Another Update

Greetings friends. Well, one step at a time so I am told. Last Thursday, I met the nurse from Rittenhouse at Mifflin Court who was assigned to assess my mom's level of care. Surprisingly, it went fairly well as she is what they consider a Level 1 - meaning she needs the least amount of care. The level of care is added to her monthly rent plus some extra fees 😲. I am currently in contact with Trish from Rittenhouse as to what the month-to-month rent will be after her first time one month's rent (in September) of $99.00; however, it is estimated to be $2K less than she is paying now at Mifflin Court. After spending about an hour speaking with Trish, I was rather surprised that Rittenhouse offers a bit more in the monthly rent than Mifflin Court does. Mifflin Court is a very nice facility, but they are far too expensive. As my mom's P.O.A. I am trying to get more "bang for her buck" so to speak. 

This past week, I have been in contact with both Rittenhouse and Mifflin Court as to what I need to do as far as getting my mom transported to Rittenhouse as her last paid up day at Mifflin Court will be August 31st. Unfortunately, just as is the case with Mifflin Court, I will have to pick her up myself and take her Rittenhouse since they only have one driver who is responsible for transporting residents to their weekly doctor appointments. My husband will be taking a 1/2 PTO day on September 1st in order to help me transport my mom from Mifflin Court to Rittenhouse because she is not very stable and I do not think that I can handle her all by myself. I can not take another FMLA day from work until September 1st regardless.

And on top of dealing with all of that BS, I am still trying to get the ball rolling on selling my mom's house for her - against her will, of course, but I see little choice at this point. It is a no-win scenario. I am damned if I do and damned if I don't. The alternative is to send her home and leave her to her own devices. 

So, at the end of this week it is goodbye Mifflin Court ...

On the other end of this, I am also working with my husband's cousin's daughter who is a realtor and she is currently assessing my mom's house property to see how much my mom could live off of after selling her house. My head is spinning at the thought of it all!!!!

TBT: Thanks, Ehstemai!

(Most Wiccans in the U.S. practice alone, though they congregate in large gatherings to conduct rituals and learn from one another.)

Late last week, I received an e-mail from a very nice Wiccan Priestess named Ehstemai. She happened to come across one of my old poems which I had posted on Witchvox called, "Earth Sisters."

She told me that she believes her readers would really love it and asked my permission to post it on on her site, "What is Wicca?" 

 Earth Sisters

In fate they so did meet

In friendship they so stayed

Neither realized the kind of bond

That yet was to be made

Judy so shy and quiet,
Kim with Pisces eyes
Both are kind and caring,
Free spirited and wise

As years went by so quickly
Their lives seemed such a mess
Always striving to move forward
But growing so restless

Until one day they finally found
A love they both could share
In the precious Lord and Lady
Who are always everywhere

They chose their craft name wisely
One Rhiannon, one Caer
And thus respect Natures powers
Of Fire, Water, Earth and Air

They worship now in perfect trust
As they give back to the Earth
And where they once felt unalive,
They now can feel rebirth

 With each passing day
Their sisterhood grows strong
As does their love of music
Which they share in dance and song

They know someday the time will come
The question not where but when
As Merry Meet, merry part
And Merry they'll meet again

~ Lady Caer Morganna 

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Wordless Wednesday: For My Friend, Jon

Jon, this post is for you, my friend! 

Weekend Happenings

Another busy weekend of errands for my mom as usual. On Saturday, my friend Deb tagged along with me and we hung out. She treated me to a Starbucks frozen White Chocolate Frappuccino on the way to Rittenhouse to drop off my mom's application. Afterwards, I took her to Murdough's Christmas Barn and then we had an early dinner at The Railroad House with her hubby and our friend, Kyle ...

I visited with their kitty Jack ...

A book I ordered on Amazon for my husband also arrived on Saturday ...

On Sunday, I met up for a nice lunch (also at The Railroad House) with my sister Aurora Skye. She picked up these cool mermaid gifts for me at The Paper Party. Mermaid tail pens and a mermaid cup!  🐟 💜💛💚💙💟

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Aurora and her hubby went to see Barry Manilow perform live on Friday night so I thought I would share two of my personal favorite Manilow tunes!

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Just a bit of trivia. Ironically, Barry's first big hit was "Mandy" -  a song which he did not actually write himself but rather was asked to sing by record producer, Clive Davis. The song was originally titled, "Brandy" and Barry not only changed the title, but had written his own arrangement of this song - GREATLY improving a very memorable song. I have included the original version by Scott English which in comparison to Barry's is , IMO, sub par. ENJOY!

♭♮♯♭♮♯♭♮♯♭♮♯♭♮♯♭♮♯

AND, A BONUS VIDEO!

TBT: Black Cat Appreciation Day!

 

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

"Go outside and look up. Midnight's light is shining down on you from the stars. The breeze on your cheek is his face rubbing against yours. He has left behind his body and moved on to a new adventure. Nothing is ever truly lost. It just changes."

~ Fellow Blogger, Mohave Rat (after the loss of my sweet boy and best friend, Midnight)

Our beloved girl, Kiki (2007~2018) ...

And our little boy, Mr. "Bo" (Bojangles - he was actually a Tuxie cat) ...

This and That

Yesterday, I took a tour of Rittenhouse in Muhlenberg. It is a bit off of the beaten path to find, but it looks lovely. I met with the Senior Living Counselor named Trish who showed me around and sat down with me for about an hour going over options for my mom ...

🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡

My mom's graduation pic.

This pic was taken two years ago at "The Van Reed Inn" for her 82nd birthday dinner.

This is a pic of my Dad and I back in 1995 taken at his Retirement Party. It is one of my favorite pics of us.

Happy mail - I received a "Thank You" card in the mail on Monday from my friend, Deb who just celebrated her 60th Birthday about a week ago ...

Also, my new Halloween dress that I recently ordered  through Amazon arrived. It is an XL and I still need to drop a few pounds, but it is cute - especially for the price. I really like the fat cat print ...

Today, after I had gotten finished with yet more running around, I met up with my sister Aurora Skye and her hubby for a nice dinner at "Flanagan's Pub" ...

Delicious crock of lobster bisque ...

Rounding out the weekend ...

This last Friday was my mom's 84th Birthday. However, I have been so overwhelmed with both her problems and my own, that I had little chance to do much else this week. So, today I bought her these handcrafted roses with pretty pink vase at The Mint Leaf and my friend Deb and I went to Mifflin Court to visit her in her new room. She was happy to see Deb as she gets absolutely no visitors what-so-ever than myself. Deb, was kind enough to take a "dry run" with me to Rittenhouse" this afternoon as I need to be sure that I do not get lost or take a wrong turn this Tuesday for my tour. After much agonizing over my mom's limited finances, even WITH selling her house, as to where my mom will end up living after August 31st, my husband and I crushed the figures roughly and apparently Rittenhouse will be the deciding factor as whether or not my mom  will have no choice but to take her chances going home or not! Still praying ... HARD!

In honor of my mom's birthday, I am sharing one of her favorite songs by Billy Joel ... Happy 84th Birthday, Mom!

🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂

After I got home from all of my running around, my hubby (who attended a local gun show with a friend of his) brought back a couple of little "goodies" for me. "Mer-Maid Toilet Bowl Cleaner" ...

"Vampire" pickle slices. YUMMY!

I was also able to take some time to play with Miss Ginger and her toy ...

Last night after my husband got home from a job assignment, we took a bit of time to relax at The Sinking Spring VFW. We both had a great time there as usual.