Sushi has pretty much summarized the dangers ahead. There is no way to truly screen her calls other than you or your cousin being with her 24 hours a day. Allowing her the freedom of answering her phone, puts her at risk -- for physical, financial, and emotional harm. I'm also a "been there, done that." My mom used to think she was outsmarting telemarketers by telling them that she was a widow and in ill health, so she couldn't afford to buy their products. Some of the callers had her name and some address info. I'd tell her over and over again that she was saying too much and that the callers could come to the house. She'd promise to do better, but the next time I'd see her, she'd proudly relate how she told off a telemarketer. Eventually she moved to an assisted living facility and the situation was better. The address change in addition to the phone number change lessened the frequency of calls. When she moved into the memory care wing, her phone did not move with her. As far as doctors, etc., do what sushi recommends. Make yourself or your cousin the contact person. That's what I did with my mom even before she moved to assisted living. Perhaps you could "train" your mom to always defer to either you or your cousin when answering questions over the phone. For example, "I'm sorry. You need to talk to my daughter/niece about this. She takes care of everything for me." There's always the possibility of changing her phone number to a new and unlisted number.

WOW what great pictures!! Looks like everyone had a great time! AND...I'm really amazed that Sharon's husband Ernie looks so good! I remember her posting about him being diagnosed with cancer (not long after MY husband died) and my heart just broke for him! He looks wonderful!!!

Great photo! I really do believe that traits like creativity and artistic ability are genetic. Also, personality traits. My first wife, Mary, and present wife, Sue (or Bigbaby) as she's known here have, have totally different personalites. My son, Ryan, was 8 when Mary died. Yet, 90% of his personality is so much like Marys. It's downright eerie at times. Ron

I guess we just differ in our definitions of "simple" and "sweet" when it comes to books-I don't find Hardy simple, either-but I am looking at the writing style and the plot lines, and the effort needed to read him! I think of sweet as something that makes readers go "aahhh" and smile. But the fact that we all have different responses is what makes this site so interesting. For instance, elsewhere, someone said she didn't like In This House of Brede because it was sad-I find that book exhilarating and positive.