Posted 06/10/2010
Think Before You Throw: How to GO GREEN When Clearing Out an Estate
Do it for the earth, and do it for your pocket!
By Julie Hall
Donating, recycling, and selling are less expensive than a dumpster and may provide cash for your unwanted items. They may also provide a tax deduction or help out a worthy cause. Use your imagination when deciding where things could go, other than black trash bags! Can someone use your items in some form or fashion? This is the ultimate in recycling.
Read More >>Posted 05/03/2010
The BBC Brain Training Study
Let's flip it around
By Laurie Orlov
The results are clear," said Adrian Owen, a neuroscientist at the Medical Research Council: "Statistically, there are no significant differences between the improvements seen in participants who played our brain-training games, and those who just went on the Internet for the same length of time."
Read More >>Posted 12/23/2009
What to Notice About Your Parents’ Aging
Facing the future
By Juile Hall
Many of us will gather with close family at Christmas and/or New Year’s. You may want to observe your parents, or other close relatives, and note any new signs of the aging process. Some of these signs, if occurring infrequently, are no cause for panic; however, they could mean that your parents need to have someone check on them daily or consider assisted living. Read More >>
Posted 11/30/2009
It’s a Miracle!
Enjoy those moments of “presence”
By Sara Myers
For the past couple of months, I have seen my mom decline physically and cognitively. She has lost weight and seems almost unresponsive to voice. My family and I ate Thanksgiving dinner at her assisted living, and though she ate rather continually, she was silent and noncommunicative. I thought it was getting closer to the end. Read More >>
Posted 11/16/2009
A Good Enough Daughter’s Tips for Enjoying the Holiday Season
Making things as easy and stress free as possible
By Sara Myers
Tips to enjoy the season with your old, frail, possibly demented family member are easy to find on the Internet. Just type “ caregiver holiday tips” into your search engine, and a long list of Web site options will be displayed on your screen.
While I have tremendous respect for anyone who develops a holiday tip list, I find that many of those tips don’t apply to my situation. My mother lives in a dementia-oriented assisted living center in Seattle and may not have far to go. Read More >>
While I have tremendous respect for anyone who develops a holiday tip list, I find that many of those tips don’t apply to my situation. My mother lives in a dementia-oriented assisted living center in Seattle and may not have far to go. Read More >>
Posted 11/09/2009
Going Shopping with Mom
The power of the bargain
By Sara Myers
Assisted living regulations require that residents’ clothing be washed in very hot soapy water and dried in very hot dryers. As a result, clothing gets really beaten up and wears out fast. After a year at Gaffney House, my mother needed some new clothes, so I thought we would go shopping. Read More >>
Posted 11/19/2009
Music Therapy Uses Preloaded iPods to Help Alzheimer’s Patients
Scientists have documented positive effects
By Laurie Orlov
Let's start with a quote from today's Wall Street Journal article, which gets right to the point: "Ann Povodator, an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient in Boynton Beach, Fla., listens to her beloved opera and Yiddish songs every day on an iPod with her home health aide or her daughter when she comes to visit. ‘We listen for at least a half-hour, and we talk afterwards,’ says her daughter, Marilyn Povodator. ‘It seems to touch something deep within her.’” Read More >>
