Ah, I'm sorry to hear your husband has to face such challenges. My niece has CP and she is continuing to go through surgeries that may allow her to walk- she says thank goodness for the internet! Anyhow, have you ever considered walkie talkies? My parents live in a cell-phone poor area and they like to walk in the woods a lot so they got walkie talkies. They also use them to communicate between barn and house. Just another possible solution for when you have to replace your phone someday. Cheers!

Thanks for the responses! I'm sorry the example pic is so terrible. It's just a pic I found on the web and not my mom's Christmas table, I swear. Sue and Yayagal, those are the two colors I thought of right away! Glad to know I'm thinking in the right direction. Fun, love your suggestions about scrapbook paper. I know that will definitely help my mom with visualizing a color. And I really like the fabric idea too. I'm hoping I can convince my mom that the old red and cream buffalo check cafe curtains have had their day and fabric behind the dishware would bring nice texture back in the room. I will try to get a picture this weekend when I go visit her. She lives two hours away and is not computer savvy. I wanted to get some direction before I went so that we could get started. My youngest brother is moving out this month (he bought the house next door....we joke that one day he will leave the block!), so it will be just she and my dad for the first time in 35 years. She is going to downsize the big table in the middle of the room (she still has a large table in the DR for family gatherings) for a smaller breakfast nook in the corner by the windows and put a moveable island in its place.

My Mom told me..."no answer" is also an answer.

That is nice. My friend's 83 year old Mom is always buying her things or taking her out to dinner and she sometimes feels bad about it because she doesn't need her Mom to buy her things. I told her that this was something her Mom wants to do and it brings her enjoyment to do this so let her. She always thinks of me often and buys me little treats like a bag of cherries, rhubarb, dill or a jar of Nutella now and then because she knows I enjoy those items and it makes her happy to buy them for me. Your Mom is a sweet lady. Anne