Today I am 49. So I did what every woman in my position would do, I went blackberry picking. Let me just say: HOT! I bought an Enteman's raspberry coffee cake so we could make a fast get away, but then I couldn't find my other shoe so we didn't get out until after 8.
Blackberries were just coming in. Tons of huge berries. Tons of buzzing insects too--flinging themselves kamekaze fashion into our eyes and noses--but we managed. Bees, wasps, grasshoppers. Zoe swears she saw potato bugs, but I don't know what potato bugs look like so I can neither confirm nor deny.
Thornless blackberries are a bland compensation for the potential sunstroke. Thorned varieties have a perfume quality about them--a complexity of flavor that thornless berries lack.
Current obsession is Chinese treats for the residents (I'll blog about my new job later). Current flavor of said obsession is healthful, refreshing jellies made with agar agar and fruits. Agar agar seems better than Knox gelatin because it comes from sea weed, not animal hoofs. It has some iodine (and something else I'm blanking on), LOTS of fiber and swells up in the stomach 3x it's original size so it's filling. It also isn't supposed to melt in the heat the way that gelatin does so it won't turn into soup in the car on the way to work.
I have gotten bedazzled by the glistening variety that's possible.
I pureed some berries, got about 2 cups of juice. Added 1 tsp of lemon zest, 1/2 Cup of Splenda--heated it up. In another, smaller pan, heated up 1/2 cup of water and added 1/2 Tablespoon of agar agar and 1 packet of splenda. Brought the little pot to a boil and wisked it to throughally dissolve it. I was worried about the acidity of the berries plus the lemon interfering with the setting up of the jelly, so I added more of the agar agar than is usual. Looks like they turned out well.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Havin' Fun at the New Job
I have a job! A job I like, feel challenged by and am enjoying! Liz's Mom S has started a residential home for the elderly with various forms of dementia. It's a dream she is pursuing that combines her deep Christian faith with a career. Trouble is, she has been trying to do most of it all by herself and has become a bit burnt out. When she was trying to get them to do activities, they seemed to be really resistant to her suggestions and she became disappointed. feeling unappreciated. So, she offered me a job as an Activities Coordinator/Director, which is a fancy way of saying I get to play games with the residents. A slight problem is that for the most part they speak Cantonese/Toisanese. Heh. I don't. Heh. But, I'm learning!
S has always impressed me. A lot more hard line, fundamentalist-type Christian than I am, she is never the less a unique mix of warm and loving, mixed with prickles and drive. She's not afraid to do the heavy lifting.
She offered me a wage that while is perhaps low to some, is good enough for my first post-degree job, and, as importantly, fits her budget. I run my ideas by her to make sure they will work in the context of the house and with the people and she's given me freedom to do what I like. I only work 3.5 hours a day--which is good for me. I am getting experience working with people in a semi-therapeutic setting--another good.
Right now, it's Mr. L., Mrs. M., Mrs. L and E (I, and everyone else, calls E by her first name). E is the only one who speaks English--and she speaks English only so it's a bit of a challenge for her as well.
Mr. L is 90. He has dementia, but I'm unsure as to what kind. He has Peripheral Vascular Disease, which means his legs don't get enough blood and I wonder if the condition of his veins/arteries is impacting the blood flow to his brain as well. He owned his own dry cleaners for years and likes to be in charge...even when it's not his decision to make. He has a garden in the back yard and is growing tomatoes, beans and zucchini. He is in really good shape as he was really active during his youth and middle age.
Mrs. M is leaving in about a week and I'm sad. She's such a sweet spirit--she really lights up my day, I like her a lot. Her enthusiasm is infectious to the others and helps me to get the others to take part in my activities. Mrs. M speaks Cantonese almost exclusively, but she also has the most patience with teaching me and is the best about communicating exactly what the words are about. She's about 86. She has Parkinson's Disease and some dementia--not sure if it's the result of the Parkinson's (could be) or is a separate issue. She's leaving to go to Hong Kong, I think to see if she can get other treatments. I know there is such a thing as deep brain stimulation, but I don't know if she's up to the hours long surgery that it would entail. If she did have it, she is fairly robust so I think she would live quite a bit longer so it might be worth it. S says that even if she came back to the USA she probably wouldn't come back to the house so, again, I am sad.
Mrs. L has Alzheimer's and is a challenge. I think she must have had to work hard her entire life. She seems to relate everything to work. She seems to default to the belief that she's in a work environment. It's hard to get her to do stuff without her believing that she is at work. Then she looks around at everyone not doing the activity and says they are lazy and she has to do all the work. I've been researching Enbrel as a treatment and am excited about the potential. However, it's bloody expensive--not sure her family could afford it.
E is American and speaks English. She has Macular Degeneration, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and smokes like a chimney. She recently had another stroke and lost about 10 years of memory. I enjoy her a lot as she's charming and fun. It's interesting that she has real difficulty getting stuff into her long term memory, and then getting it out again. However, her core personality is the same. She is E, and despite blindness, pain and memory loss, remains E.
S has always impressed me. A lot more hard line, fundamentalist-type Christian than I am, she is never the less a unique mix of warm and loving, mixed with prickles and drive. She's not afraid to do the heavy lifting.
She offered me a wage that while is perhaps low to some, is good enough for my first post-degree job, and, as importantly, fits her budget. I run my ideas by her to make sure they will work in the context of the house and with the people and she's given me freedom to do what I like. I only work 3.5 hours a day--which is good for me. I am getting experience working with people in a semi-therapeutic setting--another good.
Right now, it's Mr. L., Mrs. M., Mrs. L and E (I, and everyone else, calls E by her first name). E is the only one who speaks English--and she speaks English only so it's a bit of a challenge for her as well.
Mr. L is 90. He has dementia, but I'm unsure as to what kind. He has Peripheral Vascular Disease, which means his legs don't get enough blood and I wonder if the condition of his veins/arteries is impacting the blood flow to his brain as well. He owned his own dry cleaners for years and likes to be in charge...even when it's not his decision to make. He has a garden in the back yard and is growing tomatoes, beans and zucchini. He is in really good shape as he was really active during his youth and middle age.
Mrs. M is leaving in about a week and I'm sad. She's such a sweet spirit--she really lights up my day, I like her a lot. Her enthusiasm is infectious to the others and helps me to get the others to take part in my activities. Mrs. M speaks Cantonese almost exclusively, but she also has the most patience with teaching me and is the best about communicating exactly what the words are about. She's about 86. She has Parkinson's Disease and some dementia--not sure if it's the result of the Parkinson's (could be) or is a separate issue. She's leaving to go to Hong Kong, I think to see if she can get other treatments. I know there is such a thing as deep brain stimulation, but I don't know if she's up to the hours long surgery that it would entail. If she did have it, she is fairly robust so I think she would live quite a bit longer so it might be worth it. S says that even if she came back to the USA she probably wouldn't come back to the house so, again, I am sad.
Mrs. L has Alzheimer's and is a challenge. I think she must have had to work hard her entire life. She seems to relate everything to work. She seems to default to the belief that she's in a work environment. It's hard to get her to do stuff without her believing that she is at work. Then she looks around at everyone not doing the activity and says they are lazy and she has to do all the work. I've been researching Enbrel as a treatment and am excited about the potential. However, it's bloody expensive--not sure her family could afford it.
E is American and speaks English. She has Macular Degeneration, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and smokes like a chimney. She recently had another stroke and lost about 10 years of memory. I enjoy her a lot as she's charming and fun. It's interesting that she has real difficulty getting stuff into her long term memory, and then getting it out again. However, her core personality is the same. She is E, and despite blindness, pain and memory loss, remains E.
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