Good morning! Well, my computer is holding at the moment, so I'm venturing a few replies while I can.... Borrowed from Wiki - I googled "sinister handed" and Google's first suggestion was Left-handedness - Wikipedia. ;) "There are many colloquial terms used to refer to a left-handed person, e.g. "southpaw" or "goofy". Some are just slang or jargon words, while other references may be offensive or demeaning, either in context or in origin (e.g. the British "cack-handed"). In more technical contexts, 'sinistral' may be used in place of 'left-handed' and 'sinistrality' in place of 'left-handedness'. Both of these technical terms derive from sinestra, a Latin word meaning 'left'.[6]" "Meanwhile, the English word sinister comes from the Latin word sinestra, which originally meant "left" but took on meanings of "evil" or "unlucky" by the Classical Latin era. Alternatively, sinister comes from the Latin word sinus meaning "pocket": a traditional Roman toga had only one pocket, located on the left side for the convenience of a right-handed wearer.[citation needed] The contemporary Italian word sinistra has both meanings of sinister and left (the masculine adjective for sinister being sinistro). The Spanish siniestra has both, too, although the 'left' meaning is less common and is usually expressed by izquierda,[11] a Basque word that made its way into Portuguese too. In Portuguese, the most common word for left-handed person, canhoto, was once used to identify the devil, and canhestro, a related word, means "clumsy" (sinistro means only "sinister"). Furthermore, in English, the expression "To have two left feet" refers to clumsiness in the domains of football or dancing." See ya'll elsewhere....! Josh

Nora, Thanks so much for your response...I feel so fortunate to have so many people respond over the past 24 hours. Your idea of a styrofoam ball with yarn is fantastic. My mom knitted and crochet her entire life...learned while in school in 7th grade and actually did it for a living while raising me and my sisters. Now, I have bags full of yarn and I've tried to encourage her, but she won't (I realize now it's probably that she can't). But, if I get the styrofoam balls, maybe, just maybe I can get her interested in winding the yarn around them. I cannot tell you how much this forum has helped me already...For 4 1/2 months, I've been so frustrated with my mom constantly refusing everything I've tried to get her to do. At times, she seems completely fine, so clear headed that I lose sight of the fact that she's losing her mind and at times have actually argued with her!!! How ridiculous! I'm beginning to realize that it's not that she doesn't WANT to do anything, it's that she CAN"T, or is AFRAID that she can't. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like for them...what are they thinking, what are they feeling? How frightening it must be for them. These are thoughts that I torture myself with. I so want to cure her and take care of her; all I can do is be there for her and let her know that I love her and will always be here for her. Every day, when I leave the house (I go to my main office for a few hours 3 days a week) she asks me "where are you going?" and every day, I say "I'm going to the office" and she says "be careful and make sure you come home" and I walk up to her, every day, give her a big hug and a kiss and I say "I will always come home, and I will always love you." I guess that is all I can do..let her know she is loved and truly cared for and that I won't let anything awful happen to her. Now that I've rambled on so....I do have a question, if anyone is even still reading this...How do you manage caring for your mom knowing that she doesn't have a clue who you are? It must just tear you apart.One more thing Nora...nine years is a long time...how was she through the majority of those years? Was she aggitated? Did she get along with her caregivers? Did she put up a fight about bathing?...I'm done for now....thanks again...you've been more help than you can ever imagine...my heart goes out to all of you for taking the time to respond to me and caring enough to do so....

I have boxes and boxes but no scanner. I guess I may need to get one. unfortunately there are a lot of photos that have no names and I have a lot of others that need to go to parts of my family that we have lost touch with and have no way of ever finding them. I LOVE the photos that you all have posted. The sepia tones and as was said the dressy clothes. Oh my, Bottom left photo is my brother with a past president of the US...also bottom shelf the 8x10 right middle side is my Mom when she married. I bought this piece of furniture just for my family photos. It was from a tear down in the NH or Boston area. A built in cabinet. I refurbished it with glass shelves. Stripped all the thick white pain off and then stopped as it goes well with my chocolate walls in the morning room. I wish I had a scanner,,,,sigh...

Most Phalaenopsis begin to grow new flowering spikes in late Autumn/early winter and the flowers start to open about 110 days later so there is a peak flowering in spring. The flowers should last 2 to 3 months in good conditions. Once the flowers start to die cut the flowering stem off at the base and with good growing conditions the annual cycle should repeat. The trigger for new flowering spikes is a slight temperature drop. Look at the leaves. They tell the story. Large leaves to gather available light...says somewhat dim light where they are growing in nature. Large thick leaves that store water....says the plant is not growing in a tropical mist forest. Phalaenopsis Temperature range about 60 to 90F What sort of Fertilizer are you using? I'm just about to water my small collection by taking them to the sink. They spend the year in this room because outside in zone 10b is a death zone. Too hot in summer. Too cold in winter. Extreme UV most of the year. Read the other Phalaenopsis threads and if still puzzled, ask more questions. Added via edit. Should have added under to "Look at the leaves." Flaccid leaves are a sign of root problems, perhaps overwatering or not good drainage.