boltonblue

that brings back memories of freshman track and doing stadiums, sprinting up 50 stairs spread a yard apart and jogging back down.

Lainey

There is no sprinting involved.....well not for me. Even though going down the stairs is easy, I still go slowly. Concrete stairs could really do a number on a hip if I fell....

On another subject, I have a very itchy palm today. Maybe I should give notice as the winning lottery ticket must be in our possession!

dlq04

Or you can buy a 2-story with all the laundry equipment in the basement. That way you not only get to climb steps you get to carry weight as well. In our house its a total of 27 steps. That's why Donna is in much better shape than me.

Lainey

Actually our laundry is in the basement, but we only have a one story house. A while back when we had our house for sale, they kept showing us two story homes. I didn't really want that. My criteria, had we purchased one, was bedrooms and bathroom on both floors. Didn't think of the laundry equipment at that point.

dlq04

This was our first 2-story. Lots to like about it, with 4-bedrooms and a couple baths upstairs but what I always missed was the large basement of a ranch style. We came from a big finished basement with room for a ping-pong table, romp area, tv area, etc. Now that we are approaching the not-so-limber stage there are times the stairs are not loved as much but we're not moving to a condo life.

boltonblue

gee dave you'd love my basement.
while not you normal rectangle, more like a collection of rectangles.
at it's longest it's 82 feet and at it's widest it is 54 feet.
way way to much space for a hoarder to store stuff.
and she wonders why i never want to move.
it took 3 weeks to clean out the basement from the older small house.

Lainey

I visited my aunt in a local nursing home today. She is my father's sister in law and the last one of their generation. She's about 91. I haven't seen her all that often in the last few years, but her health was failing. After more than one fall, and a bad case of pneumonia last year, it was determined she could not go home. I visited her not long after she first went to the nursing home and she was so tiny, frail and weak.

I heard she was much improved and decided it was time to stop by again. She only weighed about 80 pounds when she went in and has put on 10+ pounds and she looks and is so much healthier. Of all the nursing home visits I've made to various family members, this was the easiest. We had a great visit catching up on family members. She's pretty sharp mentally and got some new hearing aids, so that made conversation easier. Unfortunately, her roommate has a hearing issue and the TV was rather loud, but such is nursing home life.

We had many happy family gatherings at her home when I was a kid and later on as adults, too. Her house was very close to the old Saw Mill property which is now the nature preserve where I spend time with my camera. She hasn't been able to make a trip there yet, so I ordered some copies of photos I've taken there. I'll drop them in the mail for her.

The nursing home is an older facility, an old large home originally owned by one of the wealthier local residents, so some may not be too impressed upon entering. However you can't always judge a book by it's cover. I looked up the facility on the medicare.gov site, and it has above average ratings in just about every category. They have done well for her.

I was glad I made some time to visit her. Tis' the season folks. Got a family member or friend who could use a visit, some company, now's a good time.....bring candy.

buckeyesue

Lainey, that is a very touching post. I'm glad that you visited your aunt, and it is nice to hear that she is doing so much better since she was moved to the nursing home.

I'm sure your visit meant a great deal to her, and I'm sure she will enjoy the pictures of the nature preserve that you are planning to send her.

You are a very loving niece.

Lainey

Thanks, Sue. I got a lot out of the visit too. She was a tiny little lady, she walked softly but carried a big stick. Well not really, but we all knew to behave when in her company. As adults we, (my sisters and I) told her we used to be a bit afraid of her. She laughed at that.

Emil St-Hilaire