Update on Mom

Mom Virginia (formerly and occasionally still known by her middle name, Vae) seems to be improving daily. She is in the small hospital in nearby Benson for rehab. We take walks down the hall and she works with occupational, speech and physical therapists. Her main problem is still memory, and it's worse when she's in an unfamiliar environment, so we are hoping she recovers fully at home. Becky drove over for a long visit yesterday, which helped a lot.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Sam and his number one helper took advantage of Sam's 4-day weekend (and Mom's absence) to remove Mom's bathtub and replace it with a step-in shower and grab bars. First, the toilet was removed for more room to work.

This is the "before" photo.

Then we removed the hardware and trim.

Sam used a friend's sawzall to cut through the old fiberglass surround. It was still in good shape after over 25 years, but not at all safe for an unsteady older person.

Progress! Sam has wanted to install grab bars for a year, but the walls weren't strong enough to support them, and there was no way to get in without removing either the tub or the outside walls!

The tub is gone. My parents painted the interior in 2014, but the original wallpaper was still behind the tub walls.

Next, Sam had to relocate the wiring and vent pipe into the wall joists.

Then we went shopping. Sam does the research online and by calling friends and local businesses. A park model/ manufactured home is much smaller than normal houses, but fortunately there's a supplier on the west side of Tucson. We also visited Lowe's and Ace Hardware. A lot.

The next two days sped by with Sam opening up the back of the house to replace the old polybutelene water lines with new pex tubing, including shutoff valves and new fittings. He first removed the floor insulation, not a real pleasant job due to rodents having made their home underneath while Mom's house was unoccupied a few years ago.

The plumbing hole in the floor helped us with communication.

And he used a tarp to work on.

Yesterday he connected the water lines to the kitchen and bathroom sinks, the toilet valve, and brought them through the floor at the shower location.

Did I mention how small this place is?

Then we did a water pressure check, and hallelujah! No leaks and good pressure. Thank you, God!

Today, Sam had to go back to work and drive the school bus. (What a hunk.) :)

But he came home for his mid-morning break and installed the cement board in the shower. Work will continue in the coming week.

It's a good thing Mom is in rehab. Her house is an explosion of tools and materials!

To be continued...

Shapes and patterns

It's been awhile since I shared some of the prettier views on the ranch. Since I've been caring for Mom Vae (almost a year now), I don't often take early morning walks where the sun highlights the beauty. This is the yucca plant outside our bedroom window at sunset, with the seed pods open and fully dried.

I always love how the grasses look in late afternoon sun.

You can see every blade and stalk and seed.

And they just glow as they sway in the breeze.

Sunsets have been pretty nice, too.

In both directions.

I started this post a couple days ago, then yesterday our plans changed a bit. Mom had a mild stroke and is spending a few days in the hospital in Tucson.

She's doing well and we hope she'll be home tomorrow and able to enjoy a sunny spot on the deck. We appreciate your prayers!

California . . . again

Last weekend, we drove to Los Angeles. Again. Now, southern California is not our favorite place, although I lived in L.A. (Culver City) for a year in the late 70's. I was very young. Now, the traffic is terrible, prices are astronomical, and it takes forever to get there, get around, and then get out again.

So on this trip, we were determined to make the best of it and find a few things we could enjoy. As I mentioned in my last blog post, Kura Sushi Bar where Sam learned to use chopsticks was one of them.

Sam taught me how to use them this time, and although I'm not totally comfortable, I ate the whole meal without silverware.

Did I mention it's a revolving sushi bar? And totally amazing?! I've never been drawn to sushi, but this food was incredible. It was a highlight of our trip.

The real reason we were there was to support our friend Karen at her dad's memorial service. We camped out at the house we helped clean out last November and helped watch her two boys. They love "Uncle Sam."

Since her dad was in the entertainment industry, Karen chose a mausoleum at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

He was known as John Cassese, the Dance Doctor (look him up; there are several videos of his dancing and singing), and Karen did a great job arranging the crypt...

...which is right across from Judy Garland's. John once worked with the famous singer and actress in New York, so Karen knew he would approve of the spot.

You can even see the Hollywood sign from right outside.

One thing Sam and I always notice are the pretty plants and flowers. These are all succulents, which are low water usage plants.

The Bird of Paradise is Sam's all-time favorite. Aren't they beautiful?

Another side trip was our visit that evening to historic Santa Monica Pier.

It's the western end of Route 66, the historic highway that crossed the country before interstates were built.

And at the western end of the pier, hanging out into the Pacific Ocean, is a shop that commemorates the highway.

When you turn around, the ferris wheel spins and glows and reflects onto the surf.

It was especially fun to visit after dark and see all the lights. The whole pier is lined with shops and restaurants.

One final stop on our way home was the "Outdoor Man" store featured in our current binge watching show, "Last Man Standing," starring Tim Allen, Jay Leno and many other funny people. This store is right off I-10, right on our way home, near the sushi bar, and still took nearly two hours of driving to get there. Another hour and we were finally out of Los Angeles. We were so glad to get home to open countryside!

Back at the ranch, we're working on various projects, in between Sam's driving the school bus and my taking care of my Mom. Sam installed these cargo tie-down anchors on the back of the truck, to secure loads like the pile of old building materials and old fridge we took to the dump.

He's so handy to have around!

We hope you're all having a good week and looking forward to spring.
(As usual, many of these photos were taken by Sam.)