My mom falls. She does this too often, and I don't know what to do to help her not fall. Handrails won't help, because she loses strength in her arms.
Today she fell badly and my resident family ended up calling 911 after she was stuck for a good part of the day, away from the phone and help.
I am not resident family, I had no way of knowing she was in trouble, so why do I feel so terribly guilty?
I shouldn't. I do what I can for her.
But I have more guilt on my own (because of my recovering Catholicism?) than anyone else could ever dish up for me. About this and a million more things, indeed.
So there. :P
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Thank you
Thank you to the anonymous person who posted about baby heads. Because of you, I was able to secretly complete this hat for my new nephew:
Which surely has arrived on his little head by now, so it's safe to post.
Which surely has arrived on his little head by now, so it's safe to post.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Friday, June 17, 2005
the view
The view from the window in the back of our apartment, before this week...
The view from the window in the back of our apartment, today.
In one day, they demolished the lovely old house that was on the other side of our block. We should have seen it coming—they pulled up all of the trees in the mini-orchard back there late last year. Something was happening, but there was no way to tell what. No signs warning us, no “Notice of Proposed Land Use Action.” Just a bulldozer one morning.
I feel surrounded by construction, claustrophobic at all of the construction that is going on in my neighborhood. I'll never be a millionaire because I just don't understand the desire to make money by knocking down an old, personable, quaint (yes, I used "quaint") and lovely house, with a back yard, fruit trees, swingset and HISTORY, to make room to "subdivide into four/six lots for resale or lease....townhouse/condominium construction preapproved..." Townhouses. Condos with mixed-use retail and parking garage and health club and five trees planted on the roof to make nice with the green laws. Thank you very much, that is so serene to those of us down here. I'm sure the neighborhood sparrows will just head up to perch on your topiaries and the squirrels will nest in your ivy sprigs and the swallows will enjoy the little buggies that have been attracted by your chlorine-filled seasonal naturalistic fountain
Yes, I realize that we need more housing. Yes, I realize that people deserve to spend their money as they see fit, after all, they worked hard for that money, dammit. But this algae-bloom of townhouses is not good for the future of our neighborhoods or even for our society. And condos—sheesh. A condo costs as much as a house did a few years ago, and this is for a little closet in a huge building, situated on a manila folder street, where you have to warn your friends who can't find you, "Remember, it's the one with the organic eggshell trim, not the one with the buttercream scone trim! No, no not that one, can you tell that that color is mocha latté? Can't you tell the difference between ORGANIC EGGSHELL and MOCHA LATTÉ???"
Whatever happened to the fixer-upper little house with a white picket fence (cheap white that was on sale, who cares whether it's eggshell or cloud or cream) and a little yard with a flowerbed and maybe even a tree or two? Doesn't anyone want that anymore? And if they, like me, DO want that, why are they settling for a cube in a particleboard palace?
Seattle doesn't need more housing. We need better housing. We need incentives to keep our historical buildings, whether they are historical because Jimi Hendrix slept there or because you got dressed for your first day of school there.
Money is the object, though, and developers are going to keep knocking down our childhood memories as long as they can come away with some cash. So, what do we do?
Stop paying them to take away our city’s history, and tell them that it’s no good to create neighborhoods painted in all the shades of taupe. We need to buy the old houses ourselves, fix them up instead of tearing them down, maybe even divide them up into triplexes to make more rooms for families and young couples and all of these housing-hungry condomaniacs. Live with your friends instead of buying a condo. Rent a studio apartment and spend lots of time in local coffeehouses and INTERACT with one another. Paint your house purple. Be an individual.
It’ll cost a wee bit more than a townhouse that is prewired for Wi-Fi and comes with a sauna and a two square foot balcony that will just fit a topiary. But just think, which place will feel like a home in ten years, and which choice will just feel like a place to live? That is hopefully incentive enough.
The view from the window in the back of our apartment, today.
In one day, they demolished the lovely old house that was on the other side of our block. We should have seen it coming—they pulled up all of the trees in the mini-orchard back there late last year. Something was happening, but there was no way to tell what. No signs warning us, no “Notice of Proposed Land Use Action.” Just a bulldozer one morning.
I feel surrounded by construction, claustrophobic at all of the construction that is going on in my neighborhood. I'll never be a millionaire because I just don't understand the desire to make money by knocking down an old, personable, quaint (yes, I used "quaint") and lovely house, with a back yard, fruit trees, swingset and HISTORY, to make room to "subdivide into four/six lots for resale or lease....townhouse/condominium construction preapproved..." Townhouses. Condos with mixed-use retail and parking garage and health club and five trees planted on the roof to make nice with the green laws. Thank you very much, that is so serene to those of us down here. I'm sure the neighborhood sparrows will just head up to perch on your topiaries and the squirrels will nest in your ivy sprigs and the swallows will enjoy the little buggies that have been attracted by your chlorine-filled seasonal naturalistic fountain
Yes, I realize that we need more housing. Yes, I realize that people deserve to spend their money as they see fit, after all, they worked hard for that money, dammit. But this algae-bloom of townhouses is not good for the future of our neighborhoods or even for our society. And condos—sheesh. A condo costs as much as a house did a few years ago, and this is for a little closet in a huge building, situated on a manila folder street, where you have to warn your friends who can't find you, "Remember, it's the one with the organic eggshell trim, not the one with the buttercream scone trim! No, no not that one, can you tell that that color is mocha latté? Can't you tell the difference between ORGANIC EGGSHELL and MOCHA LATTÉ???"
Whatever happened to the fixer-upper little house with a white picket fence (cheap white that was on sale, who cares whether it's eggshell or cloud or cream) and a little yard with a flowerbed and maybe even a tree or two? Doesn't anyone want that anymore? And if they, like me, DO want that, why are they settling for a cube in a particleboard palace?
Seattle doesn't need more housing. We need better housing. We need incentives to keep our historical buildings, whether they are historical because Jimi Hendrix slept there or because you got dressed for your first day of school there.
Money is the object, though, and developers are going to keep knocking down our childhood memories as long as they can come away with some cash. So, what do we do?
Stop paying them to take away our city’s history, and tell them that it’s no good to create neighborhoods painted in all the shades of taupe. We need to buy the old houses ourselves, fix them up instead of tearing them down, maybe even divide them up into triplexes to make more rooms for families and young couples and all of these housing-hungry condomaniacs. Live with your friends instead of buying a condo. Rent a studio apartment and spend lots of time in local coffeehouses and INTERACT with one another. Paint your house purple. Be an individual.
It’ll cost a wee bit more than a townhouse that is prewired for Wi-Fi and comes with a sauna and a two square foot balcony that will just fit a topiary. But just think, which place will feel like a home in ten years, and which choice will just feel like a place to live? That is hopefully incentive enough.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
The main difference between my sister and I
K3, youngest sister, took my mom for her weekly appointment with Dr. Woo this week.
K3 will only go if she gets a massage from the massage therapist who works in the same building as Dr. Woo.
K1 (me) is amazed that the audacity of K3.
And to think of all those times that K3 bit the tips off of K1's lipstick, and K1 never demanded anything special in return.
A massage. Sheesh.
The sorrows of being the eldest sister...
K3 will only go if she gets a massage from the massage therapist who works in the same building as Dr. Woo.
K1 (me) is amazed that the audacity of K3.
And to think of all those times that K3 bit the tips off of K1's lipstick, and K1 never demanded anything special in return.
A massage. Sheesh.
The sorrows of being the eldest sister...
Thursday, June 09, 2005
a question if there's anyone out there who knows...
does anyone who happens to read this know how big, in inches, the average baby head is? I need to know and can't ask the baby, or the parents, because the reason I need to know is a surprise.
Ah hah!
Today I took my mom to see Dr. Woo and all went as planned! We were on time. I worked on my computer while I waited. I was able to get her wheelchair to fit in the trunk of her car. All was well. Except when she poured her caramel macchiato all over me. But no day is perfect.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Meatloaf that will change your life
I'm not really a meatloaf person. I'm not too much of a red meat person, actually. But, oh, my god.
CASCIOPPO BROTHERS is my new favorite-place-to-go-after-dealing-with-mom for an easy-to-cook dinner treat. Meatloaf comes home, goes in oven, bakes for a while, and whee! Almost instant "real dinner."
It doesn't even have anything I'm allergic to in it... I don't think.
CASCIOPPO BROTHERS is my new favorite-place-to-go-after-dealing-with-mom for an easy-to-cook dinner treat. Meatloaf comes home, goes in oven, bakes for a while, and whee! Almost instant "real dinner."
It doesn't even have anything I'm allergic to in it... I don't think.
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