Still in Yakima....visiting with my Mom once or twice a day. Spent one day with her during the residents weekly arts-n-crafts day; helped Mom with the little craft thingy along with a couple of the other residents. Think the staff appreciated the extra pair of hands and help. All the ladies seemed to have a good time and the staff put their "art pieces" up on the bulletin board for everyone to see. Mom is living at Arbor House (AH), a memory care facility, with usually about 10 other Alzheimer's patients. Mom is one of the more "active" residents and the staff love her to death. This day's arts-n-crafts was planned to help the residents get excited for an annual luau that was planned for mid-day Friday, 24 August, at a co-located retirement community, Englewood Heights (EH). Mom lived at EH for several years after my Dad passed away before moving to AH when the Alzheimer's began to progress. My sister, Carolyn, had reserved a couple seats for us to be with Mom at the luau, and Lynette and I were there with her to enjoy the luau-themed lunch, plus some entertainment provided by a local group/club of Hawaiian dancers. A couple adults and several very cute little girls - all in costume - entertained the residents with hula style dances. As you might expect, they were a hit. EH has about 200 residents, so the dining hall was pretty full with lots of noise and chatter. But Mom and the other AH ladies seemed to enjoy themselves, and we certainly enjoyed the time with Mom and seeing some of the EH residents we hadn't seen for a while. All the excitement must have been a bit much for Mom,though, since she was ready for an afternoon nap by the time we got her back to Arbor House.
While the days here in Yakima are beginning to run together this week, we've still managed to visit with more family and old friends. On Thursday, 23 August, we had a chance to have a nice long lunch with my Aunt Nancy and a friend, Merle, to catch up on what's been going on in our lives. Both of them were dying to see our new motorhome, so we brought them out to the Suntides RV Park and gave them the nickel tour - and to just sit and visit some more. We also fortunate enough to re-connect with some old friends, Ken & Sherry, this week and made arrangements to meet for dinner on Friday. When we arrived at their place, they surprised us by offering to spend the afternoon/evening in their lovely home. Ken grilled some steaks and Sherry fixed a wonderful dinner. We laughed, told stories, and just really enjoyed one another's company. Ken & Sherry have owned and operated AJ Marine of Yakima since 1974; I can still remember my Dad taking his boat into them for service and repairs...or an upgrade. Great people, dear friends. Thanks, you guys, for a great evening. And keep following our travels and adventures on the blog. Who knows, maybe we can meet up somewhere, sometime down the road. We would really love that!
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