work but not much money from my parents house to Bill and my house.  Work is also being outside by cutting down trees, removing a lean-to type shed we don't need and general clean-up of the yard.

It does feel good that we are almost done with the actual work and that will just leave the clean up and reorganizing our stuff.

It also feels good to have good neighbors and friends who helped us even when I would have a melt down. They gave me a hug as I cried, even the two year old held to me with a hug when I had my last melt down about a month ago.  I will never forget his hug, because I was sitting on the floor crying and he would not let me go until I stopped.  I am sure his Mom was proud of him as she stood there and watch not wanting to disturb that moment.  Love is powerful and I feel love all around me!

Love,

Peggy