Hello, friends.
I hope everyone is feeling finer than frog hair. Have you never heard that expression? Neither had I until a few days ago. The sports anchor with our local NBC television affiliate greeted a field reporter with that expression. Thanks to Google, I learned “feeling finer than frog hair” is a classic Southern and Appalachian idiom dating from the mid-19th century. It is a humorous, folksy way of saying you feel fantastic and healthy or that everything is going wonderfully.
Goodbye Mid-Term Elections
I am so glad the midterm elections are mostly in the rearview mirror. The persistent advertising, never-ending news coverage, and aggressive campaign fundraising are over.
Regardless of your political leaning, this election demonstrated that our election system works and every vote matters.
Grocery Shopping With a Garden Wagon
There are two Aldi stores near our apartment. One store is on a bus line, and it is about two and a half miles from us. The challenge with taking the bus is the bus stop is just under a mile from our apartment. Walking home with more than one bag of groceries is nearly impossible for me. The other Aldi is not on a bus line. It is a leisurely two-mile walk from our apartment.
The Aldi that requires walking is located near other stores, including two grocery stores. Our grocery list included items from Aldi and another grocery store. Friday afternoon, I decided to take our garden cart and go shopping.
My journey was 90% on sidewalks. The terrain is moderately hilly. The empty wagon weighs about 20 pounds. I learned a lesson that afternoon. Pulling the wagon full of groceries is a terrible idea. I thought I would have a heart attack on the way home.
Maybe I need a motorized wagon:
The Pope Has Amazing Resilience
Less than a month after Pope Leo XIV underwent cancer surgery, he left Friday on a trip to three countries in 12 days. There will be a dozen flights, two helicopter rides, and nine Masses on a trip covering around 19,000 miles.
My Alzheimer’s Journey Update
I don’t believe my Alzheimer’s is progressing quicker than it has been over the past six months. In addition to my immediate and short-term memory failing, I continue to struggle with depression and anxiety. A few nights ago, I woke up feeling hopeless and questioning my purpose in life. While I do not have suicidal ideation, this was the first time I felt truly hopeless.
Later that day, someone on Reddit posted this message in response to my answer to another post:
“The number of people benefitting from your proactivity and strong mentality are innumerable. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
The timing of that message was perfect. It provided the motivation I needed to keep moving forward as an Alzheimer’s advocate.
Linda’s Art Shop is officially open for business. There are a few remaining tweaks to her website, but we launched it yesterday. Additional studio pieces will be added later this week. There is still time to order a commissioned painting for Christmas. A great gift idea is a pet portrait. Below is a painting Linda created of Lucy, one of my parents’ cats who died soon after my dad passed away in 2021.
Grab Bar Frustration Has Ended
I recently published an article about the crucial need for bathroom grab bars. I shared a personal challenge Linda and I were dealing with trying to have grab bars installed in our apartment bathrooms. The apartment community manager insisted that we had to use one of two approved installers. The problem is that the labor costs were significantly above market rate. One vendor quoted $400 per grab bar (labor and materials) and the other vendor quoted $180 per grab bar (labor only).
I found a highly rated local company that quoted $650 to install all seven grab bars if I provide the bars. The community manager refused to allow this company to install the grab bars because they are not an authorized vendor.
As a last resort, I contacted an executive with Hawthorne Residential Properties (our community management company). After reviewing the three quotes, the management company agreed that the vendor I located was the best option. Best of all, Hawthorne is paying for the grab bar installation labor.
Persistence pays off.
Have a wonderful rest of the weekend. Thank you for your continued support. It means the world to Linda and me.
Greg Rowland’s Alzheimer’s Journey is dedicated to honest reflection and thought-provoking opinions. While we build this publication into a self-sustaining platform through donations, you can support our sustainability plan via our GoFundMe. Reading, subscribing, and sharing this work with others is equally appreciated. Thank you for walking this road with us.
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