Teamwork!

I cut the fruit  and vegetables,while James puts it through the juicer.  Orange, beetroot, carrot and kale today - very nice.

Papa needed to go to the bank and for some shopping, but Gran is feeling the cold a lot just now, so she came here.  James kept her entertained. She is not really able to do much at all now, and she likes to keep her coat and gloves on, but she still responds to James and his chatter.

Robbie the dog had been out in the garden and had very muddy feet when he came in.  James helped his Dad dry them off.  James is reassuring Robbie, as he hates getting his feet dried.

After that James helped Dad to fix his big sister's car. She will be pleased when she comes home!

When Papa came back, he helped make the lunch for us all.

And I made these (well-fired) spelt and oatmeal loaves.

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Let it snow

 I am so thankful that we have no places to go right now, and can just be home enjoying the snow and finishing off our preparations for Christmas Day.  Mostly playing out in the garden and clearing up the paths this morning and lots of baking this afternoon.  Tomorrow  will hopefully be spent getting ready for the feast - doing as much in advance as possible, so we can all relax and enjoy the meal.  This is likely to be the last one where my Mother will be home -  Alzheimer's Disease is stealing more of her away all the time, and it looks likely that a care home could be a reality during the coming year. That's in the future though - right now we are all looking forward to spending the day together and ten of us will sit down to a traditional Christmas dinner.

There may even be some of this stollen cake left to have later on.

Sending warmest wishes to you all for a wonderful happy Christmas.

Conversations with my Mother

are becoming quite a challenge as we grope our way towards what it is she wants to say. It becomes like a game of charades. Take this morning's for example:

Mum: There was this thing on the wireless this morning - it was really good. I thought it would be a very good thing for them.

Me: Oh yes - what was that?

Mum: Oh, I can't remember what it was, but it's been on before - not for a while though.

Me: OK - what was it about.

Mum: I don't know, but it'll come back to me. --- There was five of them and they each had a hill.

Me: Ah - the Teletubbies?

Mum: That's it!


I was quite pleased I got it so quickly.

Ladies (and lads) who lunch.

Thursday morning is when Gran come to play with James, and my elder daughter and grandson come for lunch. It is a hectic day, but very pleasant, and we look forward to it. Gran has Alzheimer's disease - a living death by degrees. It is advancing slowly but surely and every now and then we notice with a jolt that another piece of her has gone missing. Today as we enjoyed a leek and potato tortilla, green salad with a honey dressing, she said "That was lovely - I really must start learning how to cook." This woman has inspired me to do many things in life, but one of the most important things I learned from her was how to cook. From baking jam tarts to helping with her "Greek nights" she allowed me into her kitchen and pretty much gave me free reign from an early age. When I was 14, she bought me the Reader's Digest Cookery Year, which is in constant use to this day. Her meals were delicious and quite imaginative for central Scotland in the 60s and 70s. "Oh Mum - you are the best cook!"
We still have her, though, and for that we are thankful. James has only ever known his Gran with AD - not the strong, creative, organised and capable woman my older children, niece and nephews knew. But somehow, from a tiny tot, he has had a special bond with her, and they play, draw and read books for long spells of time. My Dad remarked the other day how gentle and patient James was with her. I read on Sunnydaytodaymama's blog the other day, the famous passage from The Prophet by Khalil Gibran - Your children are not your children:

You may strive to be like them, bur seek not to make them like you
For life goes not backward, nor tarries with yesterday
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

I will strive...

Random things

So, quite a lot of cake has been baked and eaten in the last couple of days. A sponge and then today a fabulous but fallen parsnip and caraway cake. Note to self, don't try to bake cakes at the same time that your daughter decides to pop in a frozen pizza and keep checking it every couple of minutes.

Thursday is usually when Gran comes for the day, to let Papa have a thrash round the golf course. Gran (my mum) has Alzheimer's disease, and we are losing bits of her all the time. James does relate particularly well to her though, and he is always delighted to see her, which gives her such a lift. We also normally get a visit from my elder daughter and my grandson, Finlay, who is nearly one already! So, today we had a very nice lunch, several cups of tea and slices of sunken cake while James tried to gather every single toy and book he owns into one small bag in case Finlay tried to touch it. Finlay, of course, just laughed and somehow always managed to find something James had overlooked.

Later we played hide and seek, James's new favourite game. Can you see where he is hiding?

Good news from elder son today, who passed his Higher Maths prelim, against all predictions from his teacher. He even had the highest score in the class. He worked very hard for this, so he deserves to have done well. He has fairly severe dyslexia and his academic achievements have been fairly remarkable despite his problems. I wish that MP who said dyslexia didn't exist and was used as an excuse could meet him.

It's hard to adhere to the unconditional parenting line of no praise when something like this happens. Phrases like 'Well done' and "I'm so proud of you" just trip off the tongue so easily. Saying - oh, I don't know, something like "You must be really happy with that" just sounds a bit lame. Must dig out Alfie Kohn again and learn what I should say. Hmmm - maybe not. He knows he is appreciated just for being himself.