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ArcticAir of Celeste
Jan. 8th, 2025 10:07 pmStill driving a car that is not my own. We haven't heard anything from the service manager today. However, I set off in it boldly to visit Madame. I had tried calling her and texting her, to no avail. She returned my text as I was on the way over. As I walked in, I saw her in the hallway, all dressed. She was astonished to see me. "But I just texted you to please come! How did you get here so soon?" She didn't suggest going out at all, but said "Let's go in my room a minute and talk." Whew. Huge relief, because I didn't really want to take her out in this cold and all.
Thinking that we might not go out, I had provided myself with a bag containing two thermos cups of strong coffee with cream from home, plus two little boxes of German Christmas cookies we had bought at the Christmas market and miraculously not eaten yet. There were some cute gingerbread cookies with cherry filling and chocolate glaze, and some Zimtsternen, or Cinnamon Stars. They are my all-time favorite. I used to make them myself--a VERY fiddly process, since when made according to the strict rules, they contain no flour, just sugar, egg white, and ground nuts. Even the easier version with flour in it is delicious, and it was very kind of me to share them with anyone. Madame was again astonished but pleased when I whipped out the coffee and a Christmas plate and placed the cookies on it. She was in much better shape and better spirits, and we had a great visit.
Her dementia is still slowly taking over, alas. She astonished me, but not in a good way, by showing me where two of her teeth have simply fallen out! I asked her if it hurt, and she said no. I said I hoped that the tooth fairy had at least brought her a quarter, and she said they were worth a lot more than that. I communicated this to Mademoiselle. She had known about the first tooth, but not that it was an ongoing process. Perhaps a visit to the dentist is in the future. But anyway, I whiled away one happy afternoon for her, so mission accomplished.
When I got home, we had a Zoom with our friend who had been in the hospital and is now home, and none the wiser as to what went wrong. Her symptoms haven't really abated, but she's taking gabapentin which helps some. She has a visit to the neurologist scheduled--in February. We made a few jokes about how possibly the neurologists are all being abducted by aliens, because they've become very hard to find.
Today is the 10th anniversary of my father's death. I can't believe it's been that long. I wanted to do something special to mark the day, hoping it would ease the sadness, but nothing was really possible given the schedule. We had sausages for dinner, and I listened to as much great German music as I had time for. The Sparrowhawk went to the gym, but was late coming home, because he had to pull over at a gas station to figure out how the windshield wipers worked on the rental car. It took him some extra time, due to his tendency to perseverate on courses of action that are not working, when under pressure. I refrained from instructing him after the fact, as this is not the path to marital harmony . . . . We're just glad we're both home now.
Thinking that we might not go out, I had provided myself with a bag containing two thermos cups of strong coffee with cream from home, plus two little boxes of German Christmas cookies we had bought at the Christmas market and miraculously not eaten yet. There were some cute gingerbread cookies with cherry filling and chocolate glaze, and some Zimtsternen, or Cinnamon Stars. They are my all-time favorite. I used to make them myself--a VERY fiddly process, since when made according to the strict rules, they contain no flour, just sugar, egg white, and ground nuts. Even the easier version with flour in it is delicious, and it was very kind of me to share them with anyone. Madame was again astonished but pleased when I whipped out the coffee and a Christmas plate and placed the cookies on it. She was in much better shape and better spirits, and we had a great visit.
Her dementia is still slowly taking over, alas. She astonished me, but not in a good way, by showing me where two of her teeth have simply fallen out! I asked her if it hurt, and she said no. I said I hoped that the tooth fairy had at least brought her a quarter, and she said they were worth a lot more than that. I communicated this to Mademoiselle. She had known about the first tooth, but not that it was an ongoing process. Perhaps a visit to the dentist is in the future. But anyway, I whiled away one happy afternoon for her, so mission accomplished.
When I got home, we had a Zoom with our friend who had been in the hospital and is now home, and none the wiser as to what went wrong. Her symptoms haven't really abated, but she's taking gabapentin which helps some. She has a visit to the neurologist scheduled--in February. We made a few jokes about how possibly the neurologists are all being abducted by aliens, because they've become very hard to find.
Today is the 10th anniversary of my father's death. I can't believe it's been that long. I wanted to do something special to mark the day, hoping it would ease the sadness, but nothing was really possible given the schedule. We had sausages for dinner, and I listened to as much great German music as I had time for. The Sparrowhawk went to the gym, but was late coming home, because he had to pull over at a gas station to figure out how the windshield wipers worked on the rental car. It took him some extra time, due to his tendency to perseverate on courses of action that are not working, when under pressure. I refrained from instructing him after the fact, as this is not the path to marital harmony . . . . We're just glad we're both home now.
