Vineyard Place is Peaceful

We moved Esther last weekend and it has been a whirlwind, feels like much more than a week. We have spent almost every minute with her, helping her to adjust and find her things. The fact that she is legally blind doesn't help. We set her new place up just like her old one, with everything right where she would have kept it, the problem is, she stopped being able to find things at home about 4 weeks ago, maybe more. I am not sure just when she started to have complete lapses in her short-term memory. She used to have a bad day now and then, but now it's most of the day. If she has a few days to think about things, she might remember. Anything that is routine, like mealtimes, is good. It's just the things she asks you and then you tell her. She also has become quite lazy about looking for things. If it's not within reach it's too much trouble. She can't seem to remember her second closet, though she had two at her last place. She didn't remember all her pants were hanging in there. She did remember her dresser drawer full of sweat pants. She had been just stacking things all over the house so if she stumbled upon it she could use it. She loves where she lives though and has already made some friends. In a few weeks when she is more mobile again, she will be in business. For now, she has given up the walker and is using her cane. She still moves rather slowly, but she is much faster than a month ago. The doctor said three more weeks and she should be feeling much better. I feel for her that she has to undergo some tests for her tumor while dealing with a fractured pelvis. She's a sport. Feisty, that's the word. She did not enjoy the scope, and her next test will be next Friday for a Endo-Rectal Ultrasound. I assume that's from the outside, but how they do it, I don't know.

She loves the peacefulness of her place, and the people there. She loves being able to not worry about managing food or cooking it or using it up. She just goes up and gets fed and helps herself to anything they set out for snacks. She went to her first social a couple of nights ago. It was a wine-tasting. She wouldn't have missed that--and a very nice woman who works for Signature Services, which helps those who need extra assistance, knocked on her door to make sure she didn't forget. She had a great time. I have noticed she has become more peaceful and less worried. There is only one glitch in the whole thing. Her telephone is not hooked up yet because for some reason the jack is dead. We have been going back and forth with Qwest. The managers left town until Sunday and he is the only one that can help us now. She is missing her phone. We left her a cell phone so we can at least call her, but it's newfangled. She doesn't like it.

She had to take a shower instead of a bath. She waited until I got there yesterday. I think she didn't know how to turn it on. It was simple. I showed her how turn it on and after her complaining about it-- how she was old-fashioned and was used to a bathtub--once the water hit her she just kept saying, "Oh, it feels so good." She used to take showers when she was younger, she just forgot about it. She has said she is happy that she doesn't have to worry about using too much electricity or water. It's nice to see her relaxing more, and we went to the library and she has 5 audiobooks to listen to, which she loves to do.