Well, can you edit the contents of the kitchen to contain only the things than she will and can safely eat, that don't require preparation? Don't worry about her eating randomly in the night, just have things there that she will eat. Give up on the casseroles if she so consistently doesn't want them (or, just serve her the small quantity that she typically eats and no more until she asks for it--and don't prepare 8 servings unless it is for your family too!), get rid of the boxes of pasta. and bowls of vegetables and raw eggs. If she eats eggs, have them cooked in the frig. Maybe keep some of those lunch packs with cheese, crackers, lunch meat? (yeah, I know, preservatives, salt, fatty etc & I wouldn't feed them much to a child but at this point does it matter?) And why worry about sugar-free with so little intake? she may be diabetic? but better to give her the calories and manage the blood sugar later. I wonder if her taste buds are so impaired and maybe her eyesight, that most things don't have enough taste and look unappealing. She seems to like certain foods like tomatoes, maybe because she can taste them? Or because they are cold and juicy? Mom got to where things had to be salty (like bacon, soy sauce, bottled marinades and dressings) or sweet, at the end really only wanted sweet things (and she had NEVER had a sweet tooth or salted her food). So I put sugar in her milk, found a protein enriched sweet milk drink at the grocery store that she loved, brought her that or ice cream or creamy pie slices every visit, put syrup on everything else! Another thing-- if she is on Aricept, that is known to reduce appetite. So are some of the other drugs that confused elderly are given. Take a look at her other meds and ask her doctor about possible effect on appetite or taste/sensation/dry mouth (although, sadly, MDs sometimes aren't well versed in the possible or less common side effects of even commonly used meds). And remember, you are NOT FAILING if you can't solve this. We just do the best we can.

Hi Ladies! I absolutely cannot believe that it is 2007 already. "I am not a failure...I am not a failure..." To cut to the chase, my cabinets are not finished. "I am not lazy...I am really not lazy..." There has been so much go on with my family this year. If I have not stated this before, we retired here and built this house. Bro & SIL live next door, parents live about 300 yards south, and my sister is now the 'distant relative' living about 2.5 miles away. Just today, my mother asked me for a perm again, which I had to debate the issue with her. I pulled out her 'card' and showed her that she last had one on January 27, 2006. Two weeks later, she went into the hospital for a hip replacement, then almost died. Horrible infections, etc... It took her about two months plus in Life Care Center to get to the point where she could come home. Then Dad, stoic man of health, started looking a bit pinched. He finally announced he had not urinated in about 72 hours.... Emergency surgery took care of some kidney stones. He, too, had infections... No sooner recovered from this and he then had elective surgery to replace one of two shot knees. He, too, got horrible staph infections requiring him to go to the hospital for 6 weeks DAILY for I.V. antibiotics because Medicare would not pay for home health care to administer this medicine. My sister and I alternated taking him back and forth to the hospital (five hours committed a day) for this treatment. THEN he started physical therapy. All the while, we're trying to take care of our families, etc. If you don't remember, my mother is about 90% disabled due to her crippling rheumatoid arthritis and several strokes. She can operate a TV remote and telephone. She's so bad that there's no way she could use a "clapper" to turn on a light. She can't dress herself or lift anything heavier than a large box of tissues. No pouring pitchers of tea, coffee, or even a china coffee cup. Child size everything. Finger grips on forks and spoons to grasp eating utensils in a fist-like grip. I tell you this so you realize that when Dad's down, we have to step in and do it all. Shopping. Laundry. House cleaning. Etc. thank goodness we all live so close and can do meals with them often. I also had major stress with my 26 & 21 year old ADULTS living with us along with our 15 & 13 year old kiddos. Since I was busy, the older two quit college and were stressing me out of my mind. I went ballistic. They did not help out, nor pay rent, so I told then they needed to find their own place. They finally did. We're still helping the 21 year old paying her car & insurance payments plus.... (it's worth it). Why? Well, they both lost their jobs 2 weeks after moving out because the company folded. It's been slow recovering right there before Christmas. (They didn't move out until Thanksgiving, causing me undue stress because of their slobbery and hours. I was starting to have trouble with my teens.. but all is well now with the teens.) Oh, keep in mind I have two teens in band and in different schools. AND my son is in competitive Winter Drum Line competitions. BUSY. BUSY. AND neither of them drive, so I do a lot of volunteering. I even do all of the Band's News Flash! emails and Band Web site. If you want to check it out see www.eaglebandone.com. THEN...in October, during his physical therapy, Dad started saying that 'shock' machine that he had to use on his leg muscles because atrophy had started setting in being so immobile, seemed to make his heart hurt. WHAT NOW? Got him right in to a cardiologist (Mom also has a pacemaker, pig valve, heart problems...so we've got connections!). Well, Dad, did the nuclear stress test and had five MAJOR blockages. ASAP Surgery. Got him home. 26 & 21 year old LAZY ADULTS have been NO help through all of this with the younger two...only cared about running around and playing with their friends. All of this FINALLY gave me courage to calmly say, "I love you, I've had it, please be out of the house by December 1." They were. December 3 or 4th...my sister's 45 year old husband has a heart attack. Did I mention that she has a teen in my son's high school? Well, we're all pitching in. All year long, I've not felt well. Just haven't been right. Lethargic. DEPRESSED. I'm not taking drugs for depression, doing my best to avoid it. I do admit SMILING BIG that I am SO much better since #1 & #2 ADULT kiddos are out of the house. Did I mention to you that they are driving each other CRAZY living together? :D My daughter has turned into 'me'. Don't ask me how, but SOMEHOW, I shopped for Christmas in ONE DAY and not a gift card in the pack. OK...my son needed some dental work $$$ so DH wrote a check after I got the estimate from the dentist for the work. He still hasn't gone in, but I'm after him. January arrives. Got that Christmas tree down and packed away ASAP. Still not feeling well. Just seem too tired. Yes, extra weight is still on me, but I just am not myself physically. Little by little over the year, I made dramatic changes in my diet. THIS is big for me: no caffeine. More water. Seems my GERD issues are much worse. Noticed racing of my heart at weird times. Thought maybe I had gotten hold of something with hidden caffeine....just noticed more pains. Jan. 23, turned 48. Ick. Better alive than dead! I vowed to get on these cabinets. ALL stripping finished. Decided to tackle the master bedroom first so I can figure out how to get that finish that is smooth to the touch and professional...without hiring a pro. I practiced and practiced to try to figure out to get the quality finish I want. WELL...LADIES... I have definitely figured out what to do and how to do it with the least mess possible. AND I am doing these doors in my dining room about 8 at a time. I'll bet you think I have a huge dust mess. I don't. It's really a quite tidy affair I have going on. I imagine it will take me at least 8 more weeks to finish or less, depending on humidity, and if I diligently stay with it. The master BR built in entertainment cabinet is unique looking. The company that drilled the holes in the new doors for the hinges made a mistake, so I now have to have those filled and re-drilled, so it's not all done. The TECHNIQUE for the finish is where I've been mainly focused. Research, research, and trial and error. I am just so happy now that I KNOW how to do, what I want to do. I will share when I am completely finished. My 17th Anniversary is July 1st, and barring illness or death, I WILL have those doors done by then! Diligently working, things seemed so-so until about two weeks ago. I was updating the website and all was quiet and well...then this clutching pain in my chest. I thought, uh-oh. You've got to be kidding. OK...it passed...then slowly, it felt like a huge 'egg' was melting over my left shoulder...and down to the top of my arm all went numb-y feeling. Heart was still having pains. Started doing research online for this pain. Well, it didn't sound exactly like a heart attack. But I just didn't feel good. I called my sister and we decided to just wait a little bit and see. It seemed to pass, but the arm was still numb...all through the next morning. I didn't do jack squat that night and expected to feel better in the a.m. Well, nada chance. Kept telling myself that I'd wait to see how I felt in 30 minutes. , then an hour. Well, sharp pains in 'my heart', not my esophagus, is what I call it. I called my doctor who's nurse would NOT let me have an appointment. ALL chest pains MUST go straight to the ER. Sheesh. FINALLY, I decided to go to the ER. Kept my sister on the phone while I drove myself there. They kept me overnight. What a joke. Passed the stress test. Nitro gave me a migraine...doctor kept asking me if I felt better (not), started puking, gave me a total of 3 nitro pills, lupressor (spelling), morphine and more morphine, and other meds, then finally a "GI Cocktail" which was like drinking a Novocain milkshake. HAD I known it numbed your tongue, I wouldn't have swished it in my mouth! Idiotic mistake. AFTER all of THAT, I STILL hurt, nothing showed on the EKG, AND I still had a migraine. That stint in the hospital was a joke. Heat monitor was a joke. Everytime I got a pain in the 'heart', I was to call the nurse. Shoved a nitro in my mouth, gave me bp meds in an IV...and another MIGRAINE, with nothing for it. Oh, LORD...were these people nuts asking me "do you feel better yet?" I finally realized, that I felt better without the nitro! TADA! I also realized that I had been dealing with these 'pains' in lesser form, for some time. Bottom-line: No test they did those two days proved evidence of a heart attack. Yahoo. They thought maybe my GERD issues were the source of my pain. Changed from Aciphex to Protonix. I know it is NOT the GERD issues. What IS new is that my normally low BP has been high for some reason. (So low, the blood bank will NOT take my blood some days.) My blood pressure in my leg is different than arm. My HB races some. I'm on BP medicine for now since all of this. Unless there is an emergency, I'm scheduled to have a nuclear stress test on March 26. Even though I feel RENEWED on BP medicine, my 'heart' still hurts. If I get stressed about ANYTHING, it starts to 'hurt'. (26 & 21 ADULT kiddos, friend that is dying yet is requesting help from me, finishing my realtor board test, etc...) Needless to say, my health is now on my radar. It's been everyone else, but now I MUST take care of me. So, I am slowly, but surely working on my cabinet doors and I'm getting faster. I don't want them done fast and crappy. We've experienced this THREE times already. My husband, GOD BLESS HIM, has put up with me and all of the drama. I will say this, NOT A DAY GOES BY that he doesn't mention those cabinet doors. Each time he opens his mouth, it UNmotivates me and saps my energy to finish them. I don't know if the pain in my 'heart' is physically based or not...or if I'm just stressed to my limit. I do know that NO ONE will know how ecstatic I am going to be when this kitchen is done. BTW, I've had two friends build houses from start to finish...and mine is still not done. My mother wants her kitchen done soon, but is waiting on me to finish mine. Like her pushing me, too, is supposed to scurry me to finish mine faster! I told her, I'll work on her a design, I'll even oversee demo, shopping, and construction, but I'm not 'doing' it myself. (OH...my parents have "just canceled" the party we were throwing them in April for 50 years of marriage. They any money we were going to spend put into a new kitchen instead.) I hate this. I **KNEW** it should have stayed a surprise. IT would have been SO much easier! One more thing: neighbor across the street built a new house, just moved in last week. She bought her island unpainted and painted it herself. I went over to see her technique. I kid you not, she was slapping house paint on the island with no primer. She had brush marks and trash in the finish. She said she liked the rustic-ness about it. She just doesn't' CARE. I do. And...when people feel my cabinets and see them, they will feel and see the quality job I'm doing. Now, what am I stumped on right now? I need hardware! I want the hardware on before the doors are installed. Anyone have photos they'd like to share? I do miss all of you. I have had so much more going on than I have time to tell, as you can all imagine. I think of this forum frequently. I just haven't had much to report other than distress. I'll try to keep my toe in the door from now on. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Be blessed in all you do! Sheri Lynn Â

"the last 2 years they’ve started to open the tips of their buds months before they should be blooming." - It is completely normal for all types of camellias to produce flower buds months well ahead of the time when the flower buds actually open. Each cultivar's flower bud will develop from late summer to sometime in the fall and open at a different/appropriate time for that specific cultivar. Camellia sasanqua flower buds will typically develop and open flower buds in the summer/fall months, whereas Camellia japonica flower buds will develop flower buds in the fall and these will open later, anywhere from late fall through spring (April-May) depending on the cultivar, your geographic location as well the current local winter conditions. Flower buds can be damaged by cold temperatures. The flower buds can either fall/drop to the ground or turn completely or partially brown. Flower bud drop can -for example- occur when there is an environmental shock such as a large temperature drop from the 80s to below freezing in less than a day. If the flower buds turn completely brown due to cold damage, they are dead and will either fall quickly to the ground or not. Partially browned out flower buds may or may not open; it is difficult to guess what will happen with partially browned buds as it depends on the extent of the injury. To protect the plants and minimize the chances of flower bud problems, I maintain 3-4" of organic mulch all year around the plants, stop fertilizing 3 months before my average date of first frost and I also water deeply before temperature drops well below freezing. Small, quick temperature drops to freezing or slightly below, followed by warmer temperatures in the morning hours normally do not cause problems. The camellia plant usually survives occasional temperatures as low as +10° to 0°F. Camellia flower buds are damaged at temperatures below +10° to +15°F. Dry soil conditions promote flower bud injury. Open camellia blossoms normally are damaged at temperatures below +26° to +28°F. If your local winter temperatures are such that flower bud damage occurs often in most years, that indicates to me that the cultivar has a blooming time that is not appropriate for your location and one should consider using a cultivar that blooms earlier (before the flower buds are winter damaged in your area). Camellia sasanquas are the earliest blooming camellias, starting somewhere in the fall (varies by cultivar). Camellia japonicas and hybrids can start to bloom anywhere from December to April. If damage to japonicas tends to occur in March, consider using cultivars that open blooms before March (some of the earliest blooming ones open flowers in December). Camellias that are blooming may not have flower bud issues but may also temporarily delay opening more blooms for a few weeks (or even as long as a few months) if climatic conditions suddenly get very cold. From your pictures, I noticed that the soil appears to be dry and does not have any or much organic mulch. That may dehydrate the plant in winter or when drying winter winds occur. You may want to see if maintaining the soil moist at all times as best as you can and mulch help in future winters. I am assuming that the soil has not frozen where you live. Note: the first year that you got them, the plants were forced to bloom early by the wholesaler so they would arrive blooming at your local plant nursery. That is what wholesalers of all plants often do, not just camellia wholesalers.

Sometimes oedema/edema could leave similar scars if extensive (I never saw it so bad). It isn't disease but disorder. Affected leaves don't improve, but either (sunburn or oedema) wouldn't spread & are more cosmetic damages. Oedema happens because of incorrect watering (if yours is, it is quite extensive). Leaves likely slowly dry up and fall off. What I said about getting damaged plant is just a suggestion - some damage could be fixed easy. And you can learn something! I just think it is a lot of damage & hope the price was right...hope your other succulent is in god shape! Do you know what is it? If not, post a photo & it may be ID-ed...