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.

Thanks all - we are excited! We are buying a DW in a 55+ park just 4 miles from here and close to all shopping :-) It has a sunny eat-in kitchen, large living room, dining room, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths - one is a reasonable size and the master bath is huge. Master bedroom is roomy and the second bedroom is so large we will probably divide it so we can each have our own space - he dabbles in painting and I have an obscene amount of yarn (I packed a lot of it yesterday) for crochet, laundry room and a shed with electricity. The kitchen has black appliances w/a bottom freezer refrigerator. I have almond appliances now and will be glad to have black again, and an installed dishwasher after 7 years using a portable. We have the name of a MH inspector and someone who does MH repairs, not that that is anticipated right away, but you never know. Just a comfort to have that info at hand from the getgo. I'm so relieved to not have to do the routine to show, never knowing when, what, etc. Huge relief. (I'm using "huge" a lot here LOL) A fantasy I have had for many, many years is to have a bathroom large enough that I can keep the scale in it! Sure doesn't take much to make me happy...... Guess I'll have to open a photo hosting account so I can post some pics. TTYL, everyone - time for coffee.

Oh yes this thread brings back the retail memories! The one old lady who came into one of the stores and got $5 worth of gas and drops a $100 bill. Nope, don't carry that kind of change. You HAVE to give me change. Well, I'll give you change but make yourself comfortable because you'll be waiting a while until I get enough to cover that amount. OH NO, I"m NOT waiting. Fine, stop back later and get you're change or we'll have the office mail you a check. Then the guy who starts in that he doesn't have a smaller bill and he can't wait so *I* will have to go siphon it out of his tank. Uh, no, YOU can siphon it and return it if you want. Well give me a hose and a can. Don't have one, people around here always pay for the gas that they pump. And before the next comment, didn't you hear? The customer is NOT always right. And how often when they saw I/we wouldn't be intimidated, they would go back into their wallets and cough up a smaller bill. We're not your bank folks. Always entertaining when they'd tell me the only other bills they had were $100s. OK, go to the bank and get change for one of those and come pay me. I'll hold your other one until you come back and pay. Then the lady who came in with a $15 gas purchase and said she would give me $12. Her car can't hold that much gas. Well, obviously it did, and no, I don't accept your offer. Threatens to drive off without paying for it. Fine, I'll call the police for a drive-off. Threatens to call Weights & Measures and I point to the sticker that they were tested and passed. Go ahead and call them. New pumps don't go out of adjustment overnight. Then there's the ones who would drive off with a nozzle in the car and damage a pump and they didn't think they should have to pay for it. Or the one who was going to leave her minor child as collateral while she went to get money. Are you nuts? I'll have the police on the phone for child abandonment the moment you walk out that door. Sheesh. And then they want my full name, address, home phone number... Nope, Call the office and complain if you want. I'm just doing my job. Retail was actually a lot of fun. And quite a learning experience. We started to speculate between employees as to what they did for a living after we figured out certain groups were more trouble than others. And the ones working minimum wage or thereabout were the easiest to get along with and never tried to short us. They had dealt with people before, I think.

wmsimons45.. I had followed your posts from time to time and remembered you looking as well, but never saw where you ended up getting one. thanks for answering. I may get frustrated enough to try that. kulrn... the silver Marcia Square 43" happens to be the one I ordered in gold, that is now on long back order. I wonder how hard it would be to paint the silver one, gold? Anyone have thoughts on that? I am not beyond trying that for that price. Porter.. I have considered putting 2 rectangle ones together, 2 square wont solve problem. I have 2- 6' sofas that have to sit at right angles. The coffee table I currently have used for 17 yrs is dark wood and is 42x48. One side always got the long side, and never looked balanced. When I decided to get new one to go with newly recovered sofas, I thought Id get a square one and go light and bright, so it didnt visually take up so much space. Didnt know it was going to be this hard to find. Thanks for all your posts and help. I really appreciate it!