I was not arrested for felonious behavior! and it's all behind me for the time being. I am enjoying a glass of Pinot Grigio. My brother was effectively "beside himself" when I arrived at his home; I knew because he was puttering around making up flashing for his garage... . I asked him what he thought was going to "go down" and we decided our strategy would be to let them direct things and interject when the opportunities arose. They were pretty much stunned when I walked into the room, a lot of sideways glances at each other. :) (wimpy handshakes, too... didn't look me in the eyes). Meeting started with a discussion of how disruptive Mum has been in the past two weeks; I asked for details of the "events" and asked who had witnessed them. Details were scarce. I asked about the time of day they occured; typically late afternoon... "sun downers"? yes, suspected. They asked US what they were going to do? I suggested using the "scientific method" and begin by checking the basics... "how much water is Mum drinking daily?" didn't know. "She must have 48 oz./day to maintain adequate hydration and keep her neo-bladder and the requisite urinary pouch from becoming a breeding ground for UTIs"; we measure fluids in cc s. "Don't you have a conversion chart? I'm sure you could download one in a few seconds... "; silence. "What has the stoma nurse at the medical facility next door had to offer?"; we didn't call her, we didn't think it was necessary. "You didn't think it might be a good idea to establish a rapport with a stoma nurse NEXT DOOR when you clearly had no practical experience with urostomies and were unable to adequately change the appliance for the better part a month? If I may be so blunt, that seems like common sense to me. Moreover, my mother has had 2 UTIs in 4 months, she has 1 in 39 mos. with me, and brought that one home from a rehab. center.". Embarrassed silence, during which time I presented the nurse with a ton of literature on urostomies from Conva Tec, as well as their hotline number, a contact name, AND the name of the area Conva Tec representative (all are very well trained). We asked about exercise, fresh air, outings... minimal. Not surprising. The the head administrator and director of nursing arrived shortly thereafter. The admin. guy "strongly" objected to our blunt assessment of their ability to manage an urostomy patient. "Well, the proof of the pudding is in the eating... the reality IS that your facility utterly failed to provide the most basic adherence to the fundamentals. I don't want to hear any more about your credentials... I want to see you start using them.". I suspect they don't often get legal guardians like my brother and me. Upshot? the replacement hearing aids, increased hydration, and greater attention to the fundamentals of urostomy care, as well as increased exercise OUTDOORS are to be the focus of the new "program" for the short term. It was made very clear to them that medicating a elderly woman "livn' in her own private Idaho" WASN'T going to be the first option. Not when they'd failed so utterly and miserably on the very points of concern my brother raised repeatedly before admitting Mum. Then we talked about the hearing aids and the "loss" of Mum's personal property. And it was made perfectly clear that the missing items are to be replaced in a timely manner and that the inconvenience it has caused is not to be repeated. I will be following this up with strongly worded letter. My big brother has, I think, a new appreciation for his little sister (he calls me his "little pit bull"; I hate dogs!). He remarked that watching me write down names and take notes blew him away! and he quietly thanked me 2 times for coming down for the meeting. It's been a tough month for him; he's lost 2 friends, and one of his cats, and has been beating himself up over selecting the wrong place for Mum. I told him not to waste time on the latter... there are no guarantees and trusting people are often the ones prone to "guilt". I teased him, telling him I really did understand just how it felt to be absolutely overwhelmed... "yeah, now I get it". I'm whipped. Traffic was dreadful coming home. Sue, the sickest I've been in my life was with Lyme Disease. I don't doubt you must feel some crummy! did the do a Lyme titer on you? Check out the New England FAQ for my story and my insights on that. Take good care, we need more people like you in our world! Hi to everyone else; I promise to reread with a less distracted mind, but know I think of you guys every single day in one way or another.

amyks ~ Thank you and what a nightmare it has been! Rattlesnakes, record rain, record heat, crazy subs, inept subs, back ordered and mis-shipped materials, the list goes on and on. Still, there is the joy of seeing something that previously only existed Âen potentia come to life and to realize that it will exist long after I am gone and no more than a footnote in its history. IÂll see if I can get some pics of the interior now that the construction dust is starting to settle. worthy ~ HavenÂt seen any big kitty tracks since that one time, but I am sure that they are out there somewhere. I just love all the wildlife that rambles through our little slice of heaven. The red-tailed hawks seem to be raising a family in one of the oak trees and the squirrels, rabbits, fishies and other critters are thriving as well. kats ~ Thank you. I feel like we are in this together to see who can get finished and moved in the soonest. Something tells me weÂll probably be unloading our moving trucks on the same day! *grin* HereÂs a photo of the house when it was nothing but an ICF shell. WeÂve come a looong way, baby!

I've tried all the options, well almost, for both my kids' rooms and my husband's office where he needs it dark for reading images on the computer screen, and room darkening drapes are by far the best. I have purchased both inexpensive room darkening drapes at Target and the roc-Lon blackout liners. The dark colored curtains (navy or chocolate brown) from Target (or Penney's) work the best and I mounted them a good six inches beyon the trim to keep light out from the side. The lighter colors don't work as well. The roc-Lon blackout liners work great too. I originally purchased them to attach to the existing curtains in my kids' rooms but they were too heavy and cumbersome. So I ended up purchasing a double rod and hanging the blackout liner on the inside rod and their curtains on the outside rod. I've used blackout roller shades but light comes in on the sides. When I had those I either used Velcro to get them to stick to the window (not attractive) or hung thick shades that hung to cover the side gap.

These are the lavender scents..but bottles are the same....I did a side by side Huff test with Spring Bloom and Great Values ...both bottles are shapped alike, lids are identical, and scents are the same...I did a wash test..the Great Value made the clothes feel and smell the same as Spring Bloom so are these the same?? There's only so many manufactures of this stuff so it could be the same manufacture is making both store brands, its sure reasonable, as the stores themselves don't have a factory making this stuff, they contract out for it, so its completely reasonable to think they could be the same product. anyone else have both products that you could do a side by side sniff test?